This week
the European Commission, European Parliament and Council of the EU will sign
the inter-institutional proclamation of the European Pillar of Social Rights in
Gothenburg,(1) which reiterates commitments to promote social inclusion and the
rights of the child.(2) The future Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) should
contribute to translate these commitments into action.
More than
20 organisations within the EU Alliance for Investing in Children urge the EU
institutions and its Member States to invest in children and develop a future
MFF that works to end child poverty and promotes the social inclusion of all
children in Europe.
The future
of Europe depends on investing in children, in particular in children and
families in vulnerable situations. The EU and its Member States need to act
urgently to protect around 25 million children estimated to be living in or at
risk of poverty or social exclusion.
Growing up
in poverty can negatively affect children’s opportunities for the rest of their
lives, with far-reaching consequences – for instance, on their future
education, health, participation in the labour market and society. Acting early
on child poverty and investing in early childhood education and care is not
only a moral imperative, it is also a cost-effective measure.
The MFF is
an important instrument for the EU and its Member States to leave no-one behind
and to invest in children. In June 2017, the Council of the EU stressed the EU’
and Member States’ commitment to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs), including through greater efforts to promote social inclusion of
vulnerable groups, such as children.(3)
The
Commission’s Reflection Paper on the Future of EU Finances acknowledged that
investing in people, from education and training to health equality and social
inclusion, is the overarching priority for the EU.(4)
The EU
Alliance for Investing in Children fully supports these commitments and is
proposing the following recommendations to ensure that the next MFF invests in
children:
1. Ending
child poverty and social exclusion in Europe should be a clear and visible
priority in the next MFF
2. The
next MFF should be underpinned by a strategy to implement the 2030 Agenda, the
European Pillar of Social Rights and the Recommendation on Investing in
children: breaking the cycle of disadvantage:(5)
This
strategy should prioritise the drastic reduction of child poverty in Europe in
line with SDG 1 to “reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and
children of all ages living in poverty”.
The
strategy needs to integrate the European Pillar of Social Rights and its
relevant principles, including principle 11 which recognises that children have
a right to protection from poverty.(6)
The
Recommendation on Investing in children is the strategic framework to realise
principle 11 of the Social Pillar. The Recommendation’s implementation should
be financially supported by the EU.
3. The
size of the next MFF should be adequate to fight child poverty in Europe:
The
resources for social inclusion in the next MFF should be increased. At least
the equivalent of 30% of the current European Social Fund should be earmarked
for social inclusion. Such spending on social inclusion must cover efforts to
prevent and tackle child poverty.
The UK
leaving the EU and the possible development of new financial instruments for
the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) should not result in fewer resources for
social inclusion.
4. The
next MFF should promote a life cycle approach to social investment and social
protection:
The
Alliance recommends that in case EU funding for boosting employment, skills and
combating poverty are gathered under one financial instrument, its main
objective should be promoting social inclusion, social investment and adequate
social protection with a life-cycle approach.
This would
ensure a strong focus on investment for the most vulnerable children and
families so that they have access to quality, accessible and inclusive
community-based services (e.g. health, social services, family support,
education, housing, and child protection) and adequate social protection for
children and families throughout the life cycles (e.g. minimum income,
unemployment, child and housing benefits).
5. The
EU funds aiming at poverty reduction and social inclusion under the next MFF
should be linked to national poverty reduction strategies and action plans:
EU funds
should support Member States in implementing policy reforms to tackle child
poverty in line with the EC Recommendation on Investing in children and its
three pillars: access to resources, access to quality services and child
participation.
In doing
so, Member States should make sure that EU funds reach all children and
families experiencing poverty and social exclusion regardless of their
migration or residence status.
Local
stakeholders play an important role in the implementation of national poverty
reduction strategies and action plans. EU funds should support the capacity of
local stakeholders, who provide frontline services and are best placed to
deliver policy outcomes such as those included in the Recommendation on
Investing in children.
The
European Commission’s monitoring role of EU funds needs to be strengthened, and
formalized in the monitoring committees, as well as ex-ante conditionalities
should be monitored both at the programming and the regulation levels. Civil
society and service users should also be fully involved in the development,
implementation and monitoring of projects.
6. The
simplification of the rules of the future MFF should aim to further promote the
engagement of stakeholders, including CSOs, and increase funds absorption:
Civil
Society Organisations (CSOs) have an important role in reaching people in
vulnerable situations and the most disadvantaged. To support, monitor and
report on implementation of EU and national policies CSOs need sufficient
capacity and support to play this role and to help improve financial
mechanisms. EU funds are essential to strengthening the capacity of CSOs, and
access to these funds also needs to be ensured for grassroots organisations.
New
resources should be dedicated to involving children and their families in
vulnerable situations in the design, delivery and monitoring of child poverty strategies
and in the related EU funding.
Endnote:
The EU
Alliance for Investing in Children has been advocating for a multidimensional,
rights-based approach to tackling child poverty and promoting child well-being
since 2014.
This
statement was endorsed by the following partner organisations of the EU
Alliance for Investing in Children: Alliance for Childhood European Network
Group; ATD Quart Monde; Caritas Europa; COFACE Families Europe; Don Bosco
International; Dynamo International – Street Workers Network; Eurochild;
Eurodiaconia; EuroHealthNet; European Association of Service Providers for
Persons with Disabilities – EASPD; European Anti-Poverty Network – EAPN;
European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless –
FEANTSA; European Parents’ Association – EPA; European Network of Social
Authorities – ENSA; European Public Health Alliance – EPHA; European Social
Network – ESN; Mental Health Europe; Platform for International Cooperation on
Undocumented Migrants (PICUM); Save the Children; SOS Children’s Villages.
http://www.alliance4investinginchildren.eu/the-post-2020-mff-must-invest-in-children-and-aim-to-end-child-poverty/
Notes
(1) Social
Summit for Fair Growth and Jobs https://www.socialsummit17.se/
(2)
European Commission, Council, European Parliament “Proposal for an interinstitutional
proclamation endorsing the European Pillar of Social Rights” : “The Union shall
combat social exclusion and discrimination, promote social justice and
protection, equality between women and men, solidarity between generations and
protection of the rights of the child”, available at:
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/publications/draft-joint-proclamation-european-parliament-council-and-commission_en
(3) Council
of the European Union, Council Conclusions (20 June 2017): A Sustainable
European future: The EU response to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2017/06/20-2030-agenda-sustainable-development/
(4)
European Commission (June 2017), “Reflection Paper on the Future of EU
Finances”, available at:
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/publications/reflection-paper-future-eu-finances_en
(5)
European Commission Recommendation (20 February 2013) Investing in Children:
Breaking the Cycle of Disadvantage (2013/112/EU) http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32013H0112&from=EN
(6)
European Commission (26 April 2017), Commission recommendation on the European
Pillar of Social Rights
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/publications/commission-recommendation-establishing-european-pillar-social-rights_en
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