68 Amendments of Ilana CICUREL related to 2023/2066(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation -1 (new)
Citation -1 (new)
– having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, in particular Articles 14, 24, 32 and 33,
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation -1 a (new)
Citation -1 a (new)
-a having regard to the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) and its Action Plan1a, _________________ 1a COM(2021) 102 final
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation -1 b (new)
Citation -1 b (new)
-b having regard to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted in New York in September 2015,
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 a (new)
Citation 2 a (new)
– having regard to the United Nations resolution of 18 December 2019 on the rights of the child,
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 b (new)
Citation 2 b (new)
– having regard to Directive (EU) 2019/1158 on work-life balance for parents and carers,
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 a (new)
Citation 3 a (new)
– having regard to the Council Recommendation of 22 May 2019 on high-quality early childhood education and care systems,
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 b (new)
Citation 3 b (new)
– having regard to the Council Recommendation of 8 December 2022 on early childhood education and care: the Barcelona targets for 2030,
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 c (new)
Citation 3 c (new)
– having regard to the Council Recommendation of 8 December 2022 on access to affordable, high-quality long- term care,
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 a (new)
Citation 5 a (new)
– having regard to the European Parliament resolution of 29 April 2021 on the European Child Guarantee,
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 a (new)
Citation 12 a (new)
– having regard to the Commission communication of 7 June 2023 entitled 'a comprehensive approach to mental health',
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital -A (new)
Recital -A (new)
-A. whereas 24.74% of children in the European Union were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2022, an increase compared to the two previous years; whereas the phenomenon of child poverty affects all Member States of the European Union;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital -A a (new)
Recital -A a (new)
-Aa. whereas each child is unique; whereas an in-depth knowledge of each child's development enables recognition of and respect for their particularities, pace of development, areas of interest and needs;
Amendment 51 #
-Ab. whereas the first years of children's lives are crucial to their physical, mental, cognitive, social and emotional development and to their lifelong fulfilment; whereas children's experiences influence their ability to adapt, to integrate into society and to cope with adverse conditions in adulthood;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital -A c (new)
Recital -A c (new)
-Ac. whereas preventing inequalities is the best policy for reducing inequalities in the long term; whereas inequalities have a high economic cost for societies, particularly in terms of social protection expenditure;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas child poverty is a multidimensional phenomenon stemming from household poverty, meaning that low- income families, single-parent families – mostly made up of women and their children – and large families are at greater risk of poverty; whereas this phenomenon requires a multidimensional response, which necessarily includes improving employment and job security, guaranteeing and enforcing rights, increasing income and are more likely to transmit this risk of poverty over several generations; whereas this phenomenon requires a multidimensional response to prevent inequalities from mutually reinforcing each other; whereas this multidimensional response necessarily includes improving employment and job security, guaranteeing and enforcing rights, anti-discrimination measures, increasing income, especially in underpaid and undervalued sectors, and ensuring universal and affordable access to quality public services;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas effective public policies to reduce inequalities are based on interventions on lifestyle and access to social, health and education services; whereas effective social policies that increase people's ability to participate in the labour market and society are an investment in inclusive societies, not a cost;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas, under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), all children should be guaranteed the right to education, health care services, housing, protection, participation in decisions that affect them, leisure and free time, a balanced diet and the receipt of care in their family environment;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan, adopted in 2021, aims to reduce the number of children at risk of poverty and social exclusion by at least 5 million by 2030; whereas Member States have adopted national poverty reduction targets; whereas even if this target were achieved around 15 million children in the EU would still be at risk of poverty and social exclusion;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas the Council Recommendation establishing a European Child Guarantee represents a major opportunity to reduce inequalities and promote the social inclusion of children and that, by adopting the Recommendation, the EU Member States have demonstrated their commitment to an integrated policy aimed at breaking the vicious circle of poverty;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. whereas the European Child Guarantee stresses the urgent need to guarantee access to essential social services for children in vulnerable situations (quality early childhood education and care, education and school-based activities, healthcare, healthy nutrition and adequate housing);
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B c (new)
Recital B c (new)
