Semaines Sociales de France: Catholic family associations support minimum standards of family policy inside the EU
Within the framework of the Semaines Sociales de France, a meeting of Christians involved in social and political affairs in Lille/France, Johannes Fenz, the President of the Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe, declared for establishment of minimum standards while preserving national family policies in individual member states of the European Union. According to the Catholic Family Associations, member states should establish a binding percentage rate of their gross domestic products to be allocated to cash benefits for families. In addition, Johannes Fenz supported the idea of an ex lege examination of family tolerance in the context of activities of non-governmental organizations and material security preventing poverty related to materialization of wishes of children as "the smallest common denominator" in the European family policy.
Johannes Fenz stated, "to consolidate European cohesion, social
benefits for certain groups in the society inside the Union must be equable
as much as possible". The President of the Federation of Catholic
Family Associations in Europe set out possible goals of the European family
policy at a workshop of the Semaines Sociales de France entitled "Families
and Society". Besides the establishment of minimum standards, the
Catholic Family Associations stresses an ideological strengthening of
family values, perseverance of the subsidiarity principle in the family-political
decision-making process and linking of politics and civic society.
The Semaine Sociale de France accounts itself as a platform pooling active and engaged Christians, who are concerned with society-relevant issues. "Europe - on its route to a single European society" was the title of the 100th anniversary of the Semaine Sociale selected by its organizers. European top politicians, like Romano Prodi, Jacques Delors and Jean-Claude Juncker addressed with their speeches auditorium, which came to Lille on the 23rd - 26th September from all European regions.
Contribution of President Fenz as PDF(only in German)>>
101 Arguments for Sundays off
In
cooperation with the Austrian Catholic Family Association, the Federation
of Catholic Family Associations in Europe initiated a common campaign
aimed at propagation of the importance of Sundays as holidays.
101 arguments, taken from factual lives and reflected by defenders of Sundays off from the entire social spectrum, guarantee the possibilities that a common day off in the week brings to families.
The campaign was introduced in the framework of the Festival for Sunday off in the chateau Battyani in Kittsee/Austria on the Sunday, September 18th, 2004, held by the Alliance for Sundays off and the Austrian Union of Private Employees (Gewerkschaft der Privatangestellten Österreich - GPA).
The FAFCE presented this campaign also at the Semaines Sociales de France
in Lille. Many of the altogether 4,500 visitors were interested in the
101 Arguments Campaign for Sundays off.