Save the Children is the world’s leading independent organisation for children. We work in over 120 countries. We save children’s lives; we fight for their rights; we help them fulfil their potential.

Save the Children works to influence EU policy making on some of the key issues concerning migrant children in Europe, whether they be asylum seekers, trafficked children or economic migrants: What access to education and health services for migrant children must be provided in the EU? Is detention of these children lawful? What mechanisms are necessary to identify and address situations of trafficking? How should proper access to EU asylum procedures be provided where a child or its family has an asylum claim? What procedural guarantees are required when deciding on procedures of repatriation? These issues concern both children travelling within families or children who are unaccompanied or separated from their families. We aim to build consensus between key actors on the appropriate solutions, with the EU institutions and agencies as a primary target, but also engaging with other organizations working on EU policy to ensure complementary experience, research and input in the field are leveraged. Our work is founded on the experience and expertise of Save the Children Members in Europe who participate via reference groups in developing our recommendations.