Independent MEP Marian Harkin today (10 April) called on the European Commission to "urgently come to a final decision and declare 2014 the European year for reconciling work and family life".

Harkin noted that a "significant pan-European grassroots campaign has coalesced around this idea, and with one third of the year already behind us, it's high time for the Commission to make a final call for 2014".
"Thanks to a Written Declaration spearheaded by myself and three other MEPs, the European Parliament has already formally backed the idea, so I hope and expect that the Commission will shortly follow suit," the Ireland North & West MEP added.

"I have been working closely with COFACE (the Confederation of Family Organisations in the EU), whose many dedicated and hardworking member organisations, including the Irish Countrywomen's Association, have backed this idea from day one," Harkin said.

"The policy and political reasons for doing so are compelling: the reconciliation of work and family life - arguably the cornerstone of modern European society - is getting more and more difficult, especially in the context of demographic change and the current financial and economic crisis.

"Nowadays, many people experience that the demands of their profession are immense and that the boundaries between work and family life are blurred. There are often increasing performance requirements and availability demands around the clock, weekend work, shift work and the increasing weekly hours of work. These problems concern both highly qualified knowledge workers and low-wage jobs.

"It is therefore urgent and timely for us as politicians to take actions in order to support reconciliation measures and help people to improve balancing work and family life," Harkin concluded.

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Background: Since 1983, the EU has annually declared a "European year" on a specific subject to encourage debate and dialogue within and between European countries.

The aim is to raise awareness of certain topics, encourage debate and change attitudes. During many European years, extra funding is provided for local, national and cross-border projects that address the Year's special topic.