Brussels, 18/10/2010 (Agence Europe) - Where is the family dimension in EU policies? That was the central question put at the European Family Conference, held in Brussels at the end of last week (see EUROPE 10237).
Graced with the presence of Her Majesty Queen Paola of Belgium and with European Social Affairs, Employment and Social Inclusion Commissioner Laszlo Andor also present, the conference delivered five key messages to Europe: (1) public policies should provide families living in the EU with the services and entitlements necessary for a harmonious family life; (2) there should be sufficient, appropriate, quality care provision and services, close-to-home and home help services for people in need of care in order to preserve the wellbeing and quality of life of all dependent persons and their families; (3) household consumer protection should be envisaged from a perspective of the family cell being a “consumer unit”, with specific needs, such as families confronted with over-indebtedness, malnutrition; poor housing conditions etc; (4) information and communication technology should act as an “enabler” of increased social inclusion for families; (5) the support of responsible parenting is key to the full realisation of the child's development and education. For further information (video testimonies, interactive workshops, etc), go to http: //coface-eu.org/en/European-Year-2010/for-COFACE/EU-Family-Conference (G.B./transl.rt)