One in four children growing up in ’ is at risk of poverty and social exclusion. This is a shocking statistic, and the lifetime consequences are huge.Growing up in poverty means that a child is more likely to drop out of school and less likely to find a decent job, so their children are also at risk of growing up in poverty.
AB’'s European Child Guarantee, the European Pillar of Social Rights for child care and child support, aims to break this cycle of disadvantage by implementing the ’.
Launched in ’ in March 2021, Garanti sets out the right for all children to access free education, including early childhood education and after-school activities, healthy school meals per day, health services, good nutrition and reasonable housing.
A year after the launch, EU countries have to submit their national action plans to the European Commission, ’, explaining how they will implement the Child Guarantee. They will then have to report their progress every two years.
What is Child Guarantee?
Implementation of Child Guarantee to help Ukrainian refugees
According to the United Nations, one child per second becomes a refugee of war in ’, Ukraine. The number of people who have fled the country since the beginning of the Russian invasion has exceeded 3 million; Half of them are children.
There are calls for EU governments to make national action plans to implement the Child Guarantee, which will take into account the influx of Ukrainian refugees.
_”_Children are the ones who pay the biggest price in any warJana Hainsworth, Secretary General of Eurochild“, a network of organisations working with vulnerable children.
_ the “ It's hard to understand the magnitude of the destruction right now. Obviously the most important thing is their lives, the humanitarian corridors, getting them to a safe place. Member states will undoubtedly need to respond, and we want their national action plans to take into account this latest challenge and ensure that the services and investments they make include new immigrants from Ukraine’.”_
Child Guarantee and Roma Community
One of the objectives of the Child Guarantee is the social participation of Roma children. Roma children in Europe are among ’'s most precarious: %Compared to the average of 24’ ’i is at risk of poverty. One of the ways to deal with this is to improve education rates and access.
Fanny Gauret from Real Economy’ traveled to the Međimurje region of ’, Croatia, where a large part of the country's Roma community lives. More than 90 percent of children here grow up in precarious conditions.
A pilot programme funded by the European Commission in partnership with UNICEF is helping Roma families continue their children's education.
The European Commission has partnered with UNICEF to set up Child Guarantee pilot programmes in seven countries.
Fanny spoke to some mothers who lived in the Romani settlement of Kuršanec’te and participated in this initiative.
Snježana Oršuš attends a workshop set up in the neighborhood to learn how to better communicate with her children. She also learns child psychology, how to establish a balanced relationship with her children and establish a positive routine.
The pilot program also opened an unofficial training and play area for children aged 3-6. Bojana, who speaks Romance with her children, loves to come here.
_ I bring them to the workshop so that the children can socialize, talk, learn Croatian, because it will be easier for them when they start going to school. I want my kids to have what I can't have, I want them to finish school, I want them to have a job. - ”_
CroatiaOne year of pre-primary education is compulsory in ’, while Roma children only ’u goes to school. This is your participation %It's much less than other Croatian children, where it's 80.
Fanny Gauret also met Andrea Krznar, the pilot program and Child Guarantee field coordinator. He explains the program's goals:
The European Union also finances other programmes for children, especially thanks to the European Social Fund Plus.
One of the ways governments can implement the Child Guarantee is through money from the European Social Fund Plus’ (ESF+). Countries with the highest rates of child poverty must spend at least 5 percent of the funds they receive to tackle the problem.
Benjamin Ignac, an EU policy analyst based in Berlin’, highlights the importance of education and a positive, supportive home environment. He grew up in a Romani settlement like Kuršanec. Benjamin studied at ’nde and Oxford’ in the United States, thanks to the support and scholarships of his family and teachers.
_ the “ It was a chance for my parents and brother to teach me how to read, write and do some basic math. Seeing how society treated the Roma community in general, I realized that my only hope of breaking the system was education and financial freedom. The fact that my teachers helped me navigate my decisions had a huge impact on my life. Therefore, there is a great responsibility for school administrators and teachers in this regard..__ the ”_
One year has passed since the beginning of the Child Guarantee: Where are we?
EU countries are required to submit their action plans on how to implement Child Guarantee ’ in March 2022’.
Euronews asked Eurochild Secretary General Jana Hainsworth how hopeful she is that the ’a Child Guarantee will be fully implemented by national governments.
“, this is a very important turning point. National action plans are still coming. Some are ambitious, some are unambitious, and some are ambitious. - ” ”It says Hainsworth.
**”**Children's guarantee should not remain a commitment on paper. We want to see these national action plans become regularly updated, continuously scrutinized documents.”
The president of Eurochild also called for different segments of society to work together. “Requires co-operation between all the different ministries responsible and, most importantly, requires the participation of people who will deal directly with policies. Therefore, we would like to see the participation of NGO’s, as well as communities, families and children who will receive services.”
