The Assembly believes that family policies are not limited
to financial benefits alone. Governments must remain conscious of
the impact of social policies on families and work towards phased
co-ordination of their policies to make them more “family-friendly”.
To this end, the Assembly encourages the member states of the Council
of Europe to give consideration to the following:
6.1 promoting men’s involvement
in, and solidarity with, family life and household duties, with
due regard for the principle of parents’jointresponsibility for the upbringing
and development of their children: awareness-raising campaigns and
positive legal measures relating to a new family culture should
be promoted in order to enable fathers to assume their responsibilities
to their children;
6.2 encouraging stable relationships, according to Article
12 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 5) and to
other social arrangements based on reciprocity, equality and freedom;
6.3 providing families with adequate support, when necessary,
on the ground that the family is a social asset which generates
important benefits for society;
6.4 paying particular attention to young people’s access to
stable jobs, affordable housing and other types of social support
so that they are able to start a family and raise children in a
safe and caring environment; developing social housing programmes
especially targeted at young couples and large families;
6.5 supporting intergenerational relationships within the
family: consideration should be given to older people who support
their families financially and/or in other ways, for instance by
looking after their grandchildren. Provision should be made not
only for childcare, but also for the care of frail elderly people on
the grounds that high-quality, affordable and reliable facilities
and services make it possible to reconcile gainful employment, care
responsibilities and family life;
6.6 tackling social exclusion, disruptions and poverty, particularly
of single-parent families, families at risk, large families and
migrant families. Discussions on different family models should
focus on the consequences divorce has for children, including the
risk of poverty, school failure, unemployment and other forms of
social exclusion;
6.7 promoting the right to family reunification of third-country
nationals lawfully residing on the territory of a Council of Europe
member state, as recognised by several international and European
legal instruments, so as to facilitate their social, economic and
cultural integration with positive effects on the host society;
6.8 focusing on children in families which are disadvantaged
or dysfunctional as a consequence of family breakdown: the increased
risk of poverty among children in single-parent families is found
to be reinforced by disadvantages at school, as well as poorer health
and housing problems. These children are more likely to be exposed
to risks that jeopardise their educational achievement, which then
affect their future prospects;
6.9 reconciling work and family life by promoting family-friendly
workplaces for women and men: quality childcare, flexible work arrangements,
suitable forms of parental leave and other types of care that are
necessary, not only for young children but also for other family
members as a result of disability, old age or illness, and other
modes of financial support by means of allowances or tax relief,
remain critical. These measures must address both women and men,
as current flexible employment schemes have a higher take-up rate
among women, which in reality perpetuates the gender divide with
regard to paid and unpaid work and impacts on women’s decisions
to have children or not;
6.10 providing families with high-quality services at affordable
prices, especially through public and non-profit-making structures:
parents need to have access to affordable childcare of various kinds,
such as all-day preschool, after-school care for children of school
age and for children with special needs, in particular sick and
disabled children. Integrated childcare services, such as childcare
at home and at the workplace should also be further encouraged;
6.11 engaging the private sector, in terms of corporate social
responsibility and adapting legislation by introducing flexible
working arrangements for both the father and the mother, to facilitate
a more balanced sharing of roles so as to relieve women of the double
burden of employment and domestic duties, while encouraging men
to take an active part in family life.
