The EU Alliance for Investing in Children welcomes the European Commission’s proposal for a European Pillar of Social Rights, and its aspiration to achieve a “social triple-A rating” by re-balancing the EU’s existing prioritisation of financial and economic concerns with social issues.
We recognise that this new social rights initiative has the potential to help eradicate child poverty and promote children’s well-being, and could be crucial to help us build a Europe we wish to leave for our children, who represent one fifth of the current EU population.
The European Parliament Written Declaration on Investing in Children (2015), adopted with 428 signatures, gives a strong signal on the need to protect children and their families from deficit reduction measures. More than one in four children continue to be at risk of poverty or social exclusion in the EU and this number is rising, along with the impact on our society and economy. Social rights on paper will not be enough to reverse this trend: Strong policies and enforceable measures are necessary to make the Written Declaration a reality for all children in Europe.
The Alliance for Investing in Children calls for the European Commission to recognise and act on the importance of sound social policies and social protection systems for protecting, promoting and fulfilling children’s rights, as set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), which is ratified by all EU Member States, and in the Recommendation for Investing in Children.
Please read the Alliance statement and recommendations here on the Eurochild website.
