Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on The family and demographic change
Date: 2007-03-14
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: ESC opinion, demographic analysis, equal treatment, family, family policy, gender equality, population ageing, working life

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Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on The family and demographic change

(2007/C 161/19)

The European Economic and Social Committee received a letter, dated 19 October 2006, from the future
German presidency requesting its opinion on The family and demographic change.

The Committee Bureau decided to draw up an opinion which would also address the Communication from the
Commission — The demographic future of Europe — From challenge to opportunity, COM(2006) 571 final, on
which the Commission decided, on 12 October 2006, to consult the European Economic and Social
Committee, under Article 262 of the Treaty establishing the European Community.

The Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship, which was responsible for preparing the
Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 22 February 2007. The rapporteur was
Mr Buffetaut.

At its 434th plenary session, held on 14 and 15 March 2007 (meeting of 14 March), the European
Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 120 votes to one with five abstentions.

1. Recommendations and proposals

1.1 Reacting to an unprecedented situation

Article 33 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights legiti-
1.1.1
mises the European Union's involvement
in the debate on
family policy, even if it is clear that, for reasons of efficiency
and subsidiarity, the practical definition and implementation of
policies must lie with the Member States, the local authorities
and even public services and businesses.

1.1.2
In its Green Paper of 16 March 2005, the Commission
rightly described Europe's present demographic situation as
‘unprecedented’. The Communication of 10 October 2006
emphasises that ‘it is also one of the main challenges that the Euro-
pean Union will have to face in the years to come’. Statements of
fact will not suffice. The only pertinent question is ‘what action
should be taken at Community level?’ especially in the sphere of
family policies and the reconciliation of family and working life.
We should also stress that even the Council of Europe has
recently joined the call for a broad European family policy.

The European Economic and Social Committee advo-
1.1.3
cates a research programme, information campaign, proposals
and monitoring. Generally speaking, impact assessments, which
are now mandatory for all
legislative proposals, should cover
the impact on families if the latter are liable to be directly
affected. These studies should be linked to the other broad
socio-economic fields of action in the EU (employment, growth,
energy evolution and its consequences).

1.2 Research programmes

1.2.1
to respond appropriately to demographic
change, decision-makers at EU, national, and local levels need to

In order

carry out a detailed study of demographic developments. The
first European Demographic Forum, which took place in
October 2006, was an excellent initiative and should become a
regular event.

It

1.2.2
is equally necessary to scrutinise demographic
change (the geography of population, natural mobility, migra-
tion, gender and age profile, increased life expectancy, etc.) and
its causes (economic, social, cultural and environmental factors,
difficulties in reconciling family and professional life, the situa-
tion of women and mothers in the labour market,
flexible
working arrangements for family reasons, the magnitude of job
pressures and insecurity …) whilst taking national and regional
diversity into consideration.
It is essential that these studies
should be carried out independently because their results may
challenge national policies.

Comparative studies could be carried out to look into
1.2.3
the different tax or social systems used to help women and men
get back to work after raising children, and incentives for men
to share family responsibilities. It would also be interesting to
study the various tax incentives for developing universally acces-
sible family-oriented public or private services.

Families

in specific

(single mothers
1.2.4
raising children, children with disabilities, dependent elderly
parents, migrant
families having difficulty integrating etc.)
should be the focus of specific studies.

circumstances

Ageing (1), in all its forms and many geographic varia-
1.2.5
tions, should be the focus of specific studies, with particular
emphasis on its impact on family life and policy. This policy has
primarily been analysed from the perspective of relationships

(1) In demographic science, ‘population ageing’ is defined as an increase in
the percentage of elderly persons in the population, generally accompa-
nied by a drop in the percentage of young people. The expression
‘ageing society/gerontogrowth’ (gérontocroissance) is used to define an
increase in the number of elderly persons. Depending on the country
and the region, population ageing and ‘gerontogrowth’ are not necessa-
rily concomitant, but may differ in terms of relative combinations and
causes.

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between parents, young children and adolescents. It should now
be analysed from the perspective of relationships between chil-
dren and elderly parents, with the emphasis on managing
working hours and community support.

Given that

1.4.2
in the case of demography long-term
polices are required, the EU should acknowledge the urgency of
the situation and recommend measures for sustainable family
policies to the Member States.

