4liberty.eu Review

Croatia has been on quite a journey – from the initiation of its European Union accession process in 2000, to its 10th anniversary celebration as a full EU member in 2023. The accession process involved overcoming historical challenges, such as transitioning from socialism, defending against aggression, and addressing issues related to war crimes and reconciliation.

Examining the past 20 years of the European Union is no easy feat, nor is evaluating the success of the recent members. Two decades is not enough, but it is sufficiently long to give a good overview of where the EU stands today and what lessons can be drawn from the integration process.

We are pleased to present the eighteenth issue of 4liberty.eu Review, titled “Reinventing Family Policies in CEE?”. This time, our primary focus is on social and family policies in the region, their shortcomings, and much needed reforms.

Despite a rather grim picture, we remain hopeful that decision-makers will take notice of available solutions and good practices, and implement policies that are much more inclusive, facts based, and accessible – to ensure that the future of the family in the region becomes bright.

The functioning of all public services depends on it; hence completely different infrastructures are needed for a hundred people and 500 million people. Meanwhile, the fundamental demands of young people and the elderly differ.

At the moment, according to statistics, one woman is killed every week in Hungary because she tried to leave an abusive relationship.

EU countries are trying desperately to incentivize people to boost the population –to little avail. This phenomenon, in turn, leads to an aging population, which increasingly burdens social systems.

In Poland, the word ‘family’ is tossed around by Law and Justice (PiS) politicians all the time. It has become their trademark, and a buzzword woven into every single political activity – both in areas of economy and cultural worldview.

The Ukrainian government has introduced a range of policies aimed at supporting families and promoting the well-being of children, including measures to increase access to healthcare, education, and childcare, as well as support for maternity and paternity leave.

The Czech Republic is one of the Eastern European economies that, despite its socialist past, is catching up economically with Western Europe[1]. However, in addition to the increase in social welfare and overall national income, this process is naturally associated with a form of income and wealth inequality which is perfectly natural in modern market economies.