January 2010

Dear readers,
Our newsletter has gone electronic! We hope you’ll like the new look.
We hope you find it an informative read!

The year began for us by having to tell all coface’s members and past associates the sad news of the death of our past Secretary General, Anne-Marie Buysse on 4 January. For over fifteen years, Anne-Marie was a kingpin of coface, whose abilities and the countless cogently-argued documents she wrote were highly valued by all - family organizations and EU institutions alike. Her role in coface was mentioned at several points during her funeral service in Brussels, and since then both her family and the coface Secretariat have received a steady stream of heartfelt tributes to her.

Turning to EU activities last month - the stage is set, as they say in the theatre: the cast - actors, prompter, the public - is in place. It remains only to raise the curtain and – on with the show! But this is not playacting! And not all the actors are yet on stage.

The 750-odd members of the European Parliament may have been elected in June, but much wrangling and horse-trading has gone on before the parliamentary committees finally took shape. And the "Intergroups" have only just been finally set up.

Among these is one closest to our concerns – the "Intergroup on Family and Protection of Childhood" – which we are delighted to announce will be chaired by Ms. Anna Zaborska (SK/EPP). It also seems that the Intergroup’s officers will be politically much more balanced than in the previous legislature – and that is a welcome move. It is only right and proper that the defence and promotion of families in Community law should be supported by MEPs from across the political spectrum.

I cannot go any further without offering both praise and thanks to Ms. Marie-Panayotopoulos Cassiotou (who formerly represented the Greek large families organisation in coface) for the many Intergroup meetings she chaired in her five year term, working tirelessly to get families acknowledged in all common policies.

One element that loomed large on the Community “stage” in January was the appointment of a highly-cultured and refined European Council President. At a recent conference in Brussels, Mr Herman van Rompuy took a very positive stance on families and civil society.

Finally, we are awaiting a meeting with Mr. Laszlo Andor, the Hungarian Commissioner who is likely to have the social affairs portfolio, taking over from Mr. Vladimir Spidla who is returning to the Czech Republic. We had extremely good relations with Mr Spidla, whose attitude and actions with reference to us during his tenure were decisive, and he goes with our heartfelt thanks. We are also seeking meetings with the other Commissioners in charge of issues of concern to us: Consumer Affairs, Health, Services, Education, etc.

So here we finally stand with a number of partners for our activities in place.

Our job now is to play our role in Brussels, our national capitals and provinces! It is what our member organizations do that determines how effective we are; we must keep up the representations to our national MPs, our MEPs, and our respective governments.

The Community dialogue between civil society – of which we are privileged to be a big part - and the EU institutions will be what we make it at all levels and in all our family organizations’ countries.

Yves Roland-Gosselin
President
  

European Year for Combating poverty and Social Exclusion launched
The European Commission and the Spanish Presidency launched the Year of Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion at a high level conference at the Ministry of Health and Social Policy in Madrid on 21 January. The opening conference in Madrid was addressed by Spanish PM Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Commission President Jose Manuel Durão Barroso, and Spain’s Health and Social Policy Minister Trinidad Jiménez (in the middle). The EU’s Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Commissioner, Vladimir Špidla outlined the key events for EY2010... Read more


"Focus Weks"
Local and national events concerning the EY2010 will be run in each Member State. Focus Weeks will be held throughout Europe (see the list). National NGOs will be able to join in with the activities coordinated by the National Implementing Bodies (NIB). COFACE urges all its members to get actively involved in this important European Year. It is still not too late! You can get involved either through your NIB or by giving poverty and social exclusion a higher profile in your planned activities.

You could, for instance: put out a press release, give a press conference (to highlight the plight in your country), publish an article on your website with logos and links to the Commission and coface official pages, interview or get a speak-out account from a family vulnerable to poverty to publish in your magazine/newsletter, show a film about this issue followed by a discussion, stage a concert with musicians at risk of marginalisation, a sporting event (fun run, etc.), a breakfast/lunch with people experiencing poverty, an exhibition of photographs, a clothing/toy collection,...

