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.
Dutch COFACE member Pro Parents are stressing the importance of strong safety standards and adequate conditions for women working during pregnancy. 50% of pregnant women in the Netherlands work in unsafe conditions. This shocking statistic was recently uncovered from research by Dr. Monique van Beukering. Dr van Beukering is a company doctor, scientific researcher and domain expert at Pro Parents Workplace Wellbeing.
For the past 7 years, Bulgarian COFACE member Tulip Foundation has been running its Sure Start programme. As part of this initiative, the foundation has funded and distributed several book series developed with the aim of preventing child sexual abuse by providing age-appropriate sexual health education for children at different ages with the involvement of their parents and/or trusted adults. Special attention is also paid to the risks online.
On the 4th of June, COFACE-Families Europe held a financial inclusion meeting to discuss key priorities in financial inclusion at the European level, learn about political developments and the “Reset Finance” campaign from Finance Watch, and share good practices through the work of COFACE’s Spanish member Isadora Duncan. The event gathered members and attendees from across Europe to address the pressing issues faced by families in Europe related to economics and finance.
The European Commission has released a new toolkit to help policymakers make the best use of EU funding to invest in social housing and accompanying services. This initiative addresses the urgent need for affordable and decent housing, which is crucial for social inclusion and enables greater participation in education and the labour market.
Following the call on 8th April 2024 for a European Long-Term Care Platform, 18 organisations signed a joint statement urging national governments and the European Commission to ensure open and transparent reporting mechanisms for the European Care Strategy, for its effective monitoring and implementation.
Belgian COFACE member, Ligue des familles, recently published its family barometer report which provides a wealth of information on the state and evolution of families in Belgium. The barometer is published every two years, giving families a crucial chance to have their voices heard. The 2024 edition reveals the scale of some of the difficulties faced by families, as well as some problems identified as early as 2015 that remain persistent.
