Swedish minister presents baby at EU meeting - a first in the bloc

On Thursday, as EU ministers were gathered to discuss climate change policies for an entire day, they were surprised by the arrival of a three-month-old child at their table.

Adam, the son of Swedish climate minister Romina Poullmohtari, attended the EU Council meeting in Luxembourg to promote parental leave policies that don't require women to choose work or family obligations.

"I wanted it to be a demonstration that you don't have to make this choice," Pourmokhtari said. Pourmokhtari said that a modern partner who is willing to go along with him would be ideal.

Unknown to the EU Council, this was the first baby that had attended a meeting of EU Ministers.

Pourmokhtari was 30 when she became the youngest minister of Sweden in 2022. She just returned from "parental leave" while her husband was on leave until Sweden’s elections in September. Her husband travelled with her to Luxembourg for Adam's care. Sweden's generous parental leave policy is funded by its high tax system, and has become an election issue.

In total, parents receive 16 months paid leave. Each parent is entitled to 90 days of paid leave. These 90 days cannot be shared. The days that are not taken by a parent will be forfeited.

These non-transferable months -- also known as "dad months" -- are designed to encourage fathers spend more time with children.

Pourmokhtari says that her team's support and the policy she implemented made it "much easier" for her husband, who would then?care for Adam, while she worked.

She argued that supportive policies are not only about spending tax dollars on longer leave periods, and encouraged governments to consider flexible rules for parents sharing leave as well as affordable childcare.

It creates a lot?value, which shouldn't ever be underestimated. She said that value might not always be purely economic but, in the end, it might be economical, as it prevents 'burnt out workers.

Krzysztof Bolesta, Poland's deputy minister of climate, said that it was no problem to have a baby at a meeting.

He said, "It's fantastic." It's not a disability, it's a normal part of life. (Reporting and editing by Kate Abnett)

(source: Reuters)