Fighting against child poverty to become a priority? Council conclusions

In the Council Conclusions "Tackling child poverty and promoting child well-being", Ministers stressed the fact that child poverty and multi-dimensional phenomenon which requires a comprehensive approach from such sectors as employment, childcare, healthcare services and education.

The conclusions invite the Member States to:

 adequately emphasize child poverty in national policies and to consider it when drafting the National Reform Programmes, relocating resources, monitoring and evaluation;

 ensure that combating child poverty and promoting children’s well-being are mainstreamed across all policy areas and integrated interventions at national, regional and local levels;

 improve access to quality services, in particular early childhood development and care services, decent housing, quality health care;

 effectively use the Structural Funds and other existing EU financial resources to eliminate child poverty and promote child well-being.

The Council invites the Commission to:

 consider child poverty and well-being as one of the priorities of the social dimension of the Europe 2020 strategy;

 to put forward, as set out in the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion, a Recommendation on child poverty and well-being in 2012, outlining common principles, covering adequate resources for families with children, access to quality services (especially for the most vulnerable);

It also invites the Commission and the Member States to ensure that the issue takes a child-rights approach in line with the Treaties, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

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