Major interpellation - 2017 Observance of the International Day of the Family: promoting the role of parents in safeguarding good-quality education for their children
21.4.2017
Major interpellation for written answer with debate O-000030/2017/rev.1
to the Commission
Rule 130b
Beatrix von Storch, Daniela Aiuto, Kristina Winberg, Joëlle Bergeron, on behalf of the EFDD Group
Since 1993, the International Day of the Family (IDF) has been observed on 15 May every year[1], reflecting the importance the community attaches to the family as the natural and fundamental group unit of society and its entitlement to protection by society and the state[2].
The 2017 observance focuses in particular on the role of the family in promoting early childhood education and lifelong learning opportunities for children and youth, the importance of all caregivers in the family (father, mother, grandparents and siblings) and the importance of parental education for the welfare of children.
Parents, and often grandparents, play a vital role in safeguarding good-quality education, starting in early childhood and continuing throughout their children’s and grandchildren’s life.
1. Does the Commission intend to develop measures to assist Member States when implementing the 2017 IDF guidelines?
2. Will the Commission coordinate Member States’ action in order to recognise the important work of family members as caregivers, instead of only promoting public care structures?
3. Would the Commission, in collaboration with the Member States, assess the possibility of developing measures to highlight the value of the ‘invisible work’ of the family in promoting early childhood education (by the father and the mother), and its contribution to the Member States’ GDP?