26/10/2006: The Intergroup on Family and Protection of Childhood met today in Strasbourg under the chairmanship of Mrs. Marie Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou (EPP-ED, GR) to discuss the situation of lone parent families in the EU. The Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Mr Vladimir Spidla, was the keynote speaker of this event in which MEPs, NGO representatives and social partners participated.
The purpose of the meeting was to highlight the socio-economic difficulties faced by lone parent families, which represented in 2001 4.3 million families in the EU-15, as well as to address the potential impact of lone parenthood on the Commission's management of the demographic problem, the conciliation of family and professional life and the labour market.
During his intervention, the Commissioner indicated that the Commission would publish by the end of the year a study on lone parent families which would pay particular attention to the fact that 90% of lone parent families are headed by women. Mr Spidla explained that existing statistics on the extent of lone parenthood are not always a reflection of the reality since on the one hand, there are differing views as to the definition of lone parent families, and on the other hand, the data that has been collected does not cover all the aspects of this family situation. Although sometimes some lone parent families can take advantage of their situation to obtain fiscal, social and other types of advantages, the fact remains that these families are particularly vulnerable to social exclusion and poverty - it is estimated that one out of four lone parent families is poor according to EU criteria. The Commissioner underlined that support for lone parents could not exclusively rely on economic benefits but depended also on broader measures which would deal with the fact that lone parents' poverty is not only economic but also social, cultural and educational.
Mr Spidla pointed out that the Commission, while abiding by its neutral approach to family policies, would study closely the situation of lone parent families and present the Member States' best practices in this field with the purpose of proposing further measures relating both to the integration of these families within society and the labour market as well as to the well-being of children.
During the debate, MEPs and NGO representatives highlighted in particular the problems of exclusion and social integration of these families and their children. Most of them expressed their disappointment with the fact that the Commission does not indicate how to prevent and resolve the phenomenon of lone parent families but merely monitors its development.
The purpose of the meeting was to highlight the socio-economic difficulties faced by lone parent families, which represented in 2001 4.3 million families in the EU-15, as well as to address the potential impact of lone parenthood on the Commission's management of the demographic problem, the conciliation of family and professional life and the labour market.
During his intervention, the Commissioner indicated that the Commission would publish by the end of the year a study on lone parent families which would pay particular attention to the fact that 90% of lone parent families are headed by women. Mr Spidla explained that existing statistics on the extent of lone parenthood are not always a reflection of the reality since on the one hand, there are differing views as to the definition of lone parent families, and on the other hand, the data that has been collected does not cover all the aspects of this family situation. Although sometimes some lone parent families can take advantage of their situation to obtain fiscal, social and other types of advantages, the fact remains that these families are particularly vulnerable to social exclusion and poverty - it is estimated that one out of four lone parent families is poor according to EU criteria. The Commissioner underlined that support for lone parents could not exclusively rely on economic benefits but depended also on broader measures which would deal with the fact that lone parents' poverty is not only economic but also social, cultural and educational.
Mr Spidla pointed out that the Commission, while abiding by its neutral approach to family policies, would study closely the situation of lone parent families and present the Member States' best practices in this field with the purpose of proposing further measures relating both to the integration of these families within society and the labour market as well as to the well-being of children.
During the debate, MEPs and NGO representatives highlighted in particular the problems of exclusion and social integration of these families and their children. Most of them expressed their disappointment with the fact that the Commission does not indicate how to prevent and resolve the phenomenon of lone parent families but merely monitors its development.
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