SOCIAL POLICY : MEPS HIGHLIGHT WAYS TO PREPARE FOR DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE.

• Position: Members of the European Parliament

Measures to prepare for demographic change should include guaranteed leave for parents, facilitated access to infertility treatment and adoption, and cutbacks in early retirement, say MEPs. An own-initiative report, drawn up by Francoise Castex (PES, France), was adopted at the European Parliament's Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, on 23 January (by 35 votes in favour, 11 against and one abstention). The debate and vote in plenary is scheduled for February.

FACILITATING MATERNITY

Although "maternity choices are very private decisions," birth-rate curves can be positively influenced "by a material and psychological environment favourable to families and children," underlines the report. The EP committee thus recommends that member states provide tax breaks for company creches and take measures against employers who directly or indirectly discriminate female workers who wish to have children. Member states should ensure that "work breaks for maternity and parental leave cease to constitute a penalty when women's pension entitlements are calculated," adds the EP. They suggest adding bonuses to pensions on the basis of the number of children parents have raised. The committee says that EU paternity law needs to be improved in terms of entitlement to paternal leave, and fathers' rights regarding the upbringing and care of children, particularly in case of separation or divorce, should be promoted.

COMBATING INFERTILITY

The committee is concerned about the...