EU nations offer benefits for births

Some EU nations offer benefits for births
By VERONIKA OLEKSYN, Associated Press Writer
35 minutes ago

Europeans are thinking twice - and sometimes three, four or five
times - before having kids. But benefits that are the envy of moms
elsewhere may be boosting birth rates in some countries, baby step by
baby step.

Iceland leads Europe with a fertility rate of 2.03 children per woman
in 2004, the most recent year for which Europe-wide figures were
available from Eurostat, the EU's statistics service. Ireland, with a
rate of 1.99, and mainland France, with a provisional rate of 1.90, are
ranked second and third.

Nordic countries, including Norway and Finland, are also relatively
fertile with rates of 1.81 and 1.80 in 2004. But overall, the figures
are still worrying because, according to the EU's statistics service, a
fertility rate of 2.1 is considered to be what it takes to replace a
population in developed countries.

Women in eastern and southern Europe - areas that include many new EU
states - have the fewest children. Slovenia ranks the lowest with a
fertility rate of 1.22, followed closely by the Czech Republic and
Poland, both with rates of 1.23, the EU says.

In an effort to encourage couples to have children, Austria, France and
other European countries have beefed up their benefits for families
with children.

In Austria, that includes monthly payouts of $547 for the youngest
child until the age of 3, and additional monthly checks ranging from
$132 to $192, depending on the age of offspring. Additionally, families
are also eligible for a tax benefit of about $64 per month per child.
Children also get free school books and don't have to pay for public
transportation to and from school.

Per child, an Austrian woman can get up to 48 months of pension
benefits and is guaranteed a maternity allowance two months before and
after she gives birth - periods where she is not expected to show up
at work. In some cases, parents also have the right to determine how
many hours per week they want to work until their child reaches school
age, according to a spokesman for the ministry.

In France, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin last September
announced financial incentives for parents to have a third child.

The measure, which went into effect this month, awards $940 a month to
parents who take one year's unpaid leave from work after the birth of a
third child. That cash incentive will be implemented alongside an
existing measure that allows parents to take up to three years unpaid
leave with smaller monthly payments of $642.

But incentives still seem to fall short - especially when it comes to
affordable childcare.

A study released this spring in Austria by the European Centre for
Social Welfare Policy and Research found that the alpine country of
roughly 8 million lacked 46,000 spots in nurseries, kindergartens and
after school programs.

That doesn't bode well for working mothers who often struggle with the
choice of career over kids.

"In Europe, many young people feel trapped by labor market prospects
and by (concerns about) who will take care of their young children,"
said Hubert Krieger of the European Foundation for the Improvement of
Living and Working Conditions.

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