The EU’s economic policy framework continues to miss the opportunity to tackle child poverty, which affects more than one child in four in the EU. Eurochild’s latest yearly report on the European Semester which details the situation of child poverty and children’s rights in 20 EU countries.
“Child-centred policy makes sense both for social inclusion and long-term sustainable economic growth. By giving visibility to children, the European Semester can help build more resilient communities, societies and economies.” – Jana Hainsworth, Secretary General, Eurochild.
Eurochild’s report brings together the assessments of 28 contributors from 20 EU Member States. They looked at the extent to which the European Commission ‘Recommendation on Investing in Children: Breaking the cycle of disad¬vantage’ (2013) has been implemented in their country and whether the European Semester process is helping or hindering the achievement of positive outcomes for children.
The National Network for Children has contributed to the report and a detailed country profile can be found at p. 22-23 of the document. In its assessment of the situation in the country, the National Network for Children suggests the following alternative country specific recommendation for 2017-2018: We call on the European Commission to recommend Bulgaria to take action to address child poverty and social exclusion by adopting a holistic approach, including in relation to prevention and early intervention, to improve social transfers through linking social benefits with social work and investing in early childhood development and family support policy and measures.
Beyond the 20 alternative country specific recommendations, Eurochild has five over-arching recommendations for EU-level policy and decision makers:
- Strengthen the social dimension of macro-economic governance, ensuring it supports investment in children
- Ensure robust EU social policy coordination
- Make better use of EU funding to stimulate investment in children
- Facilitate child participation in policy making
- Engage in meaningful and ongoing dialogue with civil society organisations.
