EUD attends the online Strategic Dialogue on the Child Guarantee

noiembrie 27, 2020

Comisia Europeană, UN CRPD

On the 26^th of November, EUD followed the online Strategic Dialogue on the Child Guarantee organised by the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG EMPL) of the European Commission.

In 2015 the European Parliament called for a child guarantee that would help ensure that every child in Europe at risk of poverty or social exclusion can exercise their economic and social rights through the provision of free healthcare and education, free early childhood education and care, decent housing and

adequate nutrition. Since then, the European Commission has carried out consultations with children, and consulted multiple stakeholders, including organisations of persons with disabilities, through a public consultation and a targeted questionnaire.

During the Strategic Dialogue, Katarina Ivankovic-Knezevic, Director of Social Affairs at DG EMPL, explained that the projects for implementation in the EU Member States have already started. She specified that the Child Guarantee will be linked to the Action Plan for the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights as well as EU’s Strategy on the Rights of the Child. She also specified that the funding for the implementation of the Child Guarantee will based on 5% of the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), but she clarified that the Recovery and Resilience Facility from Next Generation EU can complement the funding from ESF+.

In the EU, child poverty rates and social exclusion continue to be high. Due to lack of accessibility and exclusion, deaf children are often not able to exercise their most fundamental rights, like access to education in national sign languages. In light of this, EUD will continue to advocate for the rights of deaf children to be fully considered in the upcoming Child Guarantee, and for this to be linked with the UN CRPD.

EUD would like to thank the European Commission for the organisation of this stakeholder consultation.