Eurochild insists the Bulgarian authorities accept the National Strategy for the Child, to counter the use of children and families in disinformation campaigns and for institutional responses against disinformation on topics related to the protection of children’s rights.
The implementation of the Bulgarian plan for reducing child poverty and social exclusion within the framework of the European Child Guarantee (ECG) was the focus of a meeting between Georgi Bogdanov, the Executive Director of the National Network for Children (NNC), and President Rumen Radev.
The conversation took place within a three-day visit to our country by Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, the chairwoman of Eurochild – the international children’s rights network of organizations, of which NNC is a member.
We discussed important questions during the meeting related to care for children and their families and the high poverty level. In Bulgaria, it is still the highest in EU – 26,1%. Every fourth child in Bulgaria lives in deprivation, almost 25% of them don’t have equipment for outdoor games, 15% of them do not have the opportunity to have more than one chicken meal daily, 16% of the Bulgarian children do not have books convenient for their age group, and 19% of them do not have second pair of shoes. In 2024, approximately 40,000 children failed from the educational system.
“The highest-level percentage of the children that live in the risk of extreme poverty in Bulgaria requires an adequate institutional answer and a real social integration”, the President underlined and pointed out that child poverty is a sensitive question for the society and we need effective and consistent measures of the institutions in the country. The President underlines also the well-being of Bulgarian children has to be a national goal for politicians, NGO, and society.
Lack of education and social environment, which affect the personal development of children, was highlighted as a key prerequisite for poverty and incomplete social integration. Rumen Radev stressed that it is that a good education enables children to get better jobs, better incomes, and a better quality of life in the future.
Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca shared her concern about the high proportion of children in Bulgaria who experience material deprivation. The European Child Guarantee aims precisely to eradicate poverty in the EU by ensuring effective and free access for children at risk to nutritious food, healthcare, education, and social protection. EU Member States, including Bulgaria, that have a child poverty rate above the EU average must allocate at least 5% of the ESF+ allocated by the European Social Fund to programs targeting children living in isolation and poverty.
“There are undoubtedly many positive results in the implementation of ECG in Bulgaria – in increasing care for early childhood development, education and health. Kindergarten enrolment increased by 79.1% from 2021-2022 and to 87.3% in 2022-2023. The introduction of the National Quality Framework is also a positive outcome for child development work in the country,” Preca said. She also praised the expanded preventive check-ups for children, the increased support for children with disabilities, and the free meals for children in all-day kindergartens and nurseries, but drew attention to the insufficient efforts in housing policy.
Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca also stressed the need to promote ECG more widely and to strengthen inter-institutional cooperation, in which local authorities can play a major role. She said that Bulgaria still lacks a fully integrated system of social, health, and education services for vulnerable families. Effective child protection requires coordination between social services, law enforcement, health institutions, the education system, and other stakeholders.
“We are deeply concerned that Bulgaria has not adopted a National Strategy for the Child for six consecutive years, leaving policies for the child without a long-term vision and a common framework,” Mrs. Preca noted. The lack of a comprehensive strategy weakens the country’s ability to provide coherent and sustainable solutions for vulnerable groups of children. Eurochild urges the Bulgarian authorities to adopt and implement a National Strategy for the Child as a matter of priority and calls for greater efforts to inform the public on child rights issues, as well as institutional responses to counter misinformation.
Georgi Bogdanov emphasized the significant role of children’s organizations in Bulgaria and their important role in the development and protection of children’s rights in Bulgaria, giving several examples of the real support of the civil sector to help children in vulnerable situations, with special educational, health or other needs. He shared his disappointment that children are still not a priority of the state institutions in the country. “The European Child Guarantee is a strong tool that will reduce the child poverty rate in the country, we will have fewer starving children. But it is worrying that for years no National Child Strategy has been adopted in Bulgaria, and this is seriously delaying and hindering childcare. “, noted the Executive Director of the NNC.
During the meeting with President Rumen Radev, topics related to constant attacks on the civil sector due to the rampant misinformation and false narratives that are increasingly targeting children’s rights and child protection policies in Bulgaria were also addressed. The National Network for Children has expressed its concern about the use of children and families in misinformation campaigns that affect the care of the most vulnerable children. We also expressed our concern about attacks on civil society organizations that work with the most difficult problems of children and families and often substitute care that the state should have as its imputed priority.
We have highlighted those families and children, particularly from vulnerable groups, who are disproportionately affected by facing social stigma and reduced access to services. Despite its contribution and proven positive results, the Bulgarian NGO sector is increasingly under attack, including political pressure and negative public campaigns. Such hostility undermines social support systems and creates barriers to the provision of essential services to the most vulnerable children.
The National Network for Children is grateful to the Presidential Institution for hosting Eurochild on a three-day visit and for the opportunity to talk about expanding the impact of the European Child Guarantee in Bulgaria and adopting a National Strategy for the Child.
Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca’s visit to Sofia continues. The NNC will meet the Eurochild team with national representatives and members of parliamentary committees, as well as with experts from the civil sector who provide social services for children and families. Within the framework of the visit to Bulgaria, the NNC has engaged over 50 participants from Bulgaria and Europe to talk about improved child and family care.
About Eurochild
Eurochild brings together more than 200 organizations in 37 countries across Europe to advocate for children’s rights and well-being in close cooperation with European Union structures. The National Network for Children has been a member of Eurochild for more than 10 years and is the main national partner for Bulgaria in a number of focus policy areas, including the effective implementation of the European Child Guarantee.
About the European Child Guarantee (ECG)
The European Child Guarantee is an instrument, which aims to eradicate child poverty The European Child Guarantee ensures effective and free access for children at risk to basic services such as health, nutrition, social protection, and education. Member States with a child poverty rate above the EU average, such as Bulgaria, must allocate at least 5% of the resources made available by the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) to programs targeting children living in poverty and exclusion.
Since the establishment of the European Child Guarantee, several measures have been implemented to support children and families in Bulgaria, some of which have been launched directly in response to the initiative, while others have been implemented even before the adoption of the national plan and their implementation will continue in the future. The state institution responsible for the implementation of the European Child Guarantee is the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy. The Operational Plan for the period 2023-2024 for the implementation of the Action Plan for the implementation of Council Recommendation (EU) 2021/1004 on the establishment of a European Child Guarantee (2030) sets out specific actions with indicators, timelines, size and sources of funding and responsible institutions in all impact areas – early childhood education and care; inclusive education and school activities; health; healthy nutrition; adequate housing and other instruments to overcome social exclusion and reduce child The workshop will be attended by representatives of government institutions, NGOs, as well as Eurochild representatives from Belgium, Portugal, Cyprus, Finland, Malta, Slovakia, Spain and others.
