European Parliament - Eprs Podcasts, What Europe Does For You

When fathers take leave to look after their children, the whole family benefits. Research shows there is a link between the amount of days' leave fathers take and their satisfaction with their relationship with their child. Increasing fathers' uptake of child-related leave is also considered beneficial for children's development and gender equality. Fathers' involvement in childcare also affects women's decisions to have children. Despite this, fathers took only 2 % of the leave available to either parent in the EU in 2010. The EU wants to change that and give men more opportunities to get involved in caring for their families. Source: © European Union - EP

Despite progress on gender equality, mothers are generally still the primary carers in the family. If they have young children, they are more likely to be unemployed than women without children, while the opposite is true for men. The EU is committed to gender equality and aims to narrow this gap. It also aims to improve leave provisions for both parents, so that they are better able to combine work and private life. Source: © European Union - EP

If you are studying your first degree or are considering in enrolling for one, you may think about going abroad for a part of those studies. In that case, your university’s international office will have information about the possibility of an Erasmus exchange. As an Erasmus student, you do not have to pay registration or tuition fees to your host university, your studies count for your degree, and you receive an EU grant. Source: © European Union - EP

How many years young people spend in school, the subjects they study, the exams they take – all of this varies from country to country, and sometimes even from region to region. In some countries, pupils wear school uniforms while in others, they don't; in some, everyone has the same basic education, while in others, there's a choice between grammar schools and vocational schools. There can be no question of replacing this diversity with a standardised European school system – after all, every country has its own traditions. Source: © European Union - EP

Like many of us, you may derive great pleasure and inspiration from watching wild birds and listening to their song. Birds are also an essential element of our ecosystems, which provide us with clean water, pure air, food, medicines and important raw materials. Source: © European Union - EP

Europe's bathing water is much cleaner today than previously. Europeans can now swim in increasingly cleaner coastal and inland bathing areas, thanks to EU laws and national water policies that protect our health and the environment. In 1975, environmental and health concerns led to the first EU legislation on bathing water. It set out minimum quality standards for clean bathing water across Europe and was revised in 2006 to introduce quality management and simplify controls. Source: © European Union - EP

Forest fires devastate thousands of hectares of forest every year in Europe, affecting the population of countries at greatest risk of forest fires, such as Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Greece and Croatia. In 2017, fires destroyed a forested area of Europe four times the size of Luxembourg. In Portugal alone, more than 100 people were killed in summer 2017. Source: © European Union - EP

Many Europeans aged between 15 and 24 years are likely to have experienced difficulties in finding a job and becoming independent, largely due to the 2008 economic and financial crisis. In 2015, 12 % of young Europeans (6.6 million individuals) were not in work, education or training – a social phenomenon known as the NEETs (young people who are 'not in education, employment or training'). Source: © European Union - EP

Did you leave school early? Or do you know someone who might? Leaving school without qualifications may seem a personal choice, yet around 6.4 million young people in Europe are in the same situation. School can seem too difficult or irrelevant and other problems may make walking out seem like the thing to do. Yet young people who leave school early are less likely to find a job, will probably earn less, might miss out on some benefits of technology, and can have more health problems later on. Source: © European Union - EP

The EU makes it easier for you to enjoy riding the waves in several ways. Most importantly, you can enjoy improved water quality at many EU surfing spots, thanks to EU rules that protect the environment, including against sewage and industrial waste. This reduces your chances of getting sick. The EU also publishes information on bathing water quality online, so that you can easily check the water quality at your favourite surfing spots. Source: © European Union - EP

Considerable growth in passenger transport in the EU and a wider choice of transport operators has led the EU to consider that passengers should benefit from the same standards of treatment, regardless of how and where they travel. It has therefore adopted a common set of 10 basic rights for rail, air, road and waterborne passengers, to provide them with information and assistance and forbid discrimination. Source: © European Union - EP

Most people have heard of Erasmus, the EU’s successful student exchange programme, which has enabled millions to study abroad. Less well known is that teachers – from universities, schools, vocational colleges and adult education – can also take part. In 2015, over 100,000 teachers travelled abroad with the help of EU grants. Source: © European Union - EP

Antibiotics are a very useful drug when you are sick and the doctor tells you that you need to take them. However, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing global threat to public health. It occurs when bacteria and other microbes, like viruses and fungi, develop resistance to drugs, especially antibiotics, used to treat the infections they cause. Although resistance appears naturally over time, it is accelerated by factors like overuse of antimicrobial medicines on humans and animals. In the EU alone it is estimated that infections caused by resistant microbes are responsible for 25 000 deaths a year. Some forecasts say that by 2050, drug-resistant infections could cause more deaths than cancer. Source: © European Union - EP

Antibiotics are a very useful drug when you are sick and the doctor tells you that you need to take them. However, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing global threat to public health. It occurs when bacteria and other microbes, like viruses and fungi, develop resistance to drugs, especially antibiotics, used to treat the infections they cause. Although resistance appears naturally over time, it is accelerated by factors like overuse of antimicrobial medicines on humans and animals. In the EU alone it is estimated that infections caused by resistant microbes are responsible for 25 000 deaths a year. Some forecasts say that by 2050, drug-resistant infections could cause more deaths than cancer. Source: © European Union - EP

If you are LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex), the EU forbids discrimination against you on the grounds of your sexual orientation. Your national government, however, decides on your safety, healthcare and education. There can be significant differences between EU countries on these rights, as well as on access to goods and services, family status and marriage and civil union rights. Source: © European Union - EP

If you teach adults, you are on the frontline of a multitude of growing challenges for adult education. These challenges include the need to help the active working population to adjust their skills to shifting job requirements, and low-skilled unemployed workers to upgrade theirs. Adult educators help societies to face challenges such as supporting older adults to connect to an increasingly digitalised world, and integrating migrants into their new environment. Source: © European Union - EP

Are you a highly-skilled professional, who would rather work for clients on specific projects than have a fixed job? If you have a flair for innovation and are ready to take business risks to gain greater independence and flexibility, why not freelance? You may be surprised to learn that more and more EU citizens are seeking freelancing careers. Source: © European Union - EP

Who is safe from a disaster striking? Flooding, heat waves and droughts are the most common hazards, but almost a quarter of the European population is also potentially at risk of an earthquake and 11 million live in dangerous proximity to an active volcano. Source: © European Union - EP

Wildlife trade is one of the most lucrative trades in the world. The legal trade into the EU alone is worth €100 billion annually, while the global illegal wildlife trade (trafficking) is worth between €8 and 20 billion annually. The trade is highly complex and its legal and illegal forms are often connected. Source: © European Union - EP

Spending time with animals and caring for them makes us happy. Some of us have established deep bonds with animals, be it a dog, a cat or a bird. The European Union has made it much easier for you to travel with your pet cat, dog or ferret. Source: © European Union - EP