Eurochild: A child rights look at the EU Fundamental Rights Charter Report

For the fourth successive year Eurochild looks at the annual report of the European Commission on the implementation of the EU Fundamental Rights Charter from a child rights perspective. Our assessment is not a mere analytical exercise. It gives us a broad overview of how the EU has fulfilled its 2009 Treaty commitment to promote children’s rights, and helps shape our recommendations on how the EU can move forward to help realise the rights of every child everywhere.

From a child rights perspective the 2013 report is an improvement on previous years: it includes more specific actions and further takes into account the rights of children across other chapters of the Charter. But Eurochild’s overall recommendations remain the same. We believe there is no child-neutral policy or legislation and the report therefore needs to be broader and more ambitious. We continue calling for: 

  • EU legislation and policy to give due consideration to children’s rights;
  • The development of a framework for EU action on the rights of the child;
  • Mainstreaming children’s rights across the work of the European Commission.

Last week the future President of the Commission Jean Claude Juncker announced his team will have a Commissioner responsible for inter-institutional relations, the rule of law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights.  Eurochild hopes this new position will contribute to ensure children’s rights are at the heart of EU policy and are mainstreamed throughout the work of the Commission. We will continue to support the EU in all its efforts to champion children’s rights within and outside its borders.  

See Eurochild assessment here.