As part of the EU Alliance for Investing in Children, the European Public Health Alliance joins calls for a long-term EU Strategy in line with the commitments made on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
In 2018, well before the COVID-19 pandemic, there were 110 million Europeans at risk of poverty, of whom 23 million were children. The European Union as well as the entire world are on the verge of a new economic crisis, which is expected to be even more severe than in 2008. According to the European Commission forecast, the outbreak of the COVID19 pandemic is expected to lead the EU into a deep economic recession. The COVID19 crisis will directly contribute to growing health and socio-economic inequalities between and within EU Member States.
As the Europe 2020 strategy comes to an end, the EU Alliance for Investing in Children, with the support of the Social Platform and SDG Watch Europe, agree with the European Parliament’s and Council’s position and call the European Commission to launch a proposal for a Europe 2030 strategy that will combine the promotion of:
- Equality and well-being, poverty reduction and social inclusion;
- inclusive and sustainable economic recovery, stability and growth;
- environmental protection by implementing the European Green Deal;
- digital transformation.
The Strategy should be aligned with the United Nations 2030 Agenda and its SDGs and the Paris Climate Agreement (UNFCCC). The Strategy’s social dimension should be also aligned with the European Pillar of Social Rights, which will set an ambitious poverty and child poverty reduction target, and which will guide EU Member States’ policy making.
The EU Alliance for Investing in Children also calls on the European Institutions to set an ambitious target to tackle poverty and child poverty in the EU with a mid-term review; strengthen social and economic policy coordination and monitoring of the Europe 2030 Strategy; ensure that sufficient funding for the strategy’s implementation; meaningfully engage civil society and social partners in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the Europe 2030 Strategy; and finally meaningfully consult children and families experiencing poverty and social exclusion in the strategy’s development and implementation.