Access to early childhood education and childcare (ECEC) is important for promoting equal opportunities of children as well as for facilitating work-family balance of parents and especially labour market participation of mothers of small children. EU countries vary a great deal in terms of how childcare is provided and how accessible services are.

Further information can be accessed here
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=89&newsId=2420&furtherNews=yes