24/01/2007: Intervention of Mrs Ursula von der Leyen, German Federal Minister for the family, senior citizens, women and youth.
On the invitation of MEP, Marie Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou (EPP-ED, GR), President of the Intergroup on Family and Protection of Childhood, Mrs Ursula von der Leyen, German Federal Minister for the family, senior citizens, women and youth, presented the priorities of the German presidency in the fields of demography and the family during a meeting that was held on the 23rd of January in the EP in Brussels. The encounter gathered a great number of Members of the EP, representatives of the European Commission, the Economic and Social Committee, NGOs as well as researchers.
The Minister referred to the demographic changes in Europe and to the subsequent challenges at both economic and social level. Given this situation, she indicated that the promotion and the reinforcement of the family as a factor for economic prosperity and social solidarity would be one of the key priorities of the German Presidency. The objective is to create the necessary conditions in order to have families with more children and to increase the number of families within society. To this effect, the Presidency will give particular attention to the conciliation of family and professional life and in particular, to the strengthening of the role of the fathers and the sons in the context of the reinforcement of intergenerational relations. Mrs von der Leyen underlined that gender equality in the labour market depended greatly on the availability of flexible care facilities for dependent persons.
In order to attain the above objectives, Mrs von der Leyen indicated that she would propose, during the Spring European Council, the adoption of a "European Alliance for the Families". The goal of the Alliance will be to exchange ideas and experiences on how societies can adapt to families' needs as well as to elaborate concrete projects without putting into question the sharing of responsibilities between the EU and the Member States. To this end, the Alliance will establish a structured collaboration with all interested parties, including civil society, which will be pursued beyond the German Presidency. In addition, the Minister stressed the importance of collecting reliable data on the situation of families and of elaborating global studies which would help the needs of families to be better taken in to account in national and EU policies.
During the debate, Mr Buffetaut from the Economic and Social Committee presented a study which had been requested by the German Presidency, on "family and demographic change". Minister von der Leyen agreed with the conclusions of the study on the necessity of ensuring the continuity of family measures irrespective of Government changes, and the importance of exchanging best practices in the field of family policies. Following the fears expressed by many participants that children could become instruments in order to solve the demographic problem, Mrs von der Leyen said the goal of the Presidency was to give Europeans the will and courage to have children not because it would help increase birth rates, but because having a family is a source of happiness, solidarity and social cohesion. The Minister also agreed with several MEPs who regretted that the value of family has been undermined in public opinion and indicated that family policies should "give the possibility to live traditional values in a modern world".
On the invitation of MEP, Marie Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou (EPP-ED, GR), President of the Intergroup on Family and Protection of Childhood, Mrs Ursula von der Leyen, German Federal Minister for the family, senior citizens, women and youth, presented the priorities of the German presidency in the fields of demography and the family during a meeting that was held on the 23rd of January in the EP in Brussels. The encounter gathered a great number of Members of the EP, representatives of the European Commission, the Economic and Social Committee, NGOs as well as researchers.
The Minister referred to the demographic changes in Europe and to the subsequent challenges at both economic and social level. Given this situation, she indicated that the promotion and the reinforcement of the family as a factor for economic prosperity and social solidarity would be one of the key priorities of the German Presidency. The objective is to create the necessary conditions in order to have families with more children and to increase the number of families within society. To this effect, the Presidency will give particular attention to the conciliation of family and professional life and in particular, to the strengthening of the role of the fathers and the sons in the context of the reinforcement of intergenerational relations. Mrs von der Leyen underlined that gender equality in the labour market depended greatly on the availability of flexible care facilities for dependent persons.
In order to attain the above objectives, Mrs von der Leyen indicated that she would propose, during the Spring European Council, the adoption of a "European Alliance for the Families". The goal of the Alliance will be to exchange ideas and experiences on how societies can adapt to families' needs as well as to elaborate concrete projects without putting into question the sharing of responsibilities between the EU and the Member States. To this end, the Alliance will establish a structured collaboration with all interested parties, including civil society, which will be pursued beyond the German Presidency. In addition, the Minister stressed the importance of collecting reliable data on the situation of families and of elaborating global studies which would help the needs of families to be better taken in to account in national and EU policies.
During the debate, Mr Buffetaut from the Economic and Social Committee presented a study which had been requested by the German Presidency, on "family and demographic change". Minister von der Leyen agreed with the conclusions of the study on the necessity of ensuring the continuity of family measures irrespective of Government changes, and the importance of exchanging best practices in the field of family policies. Following the fears expressed by many participants that children could become instruments in order to solve the demographic problem, Mrs von der Leyen said the goal of the Presidency was to give Europeans the will and courage to have children not because it would help increase birth rates, but because having a family is a source of happiness, solidarity and social cohesion. The Minister also agreed with several MEPs who regretted that the value of family has been undermined in public opinion and indicated that family policies should "give the possibility to live traditional values in a modern world".
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