Subject: Child poverty
Spain has one of the highest child poverty rates in the EU. In 2023, 28.9% of children were living below the moderate poverty threshold. The inflation crisis has aggravated the rate of severe material deprivation, which affects 12.7% of children. The poverty rate in households with children is 50% higher than in households without children.
Parenting support is based on non-refundable tax deductions that do not reach a very large part of the population. The minimum living allowance’s child benefit is targeted at vulnerable households and is still not reaching them all. Spain is one of the few European countries with no universal or quasi- universal benefit to lighten the economic load for households with children and reduce the high rate of child poverty.
In light of the above:
1. Given the high rate of child poverty is a structural problem, does the Commission consider that Spain is complying with the Commission’s specific recommendations on socio-economic protection for children?
2. Does the Commission intend to urge Spain to urgently adopt measures to support parenting, such as a universal benefit, as part of complying with Component 22 of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan?
Submitted:16.4.2024
Answer given by Mr Schmit on behalf of the European Commission
(11 June 2024)
The European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan aims to reduce the number children at risk of poverty or social exclusion (children AROPE) across EU by at least 5 million by 2030, compared to the 2019 level.
Spain set its national target in this regard at 713 000 children and submitted a comprehensive and ambitious action plan for the implementing the European Child Guarantee (ECG) recommendation (1), which aims to offset the impacts of poverty on children.
The Commission is aware of the high incidence of the risk of poverty or social exclusion (AROPE) among children in Spain, which reached 34.5% in 2023. In 2023, the number of children AROPE in Spain was by 197 000 higher than in 2019 which demonstrates the severity of the challenge.
Spain has not presented its biennial progress report on the implementation of ECG to the Commission yet, which will be key to assess compliance with the ECG Recommendation.
The Commission monitors the implementation of the Spanish Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP ) (2), which in Component 22 includes reforms aimed at enhancing non-contributory financial benefits (C22.R5 which encompasses the approval of the Minimum Vital Income, which was enacted through Royal Decree Law 20/2020 of 29 May 2020, with further elements currently under development and assessment).
The RRP also includes developing a law recognising and supporting diverse family structures and determining their entitlement to benefits and services based on their features and income levels (C22.R3, including a review of the Law on Large Families). If effectively executed, these measures are anticipated to yield positive outcomes concerning child poverty.
1 ∙ ⸱ Council Recommendation (EU) 2021/1004 of 14 June 2021 establishing a European Child Guarantee — https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?
uri=CELEX%3A32021H1004 2 ∙ ⸱
Proposal for a Council Implementing Decision amending Implementing Decision (EU) (ST 10150/21; ST 10150/21 ADD 1 REV 1) of 13 July 2021 on the approval of the assessment of the recovery and resilience plan for Spain — https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX %3A52024PC0185&qid=1717403367658 and https://commission.europa.eu/business-economy-euro/economic-recovery/recovery-and-resilience- facility/country-pages/spains-recovery-and-resilience-plan_en