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MEP Corina Cretu on Thursday told Agerpres that she signed, along with other members of the European Parliament, a request to the European Commission to establish an institution to guarantee the respect of children's rights in all member states of the Union.
"It was the idea of several members from the political groups in the European Parliament generated by the fact that there is currently no body or committee, neither in the European Parliament nor at the level of the European Commission, which has over 30 agencies, dedicated exclusively to children's rights. And considering the fact that we are in the week dedicated to women, we had this initiative to request, on the one hand, the President of the European Parliament, Mrs. Roberta Metsola, but also Mrs. Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, to have at the level of the European institutions an entity/ institution to ensure that, in general, children in the Member States have their rights observed. Because child poverty is widespread and, unfortunately, worsening in Europe: 25pct of children are at risk of poverty or social exclusion, and poverty affects every aspect of children's lives, living conditions, education, personal and professional development, plus exploitation through work of children," said the European deputy.
Corina Cretu stated that the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, has become a supporter of this idea and considers it natural that at least at the European Parliament, probably at the human rights committee, there should be a subcommittee dedicated to children.
The MEP maintains that such an institution is necessary, because children are the most vulnerable and always pay the most during crises and conflicts.
"From this point of view, this approach and this new institution that deals not only with the member states, but also with the accession countries is very important. For example, in Ukraine alone, since the Russian invasion, at least 6,000 Ukrainians children have been kidnapped and deported or detained in Russia, and basically the European Union can do absolutely nothing for the time being from this point of view," said the European MEP.
In addition, Corina Cretu pointed out, the situation of children in Romania, from rural areas, is also worrying.
"One in 10 children does not currently attend any educational institution. (...) It is very important for Romania to know that there is also a European institution that supervises whether the respective state takes care of its children. (...) In all country reports, the EU officials mentioned poverty among children in rural areas in Romania," Corina Cretu emphasized.
