Swedish climate minister brings baby to EU council meeting, a bloc first, to highlight parental leave

A first for the EU Council

Romina Pourmokhtari, Sweden's climate minister, walked into the EU environment council in Luxembourg on Thursday with her three-month-old son, Adam, strapped to her chest. An EU Council official said that, to the institution's knowledge, it was the first time a baby had appeared at a meeting of EU ministers.

“I don't want to have to choose between being a present mother, since my son is only three months old, and being a present minister.”

Pourmokhtari, 30, became Sweden's youngest-ever minister when she took office in 2022. She had just returned from parental leave, while her husband is on leave until the Swedish election in September and travelled with her to Luxembourg to care for Adam.

Colleagues welcome the infant

The baby's presence drew warm responses across the chamber. Poland's deputy climate minister, Krzysztof Bolesta, told Reuters it had been no trouble.

“I think it's great. It's not a handicap, it's just a part.”

Spanish ecological transition minister Sara Aagesen posted a photo of the mother and child on social media.

“The best illustration of why we are here: working today to leave a better planet to those who will inherit it tomorrow.”

France's environment minister, Monique Barbut, presented Pourmokhtari with a birth gift after the session. During her own intervention, Pourmokhtari was briefly interrupted by Adam's crying and drew laughter with the remark "good timing, Adam," according to Italian media.

Climate debate on the sidelines

Even with a baby on her lap, Pourmokhtari engaged the policy agenda. She opposed a European Commission proposal to relax CO₂ emission reduction obligations for cars and vans, arguing for ambitious climate targets.

“The rise in oil prices is another example of our vulnerability when we import fossil fuels.”

She added that electric vehicle sales continue to grow strongly in Europe, and called on governments to consider flexible leave-sharing rules and affordable childcare alongside longer leave periods.

Sweden's generous parental leave system

Sweden offers about 16 months of paid leave in total, funded by high taxes. Of this, 90 days are reserved for each parent individually and cannot be transferred to the other. These non-transferable periods, often called "dad months," were introduced to encourage fathers to spend more time with their children.

Pourmokhtari credited the policy with making it "much less controversial" for her husband to care for Adam while she works. She said supportive policies create value beyond economics, by preventing burnt-out workers.

“It's creating a lot of value that shouldn't be underestimated. Value that might not always be economic, but in the end, might also be economic, in not having burnt-out workers.”

A growing political trend

The image of a politician working with an infant has become a familiar symbol. The European Parliament recently amended its rules to allow pregnant members or new mothers to vote by proxy during their absence.

In 2018, New Zealand's then prime minister Jacinda Ardern attracted global attention when she brought her three-month-old daughter, Neve, to the UN General Assembly in New York, the first baby in the organisation's history. Ardern remains only the second sitting head of government to give birth while in office, after Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto in 1990.