Coalition for Fertility Meets Commissioner Lahbib’s Cabinet on Gender Equality Strategy

On 13 July 2026, the Coalition for Fertility held a constructive meeting with Esther Luigi, the Member in charge of Equality at Commissioner Lahbib’s Cabinet. Representatives from ESHRE, Fertility Europe, IPPF EN and NOVE took part in a wide-ranging discussion on how fertility and reproductive health fit within the EU’s Gender Equality Strategy.

The Cabinet welcomed the Coalition’s recent policy paper, praising its clarity in distinguishing fertility support, medical fertility treatment and demographic policy – an important step in shifting the debate away from demographic targets and toward supporting individuals’ reproductive choices.

Several concrete avenues for collaboration emerged. The Coalition can contribute its expertise and existing resources to the Commission’s upcoming mapping of sexual and reproductive health and rights practices and to a forthcoming data collection framework that will be developed. The Cabinet also expressed strong interest in the Fertility@Work initiative, with Esther Luigi offering to contribute to the EU conversation and engaging Commissioner Lahbib’s office.

The meeting also opened a promising conversation on male infertility and men’s involvement in reproductive health, an area the Coalition is well placed to develop further.

With follow-up actions already underway and planned including outreach to DG JUST, WHO Europe, and the Cabinets of Executive Vice-President Mînzatu and others – the Coalition for Fertility looks forward to deepening this dialogue in the months ahead.