EU ministers adopt recommendations on early childhood care and long-term care

The Council adopted two recommendations on care: one on early childhood education and care and one on affordable high-quality long-term care.

Everyone, from young to old, has a right to affordable, high-quality care. Investing in care makes economic sense and deserves our full attention as society ages.

Marian Jurečka, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labor and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic

Barcelona’s goals for 2030

The Council Recommendation on early childhood education and care encourages Member States to become more involved in these services and is in line with the original “Barcelona objectives”, set by the European Council in 2002. It is recommended that:

• at least 45% of children under the age of three participate in early childhood education and care. (Specific targets apply to Member States which have not yet achieved the 2002 targets);
• at least 96% of children between the ages of three and the age at which compulsory primary education starts must participate in early childhood education and care.

The Recommendation also covers qualitative aspects such as the staff/children ratio and the size of the groups and the territorial distribution of the care centres. As regards affordability and accessibility, Member States are encouraged to limit parents’ out-of-pocket expenses and to offer solutions to parents with atypical working hours that allow them to better reconcile work, family and private life.

Access to affordable, high-quality long-term care

The long-term care recommendation proposes measures to make care more accessible, affordable and of better quality. It recommends, inter alia, bridging territorial gaps in the availability of and access to long-term care, particularly in rural and depopulated areas, ensuring compliance with quality criteria and standards in all care settings at long-term and promote autonomy and independence life.

Social and economic benefits

Increased use of early childhood education and care facilitates women’s participation in the labor market. It also improves children’s social and cognitive development and their academic success. This is especially important for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Investing in long-term care leads to job creation and, by easing the burden of family care, it frees up human resources that can be used in other sectors. Long-term care enables people to live in dignity and can strengthen gender equality: caring responsibilities keep millions of women out of the labor market or keep them in part-time jobs. Similarly, caring responsibilities can negatively impact women’s wages and old-age pensions.

Context and next steps

On 7 September the European Commission presented the European Care Strategy. The strategy was accompanied by two draft Council recommendations: one on early childhood education and care and one on affordable high-quality long-term care.

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