On September 7th, FAFCE held a policy briefing on The Family at the centre of the Economy: the way out of the crisisorganised together with two of its Members, the Forum delle Associazioni Familiari (Italy) and the Confédération Nationale des Associations Familiales Catholiques (France).

During the meeting, a concept note was distributed, which is the abstract of a larger work published by Vincenzo Bassi, fiscal lawyer, Delegate of the Forum delle Associazioni Familiari, the major Italian Member of FAFCE. He intervened along with his wife, Carla Di Lello, who is also a lawyer. Starting from their concrete experience, they explained how the family can be defined as the “first enterprise”, “proto-impresa“: the family is not only a consumer but employs also its resources, including through investments, in crucial areas, such as education and care. Hence, the family is an essential resource for Europe for the achievement of the common good, both from a social and economic point of view. On September 8th, an interview to Vincenzo Bassi, related to this topic, was published on the Italian edition of Vatican Radio.

Mr. Nicolas Revenu, Responsible for Consumers of the Confederation Nationale des Associations Familiales Catholiques (CNAFC), intervened on micro-credit and the importance that it can have for the family. The meeting was introduced and moderated by our President, Antoine Renard, and was animated by an intense discussion with the public. This was also the first public event in which took part the new General Secretary of COMECE, Fr. Olivier Poquillon, OP, who came to welcome the speakers and all the guests.

The event was attended by around 30 people, from different institutions and associations. Among them, there were 4 MEPs (from Croatia and the UK), while other 3 MEPs were represented by their advisors (from Hungary, Poland and Sweden).