In the future it will also be necessary to consider how
1.2.6
more active,
independent and healthier older workers can be
better involved in family, economic and social life for longer.
More specifically, this could be achieved by adapting jobs and
promoting greater active involvement in their communities, and
relations between the generations (for instance, by involving
older people in schools, nurseries or crèches). Families are not
made up exclusively of parents and children, they also include
grandparents, who often play an important role in helping and
supporting the family (childminding, material support etc.).

for

1.2.7
Community
demonstration activities
research aspect
provided to strengthen demographic research (2).

In the Seventh framework programme of the European
and
socio-economic
should be beefed up, with more funding

technological development
the

(2007-2013),

research,

1.3 Information

1.3.1
The Commission should set up a European register on
best practice in family policy, family-work balancing, gender
equality and policies focusing on mothers and fathers who
assume their full share of family responsibilities. Its purpose
would be to recommend successful
initiatives from all over
Europe to the Member States in order to enable couples to
satisfy their unfulfilled wish to have children (the number of
children per household is 1.5, whereas the most recent studies
indicate that people would like to have far more children).

1.4 Proposals

1.4.1
The impact of demographic change can only be
substantially reduced through the timely implementation of a
series of coordinated social, economic, environmental, family
and gender policy measures. This means keeping the broader
picture in mind and having the right policy mix. In this context,
the European Union should present a pluriannual action plan
proposing measures which have proved their practical worth in
the Member States as a basis for family oriented and family-
work balance policies.

(2) See EESC opinion of 15.9.2004 entitled ‘Towards the seventh Frame-
work Programme for Research: Research needs in the area of demo-
graphic change — quality of life of elderly persons and technological
rapporteur: Ms Heinisch (OJ C 74, 23.3.2005,
requirements’,
pp. 44-54). URL:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2005/c_074/
c_07420050323en00440054.pdf.

1.4.3
The open method of coordination should be developed
as a means of benchmarking family, gender, economic and
social policies, enabling the European Union to pick the best
out of Member States' diversity and cultural wealth and national
policies.

1.4.4
As a strong measure, the European Council, the Euro-
pean Parliament and the Commission should encourage the
Member States — with due regard to the subsidiarity principle
— to sign a European Pact for the Family, which could include
the following commitments:

— an affirmation of Member States' desire to pursue policies
that meet people's expectations regarding how many chil-
dren they would like to have per couple in the EU. These
policies should be put into practice by such means as direct
financial support, changes in taxation, and the provision of
economically viable public or private facilities (e.g. crèches
of various kinds,
inter-company
crèches) all-day schooling and services; thus, it is the quality
of facilities that matters, not the quantity;

including company or

— a plan to establish a fixed threshold for public funding for
family- and child-related policies — i.e. investments in the
future — so that available resources are not, potentially,
subsumed in the overall costs of an ageing society — costs
which an ageing electorate may consider a top priority;

— a guarantee to promote an environment which is favourable
to families, mothers, fathers and children, putting into prac-
tice an idea that is not new: i.e. reconciling family life and
work by ensuring genuine gender equality, by taking proper
account of changes in living and working methods (irregular
hours, distances, high housing prices in city centres, lack of
infrastructures for infants, etc.);

— ongoing and sustainable measures to support children and
families — because the long-term stability of these policies
is the key to their success. Such measures should keep
spending on youth policy steady in relative terms when set
against the health and pension costs that are inevitably set
to rise as the population ages. It is of crucial importance to
the best possible
generate demographic renewal under
conditions. This means safeguarding and improving the
health and safety of children; providing quality education for
systems enabling
all; proposing assistance and support

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parents to meet their needs and difficulties. Special attention
should be paid to families and children living in extreme
poverty,
those needing specific support, and those from
migrant backgrounds. Although the EESC acknowledges the
ageing of the European population and believes that demo-
graphic renewal is essential for the survival of the continent,
it points out that a reduction in widescale unemployment,
access to lasting employment for 25-35 year-olds and real
job security in general should make it possible to finance
retirement (whether active or not).

