Mgr. Mamberti also spoke of the fall in the birth rate and the ageing of the generations. To tackle such problems, "the Institutions should support life and the family through housing, financial support to parents, the development of crèches. In a world that is in search of convincing endorsers, families with children remain the most visible expression of trust in life. The family is the mainstay of the European social model". Mgr. Mamberti exhorted those Christians who work in the European public sphere to "protect human life, from conception to natural death, and the family as the union between a man and a woman based on marriage". As to the extension of the EU, the delegate of the Holy See asked that the Copenhagen criteria be respected, especially "the full guarantee of human rights and religious freedom. The accession policy he said should not threaten the sharing of those principles and values shaped by Christianity, that have made Europe a beacon of civilisation for the whole world". As to the Constitutional Treaty, mgr. Mamberti repeated his wish that it may protect the fundamental natural values of human dignity, safeguard the institutional rights of the Churches, and expressly acknowledge the Christian heritage of this continent. To protect the value of a healthy laicism in Europe, the presence of Christianity is essential".