Please contact Hayet Zeghiche, EU2010 Project officer hzeghiche@coface-eu.org or Ana Pérez Méndez, Communication officer aperez@coface-eu.org for more details. We’ll be delighted to help you put all your ideas into practice! :-)


New Commission 2010-2014
After two weeks of hearings of the Commissioners-designate, the European Parliament will move to its final vote on 9 February in Strasbourg, confirming the appointments of the new Commission for 2010-2014. The future Commissioners have set out their stalls for their next term. We take a closer look at some of the Commissioners whose portfolios touch most closely on coface’s concerns... Read more


Spanish Presidency: protecting victims of domestic violence
The Spanish Presidency put forward draft legislation on 7 January to protect victims of domestic violence in the EU. If the proposal becomes law, a Member State will be able to recognize and enforce victim protection measures taken in another Member State. The Presidency also wants Member States to do two specific things... Read more 

 

coface’s priorities for 2010

coface has given a response to the EU Commission public consultation on the Future EU 2020 Strategy
While welcoming the consultation document as a good basis for discussion and the opportunity to contribute to the Commission strategy, coface stresses the need to take several key points into account.

The strategy fails to sufficiently address inequalities and the distribution of wealth. Inequalities can be tackled only through education and integration into employment. Many other things must also be addressed, including the creation of quality jobs, the redistribution of wealth, continued funding of social protection systems, quality, accessible and affordable services for families. Growth in itself will not solve the problems of inequality, social cohesion and poverty. Proactive policies are needed to ensure that everyone reaps the benefits of sustainable development and growth.
Finally, coface stresses the need for periodic consultations to clarify the meaning and practical aspect of generic terms like innovation, growth, sustainable development and productivity... Read COFACE's response


coface has given a response to the EU Commission public consultation on the preparation of a new EU Disability Strategy 2010-2020
coface’s response first supports the European Disability Forum’s (EDF) proposal for a European Pact on equal rights for persons with disabilities. It then calls for the new strategy to acknowledge the family dimension of disability and disability policies. This means mainstreaming this issue across relevant policies, stronger cooperation and coordination between Commission services, and consistent involvement of organizations representing families of people with disabilities.
Finally, coface calls for a special focus on people with severe disabilities and/or complex needs...  Read COFACE's response

coface’s recommendations on pharmacovigilance
Ahead of the European Parliament's first reading of the "pharmacovigilance" section of the Pharmaceutical Package directive, coface wants to underline the importance of pharmacovigilance in the best interest of families who have special health needs and unique health vulnerabilities. Medicines and a quality, reliable pharmacovigilance system are essential in that respect, as exposure to a drug with serious side effects can have disastrous consequences for families and in many cases are shared by all family members following the same treatment. Furthermore, health related expenditures represent a significant portion of a family's budget, especially families with chronically ill children or parents... Read more

Seminar on the impact of the crisis on Member States’ ability to tackle the demographic challenges
coface has been invited by the European Commission to contribute to a seminar on the impact of the crisis on Member States’ ability to respond to the challenges of demographic change to be held on 22 February 2010 through the European Alliance for Families. More specifically, coface has been asked to contribute to a workshop on promoting better conditions for families, by addressing the issue: how might the financial crisis impact fertility and Member States’ support for families? To prepare this properly, we would like input from our members on the situation in their respective countries for no later than 10 February 2010. Please send your contributions to Céline Simonin, Policy officer csimonin@coface-eu.org

coface has a new German organisation: Welcome, Arbeitsgemeinschaft der deutschen Familienorgansationen!
The German association AGF, die Arbeitsgemeinschaft der deutschen Familienorganisationen e.V. (The Commission of German Associations for Family Affairs), advocates for the rights and interests of families from a political and social point of view. The commission's goal is to reduce financial and structural disadvantages that confront families and form a family friendly and family oriented social environment... More

"Access Champions" - Unapei, France
Unapei is marking its half-centenary with an "Access Champions" competition for prize-winning measures to make towns and cities more accessible and socially inclusive for people with learning disabilities. Access is not a well-understood concept in relation to people with learning disabilities. Unapei’s member associations’ daily job is building partnerships that let people with intellectual disabilities take a greater part in society and have more of a social life that reflects their needs and differences. The aim with Access Champions is to up the profile of what they are doing and show that today’s exception can become tomorrow’s norm. More

