Long period of time after adequately paid leave expires and before a child has a guaranteed place in ECEC in most EU education systems …

„When leave and ECEC (Anm.: ECEC = early childhood education and care) policies are harmonised, a place in ECEC is guaranteed for every child at the end of leave (or even before), and no ECEC gap exists. In most EU education systems, however, families face a long period of time after adequately paid leave expires and before a child has a guaranteed place in ECEC.“
EU-Kommission (Hrsg.), Education and Training Monitor 2023 (2023), S. 24.
Österreich gehört laut EU-Kommission mit 3,8 Jahren zu den EU-Staaten mit einem besonders großen „ECEC gap“ (Quelle: ibidem, Fig. 9.)