LH Kaiser in Brussels

Why the EU is now discussing child protection

The Committee of the Regions meets five times a year in plenary sessions, including on Wednesdays and Thursdays.(Bild: Clara Milena Steiner)

Did you know that 80 percent of our laws originate in Brussels? One person who knows a lot about the EU is Martina Rattinger, Head of the Carinthia Liaison Office in the Belgian capital.

The Carinthia Liaison Office networks our province with the EU and "gives the province of Carinthia a voice in Brussels", says its head Martina Rattinger. In an interview with the "Krone" newspaper, she explains what will happen on Wednesday and Thursday in the Committee of the Regions (CoR) plenary session.

"Krone": Governor Peter Kaiser is currently in Brussels for the Committee of the Regions. What is he doing there?
Martina Rattinger: Two thirds of EU laws have a regional dimension. Before they are passed and come into force, they are discussed five times a year by regional and local politicians from all EU member states in the large CoR plenary session. They have the opportunity to express their opinions and make political recommendations. This is why Peter Kaiser is here now - he is giving his opinion on the topic of child protection.

Martina Rattinger heads the Carinthia Liaison Office in Brussels.(Bild: VBB Kärnten)

This is only the second time since the CoR was founded that a Carinthian politician has issued an opinion. How did this come about?
In this case, the initiative came from us. In its work program for 2024, the EU Commission has already announced that it will publish a recommendation for integrated child protection systems - because we already addressed the issue in the autumn, the expert commission was able to unanimously adopt Peter Kaiser's opinion in February and hand it over to the Commission.

What will happen when Kaiser submits his statement on Thursday?
The plenary will then vote on it. If the opinion is adopted, it will also go to the EU Parliament and the European Council. Next week, the EU Commission will make its own recommendations on the topic and we assume that many points from our opinion have already been adopted.

What is the opinion supposed to achieve, what needs to be changed in order to protect children accordingly?
Child protection is an important topic that we wanted to address as broadly as possible because we can only achieve our goal if we work together. It should be considered in all areas of life and the role of local and regional authorities should be strengthened within the framework of integrated child protection systems. This means, for example, that the wishes of children are also listened to.