One in four children in EU face poverty risk
Members of the European Parliament have called on EU countries to do more to tackle child poverty and social inequality, as the latest data show that one in four European children are at risk of poverty.
The latest figures from Eurostat show that 26 million under-18s were at risk of poverty and social exclusion in 2014. That equates to 27.7% of all children in the EU, an increase from 26.4% in 2013.
Children are at greatest risk of poverty in Romania (51%), Bulgaria (45.2%), and Hungary (41.4%), and at least risk in the Nordic EU countries: Sweden (16.7%), Finland (15.6%), and Denmark (14.5%).
The figure for the UK is worse than the EU average at 31.3%, while Germany fares better than average with 19.6%.
The European Parliament adopted a resolution on 24 November calling on EU national governments to make children a priority, and to guarantee that all children have access to free public education.
Portuguese MEP Inês Cristina Zuber commented that: “Austerity policies created this situation and it has been getting worse.”
Martin Biewen has written for IZA World of Labor about poverty persistence and poverty dynamics. Noting that a considerable part of poverty measured in any given period is transitory rather than persistent, he writes that: “Policies that promote education, employment, and attachment to work will be most effective in reducing persistent poverty, along with policies that strengthen family and job stability (such as childcare subsidies).”
Read more on this story at Euronews. The Eurostat data can be found here.
Related article:
Poverty persistence and poverty dynamics by Martin Biewen