Children are our future.
Promoting equal access to high-quality early childhood education and care for all children in the European Union is at the core of our call for a Child Union.
The situation of children has deteriorated considerably with the COVID-19 pandemic further evidencing the divide when it comes to access to the technologies needed for home-based learning, to adequate housing or to healthy food. Almost one in five people living in the EU is a child. Urgent action at EU level is therefore needed more than ever.
The proposal for a Council Recommendation establishing a European Child Guarantee and the Communication for an EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child published by the European Commission today are the first important steps in this direction, with a view to putting children at the heart of EU policies.
Progressive cities and regions have already put child policies at the centre of their action, and many are leading with their innovative ideas. We believe that these good practices can greatly inspire others and contribute to steering the debate.
How can you take part?
Participate in our call for good practices!
There are many ways to improve the life of children in our communities. Your good practice might relate to aspects such as guaranteeing and expanding access to public childcare services, introducing specific actions for including disadvantaged children or promoting inclusive learning outcomes, to mention just a few.
Share with us your written contribution on the implementation of childhood policies in your cities/regions and your political views on why these policies are important. Please send us a text of max. 800 words in your mother tongue and, if you can, include some high-quality photos or videos to illustrate your text. Pleas send your contribution to PES-Group@cor.europa.eu.
In addition, please also fill in the questionnaire on childhood policies with some more background information about the measures that you have implemented in your city or region and on how the European Union can best support you here. This would help us collect important information to shape our future policy proposals and contribute to strengthening policies on children in the EU. For any questions, do not hesitate to contact us at PES-Group@cor.europa.eu.
Read the call and the questionnaire in your language:
Bulgarian | Croatian | Czech | Danish | Dutch | Estonian | Finnish | French
Gaelic | German |Greek | Hungarian | Italian | Latvian | Lithuanian | Maltese
Polish | Portuguese | Romanian | Slovak | Slovenian | Spanish | Swedish
Sign our call for a Child Union
Within the European Union, even before the pandemic, 23 million children were at risk of poverty and social exclusion. The financial difficulties endured by European families due to Covid-19 as well as the disruption in early childhood education and care (ECEC) services have further strained an already perilous situation. We know that we can and must do better. That is why we invite you to join this call for a Child Union built on three objectives:
- A rapid entry into force of the European Child Guarantee
- The development of an investments ecosystem for European children starting with a correct planning of the Next Generation EU funding
- Guaranteed equal access to quality and inclusive early childhood education and care for all
You can read it in all EU languages and sign it here.
Join our debates on childcare!
On 25 June, we organised together with the Party of European Socialists (PES), the S&D Group in the European Parliament and the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS) a debate on childcare policies. Further information is available here. Stay tuned for more activities in the next months!
