EU elections
What are the European political parties saying about children?
Introduction
The decisions of the European Union (EU) – its legislation, policy, practices and funding – have a crucial impact on children’s lives inside and outside the region. The European Parliament elections, 6-9 June 2024, will be key for the adoption of new policies, reforms and investments supporting the child rights agenda.
At the EU level, developments such as the European Child Guarantee and the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child indicate positive strides in safeguarding the rights of children and young people, both in the EU and beyond its borders. But who will stand up for them in the upcoming elections and what are the ideas and solutions that political parties offer for children?
Despite being approximately 20 per cent of the EU’s population, children are rarely involved in the decisions that affect their present and future. They are not allowed to vote. Although, for the first time in EU elections, young people from the age of 16/17 are allowed to vote in five EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Malta). Current and emerging challenges including the climate crisis, digital threats, child poverty and social exclusion, all impact the development and mental health of children and young people. Now more than ever children need EU decision makers to stand up for them.
What UNICEF is asking for
Without political will and buy-in from EU decision makers, recent progress made for children could stall or even regress. Taking into account the situation of children both within the EU and globally, as well as the EU’s ambition to fight poverty, reduce inequalities, adapt to climate change, and uphold human rights, UNICEF had three main messages for European political parties at the onset of their campaigns.
1. Champion children’s rights
The EU must continue to champion and set high standards for children’s rights in its internal and external actions to fight child poverty and ensure social protection; address the learning crisis and transform education; ensure children are healthy and well nourished; and protect children from all forms of abuse and exploitation, both online and offline, and from the impact of the climate crisis.
2. Make the money work for children
The current level of investment in Europe’s internal and global actions will not be sufficient to respond to challenges and provide children in the EU and globally with the opportunities to live in the world they want. European money must work for children.
3. Strengthen governance for children
The rolling out of the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child calls for stronger governance across EU institutions - especially the Commission and the Parliament - in support of the rights of children, including their participation.
How much do political parties prioritize children?
UNICEF undertook an analysis of how the main political parties in the EU are planning to support the underrepresented and often unheard EU constituency of children. We did this by reviewing the manifestos of nine EU political parties to assess how they have prioritized children.
The nine manifestos analyzed were: Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE); European Christian Policial Movement (ECPM); European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR); European Democrats (PDE-EDP); European Free Alliance (EFA); European Greens; European Left; European People’s Party (EPP); Party of European Socialists (PES). Identity & Democracy (I&D) did not have an EU election manifesto at the time of writing.
While the majority of party manifestos take young people overall into account (eight out of nine manifestos), less attention is given to children (i.e., 0-18 years old), specifically (seven out of nine manifestos). Generally – with the exception of one manifesto – references to youth and young people are also twice as high as references to children. Comprehensive policy proposals for children differ across the manifestos. Through our analysis we found, however, six key policy areas with common asks across the different party manifestos.
1. Stronger protection for children
Policy suggestions for protecting the rights of the child are evident in the majority of the manifestos (seven out of nine) with a focus on child protection in different areas. A key concern for a number of the parties is the protection of children in the online space and digital world, as well as their empowerment through digital education. The majority of manifestos (seven) make policy suggestions in this regard. Most of these suggestions relate to investment in digital education (in five), followed by creating a secure online environment (three mentions) – this includes prosecuting crimes against children, but also paying attention to the specific impacts of cyberbullying and online hate (two manifestos) and special vulnerabilities of women and girls (one manifesto). Safeguarding the rights of children in migration is also mentioned specifically in three of the manifestos, and these mentions include policy proposals such as the successful integration of children (still too often referred to as “minors”), as well as specific attention to the vulnerabilities of unaccompanied children in migration. Specific calls for family recognition of same sex couples and their children across Europe, protecting the rights of children in LGBTQI+ families are present in four of the manifestos analyzed. An additional policy suggestion to protect the rights of children is to include more financial support to the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA).
2. Better care for children and support for parents
Improving childcare and making caring for children easier is a strong theme across the various party manifestos. This includes calls for increased financial support to caregivers. A call for quality care structures for children, including those with disabilities, is present in four of the manifestos. Family-friendly work policies, for example fewer/flexible working hours for parents, access to fully paid parental leave (or a European Parental leave) are specifically called for in five of the manifestos. Additional policy proposals include training and financial support for expectant mothers, and an EU Directive requiring Member States to provide access to antenatal and maternal health services. Also proposed are Barrier-free cities (which are also child-friendly cities) and further investment in care, such as through a European Fund for public services.
