Strengthening the European Child Guarantee: Prevention, Participation and Investment
Eurochild Response to the European Commission Communication “Breaking the cycle of child poverty – strengthening the European Child Guarantee” (2026).
Eurochild welcomes the European Commission Communication on strengthening the European Child Guarantee as an important signal that tackling child poverty and social exclusion remains a core priority for the European Union. Overall, this Communication is a useful and promising basis for strengthening the European Child Guarantee.
We strongly welcome the increased emphasis on prevention, integrated support services, mental health, online safety, school meals, early childhood education and care (ECEC), mentoring, and support for the transition from childhood into early adulthood, as well as the focus on Roma children. The Communication rightly acknowledges that fragmented, short-term interventions are insufficient, and that stronger governance, monitoring and long-term investment are necessary to break the cycle of disadvantage.
The next phase must now focus on concrete delivery:
- stronger revised National Action Plans,
- systematic use of the European Semester,
- meaningful participation of children in vulnerable situations and civil society,
- robust monitoring frameworks,
- adequate, ring-fenced funding under the next Multiannual Financial Framework (2028–2034),
- strengthened targeted measures for children facing the highest barriers, including children with a migrant background and ethnic minority origin.
