Auditors assess EU efforts to combat child poverty

The European Court of Auditors¹ is conducting an audit to assess whether EU action helps reduce child poverty in Member States. In particular, the auditors will analyse the effectiveness of EU policy and funding in supporting Member States’ efforts to alleviate child poverty.

According to the latest Eurostat² data, almost 24 million children aged under 18 in the EU are at risk of poverty or social exclusion. This means that they are living in households suffering from at least one of the following three conditions: risk of income poverty, severe material deprivation or very low work intensity. The fight against poverty and social exclusion has been at the heart of the Europe 2020 strategy. Moreover, the specific issue of child poverty is high on the EU political agenda following the European Parliament’s proposal for a Child Guarantee in 2021-2027.

The auditors have today published an Audit Preview on the EU’s response to child poverty. Audit Previews provide information on an ongoing audit task. They are designed as a source of information for those interested in the policy or programmes being audited.

“Poverty is a reality for almost one in every four children in the EU. Relatively low-cost investment during childhood can yield a lifetime of gains, not only for those individuals, but also for society and the economy as a whole”, said Tony Murphy, the member of the European Court of Auditors responsible for the audit. “Our audit conclusions and recommendations will assess the adequacy of how EU initiatives and funding support Member States to combat child poverty.”

• 1. 

  As the EU's independent external auditor, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) looks after the interests of EU taxpayers. It does not have legal powers, but works to improve the European Commission's management of the EU budget and reports on EU finances.
  What does the ECA do?
   
• 2. 

  This directorate-general is responsible for providing the EU institutions with statistical data. Eurostat strives to harmonise the collection and processing of statistical information throughout the European Union in order to provide for meaningful statistical comparisons between member-states.