European Union Member States are working to clarify the different types of disadvantage affecting children under the European Child Guarantee, according to draft recommendations obtained by EUROPE on Monday 26 April.
Thus, in the part dedicated to the definitions of the groups concerned by the Guarantee, the proposal by the Portuguese Presidency of the EU Council adds children with mental health issues, children who have suffered violence, and children who have been discriminated against because of their sexual orientation or gender (as a reminder, a child is considered to be any person under the age of 18).
Furthermore, the recommendations stress the importance of including social housing and housing support policies for families with women single-earners. With regard to the placement of children in institutions, the recommendations emphasise that this option should be considered as a last resort and only when it is in the best interest of the child.
As for the national plans, the Portuguese Presidency added the possibility to link them to other pre-existing national actions and policy measures in the fight against child poverty. The Presidency furthermore strengthens the reference to the Convention on the rights of the child with the phrase “the best interests of the child to be a primary consideration”.
On the European Parliament side, a resolution was voted in the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs on 16 April by 43 votes to 5 with 6 abstentions. In their resolution, the parliamentarians call for even more rights for children in the face of the pandemic, calling for a revision of the Barcelona targets, including universal access to health care, and the creation of a European Children’s Authority (see EUROPE 12687/13). A debate is scheduled to take place in the European Parliament’s plenary session on Wednesday 28 April in the evening. The vote will take place on Thursday 29 April.
To read the draft Guarantee: https://bit.ly/3e0lL05 (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)