1st Edition
Caring Responsibilities in European Law and Policy Who Cares?
This book explores the emerging engagement of EU law with care and carers.
The book argues that the regulation of care by the EU is crucial because
it enables the development of a broad range of policies. It contributes to the
sustainability of society and ultimately it enables individuals to flourish. Yet, to
date, the EU approach to regulating the caring relationship remains piecemeal
and lacks the underpinning of a cohesive strategy. Against this backdrop, this
book argues that the EU can and must take leadership in this area by setting
principles and standards in accordance with the values of the treaty, in particular
gender equality, human dignity, solidarity and well-being. The book
further makes a case for a stronger protection for carers, who should not only
be protected against discrimination, but should also be supported, valued and
put in a position to make choices and lead full lives. In order to achieve this,
a proactive approach to rebalancing the relationship between paid and unpaid
work is necessary. Ultimately, the book puts forward a series of legal and policy
recommendations for a holistic approach to care in the EU.
Table of Contents
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Setting the scene: ‘Everyone cares. Everyone is cared for’
Concepts of care
(i) The Markers of the caring relationship
(ii) Childcare v Other Types of Care
(iii) The demographic of care
Should the EU care about care?
(i) Care cannot be confined to domestic borders
(ii) The business case
(iii) The moral case
Structure of the book
Chapter 1: Conceptualising care
Introduction
Rights and care
(i) Rights, Care and the EU: uneasy bedfellows?
(ii) A feminist analysis of care: the sameness/difference debate
Beyond the sameness/difference debate: an alternative perspective on rights
(i) Rights, care and capabilities
(ii) The Ethic of Care
Conclusion
Chapter 2: The emerging EU childcare strategy
Introduction
Defining Childcare
The Diversity of Childcare Arrangements in the EU Member States
Challenges and shifting rationales
The governance of childcare
The development of the EU childcare strategy
The first phase: early developments
The second phase: The Treaty of Amsterdam
The third phase: The Work-Life Balance Package and the 2008 financial crisis
The fourth phase: childcare post-2010 - an emerging children’s rights framework?
Conclusion
Chapter 3: The EU and Long-Term Care
Introduction
Long-Term Care: the main features
LTC Challenges …
… and opportunities
The rationale for EU involvement
LTC policy development in the EU and in the Member States
Recent Policy Development on Long-Term Care.
Conclusion
Chapter 4: The EU and carers
Introduction
Carers, non-discrimination and equality provisions
(i) Gender equality
(ii) Other grounds of discrimination
(iii) Discrimination by association
Carers and the work family reconciliation provisions
(i) The leave provisions
(ii) The time provisions
Conclusions
Chapter 5: Reframing the Debate
Introduction
Using the EU fundamental principles and values to underpin a legal framework for care
A rights-based strategy for carers
The Legal base
In search of the personal scope: who has caring responsibilities?
The material scope: rights for carers
Conclusion
Final remarks
Identifying the Challenges
The future of Care in the EU: towards a holistic approach?
Bibliography
Biography
Eugenia Caracciolo di Torella is an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Leicester, UK.
Annick Masselot is Professor of Law at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand
