12.06.20
On 2 June 2020, Make Mothers Matter, along with its partners of the EU Alliance for Investing in Children, with the support of the Social Platform and SDG Watch Europe, issued a Call for Action to the EU to ensure that the Child Guarantee Council Recommendation is launched in 2020. The statement was also shared through letters to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Executive Vice Presidents Timmermans, Dombrovskis and Vestager, Vice President Suica and Commissioners Schmit and Gentiloni.
In our joint statement, we called for the need for a sustainable Europe 2030 Strategy with a strong social dimension. The Europe 2020 Strategy is coming to an end this year and a new 2030 Strategy should incorporate the principles outlined in the European Pillar of Social Rights in alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. With one out of four Europeans already at risk of poverty and social exclusion and with the catastrophic consequences of the COVID19 pandemic, the EU needs an ambitious, comprehensive and overarching strategy that would encompass the short and long term challenges that it is currently facing.
We are calling on EU institutions and Member States to adopt the ambitious EU budget 2021-2027 and social funding programmes to tackle social and employment challenges proposed by the European Commission on 27 May 2020. Measures that allow access to adequate resources and benefits, and access to affordable, quality and inclusive services to support those at risk, need to be put in place.
We are grateful for the commitment of the European Commission in its announcement on May 27th of the inclusion in the updated European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) proposal of a 5% earmarking for the implementation of the Child Guarantee to tackle child poverty. This earmarking is relevant for all EU Member States. The proposal shows the willingness of the European Commission to support the EU’s most vulnerable children and their families. This constitutes a big milestone in tackling child poverty and in breaking the cycle of disadvantage in Europe.
However, we are aware that 5% of ESF+ is not enough to combat child poverty across the EU. This should be part of the financial response and other ESF+ resources plus further EU funding resources should be made available.
There is an urgent need for a Council Recommendation on the Child Guarantee that must guide the EU’s future budget spending and ensure the programming of these financial resources by the EU Member States. It is important to have in place a comprehensive policy framework to guide EU Member States’ spending and policy-making.
COVID19 has further highlighted the importance of strong social and child and family protection systems. Europe needs to guarantee that no family is left behind and that children and their families in the most vulnerable situations, have access to key social rights and that parents are able to receive adequate support to exit poverty.
02.07.22
UN New York, HLPF - Join us on July 11th for a discussion on how #SharingTheCare at every level - family, community, governments and private sector - is vital for
26.04.22
We are delighted to be launching our new podcast series An almost Perfect Mother featuring Isabelle Roskam, professor of development and parenting psychology at the University of Louvain, Belgium. Isa
09.05.22
UN New York, HLPF - In the Sustainable Development Goals, Target 5.4 calls for the recognition, reduction and redistribution of unpaid family care work, i.e. the domestic and care work
14.03.23
Make Mothers Matter submitted its contribution to the Call for Evidence of the EU Commission on Mental Health.
07.03.23
Family is the primary social structure through which the needs and rights of children and young people are met and realized. The right to family life as set out by the UNCRC, is a key right for all children and
24.02.23
On 28th February 2023, Make Mothers Matter together with partners, is organizing a conference at the European Parliament to tackle the issue of the gender care gap in relation to intra-EU mobility. Featuring Dr
07.02.23
MMM welcomes a new political decision by the European Parliament and the European Council taken in December 2022, regarding pay transparency measures.
25.01.23
A new Act, the Coroners (Amendment) 2019 Act, was passed in full and enacted at the beginning of 2020. This law makes reporting and inquests into all maternal deaths mandatory. It also allows Coroners to go bey
18.12.22
The European Child Guarantee and universal maternal healthcare in Europe: the essential role of maternal health in the first 1000 days of child development