This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only those who have signed it.
Europe faces significant demographic challenges such as declining
birth rates and an ageing society. These trends negatively influence
society, economy, regional development, pensions, health care and
labour market. Exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the “demographic
winter” also affects life expectancy. Additionally, although some
European governments adopted family- friendly policies, they did
not manage to mitigate the brain drain.
Monitor member States’ compliance with their social policy
commitments and relevant Council of Europe standards should be a
priority for the Assembly. In this context, the Assembly should
further examine demographic challenges in member States and make
specific recommendations with a view to improving the welfare benefits
system and providing appropriate financial support to families.
These recommendations could include:
mitigating the expected increase in health and long-term
care needs by investing in formal health and long-term care services;
preventing the brain drain from rural regions, including
through family-friendly policies;
recognising conciliation of professional and family life
as a guiding principle for pro-social cohesion policies;
protecting motherhood and the equality between men and
women in employment policies;
promoting a more child-friendly and family-friendly environment
in all spheres of society, including housing, child-care programmes,
working conditions and fiscal policies;
rethinking the organisation of the entire life-course
perspective of work, parenthood and retirement;
supporting a joint effort by the European institutions
and member States to strategically co-ordinate a cohesion policy
with the declared aim of closing (or at least narrowing) the persisting
wage differences between the core States and the periphery.
