{"id":7037,"date":"2021-05-06T16:12:19","date_gmt":"2021-05-06T16:12:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/?p=7037"},"modified":"2021-09-23T12:29:45","modified_gmt":"2021-09-23T12:29:45","slug":"all-eyes-on-the-porto-social-summit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/all-eyes-on-the-porto-social-summit\/","title":{"rendered":"All eyes on the Porto Social Summit"},"content":{"rendered":"
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EU Members States need to make eradicating child poverty their key priority<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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07.05.2021<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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An Opinion by <\/strong>Katrin Langensiepen , Greens\/EFA MEP.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Child poverty\/ CC0 sigmund<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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Every\nfifth child in the EU suffers from poverty and social exclusion. Fifteen\npercent of children in the EU live with a disability. <\/strong>These\nnumbers were the sad reality in Europe before the pandemic. The post-pandemic\nperiod will add another dimension to poverty in Europe. It is estimated that\nthe number of children living below their respective national poverty lines\ncould soar by as many as 117 million. Globally, the pandemic is expected to\npush another 90 million children into poverty. No one knows what the aftermath\nof the pandemic will bring. How many parents will lose their jobs, or their\nhomes? How many more children will slip into poverty?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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It is in the responsibility of the EU Member\nStates to act now, before the figures become even more dramatic. We are on the\ncusp of the perfect opportunity to do it: EU countries are meeting on 7th May\nfor the Porto Social Summit<\/a>, an European conference\nthat will set the social policy agenda for the coming decade. The Summit will\nstrengthen the commitment of Member States, the European institutions, social\npartners and civil society to implement the Action Plan for the European Pillar of Social Rights<\/a>,\nwhich has set the target of reducing child poverty by 5 million children by\n2030.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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There are so many reasons why child poverty must be at the heart of European politics and thus of this summit. First of all, poverty can hit anyone<\/strong>. It is multidimensional. Low- and middle-income single parents, separated parents, LGBTIQ+ families, caretakers, with or without migrant or minority ethnic backgrounds, and people taking care of family members with disabilities are at a higher risk when unemployment increases. Consequently, their children are at a higher risk of entering the vicious circle of poverty and social exclusion. Homeless people and their children will not be able to get out of it.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Economically, breaking the vicious circle of\npoverty for all children means strong and resilient societies and a strong and\nresilient Europe. After all, those children will grow up to shape the EU of the\nfuture. Fighting poverty, therefore, must be holistic. It\u2019s in all of our interests.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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\"Stuffed
Stuffed animal on the floor\/ CC0 trym-nilsen<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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Our governments have a legal obligation to comply with existing EU and national anti-discrimination laws<\/strong>. This means that all children must enjoy equal rights and freedoms, including access to free and quality childcare, education and healthcare, as well as adequate housing, healthy food and recreational activities.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Politics is never simple and change takes time. A horizontal anti-discrimination directive<\/a> has been blocked in the European Council for over a decade. This legislation could be monumental for combating child poverty in Europe, if only EU Member States could agree to resume the negotiations and ensure protection against discrimination in key areas of life, irrespective of a person’s sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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We have to remind Member States of their\nresponsibilities over and over again. Just last month, MEPs passed a resolution\nfor a European Child Guarantee<\/a> which sent a clear\nand strong signal to the Porto Summit. Our demands are unmistakable. We want to\neradicate child poverty in Europe, which means guaranteeing every child:<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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