Human beings are not just producers and consumers.
1.4.5
They have a social and emotional dimension that constitutes
their dignity. All genuinely humanist policies should not only
take this essential dimension of humanity into consideration,
they should safeguard it. Family policies play a full role in
personal fulfilment and social harmony. By adopting a ‘Euro-
pean Pact for the Family’, the European Union would be demon-
strating its commitment to the European Charter of Funda-
mental Rights.

The lack of skilled manpower may limit the scope for
2.5
productivity growth if
insufficient attention is paid to the
quality of work and modernisation of work practices. In effect,
future jobs and the professional skills they require will be
different from today's, underscoring the importance of lifelong
learning. Unfortunately, there are some 17 million unemployed
people in the EU, not to mention those who have to work part-
time because they cannot find full-time employment. One of the
EU's major challenges is to help these people find stable employ-
ment which, to a certain extent, would help to reduce the nega-
tive economic impact of the shrinking working population in
Europe.

Demographic change comes after what

is known in
2.6
demographic terms as
‘demographic transition’. The latter
involved a substantially reduced mortality rate, especially in
infancy and during child birth. This phenomenon is accompa-
nied by a drop in the birth rate proportionate to the drop in
mortality and a substantial increase in life expectancy at birth.

2. Introduction

Following up on its Green Paper on Confronting demo-
2.1
graphic change: a new solidarity between the generations (3),
the
Commission has recently published a new Communication
entitled The demographic future of Europe — From challenge to
opportunity, thus demonstrating the importance it attaches to
this decisive question for the European Union's future.

2.2
It must be said that until the Treaty of Nice, Member
States were relatively silent on this issue despite the fact that, for
two decades, demographers had been trying to draw the atten-
tion of politicians to the impending ‘demographic winter’ and
the difficulties it would create. We cannot but deplore the fact
that the response has been so slow despite ample and reiterated
warnings, and that we are now faced with a full-scale demo-
graphic crisis.

2.7
The demographic transition and increased life expectancy
for senior citizens (since 1970 in Europe), are extremely positive
developments. Nevertheless, demographic renewal must be
ensured so that the balance between the birth and death rates is
not disrupted in the long term, which is not the case in Europe.
Indeed, in many Member States, the number of deaths exceeds
the number of births.

2.8
Reaching an advanced age in the best possible conditions
is a valuable asset that will continue to be an objective in the
future. This trend will lead to a rise in health and welfare costs.
However,
it will also necessitate the establishment of new
services and goods for the elderly. It will also entail the develop-
ment of the working population's productivity and prolong the
active life of senior citizens, who are sometimes excluded from
the labour force against their will.

2.3
Over the last twelve years, the Commission has unceas-
ingly emphasised the importance of this phenomenon, which
could render the goals of the Lisbon Strategy null and void. In
so doing, the Commission has shown laudable lucidity.

Indeed, without wishing to appear unduly pessimistic,
2.4
although the fertility rate is not the only condition for growth
in the Member States and has to be backed up by skills develop-
ment, training and creativity for all generations, the EU's demo-
its future
graphic situation remains a major challenge for
economic development and its social balance.

(3) COM(2005) 94 final.

training …) (4). Nevertheless,

2.9
Immigration partially compensates and will doubtless
continue to compensate for the demographic deficit on condi-
tion that integration programmes are provided for migrants
(language and vocational
this
cannot be our sole response to the demographic challenge
because it is not just a matter of maintaining a labour force
large enough to meet Europe's needs; it is also a human and
societal issue. Moreover, depriving developing countries of their
human resources — especially their most highly trained and
qualified resources — cannot be an option. The European
Union must also find its own home-grown solutions to the
demographic challenges it faces.

(4) See EESC opinion of 13.9.2006 on ‘Immigration in the EU and integra-
tion policies: cooperation between regional and local governments and
civil society organisations’, rapporteur: Mr Paríza Castaños (OJ C 318,
23.12.2006).

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3. The October
Commission

2006

Communication

from the

and services for the elderly), which by creating budget deficits
would lead to an intolerable spiral of debt.

3.1
The Commission opens its Communication by recalling a
point that is often neglected in the surrounding debate: there is
an aspect of demographic ageing, the demographic term for
which is ‘top-down ageing’, that is good news, because it is a
sign of increased life expectancy in the elderly, and hence, of
significant medical, social and economic progress.

