MEP Simon Busuttil promised this morning that he will be pushing for one European law that was dedicated to protecting the right of children at a European level.

Speaking during a meeting with Commissioner for Children Carmen Zammit, Dr Busuttil said there were several European laws aimed at protecting children but they were fragmented.

Ms Zammit, whose term ends tomorrow, said the commission has been working on various issues at a European level because it formed part of European Network of Ombudsmen for Children.

She said that in Malta children were not listened to enough and she was working to give them a stronger voice in court.

As things stood children had no way of having their voice heard unless they were asked to. She said she knew of children whose rights were being breached but her commission could not intervene because it was not allowed to by law.

Ms Zammit pointed out that there was only one child advocate for Malta and Gozo and the advocate could only be called in court proceedings at the request of parents.

She also said that there was a lack of policies that obliged adults to listen to children before taking decisions about them.

She stressed that there needed to be a set up for children’s active justice as there was in other countries.