Tackling poverty and social exclusion in the EU

Sharon Attard, manager of Research and Policy within the Office of the Commissioner for Children, recently attended the general assembly and policy forum of Eurochild AISBL, a network aimed at promoting the welfare and rights of children and young people in Europe.

Eurochild AISBL is funded by the European Commission within the Community Action Programme to combat poverty and social exclusion. In this respect, the topic of poverty and social exclusion was given importance during the policy forum, and is outlined as a main goal for this year as Eurochild members work to monitor and influence member states' commitments to tackling child poverty in the Open Method of Co-Ordination (OMC) on social protection and social inclusion.

This will be achieved in part through monitoring and evaluation of national strategies on social protection and social inclusion, which aim to set clear targets for the eradication of child poverty. In 2007, Eurochild published a comprehensive review of member states national reports on strategies for social protection and social inclusion from a child's rights perspective.

This review enabled all members to learn from one another with regards to successful policies and practices, and such a co-ordinated effort is vital in the ongoing commitment of Eurochild and its members to co-operation at EU level to achieve real progress in tackling child poverty and social exclusion.

Within Malta's national report, some of the key issues identified were the share of children living in jobless households (8.9 per cent in 2005), the unemployment rate of young people (16.8 per cent in 2005), the rate of early school leavers (41.2 per cent in 2005), and the infant mortality rate (5.9 per cent in 2004).

The key groups considered to be at the greatest risk of poverty and social exclusion in terms of the report are children in single parent families, children residing in residential care/leaving care, children suffering from abuse, and children whose parents are residing in institutional care.

Malta's national strategy in this respect is intended to give such children an otherwise equal start in life. The Maltese National Action Plan on social inclusion (NAP) identifies four major priorities: empowering social cohesion, building stronger communities, strengthening the voluntary sector and networking the social welfare sector.

Within its assessment of Malta's NAP, Eurochild noted that while child poverty was acknowledged in the document, it was not identified as a key priority. There is an evident need to target more vulnerable groups such as disabled children and unaccompanied immigrant minors, whose status places them at a greater risk of poverty. It was also noted by Eurochild that the NAP was lacking in clear timeframes, and the voice of the child was missing in the development of the NAP.

The European Council in March 2006 asked member states to "take necessary steps to rapidly and significantly reduce child poverty, giving all children equal opportunities regardless of their background." This is in line with the Barcelona targets, encouraging member states to set targets in their NAPs to significantly reduce the number of people at risk of poverty and social exclusion by 2010.

Malta has already set numerous initiatives in place to address the issue of child poverty and social exclusion, yet there is an urgent need for further commitment on these issues in setting quantitative targets for the eradication of poverty and social exclusion at a national level. The Malta Union of Teachers recently commented that very little of the education reform agreement had been implemented since the document was signed over a year ago.

The full implementation of this agreement would be a significant measure in combating child poverty and social exclusion, along with the introduction of other initiatives in addition to the steps that have already been taken.

It is vital at this stage to establish clear and measurable targets in the eradication of child poverty and social exclusion, indicating clear timeframes in which these targets can be met.