Although aware that family policy remains a Member State responsibility, COFACE believes that the EU has a real influence on Europeans’ family lives, and that the European Institutions must therefore give proper weight to the family dimension of EU policies and initiatives. COFACE also stresses that the content of any family policy at any level must be primarily directed towards addressing families’ essential needs in terms of resources, services and time.
Whatever type of family they come from, most Europeans have been, are or will be part of “a family”, and opinion polls show that the family still comes at the top of the list of values. Also, the family is now more key than ever in shaping the identity and education of individuals, but also in forging attachment to society.
It therefore calls on the Commission to see that the family life of people living in the Union is taken into account in European decision-making so that all families can see themselves reflected in the shaping of Europe, and take an active part in it. That is a fundamental task of the European Union.
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