16/05/2007: The European Parliament joined the celebrations for the International Day of the Family in the framework of a meeting organised on 15 May by Marie Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou MEP. This meeting, which was preceded by a press conference, gathered MEPs, international experts as well as family NGO representatives, in order to address two important issues for families: the education of children regarding the media and the financial situation of families.
Dr Ted Baehr, Director of Movie Guide Magazine (USA) and an internationally renowned expert, was a key speaker at this event during which he addressed the issue of the impact of the media on children. Dr Baehr presented alarming figures which demonstrate the addiction of children to the media and the effect of the latter on the living habits of families: US statistics show that children devote over 63,000 hours per year to the media compared to 11,000 hours for school. Parents only discuss two minutes per day with their children. Dr Baehr underlined the fact that the adoption of a selective behaviour regarding media content relies greatly on the participation and responsibility of parents who must assume their educational role. He also mentioned the importance of establishing an ethical code to which movie companies could subscribe in order to ensure the quality of their productions from an ethical and family perspective. Finally, Dr Baehr stressed that according to recent statistics, movie productions that convey moral values are particularly successful among the public and are economically more profitable.
Intervening on the topic of the financial situation of families, Mr Laszlo Marki, Vice-President of the European Large Families Confederation, recalled that 16% of the EU's population is threatened by poverty and underlined the importance of providing financial support to families given that the cost of life is constantly increasing. He then presented a call to the European Commission, supported by a coalition of European family NGOs, for a reduced VAT rate on products and services for children. Mr Marki reminded participants that the European Commission, in the framework of its action towards family-friendly policies, committed itself to finding a legal base in order to include nappies among the products that could benefit from a reduced VAT rate.
MEPs expressed their support for the proposal of the family NGOs and committed to promoting it at the European Commission and among their respective governments in order to contribute to the creation of the necessary conditions for demographic renewal. Mrs Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou stated that the success of such an initiative would constitute a strong and symbolic message of the interest of the EU for families and children in Europe.
For further information:
Tel: +32-2-2847447, Fax: +32-2-2849447
E-mail: marie.panayotopoulos-cassiotou@europarl.europa.eu
Dr Ted Baehr, Director of Movie Guide Magazine (USA) and an internationally renowned expert, was a key speaker at this event during which he addressed the issue of the impact of the media on children. Dr Baehr presented alarming figures which demonstrate the addiction of children to the media and the effect of the latter on the living habits of families: US statistics show that children devote over 63,000 hours per year to the media compared to 11,000 hours for school. Parents only discuss two minutes per day with their children. Dr Baehr underlined the fact that the adoption of a selective behaviour regarding media content relies greatly on the participation and responsibility of parents who must assume their educational role. He also mentioned the importance of establishing an ethical code to which movie companies could subscribe in order to ensure the quality of their productions from an ethical and family perspective. Finally, Dr Baehr stressed that according to recent statistics, movie productions that convey moral values are particularly successful among the public and are economically more profitable.
Intervening on the topic of the financial situation of families, Mr Laszlo Marki, Vice-President of the European Large Families Confederation, recalled that 16% of the EU's population is threatened by poverty and underlined the importance of providing financial support to families given that the cost of life is constantly increasing. He then presented a call to the European Commission, supported by a coalition of European family NGOs, for a reduced VAT rate on products and services for children. Mr Marki reminded participants that the European Commission, in the framework of its action towards family-friendly policies, committed itself to finding a legal base in order to include nappies among the products that could benefit from a reduced VAT rate.
MEPs expressed their support for the proposal of the family NGOs and committed to promoting it at the European Commission and among their respective governments in order to contribute to the creation of the necessary conditions for demographic renewal. Mrs Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou stated that the success of such an initiative would constitute a strong and symbolic message of the interest of the EU for families and children in Europe.
For further information:
Tel: +32-2-2847447, Fax: +32-2-2849447
E-mail: marie.panayotopoulos-cassiotou@europarl.europa.eu
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