This increased longevity has been accompanied by a
3.2
sharp drop in Europe's birth rate. Europe's demographic situa-
tion is therefore characterised by four elements:

— increased life expectancy,

— low average number of children per woman (1.5 children

for EU-25),

— the decline in birth rates in recent decades,

— major migration inflows.

3.3
As a result, the EU population may drop slightly but,
above all, it will age substantially as the post-war baby-boomers
approach retirement age.

3.4
Commission projections go up to the year 2050 and are
based, by definition, on statistical estimates. The Commission
believes that these projections should be used as a tool for
raising awareness and promoting debate.

3.5
According to the Commission's projections, by 2050
there could be two people of working age for each person aged
65 or above in the EU, whereas today the ratio stands at four
people of working age for each person aged 65 or above.

Basing itself on these projections, the Commission is
3.6
forced to conclude that demographic ageing could have a strong
impact on the labour market, productivity and economic
growth as well as social security and public finances.

3.7
In the short-term, employment rates for women and
workers aged 55 to 64 could rise (until approximately 2017).
However this will only offer temporary respite after which the
full burden of demographic change would bear down on
economic growth.

3.8
Thus, the average annual growth rate in GDP for EU-25
in strict correlation with demographic ageing from
could fall
2.4 % over the period 2004-2010 to only 1.2 % between 2030
and 2050; this would put an end to the aspirations and goals of
the Lisbon Strategy.

3.9
At the same time, if nothing is done, ageing could lead
to a significant increase in public spending (pensions, healthcare

The Commission believes that

3.10
these
anticipated difficulties, the question remains how to devise EU
support for its Member States as part of a long-term strategy,
the implementation of which,
in law and practice, essentially
depends on their political will and competences.

in the face of

3.11
It thus proposes guidelines for debate and action which
are relevant, but fairly vague and general, insofar as these issues
fall within the remit of the Member States, or even the local
authorities.

3.12
The proposals set out impact on family policy in order
to promote demographic renewal by improving methods for
reconciling professional, private and family life (by developing
childcare facilities, parental
improving flexible work
arrangements, and holding an annual European demographic
forum).

leave,

3.13
The Commission also recommends measures to raise
the employment rate for workers over 55 and productivity in
Europe. It also envisages measures for organising legal immigra-
tion and the integration of legal immigrants.

3.14
Finally, the Commission proposes the emergence of a
sufficient variety of financial instruments to safeguard pension
schemes, which should include the building up of private
savings and capital, so that individuals can have more autonomy
in determining the level of income they wish to have at their
disposal during their retirement, which presupposes efficient
and transparent
financial markets and effective supervision,
especially of pension funds.

3.15
Ageing in Europe will lead us to change our mindsets
as well as our social security systems and family policies
because this is indeed a matter of turning a difficult challenge
into an opportunity.

3.16
Since the European Union does not have specific
responsibility for the issue under consideration, the Commission
had no alternative but to restrict itself to setting out general
principles. For this reason, we are at a loss to understand how
the European Union is to acquire the relevant operational remit.
The solutions vary according to the specific situation of each
State and the social customs and traditions of the populations
concerned. In addition, the practical implementation of certain
measures, for instance the development of childcare facilities,
can only be managed by the local authorities nearest
the
families. However,
in no way does this alter the need and
urgency for EU action to meet the demographic challenge.

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3.17
The German presidency, which had expressed its
interest in the Commission Communication, felt that a more-in-
depth analysis of family policy was necessary and called on the
European Economic and Social Committee to study to what
extent a sustainable family policy might be able to contribute to
economic and social development in Europe.

adults in their thirties who are still living with their parents and
continue to depend on them financially.
It has also been
observed that a higher number of children currently benefit
from health, social and educational services than in the past.

4. The family — a human reality that has adapted to

economic and social change

4.1
Over the last two centuries, economic and social change
in Europe has also impacted on the family, lifestyles and value
systems.
Industrialisation and urbanisation have changed the
family framework. The extended family has been reduced and
new variations on family life have evolved, the bond between
the generations has changed, mentalities have evolved and
economic solidarity has evolved or died out. At the same time,
women's growing financial independence has raised the standard
of living of two-income families.