Bc. whereas the European Child Guarantee has identified the following groups in vulnerable situations which should be targeted as a priority: homeless children or children experiencing severe housing deprivation; children with disabilities; children with mental heath issues; children with a migrant background or minority ethnic origin, particularly Roma; children in alternative, especially institutional, care; children in precarious family situations;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas quality and inclusive childcare and pre-school education may play a significant role in compensating for the socio-economic status of children at risk of poverty and foster the integration of parents, especially mothers, into the labour market; whereas these services not only promote gender equality in access to employment, but also help to achieve the objective of full employment;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas access to high-quality early childhood education and care services is essential to ensure equal educational opportunities for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, such as children with disabilities or with special educational needs, and to prevent the placement of children in institutions; whereas such services must have adequate financial and human resources to identify and support children experiencing particular difficulties;
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas even in countries where the right to health is enshrined in law, many children do not have access, or timely access, to adequate healthcare and some have extremely limited access to services other than emergency services, putting at risk the health of women during pregnancy and childbirth, as well as the health of babies and children;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas families experience multiple and interdependent challenges that no single service or organisation can resolve; whereas continuity of services as well as proper inter-service coordination is essential to prepare and facilitate the transitions that children will face; whereas we must place children at the heart of our approach and consider them as part of a continuum of integrated services that goes beyond the missions of the various organisations that mark their pathway;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas playing and recreational activities gives children the opportunity to express themselves in a symbolic way, enable them to take an active part in learning and forms an essential basis of the way they thinkir cognitive development;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas the routines that punctuate children's days provide opportunities for active learning, enabling children to develop functional autonomy and acquire healthy lifestyle habits;
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G b (new)
Recital G b (new)
Gb. whereas the ongoing crises such as the energy, cost of living and climate crises, are exacerbating inequalities and vulnerabilities among families; whereas socio-economic status should never be a barrier to children's access to essential services; whereas increased support is needed to ensure that children and families have access to essential services;
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G c (new)
Recital G c (new)
Gc. whereas the COVID-19 pandemic and its long-term impact have worsened the difficulties faced by children, particularly those in vulnerable situations, due to the disruption of daily life and social contacts, the closure of schools, the reduced capacity to provide protection from domestic violence, abuse and neglect during lockdown and the disruption of basic social services;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G d (new)
Recital G d (new)
Gd. whereas adverse childhood experiences, discrimination, inadequate access to services and unstable environments are some of the main causes of mental health problems developing in early childhood; whereas families at risk may have limited access to mental health services due to financial barriers, stigma, or availability;
Amendment 188 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 (new)
Paragraph -1 (new)
-1. (Title) Investing in reducing inequalities and in children to ensure inclusive societies
Amendment 192 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls on the Member States to increase public investment in universaltargeted public policies that have a direct and indirect impact on children’s lives and their fulfilment, by guaranteeing high- quality and affordable public services (especially early childhood education and care, care, education, health, housing, cultural and leisure activities), to promote the creation of work with rights based on robust collective bargaining and recruitment with decent and fair wages, to facilitate a work-life balance by, inter alia, reducing working ho; stresses that specific awareness-raising measures and providing for maternity and paternity leave, and to bolster mechanisms for ensuring the participation ofre needed to ensure that children andin their families in the development, implement most vulnerable situations and monitoring of these policiestheir families are included;
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Calls on the Member States to promote the creation of work with rights based on robust collective bargaining, decent and fair wages, to respond to labour shortages in the social sector by improving the attractiveness of these professions with the facilitation of work- life balance and the allowance of flexible working hours as well as providing for adequate maternity and paternity leave;
Amendment 207 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Stresses the importance to bolster at every level mechanisms for ensuring the meaningful, safe and inclusive participation of children, families and carers, particularly those in vulnerable situations, in the development, implementation, monitoring and assessment of public policies on children;
Amendment 213 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Deplores the fact that the governments of the Member States are moving away from universal policies and increasingly promoting policies based on the liberalisation of services and instruments whose availability depends on the resources of the beneficiaries; stresses that universalStresses that targeted, integrated, and long-term policies offer better protection against the multiple causes of poverty, inequalities, and social exclusion, by providing structural responses to strengthen the resilience and autonomy of families and meet the needs of their children and that can, if necessary, be supplemented by immediate, individualised one-off support measures for families in vulnerable situations;
Amendment 222 #
3. Calls on the Commission to refrain from recommending reforms that lead to cuts in and the weakening of public administration in the Member States, aimed at, as part of the European Semester and country- specific recommendations, to recommend reforms to promotinge the relaxaduction of employment relationships and the privatisation of public services, which have led to the weakening and, in some cases, the undermining of the social and labour rights of children and their families; deplores the recent statements by the President of the ECB, who criticised the investments by national governments in social responses aimed at addressing the increased cost of livinginequalities, in particular by investing in new generations, strengthening quality public services, and the protection of social rights of children and their families; further calls on the Commission to monitor developments in child poverty indicators as part of the European Semester;
