ELFAC, the European Large Families Confederation, calls the EU Commission to include “family” among the EU Pillars of Social Rights in sign of recognisement of its role and value.
Large families are disappearing and with them brothers, sisters, uncles, aunties, cousins. A whole strong and supportive network that cannot be replaced by State officers and sporadic friendship.
Families do not have a very good narrative in Europe nowadays: we read only of murders, violence and fighting. As if the majority of families living with their parents would not be safe there- even though statistic say they are- as if it would be better to have children without partners- even though studies show the dramatic effect of breakdowns- as though marriage would be a useless form of prevarication- even if data show the contrary.
Art. 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights reads: “The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.”, still there’s no room for “family” among the 21 European social pillars.
But we have also good news: family is still number one desire for youth, it is still the best place to be born and grow, the best form of protection as the recent experience of the Covid shut down has shown.
And there is another good news: although less in number, large families do exist and they are home of more than 1/4 of European children.
It proves that even in today’s society it is possible to have children, and even more than one. In time of demographic crises, of insecurity, aging and loneliness, helping and supporting those who want to have children is a common sense solution.
Is too expensive? We have a solution: sustain families with 5 and more children: they are not in Eurostat, they are not in domestic statistics, as they are too few: but they represent a large number of children and helping them means to spend very little with a huge trade-off.
No personal taxes for working parents, life insurance, housing support, benefits to buy transport, a large family card to ensure accessibility to cultural, sport and leisure activities. How much would it cost for an average of maximum 100.000 households?
ELFAC is made up of fathers and mothers that have a long experience of what is needed to raise a family: listen to us and support us. Our children are not ours but a precious common good for the whole society, the future workers, consumes, leaders.
Families , and large families in particular, are not a burden for the State but its most precious assets. Investing in them means to invest for the economic, human and social development of the community. Because Families are like diamonds… for ever.
