A Policy in its Infancy: The case for strengthening and re-thinking EU action on childhood

This paper offers a critical analysis of current EU interventions on childhood. After mapping out the economic and political rationales for shifting welfare policies towards children and providing an overview of current EU child-related interventions, the paper fleshes out various arguments for rethinking and strengthening the EU action on childhood. This is followed by a detailed analysis of EU actions in two selected fields: childcare and child poverty. Based on this analysis, three main shortcomings of current EU action on childhood are identified; first, the dominance of the instrumental approach, second, its piecemeal character and third, its exclusive reliance on weak coordination instruments. The paper finishes by presenting a number of recommendations for the improvement of existing EU child-related interventions and the development of a more ambitious, well-designed and comprehensive EU policy on childhood.