Analysis of socio-demographic trends and the challenges they pose for societies in the member states of the European Union (EU) gives some indication of the relative importance attributed by policy actors to the consequences of population decline and ageing, changing family forms and structures, gender and intergenerational relations, and also the changing interface between paid and unpaid work. When viewed from a distance, many of the trends observed would appear to be converging. Lower birth rates have resulted everywhere in the slowing down of natural population growth. Greater life expectancy and lower mortality rates have reinforced old age dependency, calling into question the generational contract, while the spread of less conventional family forms has created the need for new support mechanisms. Changes in the size and structure of the labour force and the organisation of working life have contributed to the demand for a more equitable sharing of paid and unpaid work, within a context where equality of opportunity and employability are mainstream political objectives at EU level. Closer scrutiny reveals the extent to which governments are adapting national administrative and legal frameworks in response to sociodemographic change. As each wave of membership has brought new clusters of countries and contributed to the overall picture of diversity, family matters have gained greater prominence on the EU policy agenda. However, family life remains an area where the principle of subsidiarity is frequently evoked within EU and national institutions to justify non-intervention, and where the boundaries between state regulation and family autonomy are difficult to establish and maintain (Chester, 1994, p 275; Hantrais, 2000a, pp 109-10).

This and the next chapter explore further the changing relationship between public policy and family life. In an attempt to find out whether family policy matters, they examine the legal basis for government intervention in family life, the perceptions that policy actors in different countries have of their role in responding to socio-demographic change, and the relative importance attributed to public policy in decisions taken about family life. The focus here is the legitimacy and social acceptability of government intervention in family affairs. The first section analyses how the relationship between the state and families is defined, conceptualised and institutionalised at EU level and in member states.