Investing in Children

The Greek Ombudsman in collaboration with the European Commission and Eurochild, organised a Consultation meeting on 9 May 2014 on the implementation of the Commission Recommendation ‘Investing in children: Breaking the cycle of disadvantage’, under the auspices of the Greek Presidency of the European Council.

The main conclusions and recommendations (download here) of the meeting are summarised in two chapters. The first focuses on policies at EU level and the second on policies at national level, with a special reference to the Greek case. Specifically, at EU-level, measures include:

  • Better integration of the Recommendation into ‘Europe 2020’ Strategy
  • More child focused Country Specific Recommendations
  • Set a European objective to reduce child poverty and social exclusion
  • Promote children’s well-being as a key part of the social dimension of the European Monetary Policy
  • Put children’s well-being at heart of the Social Open Method of Coordination
  • Actively integrate the protection and empowerment of children’s rights into the planning and development of the National Reform Programmes
  • Optimize the use of European resources/funds

Presentations and round-tables were held, with the participation of representatives and experts from 32 institutions.180 delegates attended the consultation. The complete programme and the report of the meeting are available here.

Meeting’s presentations and pictures are available here.

Greek consultation meeting on Investing in Children: Conclusions and recommendations out