13 July 2022

Briefing of Parliamentary Committees on EU strategy for the rights of the child

The Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Domna Michailidou, in charge of social welfare and solidarity issues, briefed the MPs - members of the Hellenic Parliament European and Social Affairs Committees, in the context of a joint meeting on the EU strategy for the rights of the child and the EU Council Recommendation for the establishment of a European Child Guarantee. The meeting was attended by a delegation of the Supreme Confederation of Multi-Children Parents of Greece.

In his intervention, the Chairman of the meeting and Deputy Chair of the European Affairs Committee Dimitrios Kairidis, highlighted the protection of the child as an issue of major importance for Greek society, not only because family is Greek society’s pillar, but also in the context of the demographic challenges facing our country. He also emphasised the imperative need to undertake relevant actions, as the pandemic has further aggravated existing challenges. Mr Kairidis outlined the 2021-2023 National Action Plan for the rights of the child as a comprehensive strategy, including, among other things, the protection of children in the context of refugee and migration flows as a high priority axis, also stressing the importance of the government's package of measures to support families, and especially those with many children, moreover aiming to address the demographic problem. Mr Kairidis, concluding his speech, called attention to the need for reassessing social expenditure allocation towards the benefit of children- as compared to those allocated for older generations-, in order to deal with "cross-generation injustice", which leads, among other things, to the alienation of young people from politics.

The Deputy Minister for Labour and Social Affairs, Mrs Domna Michailidou described the target of improving the daily life of children, especially the most vulnerable, as the government’s top priority. She elaborated on relevant actions and policies aimed at empowering and enhancing children's skills, as well as reducing child poverty and social exclusion, underlining that the government's priorities in this field coincide with those of the European Commission. Mrs Michailidou then referred to the National Action Plan in the context of the European Child Guarantee and actions such as the extension of All-Day Schools and school meal provision, as well as the support of mental health services and pre-school education, highlighting the commitment of funds mounting to 180 million euros from the Recovery Fund for the creation of nurseries.

Mr Stamoulis Dimitrios and Mr Amitsis Gavriil, Vice-President and Scientific Advisor, respectively, of the Supreme Confederation of Multi- Children Parents of Greece , also spoke during the meeting, presenting the Confederation’s positions and views.

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