On 10 May, at the Hotel De La Ville, the Magna Grecia Foundation met Minister Eugenia Roccella, for the fourth Seminar Dinner focused on the issue of birthrate.

"In terms of birthrate, Italy is at the very bottom in Europe. Not only does the ageing of the population affect welfare, but also the depopulation of small towns: human beings are keepers of the territory. The lack of the next generation will be reflected in many areas of our lives," said Eugenia Roccella, Minister for the Family, Birth Rate and Equal Opportunities.

"Why does this happen? It is important to underline that it is a problem stemming from deep cultural roots", continued Minister Eugenia Roccella. "In the first post-war period, despite poverty, birthrate was not an issue. Paradoxically, the more a country develops, the fewer children are born. France, despite investments aimed at families, is also subject to this problem. We must think of solutions that are congruous with the expectations of young people: the idea of having children is a personal choice, which clashes with other choices, such as freedom, a lifestyle that today offers many forms of entertainment."

"My ministry encompasses Family, Birth Rate and Equal Opportunities, because they are three closely linked elements that outline a government program. We want to act through all measures to support women's work, the reconciliation and harmonization of life and work, create a work environment suited to motherhood and paternity and obviously also support families through all measures, considering the criterion of children as fundamental."

"In the first budget law, we began to finance subsidized mortgages," recalled Minister Eugenia Roccella, "and we are also intervening on direct transfers with the increase in the single allowance, which we have significantly increased by 50%, especially to support large families, from the fourth child onwards, and then replacing the Citizens’ Income (RdC) with the inclusion allowance aimed at supporting and helping families with children, but we have also operated by implementing the reorganization of incentives for businesses, in particular with the tax delegation, a fundamental and central aspect for the issue of families"