"Children have the right to affordable early childhood education and care of good quality.Children have the right to protection from poverty. Children from disadvantaged backgrounds have the right to specific measures to enhance equal opportunities".
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EU and children: rights, protection and equal opportunities
Children in the EU have the right to affordable and good-quality early childhood education and care, to protection from poverty, and to specific measures that enhance equal opportunities, especially when they come from disadvantaged backgrounds. This principle is at the centre of the European Pillar of Social Rights and is implemented through two key EU initiatives: the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child and the European Child Guarantee.
The Commission presents this framework as a way to protect the rights of all children, secure access to basic services for vulnerable children and place children at the centre of EU policymaking. Importantly, the Strategy and the Child Guarantee were shaped through extensive consultations with citizens, stakeholders and more than 10,000 children, reflecting the principle that policies affecting children should not be designed without children’s voices.
The updated EU framework shows that childcare and support to children are no longer treated only as family or welfare issues. They are part of a broader EU agenda on social rights, poverty reduction, equal opportunities, child protection, education, health, digital safety and democratic participation. The policy logic is preventive: investing early in children’s rights and access to essential services reduces the risk of exclusion later in life. For this reason, the European Child Guarantee is especially important. It translates a broad social principle into concrete access rights and implementation responsibilities for Member States.
Children in the EU have the right to affordable and good-quality early childhood education and care, to protection from poverty, and to specific measures that enhance equal opportunities, especially when they come from disadvantaged backgrounds. This principle is at the centre of the European Pillar of Social Rights and is implemented through two key EU initiatives: the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child and the European Child Guarantee.
The Commission presents this framework as a way to protect the rights of all children, secure access to basic services for vulnerable children and place children at the centre of EU policymaking. Importantly, the Strategy and the Child Guarantee were shaped through extensive consultations with citizens, stakeholders and more than 10,000 children, reflecting the principle that policies affecting children should not be designed without children’s voices.
The updated EU framework shows that childcare and support to children are no longer treated only as family or welfare issues. They are part of a broader EU agenda on social rights, poverty reduction, equal opportunities, child protection, education, health, digital safety and democratic participation. The policy logic is preventive: investing early in children’s rights and access to essential services reduces the risk of exclusion later in life. For this reason, the European Child Guarantee is especially important. It translates a broad social principle into concrete access rights and implementation responsibilities for Member States.
1. EU strategy on the rights of the child
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- The strategy brings together all new and existing EU legislative, policy and funding instruments on the rights of the child within 1 comprehensive framework.
- This strategy builds on previous European Commission communications and existing EU legislation and policy, such as the EU agenda for the rights of the child.
- It contributes to achieving the aims of the European Pillar of Social Rights.
- The strategy is based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and contributes to achieving the United Nations sustainable development goals.
- It proposes a series of targeted actions across 6 thematic priority areas:
- participation in political and democratic life;
- socio-economic inclusion, health and education;
- combating violence against children and ensuring child protection;
- child-friendly justice;
- digital and information society;
- global dimension — supporting, protecting and empowering children globally, including during crisis and conflict.
- To support these actions, children’s rights are mainstreamed across all relevant EU policies.
- Funding for these actions is provided through a number of sources including the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) and the European Regional Development Fund ).
2. European Child Guarantee
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The Council Recommendation (EU) 2021/1004 on European Child Guarantee complements the Strategy by focusing on children in need, defined as persons under 18 who are at risk of poverty or social exclusion. Its purpose is to help break intergenerational cycles of poverty and disadvantage, which can affect educational achievement, future employment prospects and social inclusion.
Under the Child Guarantee, Member States should guarantee free and effective access for children in need to early childhood education and care, education and school-based activities, at least one healthy meal each school day and healthcare. They should also ensure effective access to healthy nutrition and adequate housing. The Child Guarantee puts Principle 11 of the European Pillar of Social Rights into practice and is a key deliverable of the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan. Member States can use EU funding to support implementation, particularly the European Social Fund Plus and NextGenerationEU. |
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eBriefing PaaS · EU Childcare, Child Rights & Child Guarantee
Need a constantly updated European picture of Childcare And Support To Children policies?
eEuropa can prepare a tailored eBriefing PaaS: a policy-as-a-service document that is kept constantly updated for one year, or for as long as your organisation needs. It provides a structured European overview of EU rules, strategies and initiatives on childcare, early childhood education and care, child poverty, the European Child Guarantee, children’s rights, integrated child protection systems, access to essential services, education, healthcare, housing and equal opportunities for disadvantaged children.
The service can support policy monitoring, institutional analysis, stakeholder briefings, programme design and regulatory intelligence, including an assessment of how the European framework on child rights, childcare, child protection and social inclusion may evolve over time.
