‘Our Rights. Our Future. The Europe We Want.’ Children’s recommendations to European Union decision makers

Every five years, the citizens of the European Union elect their representatives as Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). As the EU makes critical decisions that impact the lives of children, ChildFund Alliance, Eurochild, Save the Children, SOS Children’s Villages, and UNICEF wanted to consult children on the issues that matter most to them ahead of the elections.

To facilitate this, they partnered with the Child and Youth Friendly Governance Project, an organization specialized in children’s participation in decision-making, to conduct a consultation with children aged 10 to 18 across the European Union.

The results of this consultation are presented in this report. They depict the issues that matter most to children in Europe and serve as a useful guide on matters that decision-makers in the EU should prioritize.

This report is divided into different thematic chapters based on the topics of the consultations: education, mental health, discrimination, protection, participation, climate change, and children’s priorities. Under each topic, we have proposed recommendations for the new Members of the European Parliament and European Commission leadership.