"Within the European Union, a high number of men and women have still to make the difficult choice between family life and professional career. I firmly believe we should create the conditions to make both of them possible, but this goal will be achieved just with full support by social partners". Vladimir pidla, employment commissioner, defines the purposes and the results of the second consultation stage with the unions of the workers and the representatives of the entrepreneurs "on the most effective ways to conciliate work, private life and professional life". Several subjects were tackled, including timetable flexibility for parents, and availability of child services in EU countries. "There was a general agreement on the tackled subjects; however, there were differences on the strategies to reach such goals". The meetings will go on, concentrating on a few priority subjects: work right and no discriminations of any kind on the basis of family burden; lengths of parental leaves and fostering male employees to take advantage of them; lengths of such leaves, and guaranteed benefits. In 2008, the Commission "will have to weigh the opportunity of an EU outline regulation on parental leaves".
