On December 12, 2022, Eurodiaconia, as part of the EU Alliance for Investing in Children (the Alliance), published a reaction to the adoption of the Council Recommendation on the revision of the Barcelona Targets on Early Childhood Education and Care. The Alliance brings together over 30 European networks representing millions of children, families, professionals, and volunteers.

On December 8, 2022, the EPSCO Council adopted the Recommendation on the Revision of the Barcelona targets on Early Childhood Education and Care to encourage Member States to increase participation in accessible, affordable and high-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC). The Recommendation includes positive elements of the Commission’s proposal, such as a strong focus on the quality, accessibility and affordability of the services provided, the recognition of the barriers that prevent participation, the need to provide concrete support for formal and informal carers, and the proposal to introduce a legal entitlement to ECEC.

However, we have identified some major shortcomings and are convinced that the Recommendation missed the opportunity to significantly enhancing children’s access to ECEC services at the national level.

One main shortcoming is the decrease of the target proposed by the Commission that would ensure that 50% of all children below the age of three can participate in ECEC by 2030, to now only 45%. Furthermore, having set up additional series of dynamic targets for different groups of countries within the EU risks to further perpetuate inequalities between EU states and regions and leads to a situation where most Member States fail to reach the Recommendation’s main objective and the 45% target.

In the foreseeable future, Eurodiaconia, together with the Alliance will continue to advocate for Member States to work towards the implementation of more ambitious national targets and demand a mid-term review of the Recommendation’s implementation and proposed targets.

Please find the detailed reaction of the Alliance on the Council Recommendation on the revision of the Barcelona Targets here.