Parliamentary question - O-000031/2018Parliamentary question
O-000031/2018

Protection of children in migration

Question for oral answer O-000031/2018/rev.1
to the Commission
Rule 128
Anna Maria Corazza Bildt, Roberta Metsola, on behalf of the PPE Group
Birgit Sippel, Caterina Chinnici, Sylvie Guillaume, Dietmar Köster, Cécile Kashetu Kyenge, Juan Fernando López Aguilar, Tanja Fajon, Josef Weidenholzer, Soraya Post, Miltiadis Kyrkos, Kati Piri, Vilija Blinkevičiūtė, Christine Revault d'Allonnes Bonnefoy, Emilian Pavel, Elly Schlein, Enrique Guerrero Salom, on behalf of the S&D Group
Nathalie Griesbeck, Cecilia Wikström, Hilde Vautmans, Sophia in 't Veld, on behalf of the ALDE Group
Cornelia Ernst, Dennis de Jong, Marie-Christine Vergiat, Kostas Chrysogonos, Martina Anderson, Malin Björk, Barbara Spinelli, Marina Albiol Guzmán, Patrick Le Hyaric, Dimitrios Papadimoulis, Stelios Kouloglou, Sofia Sakorafa, Paloma López Bermejo, Lola Sánchez Caldentey, Miguel Urbán Crespo, Tania González Peñas, Xabier Benito Ziluaga, Eleonora Forenza, Miguel Viegas, João Pimenta Lopes, João Ferreira, Curzio Maltese, Estefanía Torres Martínez, Kostadinka Kuneva, on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group
Judith Sargentini, Jean Lambert, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group

Procedure : 2018/2666(RSP)
Document stages in plenary
Document selected :  
O-000031/2018
Texts tabled :
O-000031/2018 (B8-0016/2018)
Votes :
Texts adopted :

According to the latest figures from UNHCR, 32 039 children arrived in Greece, Italy, Spain and Bulgaria in 2017.Of these, 46 % were unaccompanied or separated children (UASC). A year after the Commission’s Communication on the protection of children in migration of 12 April 2017[1], Member States are still facing challenges in the implementation of its recommendations.

The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child require that the ‘best interests of the child’ be a primary consideration in all actions affecting children.

1. Implementation of the recommendations - How does the Commission assess the state of play regarding the Member States’ implementation of the recommendations in the Communication on the protection of children in migration? Which Member States are being monitored by the Commission? What steps does the Commission plan to take next to support Member States in implementing the Communication, including the use of EU funds, to ensure in particular that an adequate number of shelters is available for unaccompanied children and for families with children, that a child rights protection officer is appointed in hotspots, that children have timely access to health care, psychological support and education, and that family reunification is made more effective?

2. Guardianship - Given the lengthy procedures for the appointment of guardians for unaccompanied children, how does the Commission assess the actions taken by the Member States to make sure that all children are granted a guardian or temporary guardian upon arrival? What will the Commission do to encourage Member States to provide training for guardians and to speed up procedures for their appointment?

3. Detention - Given the current lack of appropriate alternative care arrangements for unaccompanied children and for families with children, what steps will the Commission take to support Member States in providing alternative measures to detention? Should instances of protracted and systematic detention of migrant children and their families continue to occur across EU Member States, will the Commission launch infringement procedures against Member States that do not ensure compliance with children’s fundamental rights in the context of migration?

4. Access to education - What is the Commission doing to ensure that the current three-month legal obligation to integrate child asylum seekers at school is enforced in all EU Member States?

Last updated: 27 March 2018
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