The declining birth rate as an emergency for San Marino’s future, alongside new protections for maternity and paternity, parental leave, caregivers, families and working women. This was the heart of the address given by Giulia Muratori (Libera), majority rapporteur, to the Grand and General Council (Consiglio Grande e Generale) during the second reading of the bill. The full address follows below.
«As a preliminary point, I want to highlight an important element: this report was filed immediately after the Commission’s work concluded, and for obvious time constraints it cannot take into account the further amendments that were subsequently submitted. The bill presented today in second reading to the Chamber was thoroughly examined by the Permanent Council Commission responsible for Health and Hygiene, Social Security and Welfare, Social Policy, Sport, Territory, Environment and Agriculture, working in synergy both with the amendments presented by the Executive and with the changes agreed and shared during the Commission’s proceedings. I believe this bill stems from a fundamental and no-longer-postponable awareness: the decline in births today represents one of the most serious and complex emergencies for the Republic of San Marino, affecting the social, economic and demographic spheres of our country. The most recent statistical and epidemiological data indeed paint an extremely worrying overall picture. In 2025, only 165 babies were born in our territory, and projections for the current year, 2026, clearly indicate we will struggle even to reach the threshold of 100 births. Behind these bleak numbers lie the real, everyday and concrete difficulties that young couples face daily: the constant rise in the cost of living, perceived job insecurity, unsustainable housing costs and the objective difficulty of balancing work schedules with family life make it increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to build a stable and serene family project. In my view, the decline in births is a phenomenon that directly and profoundly affects the country’s future prospects, ultimately worsening the demographic imbalances already caused by the progressive ageing of our population; this drastically reduces the number of active citizens and inevitably generates growing pressure on our social, healthcare and pension systems. It is clear that the problem also has very deep cultural and social roots, which no single law can ever fully or magically resolve. Nevertheless, I believe it is an essential duty of public institutions to work towards creating the most favourable conditions possible, so that our young people can freely choose to start a family without being forced to give up their legitimate personal, professional or career aspirations. Within this complex scenario, the bill intervenes with very concrete measures aimed at supporting parenthood, strengthening and expanding the range of services dedicated to families, increasing the time parents can devote to raising their children, and fostering a genuine balance between work and family life. Particular attention is devoted to protecting and supporting women, with the fundamental goal of ensuring that motherhood no longer represents in any way a professional penalty or an insurmountable obstacle to one’s career, but can instead be fully compatible with a path of personal and professional fulfilment. The text addresses these challenges through a comprehensive reform that consolidates and extends existing protections while introducing new economic and social measures aimed at parents, working women, family caregivers and households with dependent children. One aspect I consider of extraordinary importance is the incorporation of the principles set out in European Directive 2019/1158, which governs the balance between work and family life for parents and carers, thereby placing the Republic of San Marino firmly within an advanced European path with regard to social rights, work-life balance and genuine gender equality. Turning to a more detailed analysis of the articles, I would like to outline the key points of the measure. Title I first intervenes to define and strengthen the general aims of the law, explicitly including among its main objectives the fight against the declining birth rate, the promotion of the harmonious growth of children and young people, the protection of motherhood and the promotion of genuinely shared parenting. Among the most innovative aspects is the full recognition of the principle of shared responsibility between men and women in family care and assistance, progressively overcoming those traditional cultural models that for too long placed almost the entire burden of domestic and care work on women’s shoulders. With regard to the protection of motherhood, the law introduces a significant strengthening of economic protections for self-employed women workers within the first three years of starting their professional activity; it is envisaged that maternity benefits may be calculated, where more favourable, by referring to the average territorial contractual wage set for an industrial worker, thus avoiding unfair economic penalties in the first and most difficult years of self-employment. Furthermore, great attention has been given to protecting women workers with lower wages, including those on part-time contracts. While the previous legislation recognised the right to pregnancy and postpartum leave for a maximum of 150 days with an allowance equal to 100% of salary, thanks to an amendment introduced and approved during the Commission’s proceedings, we have included a specific minimum-level guarantee: should the calculated amount be lower, the allowance is still guaranteed at no less than 80% of the average territorial contractual wage of an industrial worker, thereby ensuring dignified support even for those with lower incomes. Another key innovation is the introduction of a specific allowance for pregnancy and postpartum periods for unemployed women, thus recognising universal economic protection