Family, six objectives” “

The family is the “cradle” of ties of affection and bonds between the generations, but it is also the essential sphere for personal realization and for reinforcing economic and social development: this is the message of the document entitled “A family strategy for the European Union”, presented in the Brussels headquarters of Comece , Commission of the episcopates of the European Community, at the end of March (see SIR no.21/2004). The document begins with a reflection of sociological and political character, presenting the reality of the family today, including demographic decline, living conditions of the elderly and children, and the problems faced by married couples. That is followed by a list of six “global objectives” which are brought to the attention of the Twenty-Five, with the aim of “combining the efforts to complete the Lisbon Strategy with a European strategy for the family”. “GLOBAL OBJECTIVES” AND CONCRETE SUGGESTIONS. The six “fixed points” of the COMECE document provide specific and feasible guidelines for the member countries of the EU to pursue with EU support. The first “global objective” suggested by the European bishops is aimed at “improving the integration of the elderly in society through support to their families”. In this regard, the documents asks, among other things, that the right to part-time temporary employment be given to those who would like to devote themselves to elderly parents in all member states. The second objective is to “promote regulations and policies that are more just and more favourable to children”. In this case the document calls for the availability of “social housing” to provide “large families with houses of suitable size at an affordable cost”. The third objective is to “promote provisions in terms of marriage and the education of children” by “encouraging marriage as the point of departure for every family”, and by “fostering measures for the prevention of divorce” in such a way as to repudiate the widespread conviction that divorce is “the automatic solution to the inevitable problems and crises that occur within married couples”. DIFFERENT GENERATIONS “BELOW THE SAME ROOF”. The Commission of the episcopates of the European Community also emphasises the importance of “fostering closer links between the generations”, and in this regard asks the EU as a whole and the 25 member states that compose it to make available shared structures for the elderly and children. As examples it cites the promotion of “partnerships” between infant schools and retirement homes, and legal aid to permit the elderly to contribute to school teaching on a voluntary basis, so as to transmit to the young their own human and professional knowledge and experience. Another important recommendation made by the document is that “social housing” be provided to enable “several generations to live below the same roof”. The fifth objective concerns the promotion of state support for families with particular needs; this means fostering “good practices” for the integration of disabled children in structures of socialization (schools, holiday camps, youth organizations). No less important is the sixth and final objective, aimed at “promoting the associations that work for the protection of the family”, by the pooling of experiences between the various countries and by giving a voice to the associations themselves in the decision-making centres of the Union. RESPONSIBILITIES OF MEMBER STATES AND COMMON COMMITMENT. The “global objectives”, and the projects they involve, “are proposals that can undoubtedly be improved – admits the document of the European bishops -. But they offer a basis for discussion and exchange”. The document, which also presents a valuable annex listing EU legislation on the family, declares that “family policy must remain the responsibility of member states. But the urgent need to make progress in the sector justifies the stepping up of exchanges of good practices and the implementation of joint projects, including the adoption of legislative measures”.