Creator( )Irina Tulyakova, Director of the Coordination Center for Family Development and Childcare Development
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The European Child Guarantee is the European Union’s political and social response to one of the most systemic threats: child poverty and social exclusion.
This is based on the understanding that if children do not have access to education, health care, nutrition, family conditions and housing, our broader society and the entire foundations of our democracy are at risk.
For EU member states, this is an already established mechanism, prioritized as a fundamental priority for the functioning of the state, but for Ukraine it is a mechanism that requires action in the context of the challenges of war.
Although still at the stage of EU candidate status, Ukraine has taken the unusual step of voluntarily joining the framework.
What makes this a landmark moment is that this decision was made in the midst of war, when millions of children have lost their homes, access to education, access to family care, and the security that many countries freely enjoy.
Ukraine’s decision sends a signal to both Ukrainian society and its European partners that children’s rights are not secondary, even in times of national crisis. This reflects a new cornerstone on Ukraine’s road to recovery.
Ukrainian adoptions also bring some important experience to the European framework, especially considering the approximately 1.6 million Ukrainian children remaining within the Russian Federation and in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine under Russian control.
The efforts of Ukraine and EU Member States to return these children go to the very heart of what the European Child Guarantee stands for. These children exemplify why this guarantee is respected by all EU Member States and remains an important instrument for the protection of children.
Ukraine’s partnership will shed more light on the lessons of these stolen children and the steps needed to restore them to a sense of normalcy. While the EU provides the linkage structure that Ukraine needs, it is Ukraine that can provide the expertise and experience to ensure that this guarantee evolves for decades to come.
Each element of the European Child Guarantee has a specific meaning in Ukraine. In a country with limited access to services, where the majority of children live in areas with limited access to services, a problem exacerbated by constant attacks by the Russian military, the service is an important means of reinventing Ukraine into a country with potential.
The challenges of complying with the European Children’s Guarantee are nowhere more evident than in frontline regions. There, there is a need for shelter, buses to transport children, and basic digital tools that allow learning to continue during emergencies, with great existential risks.
Supporting the education, health, and development of children in these war environments creates a systemic response to those suffering from trauma.
Many of the objectives of the European Child Guarantee in relation to Ukraine are not only social, but also humanitarian. Housing placement is another factor that would seem obvious for a peaceful nation, but is a challenge for Ukraine in the context of mass displacement and indiscriminate destruction of communities. This situation creates challenges that make it nearly impossible to provide the necessary resources.
Finally, ensuring security for children requires systematic data collection, the introduction of new models of social services, and strengthening of child protection services.
Ukraine is taking steps that could serve as a model for other countries, including digitizing the adoption and child referral process, building networks to work with child victims of violence, and developing juvenile justice.
The European Child Guarantee is a value choice
In all this, the EU has gained a unique partner to test assurance frameworks under extremely difficult conditions. This will create an unprecedented experience that can enrich European practice and provide answers to questions facing the EU itself, such as how to protect children’s rights in times of crisis, how to build resilient systems in devastated situations, and how to integrate humanitarian measures with long-term social policy.
For the EU, it is also a question of border stability. By investing in Ukraine’s children, the EU is investing in its own security and future.
Countries whose children have access to education, health care, housing and protection will be the ones that can recover, integrate into the European space and fully participate in common policies. In this sense, the European Child Guarantee is not only a social framework, but also a geopolitical framework.
For Ukraine, the European Child Guarantee is more than a social policy instrument. It is a choice of values on which we will base our reconstruction. War has taught us that a nation’s strength is measured not only by its military or economy, but also by how well its children are protected.
A strong and resilient Ukraine starts with every child having safety, support, opportunities for development and confidence in their tomorrow. That is why the European Child Guarantee is not only a framework for EU integration, but also a roadmap to our recovery.
Irina Tulyakova is the Director of the Coordination Center for Family Development and Child Care Development, the central institution for the implementation of the European Child Guarantee in the Government of Ukraine, and the Coordinator of the European Child Guarantee in Ukraine.
