Report Launch Guaranteeing Children’s Future – How to End Child Poverty and Social Exclusion in Europe
2021 has been a historic year for the rights of the millions of children growing up in poverty in Europe. For the first time in the EU’s history, there is an EU target aiming to lift at least 5 million children out of poverty by 2030 as set out in the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan. The Council Recommendation establishing the Child Guarantee, adopted in June 2021, calls on all EU Member States to develop and submit national Child Guarantee Action Plans by March 2022 in which they will outline the measures to support children in need. The European Social Fund Plus requests that 11 EU Member States allocate at least 5% of their ESF+ resources to tackle child poverty and implement the Child Guarantee. At the same time all EU Member States are requested to allocate appropriate resources from the national budgets to support children in need.
In this critical period, Save the Children launches the report “Guaranteeing Children’s Future: How to End Child Poverty and Social Exclusion in Europe” with aim of influencing the National Child Guarantee Action Plans and child poverty reduction measures in non-EU Member States, and the allocation of EU funds, especially of the ESF+ to support measures that will address child poverty and social exclusion and implement the Child Guarantee Council Recommendation.
The online launch of the report on 27 October will bring together key actors from the European Commission, the European Parliament, representatives from EU Member States and child rights organisations to exchange on:
- Child poverty across Europe and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and families in need
- The successful implementation of the Child Guarantee Council Recommendation through ambitious and cohesive national Child Guarantee Action Plans
- The proper allocation of EU funds to address child poverty and social exclusion and
- Measures that European countries outside the EU should take to address child poverty and social exclusion
The event will be facilitated by Professor Hugh Frazer.
AGENDA
16:00-16:40 | Opening remarks and presentation of the report:
– MEP Brando Benifei, S&D – Andres Conde, CEO, Save the Children Spain – MEP Iratxe Garcia Perez, President of the S&D Group – Nicolas Schmit, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights |
16:45-17:40 | Towards the successful implementation of the Child Guarantee Council Recommendation and child poverty reduction in Europe:
– Andrea Orlando, Minister of Labour and Welfare, the Government of Italy – Raluca Turcan, Minister of Labor and Social Protection, the Government of Romania – Tobias Lundin Gerdås, State Secretary to Minister for Health and Social Affairs the Government of Sweden (pre-recorded message) – Her Excellency Marie Louise Colleiro Preca, President of Eurochild and representative of the EU Alliance for Investing in Children – Marta Garcia Fidalgo, Adviser Roma Policy, Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, European Commission – |
Closing remarks:
– Andres Conde, CEO, Save the Children Spain
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