Even before the pandemic, approximately 1 in 4 children were growing up at risk of poverty and social exclusion across the European Union (EU). The EU institutions have already taken significant steps towards tackling this issue, notably through the recently published EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child, the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan and the European Commission proposal for a Council Recommendation establishing the Child Guarantee.

In a manifesto published today, the European Parliament, the Intergroup on Children’s Rights and the EU Alliance for Investing in Children are now calling on the Council of the EU and its Member States to be ambitious in the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, to adopt the Child Guarantee Council Recommendation as a matter of priority, and to ensure that the Child Guarantee starts being implemented six months from the adoption of the Recommendation.

This manifesto calls on EU Member States to:

  • Develop comprehensive Child Guarantee Action Plans that will be regularly reviewed.
  • Set ambitious national targets to halve child poverty by 2030 and make sure that all children are counted.
  • Ensure the meaningful participation of children, of relevant multi-sectoral stakeholders – such as local communities and civil society organisations – as well as of parents and carers in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the Child Guarantee Council Recommendation.
  • Ensure that the Child Guarantee properly feeds into the European Semester process and the country-specific recommendations.
  • Ensure a more comprehensive approach to the services provided under the Child Guarantee in the areas of nutrition and leisure activities.
  • Ensure coherence and complementarity between the Child Guarantee and the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child

Read the manifesto here.