Debate: European Child Guarantee
Date: WEDNESDAY, 28 APRIL 2021
Speaker: Ana Paula Zacarias
Language: EN

Child poverty is a critical issue that we must commit to addressing with energy and urgency. I would like to thank the European Parliament for the resolution adopted in November 2015, which cleared the way for the current proposal for a Council recommendation establishing a European Child Guarantee. I’ve also read with a lot of interest the resolution from 22 April that will be voted upon tomorrow in this House.  In 2019, more than 91 million were at risk of poverty or social exclusion, which is about 3.4 million people fewer than the previous year, and yet the risk of social exclusion and poverty for children aged below 18 remains extremely high, and the COVID—19 pandemic and its dramatic social and economic consequences has put national health, education and social protection systems under unprecedented pressure, leaving millions of children and their families in precarious socio—economic situations. In particular, households with children from disadvantaged groups have been disproportionately hit by the consequences of the ongoing crisis. It is in this very difficult context that the Commission presented the action plan for the implementation of the European pillar of social rights, and on 24 March the Commission adopted its long—awaited proposal for a Council recommendation establishing a European Child Guarantee. The Council welcomed this proposal, and within three weeks the Council started its examination. I have to say this is a real priority for the Portuguese Presidency of the Council. We have put this forward and immediately all delegations, without exception, are constructively contributing to this debate with a view to its use and quick adoption.  The proposal aims at supporting Member States’ strategies for preventing and combating child poverty and social exclusion by allowing children in need to have access to high—quality key services. We are all aware that child poverty and social exclusion are the result of different interconnected factors.  National plans are essential to address the root causes of this phenomenon, and these plans should be coordinated at different policy areas involving all relevant actors – so, as was said here, a horizontal approach with the involvement also of local communities. Poverty and social exclusion dramatically affect present and future opportunities for children, too often triggering their generational transfer. Ensuring quality education, including childhood education and care, is the only way to break this cycle. To find the right solutions, national circumstances such as the design of social protection systems, social services and the organisation of education systems must be taken into account.  In particular it should be for the Member States to identify the categories of children in need and the specific challenges to be addressed, taking into account their country—specific situation and regional differences. While further coordinated efforts are needed to combat the risk of poverty, a number of valuable measures have already been implemented by Member States to ensure that children, including those with special needs, can access high—quality essential services.  Responding to the COVID—19 crisis, Member States have put together a wide range of measures – short—time work schemes, special income support mechanisms for households with children, and extension of social protection coverage. In order to help Member States in their efforts, the Council and European Parliament swiftly endorsed extraordinary financial support, as proposed by the Commission. The efficient use of the available national and European funds is key to successfully tackling child poverty and social exclusion. The financial resources allocated in the 2021—2027 budget will support implementation of the European Child Guarantee, in particular the European Social Fund, the Recovery and Resilience Facility, through the national recovery funds or the national recovery plans, the ERDF, the REACT—EU. A coordinated approach to reform and investment at Union and national level is fundamental to reach the ambitious target of reducing the number of children at risk of poverty and social exclusion by at least five million by 2030, as set out in the European pillar of social rights. This is a target that we hope could be supported at the Porto Social Summit, a key moment for the Portuguese Presidency. We sincerely hope that by then we can bring in Member States, the European Union institutions, as well as the social partners and civil society, to adhere to this target. Finally, we concur with the European Parliament on the fact that the European Semester represents the main instrument to ensure the coordination and the monitoring of employment, social and macroeconomic policies at national and Union level. In the last years, the social dimension of the Semester has become more prominent, thanks also to the integration of the European pillar of social rights and other relevant international instruments in the Semester process. The Council supports the cooperation between Member States and the Social Protection Committee aiming to facilitate mutual learning, exchange of best practices and monitoring of the measures promoted in the framework of the recommendation on the Child Guarantee. We will continue to work hard in order to adopt this recommendation during the Portuguese Presidency.