Family life has changed and become more diverse.
4.2
Marriages are fewer and occur later in life. More children are
born outside marriage, and the number of adoptions, especially
of non-European children, has risen. The divorce rate has gone
up, as has the number of new families with children from a
previous marriage. The number of
single parents, usually
women, has gone up and these ‘single-parent families’ often find
themselves in financial difficulty. Families raising children with
disabilities face specific difficulties that deserve special attention
from the public authorities. New family networks have evolved
whereby mutual assistance is based on solidarity and the bonds
of friendship (family crèches for instance). Households are made
up of fewer members and a growing number of people and
couples live alone and without children. The issue of elderly
couples, their role in society and the support they will need will
present itself more and more acutely. Immigration has intro-
duced new family cultures to Europe thereby adding to the
complexity of family situations.

4.3
In a predominantly rural society, the family was held
together by three elements: affection, finance and geography. In
practice, economic activities were usually carried out where the
family was based:
the farm, workshop, business. The unity
created by these three elements died out or disappeared with the
onset of industrialisation and urbanisation. In most cases, the
family base is distinct from the workplace. Family members do
not work in the same establishments or economic sectors.
Parents are less present in the home. Grandparents and siblings
often live far away and family solidarity is not as systematic. As
a result, some children are often left to their own devices but,
on the other hand, most also continue to live at home much
longer than they used to, mainly because they prolong their
studies and have difficulty finding their first
is not
uncommon in some Member States to come across young

job.

It

4.4 Whereas today the ties of affection remain, as they have
always been, the foundation of the family, it is clear that the
financial and geographical aspects have become the exception
(farms, traditional businesses, crafts …) rather than the rule.

4.5
Contemporary life has become more complex and
undoubtedly individualistic. The values of individual competi-
tiveness have become a very important goal, but all too often
they tend to win out over values of solidarity.

Despite economic change, urbanisation, and the primacy
4.6
of the individual over the community, the family has survived,
and adapted, despite being undermined. Indeed, it corresponds
to a natural and fundamental human aspiration for affection,
love, mutual assistance, and solidarity.
In addition, surveys
carried out on the population and young people in particular
show that this aspiration persists.

4.7
Nevertheless, it is manifestly clear that one of the major
challenges is to make professional, private and family life
possible and compatible for women as well as men, and to
respond to growing parental responsibilities.

4.8
By their very nature, economic and social developments
in European society have raised several vital issues for family
policy: raising and educating children; assisting and supporting
elderly parents, who may well be very elderly and dependent;
flexible working arrangements; parental leave and leave to take
care of a sick relative; support in getting back to work for
parents who have interrupted their careers to raise the children;
assistance or educational support for children — our societies'
future hope; combating poverty and unemployment; supporting
illness, alcoholism or
families suffering the consequences of
other harmful dependencies
fighting
families that
domestic violence; and providing support
include members with a disability.

(drugs, smoking etc.);

for

Concrete and effective measures are called for in order to
4.9
avoid creating excessive pressure on young people of parenting
age. Asking women to have children, a career, and increase their
presence at work implies providing the necessary means to
reconcile motherhood and family life with their jobs. It is also
appropriate to develop strong and effective measures to encou-
rage fathers to involve themselves in family life, have a sense of
parental
responsibility for
raising children within a family environment This also implies
developing labour laws that would enable parents of small chil-
dren, including men, to take parental leave and work flexible
hours in order to look after their children in Member States
which still lack such provisions.

responsibility and assume equal

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5. The family — a reality the European Union has already
recognised and proclaimed in its human, economic and
social aspects

water quality, etc. In some Member States, the family is also a
source of income transfer and social services. It is clearly a
driving force for the economy, insofar as family members have
decent, sustainable purchasing power.

5.1
The European Union has already formally recognised its
concern for the family. Indeed, Article 33(1) of the Charter of
‘The family shall enjoy legal,
Fundamental Rights stipulates that:
economic and social protection’. This wording implies that
the
family, the economy and social organisation are not unrelated
or totally independent realities. On the contrary, they interact
with each other and it is the Member States' responsibility to
ensure the legal, social and economic protection of the family.

In this respect, the Charter of Fundamental Rights echoes
5.2
a much older text, the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human
Rights of the United Nations and,
in particular, Article 16(3)
thereof, which states that:
‘The family is the natural and funda-
mental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and
the State’.

