Brussels, 12th March 2024
FAFCE welcomes the discussion of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council on 11th March. Families should be at the core of policy-making, particularly vulnerable families and large families.
The Council called upon Member States “to continue the modernisation of social protection and inclusion systems and address poverty and social exclusion, in particular among children, also in light of the digital and green transitions, demographic trends, the impact of high inflation on purchasing power, in particular on vulnerable households, and the increasing level of energy poverty.”
FAFCE recalls Pope Francis’ description of the three transitions of our age: digital, ecological, and demographic.
FAFCE highlights the importance of considering family policies as investments, including on social protection measures adapted to families and boosting work-family balance.
Vincenzo Bassi, President of FAFCE, said: “In the context of a demographic winter in Europe and a culture of loneliness, it is the family that holds the key to intergenerational solidarity. In this vein, FAFCE welcomes that demography is considered at least with the same importance than that of the green and digital transitions.
The ongoing cost of living crisis has put pressure on families, as well as on marriages considering starting families. We urge Member States treat the family as an investment, not a cost. This begins with family friendly policies that are inclusive of large families, from economic and taxation policy, to social and employment policy.
To protect and to promote the family is to give our societies the best chance at tackling our digital, ecological, and demographic transitions.”
