A Declaration on Child Participation in Decision-Making at National and EU Levels has been adopted at a dedicated conference in Bucharest hosted by the Romanian Presidency of the European Union Council.

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The Declaration aims to highlight the role of children in policy and decision-making processes, and encourage Member States to adopt mechanisms to encourage child participation.

Children’s participation a priority under the Romanian Presidency

The conference on ‘Children’s Participation in Decision and Policy Making at EU level’ took place on the 6-7 of May 2019, organised by the Romanian Ministry of Labour and Social Justice with the support of UNICEF Romania. It was attended by more than 60 children, as well as EU officials and wider stakeholders from the civil society and policy communities.

The ‘Bucharest Children’s Declaration’, which was prepared by the Romanian Children’s Board on the basis of formal and informal consultations with children and European experts on children’s rights, sets out key recommendations relating to the participation of children and young people in policymaking processes at EU and Member State level. These include:

• the establishment of a monitoring and evaluation mechanism for child rights, including child participation
• a special day to celebrate child participation at EU level
• dedicated school and civic programmes to educate children about their right to participate
• mechanisms at community and national level to consult children on policy and legislation
• the inclusion of child participation as a horizontal principle guiding funding decisions by the EU Structural and Cohesion funds

The Romanian Presidency, which will last for the first six months of 2019, has indicated it is prioritising children’s right to participate as part of the EU policy agenda. In addition to the Bucharest conference, the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has implemented a number of activities relating to young people, including a consultation with 300 children from the region of Bacau, Romania. An introduction to the Romanian Presidency written in child-friendly language has also been published on the presidency website.

Wider activity relating to children’s participation in policy and decision-making processes

Supporting children’s right to participate in decisions that affect their lives is one of the three pillars of the 2013 Recommendation for Investing in Children. The participation and consultation of children with regard to public decision-making processes has also received wider policy attention across the EU. 

In 2017, UNICEF (in collaboration with Eurochild) launched an online survey entitled ‘Europe Kids Want’ to enable children to express their views on the issues that matter to them. The survey results formed the basis of a special plenary session of the European Parliament in November 2018, attended by a delegation of children and young people and hosted by European Parliament President Antonio Tajani. Several Member States have also implemented mechanisms for the formal consultation of children and young people in policy and decision-making, such as children’s parliaments or councils.

The European Platform for Investing in Children (EPIC) is a platform which provides resources for Member States to monitor activities triggered by the 2013 Recommendation for Investing in Children by sharing the best of policymaking for children and families and fostering cooperation and mutual learning in the field. EPIC will shortly publish a policy memo on the role of children’s rights and children’s participation in policymaking.