even for those facing motherhood without employment or active social safety nets, since motherhood is considered a social and collective value for the entire community. At the same time, we believe it is essential that this type of intervention be progressively harmonised with the ICEE tool, the economic condition indicator, so that public support is directed as a priority towards situations of genuine need, ensuring the system’s fairness and sustainability. The reform also intervenes decisively on paternity leave, extending it to a full 20 days, fully paid at 100%, which can be taken non-continuously and even broken down into hourly units; to protect fathers, an absolute ban on dismissal during the leave period is introduced, along with recognition of notional contributions and seniority for career progression purposes. Regarding parental leave, there is a substantial strengthening through a significant increase and reshaping of the percentages of the economic allowance: specifically, an allowance equal to 80% of salary is recognised for the three months immediately following the end of pregnancy and postpartum leave, dropping to 40% until the child’s first birthday, and then to 20% until the child reaches 18 months of age, with specific increases provided for twin or multiple births; in this case too, notional contributions and seniority remain fully guaranteed. An amendment of great value and fairness approved by the Commission also provides that periods of parental leave already taken in the past will from now on be recognised for seniority purposes in career progression, concretely valuing the time devoted to raising children and preventing this from becoming a penalty in a worker’s professional path. The Commission also agreed on the need to extend these same protections to adoptive or foster parents, ensuring adequate family support tools. During the proceedings, an important amendment replacing Article 9 bis on leave for children’s medical appointments was approved unanimously, redefining the hours allowed and introducing full pay for them; working parents will be able to use this leave for medical visits, diagnostic tests and vaccinations for their children up to the age of 14, taking a further step towards reconciling family life and work. Among the historic and most innovative reforms is undoubtedly the introduction and recognition of the family caregiver figure, defining and giving legal dignity to those who directly and daily assist a family member who is not self-sufficient or suffering from serious illnesses, disabilities or degenerative conditions. The law identifies different caregiver profiles based on the intensity of care required and introduces concrete tools such as the possibility of temporarily suspending employment or switching to part-time work, guaranteeing specific economic, social security and employment support; the goal is to support families who choose to care for their loved ones at home, promoting a care model based on human relationships and ensuring that those who take on this heavy burden are not left alone. Linked to this is the additional amendment on training and relief measures for caregivers, providing free, multidisciplinary training courses and temporary relief systems to prevent emotional and physical overload; thanks also go to CSD ONU for its valuable contribution and input in this direction. As for parental part-time work, the law offers a significant innovation, allowing both parents simultaneously — rather than only alternately, as before — to request a switch to part-time employment during the first four years of the child’s life. A very strong protection is also introduced for fixed-term women workers, establishing the nullity of a non-renewal of contract when linked to a state of pregnancy, reaffirming the principle that motherhood cannot be a cause of professional penalisation or job insecurity. Among the other measures, I would highlight the establishment of an information point dedicated to families to facilitate guidance and access to services, and the strengthening of protections for single pregnant women and single-parent households in situations of serious socioeconomic vulnerability, with full exemption from nursery school fees and school meal costs for early childhood and primary education. Ordinary family allowances are also addressed, introducing greater gradation based on income and providing for an annual adjustment for inflation starting in 2027 to protect families’ purchasing power, with future harmonisation based on the ICEE. A “baby bonus” is introduced, a contribution of 1,000 euros for every child born or adopted starting from 1 January 2026 for households with a per capita income below 25,000 euros, along with a monthly tax-exempt contribution of 50 euros for single pregnant women or single parents in situations of particular vulnerability. An amendment is also envisaged that significantly reduces nursery school fees and school meal costs on a progressive basis, up to full exemption for large families with the lowest incomes, applicable immediately pending the ICEE becoming operational. Finally, Article 23 ter introduces concrete support for expenses related to school trips and study stays, Article 24 extends sick leave allowances for children up to age 14 to self-employed working parents as well, and Article 24 bis introduces important pension protections for working mothers, reducing disincentives for early retirement and giving value to the choice of part-time work for pension calculation purposes, using full-time theoretical pay as the reference. The debate in Commission unfolded with a spirit of great maturity and responsibility, leading to significant improvements shared by all political forces. I believe this bill represents an extraordinary social investment for the welfare of our Republic, placing families at the centre during a difficult moment in history. For all these reasons, as majority rapporteur, I warmly invite the Grand and General Council to approve this important bill».
