MEPs from Verts/ALE, S&D, Renew, The Left press Commission on EU funds to fight period poverty

A group of 37 MEPs from the Greens/EFA, Socialists & Democrats, Renew Europe, and The Left have asked the European Commission to clarify what EU budget mechanisms it intends to mobilise to support Member States in facilitating access to menstrual products, and whether it will issue guidance on the eligibility of such measures under current funding programmes. The written parliamentary question, dated 8 July 2026, follows the Commission's adoption of the 2026-2030 gender equality strategy on 5 March 2026, which acknowledged for the first time that menstrual and menopause poverty affect many women across the EU. The MEPs note that the strategy referenced the 2022 revision of the VAT Directive, which enabled Member States to apply a reduced or zero rate to menstrual products, and proposed organising an exchange of best practices between Member States. However, they argue that VAT reduction alone does not guarantee accessibility, citing estimates that 42% of European women experienced period poverty at least once in 2024 and 2025. The question specifically asks whether the Commission intends to mobilise the European Social Fund Plus, which already supports measures targeting poverty and social exclusion, and whether it will issue guidance to Member States on the eligibility of such measures under current funding programmes. The Commission is expected to reply within approximately six weeks; its answer will signal whether it plans to go beyond best-practice exchanges and use EU funds to directly address period poverty.