Equality code - Uncear, Spain
In a bid to increase equality in society, the economy and the world of work, Uncear (Unión de Centros de Acción Rural) has developed an equality code under the Community Equal Initiative out of a consensus between business leaders and the IGUAL-FAMME development groups. The overarching aim is to close the gender gap, especially in the workplace... More 

"Questions about school" campaign - Ligue des Familles, Belgium
Ligue des Familles will be launching its “Questions about school” campaign on 6 February. The campaign is the brainchild of a mix of associations who want to bring their diversity to bear on a free and frank approach to tackling issues of importance for today and tomorrow. On the agenda are five workshops on: the point/success/choice/time/team... More

Newsletters and members' magazines

Living conditions in 2008, 17% of EU27 popupation at risk of poverty. Higher risk of poverty among children and elderly (Eurostat, 18/01/10)

EU Commission report on Equality between Women and Men 2010 
The report shows that there is a positive trend towards a more gender-equal society and labour market, yet gender gaps persist, mainly to the disadvantage of women. It stresses that the current economic crisis has raised concerns that the achievements in gender equality are at risk and that the effects of the recession will put greater pressure on women. However, the European Commission also argues that these times of crisis offer a unique opportunity for change, given that gender equality is a precondition for sustainable growth, employment, competitiveness and social cohesion... Read more


Report of the Network of Independent Experts on Social Inclusion: Homelessness and housing exclusion
This report summarises the main findings from an analysis undertaken by the Network of experts in 2009. The experts analysed the "social and economic inclusion of homeless people" and the "access to adequate housing" in their respective country... Read more


Report Eurofound on Living conditions, social exclusion and mental well-being
Over the past two decades, the concept of social exclusion has increasingly replaced the concept of poverty within the EU policy discussion on social vulnerability and disadvantage. It has been shown that unequal access to the labour market and poor living conditions negatively affect social participation and social contact, which in turn impact on the quality of life of Europe’s citizens and lead to a sense of social exclusion... Read more


UNAF brochure "Mentor a local child"
Local mentoring is a way to forge links between two families focused on a child’s development. It is not about giving money, or adoption: local mentoring is about supporting a child or teenager and helping them to grow and fulfil their potential... Read more

Citizenship, Youth in Action, Lifelong Learning,... List of European programmes

Peer review: Germany’s "Mother and Child" Foundation for the protection of pregnant women in emergency situations
coface took part in a peer review on Germany’s "Mother and Child" Foundation in Berlin on 21 and 22 January 2010. Peer reviews are a key plank of the "Open Method of Coordination” on social protection and social inclusion. They widen the debate on social protection and inclusion policies in the EU Member States and foster mutual learning by assessing whether a "good practice" in one Member State might be effective in and transferable to others... More


Early Childhood Intervention Project update meeting
coface was invited to participate at the Early Childhood Intervention Project update Meeting in Ljubljana, Slovenia, from the 21st to the 23rd of January 2010 organized by the European Agency For Development In Special Needs Education. coface emphasized the family approach as the key element for the success of an early intervention process, families being one of the main contexts where children develop and learn... More


Families and responsible consuming
Outgoing DG SANCO Commissioner Meglena Kuneva was guest speaker at a lunchtime meeting organized by the European Women’s Forum on 18 January. coface and Gezinsbond also attended and put a series of questions to the Commissioner, including on child-appropriate labelling, and the role of public procurement in bringing about a new model of production of sustainable, repairable and recyclable goods... More

All the meetings

Comments and/or suggestions: aperez@coface-eu.org
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coface aisbl
Confederation of Family Organisations in the European Union
Londenstraat 17, Rue de Londres 17 B-1050 Brussels
Tel: +32 2 511 41 79   Fax: +32 2 514 47 73   Skype: coface-aisbl
E-mail: secretariat@coface-eu.org   Web: www.coface-eu.org


coface is a pluralistic organisation, at the heart of civil society, which aims at promoting family policy, solidarity between generations and the interests of children within the European Union. coface advocates a policy of non-discrimination and of equal opportunities between persons and between family forms, and specifically supports policies aiming at equality between women and men.

coface links together general and single-issue national family organizations. It currently has more than 50 member organizations across 21 Member States of the European Union. As such, it gives a voice to many millions of parents and children.