Eurofound Talks: Can Europe deliver for its children?

Fighting child poverty has become a central dimension of EU social policy. One of the European Commission’s flagship social policy initiatives is the European Child Guarantee: established in 2021 by Council Recommendation, the aim of the Guarantee is to tackle child poverty by ensuring access to key services (such as healthcare) and resources (such as decent housing) for children in need – defined as children at risk of poverty or social exclusion.

Despite improvements over the past decade, nearly one-quarter of children were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2022. Of the 95 million people in the EU defined as being at risk of poverty or social exclusion, 20 million are children.

The Child Guarantee supports the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, and in particular principle 11 on childcare and support to children, which asserts that children have the right to affordable early childhood education and care of good quality, as well as the right to protection from poverty, noting that children from disadvantaged backgrounds have the right to specific measures to enhance equal opportunities.

EU Member States have begun to report on their action plans on the Child Guarantee, with early indications suggesting that progress has been mixed. In this episode of Eurofound Talks Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound Research Manager Daniel Molinuevo about the European Child Guarantee, how bad the situation is with regards to child poverty and social exclusion, what Member States have committed to doing about it, what the implications are for workers and civil society, and what prospects there are for the future.

Listen to the episode on the Eurofound website, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Further information:

Behind the podcast video: Can Europe deliver for its children?

Eurofound: European Child Guarantee monitor

Policy Brief: Guaranteeing access to services for children in the EU