A report just released by the European bishops calls on the European Union (EU) to focus on what they consider to be the real needs of families in Europe and further calls on the EU to respect national marriage laws of the member states. The report by the Commission of the European Bishops' Conference (COMECE) entitled "Proposal for a Strategy of the European Union for the Support of Couples and Marriage" focuses on two fundamental problems that present "high emotional, social and financial costs to European society:" the continuing increase in divorce rates and the difficulty faced by young Europeans who decide to raise children.
The report says that in the field of matrimonial matters, "[national] diversity has to be respected and family law is and must remain the sole competence of member states." The bishops found that some legislative proposals of the European Commission for increased cross-border legal cooperation come close to encroaching on the exclusive right of member states to make their own family policy. Moreover, EU policy in the areas of employment, social protection and poverty reduction ignore the importance of marriage altogether, they said.
In the area of employment and social protection, the bishops make the case that "loving and stable couples are a social capital for all Europeans" and are "founts of mutual trust in society" as well as "the preferable instance for bringing up children" and charge the EU with ignoring this. They call for EU assistance in sharing European best practices regarding divorce prevention programs such as communication training for high-risk couples, especially those dealing with pressures of dual employment and separation due to increased geographic mobility.
The bishops also took issue with the EU's assumption that a dual-income family is "a new social norm" among European citizens, arguing that some dual earning households exist primarily for financial constraints. For that reason, they said, EU should support and not discriminate single-earner families. Staying at home to care for one's children is "an important and welcome contribution to the well-being of all citizens of the European Union," according to the report, which cites studies showing family break up as an important cause of poverty.
As for cross-border legal cooperation in family matters, the bishops warn that the EU's legislative proposals exceed EU mandates by recognizing de facto unions and registered partnerships. This could prematurely "entail common recognition of such unions in a situation where member states do not provide recognition for the legal aspects of such unions" and dangerously undermine the importance of marriage as endowing parents with social and legal responsibilities which otherwise do not exist, they said.
David Fieldsend, from the Brussels-based CARE Europe, said, "The Bishops' paper is a timely and well-researched contribution to the debate that is at last being aired at the EU on family matters. For too long talk of the family has been taboo while all sorts of fringe agendas were embraced with enthusiasm. Now the demographic crisis has forced the EU's leaders to sit up and take notice."
