Swedish Minister Brings Baby To EU Council Meeting

A routine meeting of European Union climate ministers in Luxembourg had an unexpected visitor on Thursday when Sweden's climate minister, Romina Pourmokhtari, arrived with a very young guest—her three-month-old son, Adam.

As ministers gathered to discuss climate policies, three-month-old Adam became the first baby to attend a meeting of EU government ministers, according to officials. Pourmokhtari said bringing Adam to the meeting was a way to show that parents, especially mothers, should not have to choose between their careers and raising a family. "I wanted to set an example that you don't have to make that choice," she said.

The 30-year-old minister, who became Sweden's youngest-ever government minister when she took office in 2022, recently returned from parental leave. Her husband is currently on parental leave until Sweden's general election in September. Sweden is known for having one of the world's most generous parental leave systems. Parents are entitled to around 16 months of paid leave, with part of that time reserved separately for each parent. If either parent does not use their allotted leave, those days cannot be transferred and are lost. The policy was introduced to encourage fathers to take a more active role in caring for their children.

Pourmokhtari said these policies, along with support from her team, have made it much easier for her family to balance work and parenting. She added that governments should also focus on flexible parental leave policies and affordable childcare to support working families. According to her, such measures not only improve parents' well-being but can also benefit the economy by reducing stress and burnout among workers.