European Child Guarantee monitor
Eurofound's European Child Guarantee analyses trends and disparities in children's access to early childhood education and care, education, healthcare, nutrition and housing. This is done using a convergence analysis for all EU Member States.
The European Child Guarantee represents a significant step towards ensuring that every child in the European Union, particularly those at risk of poverty or social exclusion, has access to essential services like education, healthcare, nutrition and adequate housing. Eurofound is committed to providing comprehensive and up-to-date information on this initiative.
The data and analysis presented here cover trends and disparities in children's access to early childhood education and care, education, healthcare, nutrition and housing. This is done using a convergence analysis, which tracks whether Member States are improving in respect of specific performance indicators and whether disparities between them are expanding or narrowing. The analysis includes those indicators that are part of the common monitoring framework to assess progress with implementation of the European Child Guarantee in which it is feasible to carry out convergence analysis.
Browse Eurofound's in-depth analysis of the topics child poverty, early childhood education and care, education, healthcare, housing and nutrition below.
The Recommendation establishing a European Child Guarantee aims to prevent and combat social exclusion by guaranteeing access to key services for children in need. For the purposes of the recommendation, children in need are defined as people under the age of 18 years who are at risk of poverty or social exclusion (AROPE). The analysis in this section thus covers the AROPE rate for children and breaks this down into subcomponents: the at-risk-of-poverty (AROP) rate for children, the rate of severe material and social deprivation among children and the percentage of children living in a household with very low work intensity. It also covers the AROP gap.
The Recommendation establishing a European Child Guarantee aims to prevent and combat social exclusion by guaranteeing access to key services for children in need. For the purposes of the recommendation, children in need are defined as people under the age of 18 years who are at risk of poverty or social exclusion (AROPE). The analysis in this section thus covers the AROPE rate for children and breaks this down into subcomponents: the at-risk-of-poverty (AROP) rate for children, the rate of severe material and social deprivation among children and the percentage of children living in a household with very low work intensity. It also covers the AROP gap.
In addition, the analysis includes a set of complementary indicators capturing household and background characteristics associated with children’s social and economic vulnerability. These comprise the share of AROPE children living in single-parent households, with at least one parent born outside the EU, with at least one parent with a disability, or experiencing limitations in daily activities due to severe health problems. Two intergenerational indicators are also considered: the AROP rate among adults aged 25–59 by parental educational attainment (ISCED 5–8) and by their household’s self-reported financial situation at age 14.
The Council Recommendation (EU) 2021/1004 of 14 June 2021 establishing a European Child Guaranteeopens in new tab supports the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights by promoting access of children in need to early childhood education and care, healthcare, housing, education and school-based activities, at least one healthy meal each school day and healthy nutrition.
In line with Article 12(d) and 12(e) of the Recommendation, the European Commission and the Social Protection Committee (SPC) have established a common monitoring framework to assess the implementation of the Child Guarantee. The Commission will work jointly with the SPC to review the progress made in the implementation of this Recommendation and report to the Council of the European Union by five years after its adoption.
The European Child Guarantee Recommendation states that it applies to children in need, which refers to persons under age 18 who are at risk of poverty or social exclusion (AROPE).
