Longer maternity leave should make it easier for women for return to work after giving birth, the Commission said. It is also proposed to give better job protection to women taking or returning from such leave.
The EU executive says that self-employed women should get the same maternity leave as salaried employees so that they would not be put off becoming self-employed.
The proposals are part of an EU drive to get more women into the workforce and cope with problems posed by the ageing of the European population.
British Conservative member of the European Parliament Philip Bushill-Matthews criticised the proposal as detrimental to small business and said national governments should decide such things.
'Decisions regarding maternity leave and maternity pay should be made by national governments, not the EU,' he said.
'Flexible working and work-life balance must be encouraged but it is not for Brussels to tell British mothers and fathers how much leave they should take.'