5.3 Moreover, the European Charter goes a step further in
Article 33(2), wherein it states that it is an objective of the
Union in this field to ‘reconcile family and professional life’.

Thus, the European Union,

in its definitive text on its
5.4
fundamental values, not only emphasises that it considers family
and professional life to be particularly important but also states
that they must not be, or should not be, in conflict with each
other.

5.5
Finally, it is worth noting that Article 33 of the Charter
of Fundamental Rights affirms that the European Union has a
role to play in family policy, at least in promoting, alerting and
informing Member States and even urging them to coordinate
in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity.

6. The family — a source of economic prosperity, social

solidarity and emotional stability

As everyone knows,

the three post-war decades of
6.1
massive economic growth were also a period of strong demo-
graphic growth and this was no coincidence. It is essential that
this demographic dynamism should replace Europe's demo-
graphic winter, and complement skills development, creativity
for all generations, whilst respecting the
and self-fulfilment
environment and the planet's ecological health.

The family is a fundamental economic unit and its links
6.2
with the economy are natural. The family, as a unit, has needs
that take on an economic dimension in several respects: food,
housing, facilities, access to culture and leisure, clean air and

Recognising that the family is an economic unit does not
6.3
mean reducing it solely to its economic role or focusing on
numbers alone. Ultimately, the family and the economy work
side by side for the common good, for the wellbeing of the indi-
vidual as well as emotional stability (5).

Furthermore,

that
family
6.4
promote economic development and social balance in at least
four specific ways.

ingredients

contains

the

— The family is a hub of emotional, economic and social soli-
darity which, for many people, makes it easier to deal with
the vicissitudes of economic life. When the unemployed can
benefit from family, psychological and/or financial support,
training
they find it easier to take steps to find a job,
programme or even set up a business, although this does
not alter the fact that unemployment places a heavy burden
on the entire family.

— The family is a direct economic driver because it is the
source of what economists describe as ‘human capital’.
Hence, parents must get all the support they need to raise
‘demographic
their children. The real cost of Europe's
winter’ can be felt when we consider the difficulties ahead in
terms of
funding pensions, rural depopulation and the
consequent disappearance of economic activities and diffi-
culties in providing public services, fewer students in sunrise
industries. Investment in human capital will boost produc-
tivity and economic growth, and help us deal with the
above-mentioned developments in a lasting way.

— We should also stress the contribution the family makes to
‘human capital’ through the education and values it imparts
and the support and stimulus the parents provide for their
children. Qualities that will be crucial to professional as well
as social life are acquired in the family: respect for others,
making an effort, team spirit, tolerance, social behaviour,
responsible independence, etc.

— Finally,

it can be said that

the family is a long-term
economic driver, as parents use their economic resources to
meet the family's needs. Parental responsibility to educate
and prepare children for the future contributes towards
real estate,
saving and investment
training and knowledge. Parents will also take steps to
reduce pollution from all sources in order to preserve a
decent environment for their children. Most children nowa-
days receive from their parents and society considerably

in terms of money,

(5) See the EESC exploratory opinion on ‘The economic and budgetary
impact of ageing populations’, adopted at the plenary session of
14 March 2007, rapporteur Ms Florio.

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more capital
in the form of care, education, health and
social services and property investment (and many also in
the form of inheritance) than their parents or grandparents
in their time. This is why the demographer Alfred Sauvy
claimed that ‘the child is an active element in society’. In this
context, it introduces a historical dimension to a person's
life at an economic, social and emotional level.

6.5
As early as the Renaissance, Jean Bodin wrote that ‘The
only wealth is man’. All EU Member States recognise the family's
positive contribution in human, economic and social terms, not
to mention emotional stability. This is why they all, in some
way or other, implement family policies. Ultimately, they know
that their nations' future lies with their children.

7. Family policies — albeit varied — throughout the Euro-

pean Union

7.5
In other cases, the issue is approached from a social
rather than family angle, the aim being to redistribute income in
order to combat poverty, but without always linking this policy
to the idea of offsetting specific family-related burdens.

Lastly, some policies have been more obviously intended
7.6
to boost the birth rate, explicitly anticipating the need to reinvi-
gorate births in a Europe, where too few children are being
born.

