Report on reducing inequalities with a special focus on child poverty

This report calls for a large number of important recommendations including:

- Increasing effectiveness of support to children but also parents who are unemployed and to tackle working poor  (unemployment benefit and adequate minimum income) including statutory adequate minimum wage.

- Establish a road map to implement the Investing in Children Recommendation, through the National Reform Programmes and Social Reports, setting a sub-target on child poverty… and a core priority in 2016 AGS.- Recommends that MS implement or enhance universal welfare benefits targeting children…. And regrets the growing tendency of MS to move away from universal support policies towards more means-tested support, as evidence shows that universal support policies offer better protection against child poverty.

- Recognizes the role of civil society including children’s rights and anti-poverty organizations, in ensuring EU policy coherence and calls for strengthened civil dialogue.

- Calls for MS to put in place mechanisms to promote children’s participation.

- Calls or a Child Guarantee with a specific fund to ensure that every child has access to free healthcare, free education, free childcare, decent housing and nutrition, as part of a European Integrated plan to combat child poverty, offering support to parents to come out of exclusion..