More Than 200 European Midwifery Leaders and Civil Society Organisations Call for Stronger EU Midwifery Standards
On 7 May 2026, over 200 European midwifery leaders, senior educators, clinical leads, and civil society organisations from across the European Union and European Economic Area signed and submitted an Open Letter to the European Commission. Coordinated by the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), the letter represents a collective call from the midwifery profession and allied organisations across Europe for a stronger and more ambitious revision of Directive 2005/36/EC on the minimum professional qualifications for midwives.
The letter was addressed to President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, Executive Vice-President Roxana Mînzatu, responsible for social rights, skills, quality jobs and preparedness, and all European Commissioners.
This open letter reflects a strong and united call from the midwifery profession across Europe.
Why This Letter Matters
The EU Directive establishes the minimum training requirements for midwives across the EU and EEA and enables automatic recognition of their qualifications across Member States. It plays an important role in shaping midwifery education, workforce mobility, and the quality of care women and newborns receive.
The European Commission is currently updating the Directive. However, the changes proposed so far remain very limited and risk missing an important opportunity to ensure the Directive reflects today’s evidence, international standards, and the realities of modern midwifery practice. The current proposals do not reflect the ICM Essential Competencies for Midwifery Practice, WHO guidance on Midwifery Models of Care, or the input provided by more than 96 midwifery stakeholders from 24 EU and EEA countries during the consultation process.
The consequences are practical and serious. In several Member States, the outdated Directive is treated as a maximum standard rather than a minimum. This restricts workforce mobility and creates inequalities in the quality of care received across different European countries.
What We Are Calling For
In the open letter, signatories urge the European Commission to:
- Adopt an updated Directive text that fully aligns with the ICM Global Standards and WHO guidance: These standards are regularly updated benchmarks that reflect the latest scientific evidence and contemporary midwifery practice.
- Ensure a strategic Directive update that delivers on health system resilience and gender equality: Strong midwifery strengthens health systems, including during crises, and contributes directly to women’s health, gender equality, and demographic sustainability across Europe.
- Explicitly connect this Directive update to the EU Global Health Strategy: The impact of the Directive extends beyond the EU internal market. It also influences the standards and competencies European midwives bring into global health programmes, humanitarian settings, and international partnerships.
A Profession United Across 27 Countries
This open letter is an important act of collective professional action and demonstrates broad consensus across the profession on the importance of this policy moment. The signatories include Presidents of National Midwives’ Associations, Heads of midwifery education programmes, senior clinical and professional leaders, and civil society organisations working in sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).
Together, they are calling for an updated Directive that reflects current evidence, ICM Global Standards, and the realities of midwifery practice and women’s healthcare needs today.
The wide range of signatories demonstrates the importance and urgency of this issue. Midwifery leaders, and CSOs are united in recognising that the current direction of the Directive revision is insufficient and requires stronger action.