7.7
All studies carried out in Europe on the relation between
birth rates and high female employment show that a better
the
composite fertility index is an obvious consequence of
ability to reconcile family commitments with work. Greater
success in raising the fertility rate might be achieved through
measures encouraging fathers with young children to better
share family responsibilities with mothers. This is an important
aspect which should be emphasised to the younger generations.

7.1
Family policies are implemented throughout the EU to
ensure gender equality and reconcile professional, social and
family life. These three aspects are linked and form an integral
whole even if different countries emphasise one aspect more
than another. Be that as it may, implicit or explicit, strong or
weak, these policies exist in all Member States.

7.8
Longer life expectancy and training for young people, as
well as training periods throughout our lives, have changed and
will continue to change the way we organise our working and
family life. It would be worth considering how to make training
and working life more flexible in order to make it easier for
people who wish to start a family to do so without having to
give up their careers.

The underlying reasons vary. They are sometimes moral
7.2
or civic, sometimes economic or political. Nevertheless,
the
psychological, physical and educational wellbeing of the child is
always one of the fundamental aspects of family policies, as is
the need to enable parents to fulfil themselves whilst juggling
their family, professional and social lives.

Ensuring gender equality in professional

7.3
life as well as
family responsibilities are at the heart of certain family policies,
in a context
especially in the Scandinavian countries. Indeed,
where the workplace may be far from the home and career
breaks are not always accepted or understood by businesses,
measures to reconcile professional and family life are among the
keys to a family policy that enables us to embrace children as
part of society.

The willingness to ensure equal opportunities for chil-
7.4
dren may also contribute to family policies. The purpose,
in
many cases, is also to compensate for the economic constraints
and burdens arising from family responsibilities. This includes a
range of measures to deal with the difficulties encountered by
fathers and, above all, mothers in the labour market, who most
often bear the responsibility for childrearing, especially in the
early years of childhood.

8. Measures to support the family and promote equality of

opportunity for men and women in the workplace

8.1
In practice, the broad lines for the main policy measures
for families are direct financial aid and free or subsidised child-
care services (crèches, nurseries, childminder networks). Care
will have to be taken to ensure that these measures facilitate
reconciling working and family life. It is equally important for
nursery services to be open to all and affordable for all.

Certain policies focus on childcare infrastructure, attrac-
8.2
tive opportunities for parental
leave for educational purposes
and a proactive policy aimed at reconciling remunerated activ-
ities and family life as well as facilitating a return to work after
parental leave.

8.3
Others focus on tax relief for single-income families and
benefits for parents who remain at home during the first few
years of their children's lives.

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C 161/73

8.4
Some countries provide financial aid to compensate for
the cost of educating children and measures for reconciling
professional
life with parental responsibilities, mainly through
parental leave and free childcare facilities and nursery schools.
This combination of
financial aid and services to families
appears effective.

Gender equality in the context of family responsibility
8.5
life are clearly very
and reconciling family and professional
important to revitalising European families. This goes hand in
hand with the need to eliminate the structural causes of unequal
pay for men and women, mainly linked with the fact that all
too often women alone are responsible for their children's care
and upbringing.

8.6
Achieving gender equality and balance — in line with
personal aspirations, preferences and talents — with regard to
earning a living, sharing parental, family and household respon-
sibilities, participating in political activities or other activities of
general interest is extremely important for demography and the
birth rate. Most women, like men, quite rightfully want a job,
children and the opportunity to participate in the social fabric.

8.7
There is a general tendency throughout Europe to post-
pone parenthood. This is not without its consequences for ferti-
lity despite modern medicine and public health research making
it possible to reduce the risk of infertility in older women. Late
pregnancies are largely due to the fact that people are studying
for longer. However, it is also due to the fact that couples expect
to have sufficiently stable and remunerated employment before
they will consider having children. In this respect, youth unem-
ployment and job insecurity, especially for women, is bound to
have a negative impact on fertility and family life. Generally
speaking, the European framework for economic and social life,
whereby young people come by stable jobs increasingly late in
life and the working population is encouraged to retire from
fixed employment increasingly early, and young people's new
lifestyles are not conducive to assuming family responsibilities
and having children.

