Strengthen a mutual sense of responsibility in European Societies

Summary of joint response to Commission consultation, October 2005

• Conference of European Churches - Church and Society Commission
• Churches´ Commission for Migrants in Europe (CCME)
• Ecumenical Youth Council in Europe (EYCE)
• Eurodiaconia

European churches, diaconal, migrant and youth organisations organisations believe that sustainable political measures are needed to safeguard quality of life and social protection for present and future generations and social cohesion. Societies need to find solutions in a network society with more availability of time for care for others with a new quality of relations between generations, between family life and work and in the integration of migrants. EU Member States should provide a legal framework to ensure more flexible working conditions for women and men, Allying local people and enterprises is one important way to reach a more family-friendly environment and to achieve a better work-life-balance. EU Member States must implement fundamental rights on equality between men and women.

We would encourage public authorities to extend the offers of practical help for families in cooperation with organisations of civil society. Financial benefits and advantages should be child-related, not parent-related. extensive child caring facilities or alternatively benefits for taking care of their own children must be provided. We would encourage EU Member States to assure better social protection and financial support for single parent households. European Churches, diaconal, migrant and youth organizations strongly support a “family friendly approach” in EU policies, meaning coherent policies taking into account the living conditions of families in all political areas.

It is essential that any policy on migration would take a holistic approach, considering the benefits or problems of migration for demographic developments, but also looks at the rights and needs of migrants, the challenges of migration for host societies and the effects which migration has on countries of origin. We would strongly welcome the intensification of EU cooperation with churches, diaconal organisations, youth organisations and other not-for-profit providers of voluntary services in civil society.

A sustainability perspective for the future does not only include capacity-building for an efficient labour market and the adaptation to technical progress, but also requires the procurement of values, the acquirement of social competences and the development of a responsible personality. The future task is to develop new participatory structures in European societies, which bring the potentials of all generations together. We regret, that the Green Paper itself partly reflects a negative image of elderly people (cf. p. 2 “entails for entrepreneurship and initiative in our societies”). If you want to strengthen the voluntary sector of a society, you have to strengthen a mutual sense of responsibility in European societies.

There needs to be a balanced distribution of care between families, social services and institutions, and the special contribution of not-for-profit service providers and their added value to civil society should be recognised by the EU Commission and EU Member States. European churches, diaconal, migrant and youth organisations are ready to contribute to a policy which cares about every single person with their distinctive gifts and needs.They are ready to contribute to strengthen a mutual sense of responsibility in European societies