The aim of the European Council is that a third of children aged below 3 years should follow the first cycle of pre-primary education.
In March 2002, the European Council established a set of objectives for improving the occupation rate of parents of small children and promoting gender equality in the labour market. One of these objectives consisted of promoting the first pre-school education cycle, so that at least 33% of children aged below 3 years attended it. As shown by the graph, children from underprivileged economic environments attend pre-school centres significantly less: this group is a long way from the target.