This mapping of national child protection systems in the European Union (EU) provides an overview of recent developments in such systems and their current status based on selected standards and features.

Under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), states parties recognise children as rights holders and grant them individual rights. Every child has the right to protection, according to Article 19 of the CRC. A rights-based approach to children is essential for ensuring their dignity and well-being.

In the EU, the rights of the child are safeguarded through various mechanisms, including the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (the Charter). The Charter, which became legally binding with the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009, explicitly recognises several key children’s rights. These include the right to education and the right to care and protection from exploitation, violence and discrimination. Moreover, the Charter upholds the principle of the best interests of the child as the primary consideration in all matters concerning children.

The principle of subsidiarity in the context of the EU precludes Union intervention if the Member States themselves can effectively solve the problem at central, regional or local level. Most policies and legislation related to social and children’s rights do not fall within the competence of the EU but instead fall under national competence. However, there is growing awareness of the need for integrated visions and strategies in this regard, such as those set out in the EU strategy on the rights of the child and the European child guarantee.

The EU has consistently taken significant steps to improve child protection systems in its Member States in the past few decades. In 2014, the European Commission asked the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) to conduct research on national child protection systems in the then 28 EU Member States. FRA published a mapping of child protection systems in 2015. The Commission asked for the data to be updated at the end of 2022. The following web pages provide an updated mapping based on the data collected in the first half of 2023 in the 27 EU Member States.

The national reports related to this research are published on FRA’s website.

Child protection systems are unique in each Member State, reflecting historical, cultural, political and demographic features. Child protection systems are complex and currently no common understanding exists across EU Member States on core concepts, terminology and definitions related to child protection. Comparing child protection systems across the EU remains challenging. Moreover, there are important divergences between the theoretical child protection systems laid down in laws and the actual practice and implementation of legal and regulatory provisions.

Neither the underlying research for this mapping exercise nor the web pages are exhaustive. Rather, they represent a selection of standards and characteristics of children’s rights systems. The selection is pursuant to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) definition of child protection systems and the European Commission’s 10 principles for integrated child protection systems put forward in 2015.

On this basis, this mapping aims to provide an overview of the main elements of the child welfare and protection systems in the 27 EU Member States. It seeks to provide a snapshot of the current state of such systems at national level. It pays particular attention to persisting challenges, but also highlights achievements and promising practices. The goals are to promote continuous improvement of integrated child protection systems and in turn secure the sustainable well-being, safety and rights of all children living in the EU.