The Children’s Rights Action Group (CRAG) is a partnership of International NGOs including the authors of this position: Eurochild, the European Juvenile Justice Observatory, Plan International, Save the Children, SOS Children’s Villages, Terre des Hommes International Federation and World Vision. The CRAG aims to ensure that children’s rights are protected, respected and fulfilled both in the internal and external dimensions of EU policies and legislation, in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) – the world’s most ratified treaty, notably signed and ratified by all EU Member States. All CRAG members1 have endorsed this position. CRAG strongly believes that the EU can have a positive and significant impact on the lives of children. In the past it has warmly welcomed EU commitments towards children’s rights and now urge the EU to translate its commitments into action *in the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for the period 2014–2020. Over the past few years *children have been increasingly recognised as right-holders by EU decision-makers. Article 3 of the Lisbon Treaty explicitly recognises the promotion of children’s rights in internal and external affairs as an objective of the EU. Furthermore, Article 24 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights is dedicated to children, and recognises the principle of the best interest of the child and the right of all children to participation. The European Commission (EC) Communications’ “Towards an EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child” (2006) and “the EU Agenda on the Rights of the Child” (2011) reaffirm the EU’s commitment to fully take into account children’s rights in all EU policies. The European Union must now reflect its commitment by allocating adequate financial means for children in the next MFF. Children need to be made visible in the EU budget by securing direct and indirect allocations, which can be traced and monitored. Without disaggregated data that shows how much of the EU’s spending actually reaches children, it is impossible to assess how successful the EU has been in terms of implementing its commitments to children. This position, endorsed by CRAG, contains analysis and recommendations from a children’s rights perspective on a selection of the financial instruments proposed by the EC under the following headings: – Smart and Inclusive Growth (Heading1), – Security and Citizenship (Heading 3), – Global Europe (Heading 4). CRAG remains committed to promoting children’s rights in the MFF and stand ready to discuss our analysis and recommendations.