3. Eradication of child poverty
A key theme across manifestos is the aim to tackle child poverty and implement the European Child Guarantee. While poverty is a theme in seven of the manifestos, the issue of child poverty was specifically identified in five. This includes related calls to accelerate implementation of the European Child Guarantee and support it with adequate funding. Suggestions to promote equity and alleviate poverty also include guaranteeing daily meals for every child in school (one manifesto), as well as reduced-fare mobility tickets for young people, single-parent households, people living in poverty, and people living with disabilities (one manifesto).
4. Investment in education and mental health
Education is a common thread across the party manifestos and is mentioned in all but one. Access to education and related investments in learning cut across the manifestos. A key area is digital education, which five manifestos reference. Digital equity is also stressed, whereby digital technology in education must respect, and avoid exacerbating, social inequalities. This includes investment in digital education and enhancing the digital skills of students and teachers. Against the backdrop of ensuring a just transition to a green and digital economy, specific attention is given to green education (two manifestos) and digital education (five).
Other related policy proposals include free quality primary and secondary education, and universal access to early-childhood education and care to be counted as social investment rather than an expense.
Three manifestos also highlight the importance of ensuring “intergenerational justice” and solidarity in education. Investment beyond education, such as in recreational activities is also proposed by two manifestos, including ideas such as a child allowance investment in recreational/developmental activities and investment to promote participation in culture and sports. Policy suggestions also include expanding civic education and promoting EU values through education and culture (one manifesto), or ensuring that every child learns at least one foreign language (one manifesto).
Specific attention to mental health is given in five of the manifestos. Specific policy suggestions include an increase in funding and resources for mental health, as well as including mental health awareness in the school curriculum. The importance of sports and recreational activities as coping strategies are also mentioned.
5. Enhanced youth participation and stronger child governance
Ensuring that children and young people participate in and have a say on issues that concern them is key for the realization of child rights. Several manifestos reference the importance of youth participation in the EU’s decision-making processes (four manifestos). Empowering young people as decision makers by standing as candidates in elections and lowering the voting age to 16 in EU elections is an ask in two manifestos. However, none of the manifestos highlighted child participation. Other policy suggestions to ensure that the rights of children and young people are taken into account, include an ‘EU youth-proof check’ to ensure young people and children’s concerns and needs are systematically considered throughout the EU legislative process. Another option to ensure that children are better considered and taken into account is to strengthen the EU’s competences in areas that affect them most, such as health and education (as proposed by two manifestos). EU support for the adaption of an International Convention on the Rights of Young people is proposed in one manifesto, ensuring that children are specifically considered as a target group separate from the wider youth group, with space made available for their participation.
While proposals for setting up a Citizen’s Agora or consultation mechanisms for citizens were made in manifestos, these do not necessarily take the specific needs and rights of children into account.
6. Placing children’s rights and needs within the discussions on future generations
Parties which have called for a new approach to policy making on the rights of future generations took into account the rights and interests of younger children. Concerns for future generations and intergenerational justice are present in a majority of the political manifestos (seven). Overall, there is a willingness to improve intergenerational solidarity through policy suggestions including a new cooperation and solidarity strategy between the generations from youngest to oldest; or a new pact for 'Intergenerational Fairness'.
Conclusion
Investment in children has proven to generate high social and economic returns. While there is an increased awareness of children across political parties, it is unfortunate that policies for children are not as much of a focus for political parties as policies on youth. One possible explanation for this could be that children are not yet voters and therefore of limited political interest, as parties formulate their visions within a five-year short-term cycle rather than within a longer-term perspective and vision.
Investing in policies which promote child rights is vital not just to the wellbeing of children, but also for EU’s cohesion, competitiveness, and to safeguard its uniqueness. It is also key to cementing the ongoing and future support of young generations to the European project. This is why UNICEF is asking new and returning EU politicians in the next political cycle to keep standing up and speaking out for children’s rights, investing in children, and promoting their systematic participation in EU policy making. The EU elections provide an opportunity to affirm a commitment to build a better Europe for children and future generations.
