28/01/2009: At European level Decisions are taken in order to grant numerous rights and concessions to mothers and fathers, rights in respect of dependent family members (children, the elderly, the disabled) as well as decisions to facilitate the combination of work and family life, but also in relation to remunerated activities or self-employment. However, self-employment within the family, the implications thereof for the family and the family as an employer has not been recognized by the EU. Consequently, the Greek MEP asked what proposals the Czech Presidency was going to present in this area.The Council's representative, M. Vondra Alexandr, answered Mrs Panayotopoulos - Cassiotou's question as follows: "the European Parliament and the Council can only act in a legislative capacity on the basis of a proposal from the Commission. The Commission has indeed recently tabled a proposal for a new Directive on the application of the principle of equal treatment between men and women engaged in an activity in a self-employed capacity and repealing Directive 86/613/EEC. The proposal aims at improving the social protection of self-employed workers, with a view to removing disincentives to female entrepreneurship ... the social protection of "assisting spouses", who often work in the self-employed sector without enjoying the corresponding rights. ... the vast majority of such “assisting spouses” are women, and many of them work in the agricultural sector. The Commission's proposal also aims at enhancing the recognition of such self-employment within the family by granting maternity leave to “assisting spouses”, the proposal also seeks to redress the sometimes problematic implications that informal employment within family businesses can have for the family itself, especially when “assisting spouses” have children.
Turning to the broader implications of unrecognized work by “assisting spouses” in the long term... the Council is aware of the particularly difficult situation faced by unsalaried women who depend on their husbands for their income and whose financial situation is often precarious when they retire, or if they divorce or are widowed. The Council expressed its concern with regard to this issue in December 2007, when it adopted a set of Conclusions on "Women and Poverty". The Council recognized that women were more vulnerable to income poverty than men and that the gender gap increased with age. More recently, in December 2008, the Council adopted a set of Conclusions on "Women and the Economy: the Reconciliation of Work and Family Life". Here, too, the Council reaffirmed the importance of measures allowing women and men to reconcile their work and family responsibilities, and called for appropriate policies.
In conclusion, the Council is actively addressing the concerns with respect to self-employment within a family context. The Czech Presidency will continue discussions on the above-mentioned legislative initiative and will follow its development in the European Parliament".
"My wish is for the Commission to take into serious consideration the Council's answer, and present within the briefest possible delay a relevant proposal on this issue", stated Mrs Panayotopoulos - Cassiotou.
For further information:
Marie Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou MEP, Tel: +32-2-2847447 - Fax: +32-2-2849447
E-mail: marie.panayotopoulos-cassiotou@europarl.europa.eu
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