Twenty-five million children in the European Union (EU) are at risk of poverty or social exclusion – that is one child in every four. Most of these children grow up in families that lack economic resources and are increasingly struggling to provide them with a decent life. This is a stain on the fabric of the EU, and EU that prides itself on its social model, an affront to fundamental rights and a real failure to invest in people and in our future. Can the EU really afford to pay the price?
EAPN and Eurochild produced an Explainer on Child Poverty in the EU in order to:
- Raise public awareness about what child poverty means in a European context, its causes, and how it impacts on the lives of children and their families.
- Highlight effective solutions that can help to fight child poverty and promote the well-being of all children and families, particularly in times of austerity and public spending cuts.
It is hoped to mobilise widespread public and political support for intensified action to reduce child poverty and to promote children’s well-being, at a timely moment to support the implementation of the European Commission’s Recommendation against child poverty. Open the publication here in English - French
EAPN has already issued a series of three Explainers on Poverty and Inequality in the EU (2009), on Adequacy of Minimum Income in the EU (2010) and on Wealth, Inequality and Social Polarisation in the EU (2011).
