The Commission advocates "An EU Agenda for the Rights of the Child". The purpose is to reaffirm the strong commitment of all EU institutions and of all Member States to promoting, protecting and fulfilling the rights of the child in all relevant EU policies and to turn it into concrete results.

The EU Agenda for the Rights of the Child presents general principles that should ensure that EU action is exemplary in ensuring the respect of the provisions of the Charter and of the UNCRC with regard to the rights of children. In addition, it focuses on a number of concrete actions in areas where the EU can bring real added value.

As regards detention for administrative purposes of children seeking asylum, the Commission has worked to take forward its 2008 and 2009 proposals amending EU asylum law. These proposals prohibit the detention of children unless it is in their best interest and only after all possible alternatives have been exhaustively assessed. A number of necessary safeguards and procedural guarantees are also introduced concerning access to a judicial review and legal representation. Finally, the proposals provide for a clear prohibition of the detention of unaccompanied asylum seeking children.

The Action Plan identifies child-specific reception measures and procedural guarantees that should apply from the moment the child is found until a durable solution is found. It also stresses the importance of appropriate representation of the child, proposes actions to address the shortcomings in the care provided to unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in the EU27 and to avoid the disappearance of unaccompanied children who are in the care of public authorities.