At general meeting of the European Women's Lobby on May 12 2012 in Budapest, we organised a thematic working group, so-called Issue Group "on the subject of midwifery in the countries of the former Eastern Bloc”. The outputs of this group will become part of the newly formed EWL policy paper on the sexual and reproductive rights of women. It is the first time that EWL has materially managed to incorporate the issue of violation of rights of mothers and midwives in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.