Committee on Employment and Social Affairs
The Chair
To the Chairperson(s) of the committee(s) concerned
Subject:
Invitation to the Interparliamentary Committee Meeting (ICM) - “Two
years after the adoption of The European Child Guarantee: where do we stand” -
Bruxelles, 28 June 2023
Dear Chair,
The European Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs will hold an
Interparliamentary Committee Meeting (ICM) to discuss the implementation of the
European Child Guarantee, two years after the adoption of the Council Recommendation
in June 2021. On behalf of EMPL Committee, I would like to invite you to attend the
Interparliamentary Committe meeting which will be held in the European Parliament -
Hemicycle (SPAAK Building, 3rd floor)
- on the 28th of June from14.30 to 17.30.
The meeting is building on the work of the European Parliament’s Working Group on the
Child Guarantee that was established in May 2022 and consists of Members of the EMPL
Committee from all political groups. The main aim of the Working Group is to support the
design and sustainable implementation of the Child Guarantee National Action Plans with
particular attention to its financing, monitoring and increasing political support for its
success. The Working Group works closely with the relevant European Commission
services, the national coordinators of the action plans, with civil society organisations and
other important actors in the field.
In this context the role of national parliaments is crucial. Some parliaments have been
involved by national governments in the design of national action plans, while some others
have been consulted or had less chance to contribute to the process.
The Council Recommendation sets the objective to prevent and combat child poverty and
social exclusion by guaranteeing effective access of children in need to a set of services.
However, the situation of children and their families has severely worsened in the last
years; 19.8 million children (24.4% of all children) in the EU are at risk of poverty and
social exclusion.
It is now time to work together, at EU, national and local level, to ensure a full
implementation of the Child Guarantee measures adopted by Member States, in view of
reducing this number by at least 5 million by 2030, as established in the Action Plan on the
EU Pillar of Social rights.
Two years after the adoption of the Child Guarantee, this meeting will be a unique
opportunity to discuss - among high level politicians, national parliamentarians, national
coordinators of the Child Guarantee and children’s representatives - National Action Plans
from the 27 Member States, not only practices and lessons learned so far, but also concrete
proposals to accelerate the reduction of child’s poverty and social exclusion across the EU.
B-1047 Brussels