Moviment ta' Kana

PRESS RELEASE

FAFCE writes open letter to the elected MEPs for the 2024-2029 European Parliament legislature
Brussels, 10th June 2024

Today the Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe (FAFCE) has written an open letter to all elected MEPs after the 2024 European Parliament elections, signed by FAFCE President Vincenzo Bassi on behalf of its Member Organisations across the continent.

This follows the dissemination of a policy toolkit detailing the priorities for the new legislature, from the perspective of the family. The five areas highlighted were the demographic winter, family as an investment, work-family balance, protection of children, and integral ecology.

Open letter to all elected Members of the European Parliament (MEPs)

Dear Member,

Congratulations on your election! European citizens have entrusted you with the honour of representing them during this five-year legislature. This is a great responsibility for the Future of Europe and for European families.

On this occasion, on behalf of all the Member Organisations of the Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe (FAFCE), I would like to share with you some of our reflections and proposals for your mandate, that you will find in the toolbox that we have prepared to inspire your legislative activity.

1. Europe is engulfed by a demographic winter and it is a challenge to our next generations

Demographic challenges need to have at its core the principle of intergenerational solidarity, with a focus on the promotion of family networks as the antidote to loneliness: Families are the treasure of Europe. I would like to invite you to support, promote and ensure the renomination of a European Commissioner on Demography, entrusted with enough resources to achieve intergovernmental cooperation to solve demographic challenges. I would also like to propose to create and join a European Parliament Intergroup on “demography, work-family balance and next generations”, under Rule 35.

2. Families have a central role in the shaping of our societies and are an investment for the Future of Europe

Investing in families means investing in the future. Therefore, family policies should be considered investments in the States balance of accounts, not as costs. I would like to invite you to promote and take part in a high-level European reflection and within the European Parliament on the reform of the macroeconomic criteria for family policies.

3. Work-family balance should be key for equal treatment policies

Member States have competence on family policies and I believe that the principle of subsidiarity must always be respected for the best of the European Union. However, Europe can promote work-family balance by recognizing the right to disconnect and Sunday as a common day of rest in Europe. There are also four relevant Directives which can be reviewed to improve families´ work-life balance.

4. Our children are the future of Europe, and their protection must be a priority

Our children are our future. The new generations are facing increasing risks linked to the fast development of our times. Digitalisation is helping societies in many ways, but responsible use is needed to avoid destructive side-effects.

In this vein, we would like to propose to recognize the consumption of po*******hy as a public health issue, and to introduce it as a way of child sexual abuse in the Commission Proposal to Combat child sexual abuse Directive. Moreover, I invite you to support the European Child Shield Platform initiative, as its diverse members are doing a successful job in gathering data and proposing solutions to the physical and mental health consequences this issue has on our future generations.

Additionally, we invite you to support an international convention for the abolition of surrogacy, inspired by the Casablanca Declaration, as surrogacy is a form of human trafficking of children and exploitation of women.

Lastly, we would like to propose that you, as Member of the European Parliament, promote a truly inclusive institution, through the creation of a representative body within the European Parliament for people with disabilities and special needs.

5. The Creation is suffering, and families are key to the integral human ecology

There is no sustainability without families. As our last Spring Board meeting resolution recalls, “integral human ecology entails a holistic approach to the complexity of ecological problems, uniting the cultural, political, social and economic dimensions of this reality”. I invite you to have families at the centre of the solution to protect the Creation and to prevent catastrophic environmental degradation.

FAFCE would like to offer its experience in Europe and its ideas coming from the grassroots of our Member Associations all over the continent. FAFCE is keen to contribute to the solution of today’s challenges and to give voice to families. We will be happy to have a close cooperation during your mandate.

Our Brussels-based staff and myself remain at your disposal and wish you a fruitful mandate for families.

