Socialists welcome EU assurances on childcare

The Party of European Socialists has welcomed a pledge from commission president José Manuel Barroso promising to step up the pressure on member states to meet EU-wide childcare targets.

In a written declaration forwarded to Barroso in March, PES employment and social ministers argued that the EU was in danger of failing to meet a series of childcare targets set at the Barcelona summit in 2002.

The targets - childcare by 2010 for at least 90 per cent of children between 3 years old and the mandatory school age and at least 33 per cent of children under 3 years of age - are, according to the socialist ministers, “a long way” from being achieved.

“We believe there is a need to inject a sense of urgency into Europe’s efforts to achieve the Barcelona childcare targets,” said the ministers in the declaration, adding that “we regret that the EU, as a whole, is a long way from meeting those targets.”

The PES declaration urged Brussels to monitor implementation of the targets across EU member states, “and to come forward with proposals for achieving the targets.”

Replying in a letter addressed to PES president Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, Barroso said the commission was “fully committed to the development of childcare services.”

“The commission has shown on many occasions its determination to support the achievement of the Barcelona targets on childcare,” said Barroso in the letter seen by theParliament.com.

The commission chief says he is aware that progress on the agreed childcare targets remains slow, and that the commission, alongside other initiatives, has asked member states to focus on “increasing the availability and affordability of quality childcare in line with their own national targets.”

“[The commission’s] commitment was recently voiced by [employment, social affairs and equal opportunities] commissioner Vladimir Špidla in a statement on childcare, made during the plenary sitting of the parliament on March 13,” says Barroso.

That statement, during a childcare debate initiated by the PES group, revealed that the commission intends to produce a communication in 2008 to address various ways to increase the availability, quality and affordability of childcare.

“This will be an important stimulus to member states to meet the Barcelona targets,” says Barroso.

Responding to Barroso’s letter, Rasmussen said that “the PES will continue to press the European commission to come forward with the strongest possible proposals for achieving the EU’s commitments on childcare.”

Hungarian socialist MEP, Zita Gurmai added that he PES childcare campaign expressed the wishes and needs of families throughout Europe.

“Many European governments are looking at ways of expanding childcare but we also need a strong push from Europe.”

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