Print
See related documents
Resolution 1995 (2014) Final version
Ending child poverty in Europe
1. Child poverty is creeping back
into Europe. The Parliamentary Assembly is appalled by the regular reports
coming from various countries of Europe about undernourished children,
children being left without parental care by parents who are obliged
to find employment abroad and the resurgence of child labour, not
to mention lower participation and performance rates of many children
in secondary education. It is also concerned about the extent to
which children living without parental care or suffering from neglect
also encounter higher risks of exploitation, violence and abuse.
2. While such phenomena have unfortunately always been observed
in Europe, the recent economic and financial crisis challenging
Europe since 2008, which has undermined social protection systems
in many ways, has further accentuated the vulnerable situation of
many children and continues to have a considerable impact on their
well-being and equal opportunities for development.
3. Comprehensive strategies and targets aimed at eradicating
child poverty have been drawn up at European and national levels.
However, their implementation is currently lagging far behind expectations
and the actual needs of children. One of the major challenges from
now on will therefore be to fill the gap between brilliant strategies
and the daily reality for European children.
4. Some of the root causes of child poverty are not easily tackled
through targeted measures in favour of children and need to be addressed
through general economic and social policies, linked to economic
recovery and the development of countries facing difficulties such
as high rates of unemployment or low paid work. This will also be
essential to interrupt the “cycle of poverty” that many families
are caught in, thus passing on the conditions of poverty and a lack
of equal opportunities from one generation to the next.
5. With a view to implementing European and national strategies
against child poverty in the most effective manner, the Assembly
urges member States to:
5.1. ensure
that the aim of ending child poverty is given sufficient political
weight and priority, including by dedicating adequate budgetary
resources to social protection systems to make them effective, and that
clear objectives and targets are set at the national level;
5.2. as regards Council of Europe member States that are also
members of the European Union, implement in the most committed manner
possible the European Commission Recommendation entitled “Investing
in children: breaking the cycle of disadvantage”, adopted on 20
February 2013, by rigorously following the very pragmatic guidelines
it contains;
5.3. take inspiration from this comprehensive European Union
standard and promote and apply measures against child poverty along
the following lines:
5.3.1. allow families to access adequate
resources by supporting parents’ participation in the labour market
and ensuring appropriate living standards, including through adequate
levels of social benefits;
5.3.2. reduce inequality from an early age onwards by:
5.3.2.1. investing in early childhood education and care facilities;
5.3.2.2. improving educational systems’ impact on equal opportunities;
5.3.2.3. improving the responsiveness of health systems to address
the needs of disadvantaged children;
5.3.2.4. providing children with safe and adequate living environments;
5.3.2.5. enhancing family support and the quality of alternative
care;
5.3.3. promote children’s right to participate in recreation,
sport and cultural activities as well as in decision making that
affects their lives;
5.4. mobilise knowledge and public and private funds at the
European level in order to ensure material security and equal opportunities
for all children;
5.5. put into practice national policies by following transversal
approaches involving, wherever appropriate, different national ministries
and departments, in order to ensure greater effectiveness in the implementation
of policies fighting child poverty;
5.6. especially in the current period of budgetary austerity,
closely supervise and assess any social expenditure cuts with regard
to the possible impact on the well-being of children; target social
benefits to those most in need;
5.7. with regard to children belonging to particularly vulnerable
groups (such as migrants and refugees, children with disabilities
or people living in remote rural areas), take specific measures
to improve data collection and monitoring, to put an end to any
discrimination and to guarantee these children the same rights and
support as all other children in a given country;
5.8. wherever appropriate, ensure that local authorities, who
are in the first line of contact with disadvantaged groups of the
population and have competence in providing social services, have
a sufficient level of resources dedicated to these services, and
in particular to the support provided to poor families and to child
protection and welfare;
5.9. support further research into the reasons for and the
means of fighting child poverty and contribute, wherever appropriate,
to the development of common pan-European indicators monitoring the
outcome of public investments and services for children and their
families, as well as to rigorously apply such indicators to national
policies;
5.10. participate, wherever possible, in international exchanges
on the issue of child poverty so as to learn from good practice.