Leo van Doesburg

Next week, an important  new report is expected to be voted at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)  with the title "Striking a balance between the best interest of the child and the need to keep families together" . Rapporteur for this report is MP Valeriu Ghiletchi from Moldova , Board Member of ECPM. The confiscation of the children of Marius and Ruth Bodnariu in Norway, a move that caused outrage in Romania and provoked a reaction in many countries, showed the need of an initiative on this issue in the Council of Europe.  This report asks Member States to uphold the right of children to be protected from all types of violence. At the same time, it asks from Members to protect the right of families to stay together and to refrain from removing children from parents against their will except in cases in which this is absolutely necessary. It was una nimously approved in the meeting of the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable De...

The first conference of family policy in Montenegro was held on Thursday, November 7th 2012 in Podgorica, Montenegro, organized by the Christian Movement of Montenegro (CMoM), in cooperation with the European Christian Political Movement. The conference brought together over 40 people from political and public life, directors of the municipal centres for social work, sociologists, psychologists, lawyers and publicists. Notable personalities who participated include the Secretary General of the President's cabinet, Mr. Drazen Miličković and head of the office of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in Podgorica, Mrs. Sanja Sljivancanin. It should be particularly noted that the delegation of ECPM and CMoM, represented by Leo van Doesburg, Eunice Vatran and Lav Lajovic, was hosted by the President of Montenegro, Mr. Filip Vujanovic, who gave his enthusiastic support for the projects organized by ECPM and CMoM in the area of family policy and expressed willingness to assist our fut...

Family Policy Conference of European Christian Political Foundation & Solidarna Polska (Program at ECPF website ) European examples and policy options for support for families as investment in Europe’s future. The ECPF and Solidarna Polska warmly invite you to participate in their joint family policy conference. The focus of this conference is on how government policies can support families. The conference offers the opportunity to hear from experts on what the European trends are and which practical policies would be supportive for families. The experts will focus on various fields like the pressure on the family, child benefits systems and the balance between work and family life.