Ver aqui. With the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty, the protection of the rights of the child has been expressly recognised as one of the leading objectives of the EU both internally and in its relations with the wider world. Children’s rights have found a statutory footing in Article 3 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) which requires the EU to promote the protection of the rights of the child. It further adds that ‘in its relations with the wider world’ the Union must contribute to the protection of fundamental rights, in particular the rights of the child. In addition, Article 2 TEU includes the respect for fundamental rights as a core value of the EU.
Other notable provisions are: Article 21 TEU which establishes human rights and fundamental freedoms as guiding principles of EU action on the international scene, creating the obligation for the EU to consolidate and support human rights in its policies; Article 6 TEU which requires the EU to accede to the ECHR as previously mentioned; Article 79 TFEU which provides that the European Parliament and the Council shall adopt measures combating trafficking in persons, in particular women and children; and Article 83 TFEU which offers the possibility for the European Parliament and the Council to legislate on various crimes including the trafficking in human beings and sexual exploitation of women and children.
The Lisbon Treaty contributes to reinforcing the capacity of the EU to safeguard children’s rights, notably through the legal recognition of the Charter. Both instruments provide a more visible and explicit recognition of the EU commitment to protect children’s rights.
The entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty also marks the incorporation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the Charter) as part of the EU legal framework, on the basis of Article 7 TEU. It became directly binding on all EU institutions and Member States on 1 December 2009. The Charter enshrines the rights of the child, in particular in Article 24:
- Children shall have the right to such protection and care as is necessary for their well-being. They may express their views freely. Such views shall be taken into consideration on matters which concern them in accordance with their age and maturity.
- In all actions relating to children, whether taken by public authorities or private institutions, the child’s best interests must be a primary consideration.
- Everychildshallhavetherighttomaintainonaregularbasisapersonalrelationship and direct contact with both his or her parents, unless that is contrary to his or her interests.
The Charter establishes specific rights relevant to children, such as Article 14 establishing a right to education and Article 32 prohibiting child labour and providing guarantees for the protection of young people at work.
The Charter establishes that EU policies directly or indirectly affecting children must be designed, implemented and monitored taking into account the principle of the best interests of the child. The EU must guarantee the right to such protection and care as is necessary for the well-being of children, in particular the need to protect children from abuse, neglect and violations of their rights, and situations which endanger their well-being.
The Lisbon Treaty placed the rights of the child at the forefront of the EU agenda. While the Treaty, together with the Charter, provides legal grounds for EU action in the area of children’s rights, neither the Charter nor the Lisbon Treaty confer a competence on the EU as a general policy area.
Despite the absence of specific competence to legislate on children’s rights, EU actions related to children’s rights have a direct impact on the law and policies that affect children in the Member States. Child-friendly justice is an area where the EU has actively elaborated measures to ensure, the Commission has adopted a proposal for a Directive on victims’ rights respect and promotion of the rights of the child in judicial proceedings. Based on the EU ability to legislate on the rights of victims of crime under the Lisbon Treaty with a higher level of protection of children as vulnerable victims. It also supported the revision of EU legislation on parental responsibility with a view to ensuring the best interests of the child and contributed to promoting the Council of Europe’s Child-Friendly Justice Guidelines.
The Lisbon Treaty enhanced the EU’s capacity to adopt binding legal instruments on child. The competence the EU as far as children are concerned remains however limited to the aspects identified by Articles 81 and 82(2) TFEU namely: (1) facilitating the mutual admissibility of evidence between the Member States in judicial procedures; (2) supporting the rights of people during the civil and criminal processes; (3) protecting victims of crime; and (4) measures relating to family law, including matters relating to child custody, where they have cross-border effects or affect the common market. In addition, the competence in criminal matters is restrained to a list of serious crimes under Article 83(1) TFEU: terrorism, trafficking in human beings and sexual exploitation of women and children, illicit drug trafficking, illicit arms trafficking, money laundering, corruption, counterfeiting of means of payment, computer crime and organised crime. This list can be extended to other aspects of criminal procedure by unanimous decisions of the Council with the approval of the Parliament. Ver aqui