The meeting of the Group of National Partnership Networks, consisting of 18 representatives of national networks for Children and managed by a pan-European network organisation for children Eurochild, was held in Brussels from 24 to 25 September 2014. In addition to representatives of Eurochild and Group of National Partnership Networks, the meeting was attended, in the capacity of observer, by representatives of two national networks for children from Latvia and Lithuania, and the Ombudsperson for Children from Luxembourg. The meeting was also attended by Jasmina Miković, Praxis Deputy Executive Director, as a representative of the Network of Organisations for the Children of Serbia (MODS), which is a member of the Group of National Partnership Networks and advocates for the achievement of the joint goal for putting the rights and welfare of children at the centre of policy-making at the national and European level.

The meeting began with a discussion at the roundtable in the European Parliament on the topic of advocacy for the child’s rights in the EP. The roundtable was organised by CRAG (Child Rights Action Group) and provided a forum for members of the European Parliament and organisations dealing with the protection of children’s rights to discuss possible further steps towards the inclusion of child’s rights in all policies and activities in a situation where there was no mechanism or body directly responsible for children’s rights in the European Parliament. It was pointed out that currently none of 20 standing committees had explicit responsibility for children and no one monitored which part of the EU budget was spent on children. During the last European election campaign, about 100 candidates elected as members of the European Parliament signed the Child Rights Manifesto, thus demonstrating willingness to ensure that the rights of the child were clearly prioritised in the EU. The members of the European Parliament stressed that it was their responsibility to ensure a voice of the children to be heard and the best interests of the child to be taken into account in creating all policies and legislation of the European Union. Hence, they stated that it was very important to establish an Intergroup on Children’s Rights and Welfare, as well as an international group Champions in protecting the rights of the child, which would work together with civil society to ensure that the child’s rights should be a top priority. The conclusion of the roundtable was that a positive step forward was the open-door policy and the expressed willingness of the members of the European Parliament to put the child’s rights at the heart of the European Parliament.

After that, members of the Group of National Partnership Networks had the opportunity to discuss and adopt an activity programme for 2014-2015, and to agree on changes in the Group's name (formerly Steering Group for Policy). In addition, a document was adopted defining the duties/roles of the members of the Group of National Partnership Networks, whose main role was to enhance advocacy for the rights of the child by entering the EU dimension into national policies and ensuring that national policies with cross-border aspect influence the EU policies. At the same time, the Group of National Partnership Networks seeks to strengthen the capacity of national coalitions and networks for the protection of children's rights, in order to be able to advocate for children's rights and welfare of children in their countries.

The following day, the participants were informed about two key parallel processes that were coordinated within the framework of the European Semester: the Europe 2020 Strategy and the Pact for Stability and Growth. In addition, representatives of the national networks for children from Bulgaria, Croatia and Scotland presented the good advocacy practices concerning the protection of child’s rights in political debates, the use of EU Structural Funds and the Europe 2020 Strategy.

See the news: MODS at the Meeting of Eurochild National Partner Network Group