Amendment 226 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Stresses the importance of a multi- sectoral approach in which all relevant stakeholders work in partnership to develop an integrated strategy to tackle inequalities in childhood with the provision of child protection and family welfare services; highlights that some children and their families may need special support, for example from speech therapists, ophthalmologists, psychologists, occupational therapists and nutritionists; calls on the Member States to establish partnerships between education, health and social services to facilitate access to care and support for children who need it;
Amendment 229 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Stresses the need to improve the quality of early childhood education and care services; believes that the quality of early childhood services can be improved through adequate financial and human resources, appropriate pedagogical training of staff with expert knowledge of child psychology, improved alert systems and measures for evaluation and continuous improvement of pedagogical quality to ensure the overall development of children;
Amendment 232 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. (Title) Promoting social inclusion of children and their families
Amendment 236 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to make the widest possible use of the European Child Guarantee as a social response facilitating the social integration and inclusion of children suffering from poverty and social exclusion, particularly for identified target groups and the most remote areas;
Amendment 238 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Reiterates its request to those Member States which have not yet published their National Action Plan under the European Child Guarantee to do so without delay; calls on the EU Member States to regularly review and update their National Action Plan and to put in place monitoring and evaluation systems to assess its implementation;
Amendment 244 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Encourages Member States to go beyond the European Child Guarantee to provide services aimed at reducing inequalities, such as providing systematic hearing and sight tests for children directly at school;
Amendment 246 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4c. Calls on the Commission to examine the possibility of establishing a European Authority for Children to ensure continuous work on and attention to child policies across the EU, support and monitor Member States' implementation of the recommendation, coordinate national work, ensure the exchange of good practices and innovative solutions, and streamline reporting and recommendations;
Amendment 249 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 d (new)
Paragraph 4 d (new)
4d. Recalls that Member States whose rate of children at risk of poverty or social exclusion is higher than the EU average shall allocate at least 5% of their ESF+ resources to targeted actions and structural reforms to combat child poverty; stresses that this threshold is only a minimum and that Member States are encouraged to use a higher proportion of ESF+ to combat child poverty;
Amendment 253 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 e (new)
Paragraph 4 e (new)
4e. Stresses that social inclusion policies must ensure that education and social services enable children's overall development: physical health and well- being, social skills, emotional maturity, communication skills and general knowledge, cognitive and language development;
Amendment 264 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Member States to strengthen the implementation of legislations that protects or enhances maternity, paternity and parental rights, allowing for a more effective work- life balance that makes it possible for women to return to work after pregnancy and maternity leave, and forduring breastfeeding period;
Amendment 266 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Notes that public childcare services can be supplemented by other structures, such as private-sector facilities or home-based childcare; stresses that all childcare services must meet the same quality standards for children's overall development; believes that early childhood education and care services must adapt to the realities of the labour market, particularly as regards flexible working hours;
Amendment 274 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the EU budgetary authorities to take advantage of the upcoming mid-term review of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2021-2027 to strengthen and make better use of ESF+, ERDF, FEADAMIF, InvestEU, and Child Guarantee allocations in order to strengthen structural policies and social support for children and families; reiterates its call for an urgent increase in funding for the European Child Guarantee with a dedicated budget of at least €20 billion for the period 2021-2027 and insists on making this dedicated budget part of the revised MFF and reinforced ESF+;
Amendment 286 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Recommends that the Member States ensure that all vulnerable children have access to formal and non-formal, public, free, inclusive and quality education at all ages, starting with early childhood education and care;
Amendment 294 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses, in view of the difficulties in accessing early childhood education and care in most Member States, the need for investment in early childhood education and care services in sufficient numbers, inclusive and of high quality, thereby creating or bolstering a public, and universal and free response from the very beginning of the education process; stresses that childcare services must be fairly distributed throughout the European Union, including in the most remote areas such as the outermost regions;
Amendment 304 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. (Title) Sound public policies to reduce inequalities
Amendment 306 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Notes that an evaluation of the European Child Guarantee will take place in 2024 and, in this context, calls on the Commission to evaluate the coherence of national policies between the implementation of the reinforced European Youth Guarantee and that of the Child Guarantee in order to identify any possible shortcomings and to ensure the continuity of coherent actions across age groups;
