European Union

With European elections coming up in May 2019, you probably want to know how the European Union impacts your daily life, before you think about voting. In the latest in a series of posts on what Europe does for you, your family, your business and your wellbeing, we look at what Europe does for fathers.

When fathers take leave to look after their children, the whole family benefits. Research shows there is a link between the amount of days’ leave fathers take and their satisfaction with their relationship with their child. Increasing fathers’ uptake of child-related leave is also considered beneficial for children’s development and gender equality. Fathers’ involvement in childcare also affects women’s decisions to have children. Despite this, fathers took only 2 % of the leave available to either parent in the EU in 2010. The EU wants to change that and give men more opportunities to get involved in caring for their families.

© Christin Lola / Fotolia

Thanks to EU law, mothers and fathers in all EU countries have the right to at least four months of parental leave each. In principle, this leave period can be taken by either parent, except for one month, which is non-transferable, to encourage fathers to take up more parental leave. The EU also offers protection from discrimination on the grounds of taking parental leave, which is especially relevant for fathers who wish to spend more time with their family, but are worried about possible negative consequences for their career. EU law guarantees job protection during and after such leave, which means that fathers are entitled to return to the same or equivalent job.

The EU is working on improving the current situation. It is considering the introduction of paternity leave and four months of non-transferable leave, both paid at least at the level of sick pay.

Further information

• EPRS publication on Maternity, paternity and parental leave in the EU, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2017/599323/EPRS_BRI(2017)599323_EN.pdf
• European Commission’s Directorate General for Justice website, https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/justice-and-fundamental-rights/discrimination/gender-equality/equal-economic-independence_en
• European Commission’s Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion website, http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1311&langId=en

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The Austrian EU Presidency takes over on 1 July 2018, until the end of 2018.

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With European elections coming up in May 2019, you probably want to know how the European Union impacts your daily life, before you think about voting. In the latest in a series of posts on what Europe does for you, your family, your business and your wellbeing, we look at what Europe does for mothers.

Despite progress on gender equality, mothers are generally still the primary carers in the family. If they have young children, they are more likely to be unemployed than women without children, while the opposite is true for men. The EU is committed to gender equality and aims to narrow this gap. It also aims to improve leave provisions for both parents, so that they are better able to combine work and private life.

© sushytska / Fotolia

Thanks to EU law, all EU countries have common minimum standards for maternity leave: minimum 14 weeks, two of which are mandatory, paid at least as much as sick pay. Pregnant and breastfeeding workers are also entitled to protection against working conditions that would jeopardise their health and that of their babies, and against dismissal from the beginning of pregnancy to the end of their maternity leave. Each parent is entitled to at least 4 months’ parental leave. One month of this is in principle non-transferrable, with the aim of encouraging uptake by fathers. Under EU law, the rights to protection from discrimination and job security also apply to parental leave, meaning that mothers are entitled to return to the same or equivalent job when the leave ends. Before all these changes, some countries did not satisfy EU standards and had to improve their legislation.

The EU is now working on improving the status of mothers through new rules and enforcement of the existing ones on leave, especially regarding protection against dismissal. It is also encouraging countries to improve the accessibility and quality of early childhood education and care systems.

Further information

• EPRS publication on Maternity, paternity and parental leave in the EU, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2017/599323/EPRS_BRI(2017)599323_EN.pdf
• European Commission’s Directorate General for Justice website, https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/justice-and-fundamental-rights/discrimination/gender-equality/equal-economic-independence_en
• European Commission’s Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion website, http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1311&langId=en

The Council prolonged the mandates of EUPOL COPPS and EU BAM Rafah for 12 months until 30 June 2019.

EU ambassadors endorsed the provisional agreement reached on the energy union governance regulation.

Weekly schedule of President Donald Tusk 30 June - 8 July 2018

The 28 EU member states agreed on how to finance an additional €3 billion for the EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey.

President Donald Tusk presented the outcome of the European Council meetings of 28-29 June 2018.

EU ambassadors approved a provisional agreement on the European Electronic Communications Code and on a revised remit for the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communication (BEREC).

The EU is moving to boost its data economy by creating a single market for data storage and processing services.

The Euro Summit adopted a statement, following the meeting on 29 June 2018.

The European Council (Art. 50) adopted conclusions on the state of play of Brexit negotiations.

Big on promises and short on detail, the EU summit's focus on migration failed to tackle the fractured nature of asylum, leaving the prospect of internal border controls unanswered as leaders appeared to issue victory statements.

Despite previous promises to achieve results on eurozone reforms in June, EU leaders postponed until December an agreement on the backstop to wind down failing banks and did not include any date for starting discussions on a European deposit guarantee scheme.

European Commission president will meet US president Donald Trump before the end of July to try to "de-dramatise" the tense trade relations.

Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki will appear in the European Parliament to give his vision on the future of Europe, but will also face questions about a controversial judicial reform.

Europe sure has reached new lows if the recent arrival of thousands of often needy and desperate people could prompt the circus that was this week’s migration-dominated EU summit. It’s only a tiny taste of what faces this continent in the coming years.

Gergely Karácsony, a well-known figure of the Hungarian opposition, has called on the EU to stop funding Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s eurosceptic and populist policies with European funds. EURACTIV’s partner Euroefe reports.

Plenary session, Strasbourg

Source : © European Union, 2018 - EP

EU countries approved on Friday a plan to ban localisation restrictions on data, and create a single market for data storage and processing services. Under the new rules, to be applied within six months, it will be possible to store or process non-personal data in any EU country. National authorities will still be allowed to impose restrictions, when they can be justified on grounds of public security.