Best wishes,

Vincenzo Bassi, President of FAFCE

FAFCE
PRESS RELEASE

FAFCE has developed a policy toolkit for elected Members of the European Parliament and EU institutions for the new legislative period, starting next Monday after this weekend (6th-9th June) elections all over EU Member States. More than 400 million Europeans will have the opportunity to vote for their MEPs. FAFCE invites incoming parliamentarians to prioritise families in their policy-making for this new legislature.



The non-exhaustive list contains five key policy areas:



Demography


FAFCE invites candidates to support the renomination of a European Commissioner to continue the work of the current Commissioner Vice-President for Democracy and Demography, Dubravka Šuica, tasked with grappling with the demographic transition.



The Federation also encourages the creation of a cross-party parliamentary intergroup on "demographic challenges, work-family balance and next generations”.



FAFCE President Vincenzo Bassi says: "While this election is taking place towards the start of summer, we are freezing into a demographic winter. Birthrates have plummeted and the pandemic of loneliness has spread across the continent. We need our European institutions to dedicate resources and human capital to understanding its root causes, as well as investing in a demographic spring for the continent. Without intergenerational solidarity, we can't begin to meet the many challenges in front of us. This requires families and children to be prioritised, without whom there is no future."



2. Families as an investment



FAFCE urges candidates to consider EU investments in family policies as strategically investing in the future of Europe. The budget that Member States and, indirectly, the EU invest in family policies shall be considered as investment in human capital. A reflection of the Maastricht criteria is needed at the EU level.



FAFCE President Vincenzo Bassi says: "Policies that prioritise the family are also policies that prioritise the common good. The family, as the basic cell of society, is itself a service to the common good. When parents have a healthy work-life balance, children are able to access education and housing when they grow up, and when older persons are valued and cared for - these all serve the common good.



"Across Europe we see how invaluable family networks are to the flourishing of communities, particularly when we are in this pandemic of loneliness. By supporting and investing in them can we build the solidarity between generations that our future depends on. The family is not a cost, but the best possible investment that can be made."



3. Work-family balance



FAFCE calls for candidates to make employment work for families. It is currently within the competencies of the EU to improve living and employment conditions. FAFCE encourages candidates to rethink the core four Directives which currently regulate work-life balance to have a more family-friendly framework. It is worth recalling that SMEs are the basis of our economic tissue and state wealth and autonomy.



FAFCE President Vincenzo Bassi says: "It is possible to have a Europe where we workers are productive and also are able to enjoy valuable family time. We urge politicians to revisit the length of leave, particularly paternity leave, so that extensions and flexible arrangements are possible."



"Mothers and fathers need a balance of work and family life, for the sake of their children, themselves, and wider society. Pregnant mothers, in particular, should be granted legal protection and given the possibility to put their creativity and entrepreneurship to practice as well as motherhood."



"The right to disconnect must also be promoted, establishing Sunday as a common day of rest."



4. The protection of children



Digital safety, particularly for minors, has wide support across the political spectrum. FAFCE expresses the need for candidates to support and promote a European Parliament campaign to show the risks of exposure of children to p****graphy. The Federation also recommends action on the Shield Platform's proposals which include detailed scientific studies, public health policies, and spreading awareness of the deep damage of p****graphy in our societies.



FAFCE President Vincenzo Bassi says: "We invite candidates to commit to a robust response to this threat, which harms mental health, exacerbates addictions, and increases sexual violence. Europe can take a moral and legal lead on protecting minors online, establishing mandatory effective age verification, parental controls by default, and implement current CSAM rules. P****graphy is a threat to public health and we must work towards a complete ban on this destructive industry in Europe."



5. Integral ecology



The family is the antidote to the culture of waste and unrestrained consumption. Families can be empowered to educate on the environment and live sustainably. Based on the service of the common good and the respect of human dignity, families should be at the centre of the ecological transition. FAFCE warns against the cost of no-family in the context of the climate crisis.



The Federation wishes for more cooperation between the European Commission and family associations, the protection of the environment in line with the protection of families and future generations, and that the legislature prioritises resolving the cost of living crisis that impacts integral ecology as well as economic health.



