Here you will see news from Europe, from civil society, from research, highlighting emerging trends from local to international level relevant for families of today.
As part of the European Semester, the Joint Employment Report 2025 emphasises that participation in ECEC under three is improving but at a very low pace, calling for renewed efforts in line with the European Child Guarantee, the European Care Strategy and the Council Recommendation on ECEC.
All across Europe, COFACE members continuously work to contribute to positive outcomes for diverse types of families in a changing society, including single-parent households. Organisations such as La Ligue des Familles and Single Parents Foundation have both recently and respectively put a spotlight on concrete ways to support and empower single parents in Europe from Belgium to Hungary.
In November 2024, COFACE member organisation APF France launched its second season of the short TV programme "Tous en scène pour le Handicap" (All on Stage for Disability)”. After the success of its first season in 2023, 10 new artists and public figures have taken the stage to humorously share real-life stories experienced by members of APF France.
COFACE member, Fonds du Logement Wallonie (FLW) provides housing loans to large families for the creation of special accommodation for one or more parents aged 60 or over. Since 2022, this option has been available to all households (with or without children) meeting certain income conditions: total taxable income for the penultimate year, i.e. 2022 for an application submitted in 2024, may not exceed EUR 76,000, plus EUR 5,000 per dependent child.
After years of meticulous research and analysis, the culmination of the DigiGen project has resulted in the release of the first DigiGen book. This publication represents a wealth of knowledge distilled from the insights gathered throughout the project's duration. DigiGen particularly responded to the need for a focus on the everyday lives of children and young people from their perspective and not solely from the perspective of adults around them.
Ahead of the upcoming 2024 European elections, the European Commission published a guide on good electoral practices for persons with disabilities which was published in December 2023. The guide, as announced in the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030, presents an overview of good electoral practices from different Member States aiming to further improve participation of citizens with disabilities in the electoral process.
COFACE member FIAPAS were among the organisations involved in advocating for amendments to the Spanish Constitution. Article 49 of the constitution will be amended to align with the rights of persons with disabilities. The amendments were agreed on by President Pedro Sánchez and opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo.
Earlier this year, Sven Iversen, COFACE Vice President and Managing Director of Association of German Family Organisations (AGF) and Elena Gußmann, the project coordinator of the National Family Forum, presented the final publication “Support structures for families – objectives, access, services” to the Chairwoman of the ‘Family Affairs Committee’ in the Bundestag, Ulrike Bahr.
COFACE member, The Single Parents’ Centre (Egyszülős Központ) and the Find Yourself Association organised a joint conference on the theme of single parent families and children with special needs. The event's main themes were the situation of these families, issues of education and work, and the related personal stories.