It is equally important to ensure that the policies imple-
8.9
mented make it easier
to choose to return to paid work
following a career break to have a baby or raise small children.
In this respect, vocational training for people on parental leave
is one avenue that should be explored, alongside flexible
working hours making it possible to raise children. In this spirit,
the option to work part time should be encouraged without
making a return to full time employment more difficult when
there is no further need for part time employment. Finally, we
must ensure that when people return to work after taking
parental
leave, they are not placed in jobs below their skills
levels. The fact that employees may have been granted parental
leave quite recently should not count against them in the event
of economic redundancies.

It

is important

for public services and companies,
8.10
which have a duty to be ‘civic-minded’,
to implement or
promote social policies, practices and innovations to make
working life easier for couples who are expecting or bringing up
children. This goes beyond words and legislation. It is also a
matter of general and psychological attitudes whereby children
are not perceived as hindrances and parents are not seen as less
productive or ‘competitive’. Initiatives currently being taken to
set up company crèches or crèches shared by companies in the
same area should be encouraged. They provide an invaluable
service for couples with professional commitments as well as
reducing the need to travel and simplifying their time manage-
ment.

8.11
It is important to ensure that the public and private
sectors do not misunderstand the problems that fathers of small
children may encounter in their careers when it comes to taking
parental leave or working shorter hours for family reasons. The
public and private sectors should create the necessary conditions
for fathers to look after their children. The social partners have
an important role to play in this regard.

In general, fathers must be encouraged to take on a real
8.12
share of all aspects of
family responsibility, and especially
upbringing. Many sociological studies show that the father's
‘absence’ is the cause of increased difficulties in raising children.

In order to improve these situations and achieve equality
8.8
between men and women,
family policy measures must be
combined with gender equality measures. By this we mean, for
instance, quality childcare facilities, including company nurseries,
as well as legal, fiscal and social measures to enable women, as
well as men, to reconcile their parental, professional and social
lives. It would also be appropriate to consider to what extent
grandparents who are still working might be able to work flex-
ible hours so that they can spend time with their grandchildren.
If we do not succeed, there is a grave risk that women will
continue to give up children and family life in order to focus
exclusively on having a career.

Thus, the policies implemented, or to be implemented,
8.13
vary, the difficulties encountered are different, but the objectives
are the same: making it possible for men and women who want
to start a family to do so. Nevertheless, all surveys show that
Europeans are not able to fulfil their wish to have children and
the often-expressed desire for a third child frequently goes unful-
filled. This is often for financial or material reasons or due to
difficulties in balancing a career with family life, especially for
mothers.

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13.7.2007

8.14
There are also less materialistic reasons. The European
Union, although among the most developed parts of the world
and the richest,
is going through a period of background
concern. Three decades of prosperity have been followed by
economic uncertainty, concerns relating to environmental degra-
dation and climate change, certain negative consequences of
globalisation, the complexity of modern society and the public's
loss of faith in their governments' ability to impact on events.
This has given rise to widespread pessimism in Europe, which is
not conducive to having children. For the first time in a long
time, parents
feel unable to
in many European countries
promise their children a better future.

stability

emotional

live in a community. Hence, the deepest and most pressing
concerns of Europeans relate to family life: education, housing,
job opportunities,
and self-fulfilment.
Perhaps the priority should be to take an optimistic and
generous view of
family life because when we broach the
subject of family and having children, we are, by definition,
touching on the most intimate aspects of being human. The
public authorities, whose responsibility it
is to ensure the
common good, must therefore create opportunities and provide
today's men and women with genuine freedom to start a family
and have as many children as they like, without interfering with
people's personal life choices.

It

is also worth considering whether the dominant
8.15
culture favours the family and having children, whether the
image of having a successful family life and having children is
sufficiently valued, whether individualism and a certain materia-
listic consumerism have not made us forget that the human
being is undoubtedly an individual but an individual designed to

Families are a source of economic prosperity, especially
8.16
when both parents can be gainfully employed. They are also a
source of social solidarity. The EU should therefore encourage
the Member States to incorporate the family dimension in its
economic and social policies. The EU should use best practice to
promote a sustainable family policy.

Brussels, 14 March 2007.

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Dimitris DIMITRIADIS