Eurochild: Eurochild urges Luxembourgish EU Presidency to prioritise poverty reduction

As Luxembourg takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) at a difficult time in Europe’s history, Eurochild calls for renewed efforts towards reducing poverty. In its recommendations to the Luxembourgish Presidency, Eurochild seeks prioritisation of the Europe 2020 target of lifting 20 million people out of poverty. This is pertinent as the EU appears to be losing sight of the human dimension of the crisis, as witnessed in the on-going Greece Euro crisis.

One in four children in Europe are at risk of poverty or exclusion, reaching epidemic levels in countries like Greece where it affects 40% of the child population. High child poverty levels are a good predictor of how our societies will fare in the future. EU leaders can ill afford not to give it their full attention. In view of the upcoming mid-term review of the Europe 2020 strategy this year, Eurochild calls for specific, comparable, national child poverty targets to end the invisibility of children.

“We welcome Luxembourg’s commitment to a more social Presidency of the EU. A more equal society needs a solid foundation of investment measures, balanced on social and economic needs, neither one weighing over the other. We cannot let our children down by forcing punitive measures that would prevent real investment in the future,” added Jana Hainsworth, Secretary-General, Eurochild.

This week, Luxembourg ratified the Third Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child providing children with the opportunity to access justice at international level. Eurochild urges this Presidency to encourage all EU member states to follow its lead.

Eurochild’s full set of recommendations to the Luxembourgish Presidency of the Council of the European Union are available here.

Full article.