Role of children in the next EU budget

Subject: Role of children in the next EU budget

In the EU’s proposal for a new seven-year budget, children are only mentioned as a secondary objective.

However, many children in Europe are facing child poverty. More than 25 million children in the EU are suffering poverty and exclusion. While the average proportion of children experiencing poverty is around 27 %, more than 40 % of children in Romania and Bulgaria live in poverty or social exclusion, and a third of children in Spain and Italy are at risk of it.

Can the Commission outline the role that children, and more specifically child poverty, will have in the EU’s next multiannual financial framework?

Answer given by Ms Thyssen on behalf of the European Commission

(8 January 2019)

The primary responsibility for fighting child poverty lies with the Member States. Nevertheless, the Commission agrees with the Honourable Member that this fight deserves to be stepped up at both national and EU level. That is why, already in 2013, the Commission adopted a recommendation on ‘Investing in Children: Breaking the Cycle of Disadvantage ’ (1) that was unanimously endorsed by the Council.

Furthermore, Principle 11 (2) of the European Pillar of Social Rights (3) explicitly refers to childcare and support for children. In order to support the implementation of Principle 11, funding for child policies in the next Multiannual Financial Framework ought to be increased.

Therefore, the Commission has proposed for the future European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) Regulation (4) to raise the minimum share earmarked for social inclusion purposes from the current 20% to 25%.

And at least 2% of Member States' ESF+ resources under shared management will have to be devoted to measures addressing material deprivation, which includes activities such as food aid and basic material assistance. This should guarantee that there is sufficient availability of funds for Member States' actions aimed at fighting child poverty.

Moreover, for the first time, children are explicitly mentioned as a target group in the context of the Specific Objective 1.x (5), which refers to ‘promoting social integration of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion, including the most deprived and children’.

Finally, children will continue to benefit under the other specific objectives of the proposal for a regulation on the ESF + (6) relevant to childcare and education.

⋅1∙ https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:32013H0112

⋅2∙ Principle 11. Childcare and support to children

a. Children have the right to affordable early childhood education and care of good quality. b. Children have the right to protection from poverty. Children from disadvantaged backgrounds have the right to specific measures to enhance equal opportunities. ⋅3∙ https://ec.europa.eu/commission/priorities/deeper-and-fairer-economic-and-monetary-union/european-pillar-social-rights/european-pillar-social-rights-20-

principles_en

⋅4∙ The proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), COM(2018) 382 final.

⋅5∙ Article 4(1)(x) of the Commission proposal mentioned in footnote 4.

⋅6∙ Commission’s proposal mentioned in footnote 4.