Intergenerational fairness must start with children
Eurochild welcomes the European Commission’s new Strategy on Intergenerational Fairness as an important step towards embedding long-term thinking in EU policymaking, with children’s rights at the centre. Its real test will be implementation, translating commitments into concrete policy choices, investment and monitoring.
Children are often treated as an afterthought in political debates about their present and future. Intergenerational fairness cannot be credible unless it recognises children as rights holders in the here and now, not just as future adults. That is why Eurochild contributed to the consultation process of the Strategy on Intergenerational Fairness and called for a strategy that prioritises children’s rights.
We are pleased to see that several of these priorities are reflected in the final text. The strategy recognises that early disadvantages accumulate over a lifetime and that fair opportunities must begin in childhood. It emphasises the importance of early support, access to quality services, and increased attention to children facing poverty, exclusion, and discrimination. It also recognises the role of housing, education, mental health, and territorial inequalities in shaping life chances over a lifetime. These are all issues Eurochild has consistently highlighted through its advocacy and through evidence gathered from members across Europe.
Eurochild welcomes the increased recognition of child participation, which requires shifting perception from seeing children as passive recipients to active rights holders involved in decisions affecting them. Children should have meaningful opportunities to influence political decisions, not just inherit their consequences. The strategy’s focus on building on existing participation mechanisms, such as the EU Children’s Participation Platform, is a positive step.
Additionally, the Strategy introduces an Intergenerational Fairness Index to help identify gaps and opportunities and inform future policymaking. It also supports collaborative research under Horizon Europe on intergenerational fairness, envisions stronger citizen engagement, promotes awareness-raising around 16 November as a day dedicated to intergenerational fairness, and launches the Voices of the Future initiative with the European Committee of the Regions to involve local and regional authorities in shaping the future of their communities.
At the same time, the strategy does not yet go far enough in several crucial areas needed for intergenerational fairness for all children. Important gaps remain, including the lack of a clear commitment to child rights impact assessments, a limited focus on child protection systems and violence against children, and insufficient recognition of the specific barriers faced by children in vulnerable situations including environmental risks. Eurochild also sees opportunities for more decisive action on issues like deinstitutionalisation, online safety, and stronger accountability mechanisms.
The real test will be implementation: whether intergenerational fairness is translated into concrete policy choices, adequate investment and meaningful monitoring across sectors. It will also depend on whether children’s rights are consistently embedded in the next phase of the Commission’s work, including in the future Anti-Poverty Strategy, discussions on the next Multiannual Financial Framework, and the continued implementation of the European Child Guarantee.
Eurochild welcomes the leadership of Executive Vice-President Roxana Mînzatu and Commissioner Glenn Micallef in bringing forward the EU’s first Intergenerational Fairness Strategy and looks forward to continued collaboration with the European Commission to implement it. If intergenerational fairness is to become more than a political aspiration, it must be translated into concrete action for children, especially those facing poverty, exclusion, discrimination and inadequate access to essential services. A fairer future starts with the choices we make for children today.
