Putting Children’s Rights at the Heart of the Enlargement Package
How Eurochild mobilised national children’s rights organisations to inform the European Commission's 2026 Enlargement Package.
Children’s rights must be an essential part of the EU enlargement process. As candidate and potential candidate countries work towards EU membership, monitoring progress on fundamental rights is crucial to ensuring that children’s rights are protected not only in law, but also in practice.
For many years, Eurochild has worked with children’s rights organisations across the enlargement countries to bring national evidence, expertise and children’s perspectives into the European Commission’s Enlargement Package. During the 2026 enlargement cycle, Eurochild mobilised its network of more than 40 members to gather evidence, share key findings with the European Commission, submit written contributions and support national organisations in consultations on fundamental rights.
This report, covering Eurochild’s engagement from January to June 2026, highlights the key issues raised by members and demonstrates the important role of civil society in ensuring that children’s rights remain visible throughout the EU enlargement process.
