Romania will submit an application as leader of a European consortium within a call for projects dedicated to the European Child Guarantee, the Ministry of Labour, Family, Youth and Social Solidarity reported on Monday.

Acting Minister Dragos Pislaru on Friday had a bilateral working meeting on this subject in Brussels, with Jiri Svarc, Head of Unit at the Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG EMPL) of the European Commission.

Pislaru presented Romania's intention to apply as the leader of a European consortium and highlighted the steps already taken, including the organisation of two technical meetings with Moldova and ongoing consultations with Portugal, in order to capitalise on its experience in involving local governments in the provision of social services.

The project prepared by Romania aims to develop the integrated community services model, digitalise case management through the use of artificial intelligence-based tools, interoperability of databases and strengthen the monitoring of children in vulnerable settings.

According to the Ministry of Labour, the representative of the European Commission appreciated the proposed directions and said that the project must contribute to strengthening the capacity of the national coordinators of the Child Guarantee and to improving cooperation among the institutions involved at national, regional and local level.

He also recommended the inclusion of a pilot component that would generate concrete results for one of the vulnerable groups covered by the European Child Guarantee and pointed to the model implemented by Estonia as an example of how the European Child Guarantee could be implemented.

'As regards the structure of the future consortium, the European Commission considered it appropriate to involve Portugal and Moldova and strengthen the partnership with this state. It also recommended maintaining an efficient and well-sized partnership to facilitate the implementation of the project,' according to the ministry.

During the meeting, the main financial and procedural aspects of the call were also analysed, discussing the eligibility conditions, own contribution and project evaluation stages.

The parties agreed, at the end of the meeting, to continue collaboration for the finalisation of the application. Romania will continue to develop the concept note together with partners from Moldova and Portugal and will request technical clarifications from the Lithuanian Implementing Agency. A new round of technical consultations with DG EMPL is scheduled for the end of August, after the completion of an advanced version of the project.

Through this initiative, Romania aims to draw European funding to strengthen the protection system for vulnerable children and the development of integrated, modern and efficient social services, to the benefit of children and families in difficulty. AGERPRES (RO - editing by: Cristian Anghelache; EN - writing by: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu)