Neue Familienpolitiken für den demografischen Wandel

Für das Thomas More Institute untersucht Emilie Gouger in einem Arbeitspapier von Mai 2007 die bestehenden Familienpolitiken auf europäischer Ebene sowie die die Reformen, die in diesem Bereich erwogen werden. Sie schlägt zwei Wege vor, die man angesichts der demografischen Herausforderung einschlagen könnte.

In her 
paper ‘Responding to the demographic challenge: strengthening European family policy’, Gouger explains that ageing populations in Europe will have an inevitable impact on the labour market, productivity, and economic growth across the EU, as well as on social protection and public finance in member states. 

According to the author, in order to address this situation, Europe must not only develop a family policy that encourages a more dynamic birth rate, but also adjust national family policies to address the recent generational changes in European societies.

Gouger reminds us that that even though initiatives in this area have been launched by the Commission, the Council, and Parliament, it is impossible to 
discern a common and coherent European family policy.

Describing the Commission’s indirect action in this field, Gouger argues that Commission policy does not offer many innovative solutions regarding financial support to students, which is mainly due to the Commission’s lack of competencies in family policy itself. The Parliament does not have much decision-making power in this area either. Finally, the German presidency appears to favour a new European family policy, and requested that the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) draw up an exploratory opinion on ‘The family and demographic change’ in 2006, which may represent the beginnings of a family policy at EU level.

Faced with the inequality of measures taken at Community level, which for Gouger renders the development of a European family policy „unrealistic“, she thus concludes by suggesting two solutions that the Union should follow in order to address current demographic and economic challenges.

Firstly, EU family policy should favour the family unit rather than the individual, namely by promoting the conciliation of professional and family life. Secondly, it should re-evaluate its system of financial aid to students, namely its European mobility programmes.