Amendment 307 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Stresses the need for public policies to strengthen the initial and continuing training of early childhood education and care staff, in order to ensure the development and adoption of the best innovative educational and pedagogical practices, such as knowledge of children's chronobiology, and access to high-quality educational and pedagogical resources;
Amendment 308 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 c (new)
Paragraph 8 c (new)
8c. Calls on the Member States to facilitate access to early childhood education and care services, for example by informing parents of available places or assisting vulnerable families with administrative procedures;
Amendment 312 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. HCalls on the Member States to exchange best practices for the overall development of children and the well- being of families; highlights the experience of some Member States, which ensure that textbooks and teaching materials, as well as school transport and meals, healthy meals and educational and cultural outings for children in need, are provided free of charge; recommends extending this systemese best practices to all Member States as a means of ensurimproving equal access to education and as an important means of financial support for the most vulnerable of families;
Amendment 324 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Member States to guarantee universal, public, freaffordable and quality healthcare for all children and their families including health promotion and disease prevention; highlights the mounting need for mental health and psychosocial well-being support; highlights the value of vaccinating children and the need to fight the hotbeds of misinformation with regard to the benefits of vaccination;
Amendment 331 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Invites the Member States to consider the creation of a confidential "development file" in order to collect information across relevant services on children's development, improve the detection of difficulties and encourage the transmission of information, with the parents' agreement, to the various social, education and health services;
Amendment 338 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Highlights the right to comfortabladequate housing that meets the needs of children and their families and ensures their well- being, privacy and quality of life; calls on the Member States to promote a public housing policy that tackles property speculation, develop social and sustainable housing and guarantees this right;
Amendment 343 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Highlights that adequate minimum income schemes are essential to combat poverty and protect children and families, and should be at the heart of strong social safety nets; calls on the Commission, while respecting the principle of subsidiarity, to propose a framework directive to help further strengthen the accessibility, adequacy and effectiveness of minimum income schemes;
Amendment 347 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls on the Member States to foster programmes to monitorCommission and the Member States to assess the distributional impact of inflation and the prices of energy, transport and other essential goods in order to reduce the impact of the rise inse in the cost of living on the various socio-economic groups in order to develop targeted measures for the cmost of living on children and their familievulnerable households;
Amendment 350 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Calls on the Commission to draw up without delay an ambitious European strategy to combat poverty by 2030;
Amendment 351 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12b. Calls on the Member States to guarantee the rights and protection of children in times of crisis, in particular continued access to basic services; encourages the Member States to assess the effectiveness of measures adopted during crises in order to prepare a range of measures that can be activated, tailored and targeted in the event of new crises;
Amendment 354 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 c (new)
Paragraph 12 c (new)
12c. Stresses that the disruption to schooling during the COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated inequalities in learning; that children with greater educational needs or socio-economic difficulties have had to cope with a lack of technology and materials at home or a lack of skills ; calls on the Member States to set up additional short-term learning programmes, such as summer schools or tutoring, in order to reduce existing learning gaps, targeting in particular children from vulnerable households; stresses the important role of digital tools and new technologies in combating territorial inequalities in terms of learning; reiterates that all children should have access to digital infrastructure, and affordable and good quality network, and that connectivity should be considered as an associated right of the fundamental right to education; calls on the Member States to include digital skills in the curricula of all educational institutions and to provide the necessary training and equipment for teachers and pupils;
Amendment 355 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 d (new)
Paragraph 12 d (new)
12d. Calls on the Member States to prepare the new generations for the increasingly pronounced consequences of climate change; considers that this requires the inclusion of climate change in national school curricula, the involvement of children in climate resilience and climate change mitigation activities as well as the acquisition of green skills;
Amendment 358 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Condemns all forms of violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect with regard to children; calls on the Member States to develop and implement integrated prevention and protection systems for children with a view to eradicating violence; calls on the Member States to pay particular attention to violence amongst children, including cyber- violence and bullying as well as to exchange best practices in that area;
Amendment 366 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Condemns discrimination in all its forms; stresses that discrimination can lead to difficulties in accessing the labour market and housing, with repercussions for children and their families; reiterates its call for negotiations on the anti- discrimination directive to be unblocked;
Amendment 368 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to raise public awareness in order to put an end to the stigmatisation, stereotyping and social exclusion of vulnerable families, so that people understand that families may have no control over the circumstances that make them vulnerable;