Combatting the “demographic winter,” policies that support work-family balance, and promoting digital safety for children are among a policy toolkit for the European Parliament announced by the Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe (FAFCE).

“These elections come as Europe faces a critical moment,” Vincenzo Bassi, president of FAFCE, told Catholic News Agency. “The demographic winter threatens a long-term existential crisis for the continent, as without children we have no future.”

“Birth rates have plummeted and the pandemic of loneliness has spread across the continent,” Bassi noted in the press release.

“We need our European institutions to dedicate resources and human capital to understanding its root causes as well as investing in a demographic spring for the continent,” he continued.

“Without intergenerational solidarity, we can’t begin to meet the many challenges in front of us,” he noted. “This requires families and children to be prioritized, without whom there is no future.”