European Union

Written by Marie Lecerf.

Updated on 14.10.2025.

At more than one in five, the number of children at risk of poverty in the European Union (EU) remains high. This year’s International Day for the Eradication of Poverty presents an opportunity to take stock of what the EU is doing to fight child poverty. Even though legal competence for child policy remains primarily with the Member States, the fight against child poverty is a major EU priority. The European strategy on the rights of the child now reflects the EU’s increasing willingness to tackle child poverty, while the use of European funds is key to success.

Background

It is now 33 years since the United Nations (UN) established the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. The objective of the international day’s 2025 edition, to be marked on 17 October, is to ‘end social and institutional maltreatment by ensuring respect and effective support for families’. In recent decades, there has been marked progress in reducing poverty worldwide. Nevertheless, the number of people living in poverty remains very high, even in the EU, in particular among children. In 2024, 93.3 million people in the EU‑27 were living in households at risk of poverty or social exclusion (i.e. 21.0 % of the EU‑27 population, according to Eurostat). With an at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rate of 24.2 % for the EU‑27, children were at greater risk in 2024 than adults (see Figure 1).

Children at risk of poverty or social exclusion in the EU, 2024 EU contribution to the fight against child poverty Legal basis

The EU is guided by the principles set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by all EU Member States. The objective of promoting protection of the rights of the child is established in Article 3(3) of the Treaty on European Union. Moreover, the EU and its Member States are bound to comply with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, Article 24 of which is dedicated entirely to the rights of the child.

EU policy responses

Fighting child poverty in the EU is primarily a Member State responsibility. Nevertheless, at EU level there is broad consensus that action is needed to lift children out of poverty and to promote children’s wellbeing.

The proclamation of the European pillar of social rights in November 2017 demonstrated increasing willingness to tackle child poverty in the EU. Principle 11 is clear that the fight against child poverty is a priority of today’s social Europe, while referring to children’s right to protection from poverty.

In June 2021, the European Commission adopted, and the Council endorsed, a recommendation on the European Child Guarantee, demanding that social exclusion be tackled by guaranteeing that children in need have access to services, such as early childhood education and care, education, healthcare, nutrition, housing, cultural and leisure activities. Many of these services are provided at regional and local levels, as highlighted by the Commission in its April 2024 recommendation on developing and strengthening child protection systems in the best interests of the child. Three years after the publication of their national action plans, Member States have submitted progress reports, which generally emphasise the need for better monitoring and clearer targets, tackling regional inequalities, expanding proven pilot projects, improving data sharing, reaching more vulnerable children, building the workforce and ensuring stable long-term funding.

In her 2025 State of the Union address, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to eradicating poverty by 2050 and announced a European anti-poverty strategy.

The EU has also committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, not least Goal 1, which aims to halve the number of people, including children, in poverty, by 2030.

EU funds

Numerous financial instruments offer Member States EU support for measures to address child poverty.

• For the 2021-2027 programming period, the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) provides a broad range of funding opportunities to fight child poverty. The Fund for European Aid to the most Deprived (FEAD) is built into ESF+, allowing greater synergies between the two funds to address child poverty; the ESF+ also links to the national recovery and resilience plans. ESF+ supports measures to eradicate child poverty in the EU through the implementation of the European Child Guarantee.
• Under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), €200 billion (2018 prices) is dedicated to measures to promote social inclusion and combat poverty, notably by supporting investment in social infrastructure, equipment and access to quality services, such as new classrooms or modernised capacity for childcare, and education facilities.
• Member States can also make use of the InvestEU and REACT-EU programmes or the Recovery and Resilience Facility to fund measures combating child poverty and social exclusion.

European Parliament

Demonstrating its commitment to child wellbeing, Parliament has had a Coordinator on Children’s Rights since 2018, a position held by Parliament Vice-President Ewa Kopacz (EPP, Poland) since 2019.

Parliament has also adopted several resolutions and reports addressing child poverty over the years. Most recently, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) has been working on a draft report on developing a new EU anti-poverty strategy (rapporteur: João Oliveira, GUE/NGL, Portugal), scheduled for a committee vote by the end of the year. The rapporteur’s draft report calls for a comprehensive EU strategy to eradicate poverty by 2035, highlights that child poverty constitutes a violation of human rights, and urges the adoption of integrated measures across social, educational and health policies.

In a March 2024 resolution, Parliament called for a European Capitals for Children initiative to help fight child poverty, make a comprehensive examination of children’s living conditions and ensure effective implementation of the European Child Guarantee.

On 21 November 2023, with resolutions on reducing inequalities and promoting social inclusion in times of crisis for children and their families and on strengthening the Child Guarantee, Members urged the Commission and the Member States to do more to tackle the challenge of child poverty.

Read this ‘at a glance note’ on ‘EU contribution to the fight against child poverty‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

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