A European pact

A “European Pact for the family” is called for by the EESC, the European Economic and Social Committee, an advisory body of the EU based in Brussels. The proposal is made in the form of an “exploratory opinion” drawn up at the request of Ursula von der Leyen, German Federal Minister for the Family. But it’s not the only novelty in this field that has remained virtually absent from the EU debate in recent years. THE PILLAR OF THE EU SOCIAL MODEL. Last week a group of MEPs, supported by associations and NGOs active in the social sphere, approved a resolution with the title “The family is the pillar of the European social model”, drawn up in preparation for the fourth World Congress of Families, due to be held in Warsaw (Poland) from 11 to 13 May. The chairwoman of the family inter-group of the European Parliament, the Greek MARIE PANAYOTOPOULOS CASSIOTOU , explains: “We have drafted a text to contribute to the discussions that will take place in Warsaw. We list some fixed points on which, in our view, reflection ought to be focused. We assert for example that marriage is the foundation of the family; that the family is the best guarantee of the rights of children; and that it is in the family that the complementarity between man and woman is best exercised”. Other chapters are dedicated to the family as the foundation of society, as the sphere of intergenerational relations and as “economic and social investment”. The resolution reaffirms the principle of subsidiarity, according to which family policies should be decided at the national level, “even if – as underlined by the Slovak MEP ANNA ZÁBORSKÁ – the family also needs to be promoted in the legislative framework and policies of the European Union”. THE NEXT STAGES. Recurring to the document adopted by the Economic and Social Committee on 14 March, the French rapporteur STÉPHANE BUFFETAUT explains that it “proposes in particular the stipulation of a European Pact for the Family” and “the fixing of a minimum sum for public allocations to the family and to children”. The reflection, commissioned by the current German Presidency of the EU Council, is linked to the document recently approved by the Barroso Commission on the demographic situation in Europe (characterised by a declining birth rate and the ageing of the population) and the recommendations made at the summit of heads of state and of government in March: the Conclusions of the Presidency mentioned – rather surprisingly – the need to create an “alliance for the family” in Europe. Other developments are awaited on the question: on 10 May the Barroso Executive is expected to adopt a Communication with the title “A support for the European family”; and on 27 May a meeting is planned between the EU Ministers responsible for the family to follow up the recommendations of the European Commissioners and the Conclusions of the spring summit. LESS IDEOLOGY, MORE CONCRETE AID. The document adopted by the EESC is aimed at promoting a reinforced EU policy on the family, “avoiding ideological conflicts” and concentrating instead “on the concrete aid that could be given to families, also in view of the declining birth rate that is being registered in Europe”. To tackle the “demographic winter” of the old continent (a term coined by the French demographer GERARD FRANÇOIS DUMONT , former Rector of the Sorbonne, who also contributed to the drafting of the opinion), the document calls for “the prompt implementation of a number of coordinated measures in the social, economic and environmental field, as well as in terms of family policy and equality between the sexes”. The EU ought, according to the 344 members of the EESC assembly, “to present an action plan spread over several years that proposes the measures that have already been tried and tested by some member states”. The Commission is invited for its part to “establish a European register” to bring together “the good practices on how to reconcile family with professional life, and specific policies in favour of mothers and fathers who assume their own family responsibilities”. FRENCH AND SWEDISH MODELS. In its document the EESC calls on the EU institutions (Council, Parliament and Commission) to “affirm the will of member states to implement policies that take account of the number of children desired by couples in the EU” and allocate sufficient financial resources to families. In addition “the Committee invites member states to strive to adopt measures characterised by continuity and sustainability in support of childhood and the family, since continuity in interventions of this kind is one of the keys to their success”. Among the national examples considered as exemplary in promoting the birth rate, the document indicates the French and the Swedish system, “where – explains Buffetaut – we register high rates of female employment, without this prejudicing the birth rate, which on the contrary is registering signs of strong recovery”.