European Observatory on Family Policy

Established in January 2022, the 'European Observatory on Family Policy' is a joint project of COFACE Families Europe and the Centre for Family Sciences. It aims to be a platform for identifying trends and priorities in family policy in EU Member States, developing innovative frameworks to analyse family policy, and bridging academics, policymakers and family organisations.

Webinar and report

On 15/11/2023, we organised our first webinar on which we presented the first report of this centre: 'Towards greater family policy integration across Europe'. This first Observatory report compares family policy in five EU countries: Belgium (Flanders), Poland, Finland, Germany and Italy.

Did you miss the webinar? You can check out the presentation delivered by Martino Serapioni.

COFACE-AGF expert meeting in Berlin

On 9 October 2024, the ‘European expert discussion on the role of the local level in the implementation of the European Child Guarantee’ took place in Berlin. Researcher Kristien Nys gave the presentation ‘Houses of the Child and Family coaches: integrated support for families in vulnerable situations’. She discussed the Houses of the Child and family coaching as illustrations of integrated working and what the preconditions for this are.

Kathleen Emmery and Jos Sterckx attended and further participated in a strategic exchange where the European Observatory of Family Policy was also presented. 

Factsheet on the Childcare gap in the European Union

The ‘childcare gap’ refers to a critical period following the birth of a child, during which new parents have exhausted their well-paid parental leave but have not yet become eligible to enroll their newborn in state-supported full-time formal daycare. Unable to access either well-paid leave or an affordable full-time facility, families are forced to rely on their own resources. 

This factsheet provides an overview of the current situation across the European Union, with a particular focus on the duration of the coverage gap in different countries, the specific features of daycare entitlements, and the associated parental costs. View the factsheet.