FAFCE President Vincenzo Bassi says: “The problem is not the children but consumerism. There is no ecology without the person; no person without the family. Therefore, there is no ecology without the families and communities of families at the heart of the transition”.



“Crucial to the success of the ecological transition will be intergenerational solidarity, which requires a protagonisation of the family and networks of families. It is through these networks that we can combat the pandemic of loneliness and build a hopeful future. As more than 400 million Europeans vote in June for the next parliament, we remind political representatives that to protect the planet is to protect the family."

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FAFCE
PRESS RELEASE

FAFCE Spring Board Meeting | Integral ecology needs at its core the recognition of the family

Brno, the 15th of May 2024

Today, on International Day of Families, FAFCE passed a resolution on the centrality of the family in the ecological transition. Hosted by FAFCE's Czech Member organisation in Brno, the Spring Board Meeting's resolution connected ecology and human dignity with concerns regarding child poverty, the protection of minors and digital safety, and the demographic winter.

FAFCE's resolution emphasises a hopeful message. Unanimously approved, the resolution calls for "candidates to the European Parliament elections, European institutions and all national governments to put families at the centre. There is no possible protection of the environment without the protection of the family."

Vincenzo Bassi, FAFCE President, concluded: "The problem is not the children but consumerism. There is no ecology without the person; no person without the family. Therefore, there is no ecology without the families and communities of families at the heart of the transition".

Continuing, he says: "Crucial to the success of the ecological transition will be intergenerational solidarity, which requires a protagonisation of the family and networks of families. It is through these networks that we can combat the pandemic of loneliness and build a hopeful future. As more than 400 million Europeans vote in June for the next parliament, we remind political representatives that to protect the planet is to protect the family".

The adopted resolution is entitled Integral ecology needs at its core the recognition of the family. Recalling Papal encyclicals Dignitas Infinita and Laudato Si', the resolution underlines that the "human dignity of every human person prevails over and beyond any circumstance and context".

The Board also accepted a new full member organisation, Accoglienza della Vita (San Marino) which was already an observer in the Federation and a new member observer organisation within the Federation, from Spain: Asociación Católica de Propagandistas (ACdP). Founded in 1909, the ACdP is one of the oldest Catholic lay organisations in Spain, whose main pillar is the participation of Catholic laity in public life.

FAFCE Board Members also heard contributions and activity reports from member organisations across the continent and a contribution from members of the Shield Platform. The next ordinary Board Meeting will take place in Brussels, in November 2024.

Only days from the Holy Father's Spes Non Confundit Bull of Indiction of the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025, the members of FAFCE exchanged about their upcoming activities in 2025, especially on raising awareness on family networks and the demographic winter, because “it is urgent that responsible legislation on the part of states be accompanied by the firm support of communities of believers and the entire civil community in all its components".

Il-Malta Unborn Child Platform (MUCP), li huwa parti mill-Moviment ta’ Kana, ser jorganizza webinar ieħor fuq tema importanti ħafna li qed tinkwieta ħafna nies: ir-rabta bejn il-ħaxixa u t-tqala.

Dr. Anna Vella li hija d-Direttur Klinku ta’ Sedqa se tispjega l-effett tal-ħaxixa fuq it-tqala f’Webinar it-Tlieta 21 ta’ Mejju 2024 fis-6.30pm. Jekk trid tieħu sehem kulma għandke tagħmel huwa li tagħfas fuq din il-link
https://www.google.com/url?q=https://us04web.zoom.us/j/71265711161?pwd%3DyNa6JImiT4mh9ADsVrhwIiim3lneja.1&sa=D&source=calendar&usd=2&usg=AOvVaw1VlfLGONVFivjS58KQ9LnA ftit qabel is-6.30pm.

Ser isir irtir għall-persuni separati nhar is-Sibt 25 ta’ Mejju – Mt St Joseph Mosta. Dawk li jixtiequ jattendu huma ġentilment mitluba jirreġistraw online fuq dan il-link: https://parrocci.knisja.mt/forms/irtir-ghall-persuni-separati/