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European Federation for Missing and Sexually Exploited Children (Missing Children Europe)

MCE

Missing Children Europe is a federation of 33 grassroots organisations working to prevent child disappearance and exploitation.

Lobbying Activity

Response to EU’s next long-term budget (MFF) – EU funding for cross-border education, training and solidarity, youth, media, culture, and creative sectors, values, and civil society

24 Nov 2025

Missing Children Europe welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the consultation on the next MFF and in particular the CERV+ strand of the proposed AgoraEU programme. MCE calls on the European Parliament and the EU Council to support the following provisions in the upcoming negotiations on the Regulation.
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Missing Children Europe urges link between poverty and child disappearances

24 Oct 2025
Topic — The consultation seeks input on an EU strategy to reduce poverty and social exclusion.
Message — MCE requests a child-centred strategy that strengthens the European Child Guarantee. They advocate for integrating missing child hotlines into national protection systems.123
Why — Strengthening hotlines through the strategy would ensure sustainable funding for the federation.4
Impact — Traffickers lose access to vulnerable children currently pushed into precarious situations by poverty.5
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Missing Children Europe urges stronger safeguards for migrant children

9 Oct 2025
Topic — The EU is establishing a five-year strategy for migration and asylum management.
Message — MCE requests immediate appointment of trained guardians and mandatory child-specific risk assessments at all stages. They demand that no return decision is made without a comprehensive best interest determination.123
Why — These safeguards would reduce child disappearances and improve the effectiveness of protection systems.45
Impact — National enforcement agencies lose the ability to prioritize rapid returns over individual assessments.6
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Missing Children Europe links cyberbullying to rising disappearance risks

29 Sept 2025
Topic — The EU is creating an action plan to address abusive online behaviours.
Message — The organization requests that cyberbullying be recognized as a factor causing children to disappear. They demand better platform accountability and sustainable funding for specialized child hotlines.12
Why — The proposal would secure long-term financial support and official recognition for their network.3
Impact — Social media companies would face higher costs through mandatory content moderation requirements.4
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Missing Children Europe urges protection for shrinking civic space

5 Sept 2025
Topic — The EU is developing a strategy to strengthen and protect civil society organizations.
Message — MCE requests a tracking system for threats and protected funding for children's rights. They want reduced paperwork and guaranteed support for the missing children hotlines.12
Why — Stable funding would prevent staffing shortages and help maintain critical 24-hour emergency services.3
Impact — Member States using political pressure against NGOs could face legal action and infringement procedures.4
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Meeting with Magnus Brunner (Commissioner) and

4 Sept 2025 · Protection of children from child sexual abuse

Response to Anti-racism Strategy

7 Jul 2025

Missing Children Europe strongly supports the European Commissions initiative to develop an EU anti-racism Strategy for 2026-2030, recognising it as a vital framework to advance the rights and protection of all individuals in Europe regardless of their racial or ethnic origin. Find attached our full submission.
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Meeting with Maria Zafra Saura (Cabinet of Commissioner Michael McGrath) and Save the Children Europe and

20 Jun 2025 · Exchange of views on the forthcoming Digital Fairness Act and on children’s participation in decision-making

Missing Children Europe links LGBTIQ identity to missing episodes

17 Jun 2025
Topic — The European Commission is developing a new LGBTIQ Equality Strategy for 2026-2030.
Message — The strategy should address the link between LGBTIQ identity and children going missing. They advocate for mandatory training and improved data collection on vulnerable youth.123
Why — The federation would likely secure more resources through specific EU funding designations.4
Impact — National authorities would bear the cost and administrative burden of mandatory staff training.5
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Response to Evaluation of the European Union Agency for Asylum

11 Jun 2025

Each year, over 250 000 children are reported missing to law enforcement in Europe one child disappears every two minutes. Children go missing for a wide range of reasons, including violence, harassment, conflicts, abuse and exploitation. The effects are far-reaching, not only for the missing children themselves but also for their families and communities, often resulting in long-term trauma and broader societal consequences. As many of these cases involve cross-border elements, they require coordinated European responses and robust policies to ensure effective prevention and protection. As a member of the EUAAs Vulnerability Experts Network (VEN) and the Consultative Forum, Missing Children Europe welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the evaluation of the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA). We value the Agencys strengthened mandate and its role in supporting the implementation of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), particularly considering the forthcoming implementation of the Pact on Migration and Asylum. Drawing on the combined expertise of Missing Children Europe and its network of national organisations working directly with vulnerable children in migration, including unaccompanied children and those at risk of going missing, we provide the following reflections and recommendations based on the evaluation criteria outlined in this consultation: effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence, and EU added value. As a European network organisation, we support and coordinate frontline actors across Europe, and our input is informed by both this coordination role and our direct engagement with EUAA initiatives, including the co-development of tools and active participation in dialogue platforms. Through this contribution, we aim to promote a stronger, more rights-based, and inclusive European asylum system that fully responds to the needs of vulnerable children.
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Missing Children Europe Urges Stronger EU Action on Online Grooming

13 Mar 2025
Topic — The consultation shapes the EU’s internal security strategy for the coming years.
Message — MCE requests a child-centered approach prioritizing prevention and protection. They urge the adoption of new regulations to detect online child sexual abuse and grooming.12
Why — Improving how different police databases work together would help the federation find children faster.3
Impact — Transnational criminal networks would face disruption through increased cross-border investigative cooperation.4
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Meeting with Magnus Brunner (Commissioner) and

26 Feb 2025 · Child participation, protection of children’s rights in migration, protection of children from crime

Meeting with Mirzha De Manuel (Cabinet of Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis)

24 Feb 2025 · Children's rights and representation

Meeting with Glenn Micallef (Commissioner)

17 Feb 2025 · Strengthening EU Action on Missing Children: Prevention, Data, and Support

Meeting with Hilde Vautmans (Member of the European Parliament) and SOS Children's Villages

30 Jan 2025 · Children's rights priorities

Meeting with Marco La Marca (Cabinet of Commissioner Dubravka Šuica) and Save the Children Europe and

21 Jan 2025 ·  Presentation of CRAG  Pact on the Mediterranean: Safeguarding children in migration management  Middle East Strategy: West Bank  Family care in sub-Mediterranean countries  Youth policy dialogue

Meeting with András Tivadar Kulja (Member of the European Parliament)

17 Oct 2024 · Introductory meeting

Meeting with Evin Incir (Member of the European Parliament) and SOS Children's Villages

16 Oct 2024 · Children´s rights

Meeting with Javier Zarzalejos (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur)

18 Sept 2024 · CSA Regulation

Meeting with Saskia Bricmont (Member of the European Parliament) and Save the Children Europe and SOS Children's Villages

16 Jul 2024 · Children rights

Missing Children Europe urges stronger EU laws against grooming

21 May 2024
Topic — Proposed update to EU criminal law rules on child sexual abuse.
Message — MCE supports criminalizing online grooming and instruction manuals for perpetrators while removing statutes of limitation. They call for child-friendly reporting systems and the decriminalization of consensual peer activities.123
Why — This would provide greater legal recognition and visibility for their hotline network.45
Impact — Offenders would lose the ability to exploit lenient rules or time limits.6
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Meeting with Ljudmila Novak (Member of the European Parliament)

16 Nov 2023 · policy symposyum

Missing Children Europe urges specialized legal and hotline support

26 Sept 2023
Topic — EU consultation on updating the Victims' Rights Directive to better protect individuals affected by crime.
Message — The federation requests free specialized legal representation and child-friendly justice models with single contact points. The group also seeks anonymous reporting and chat support to help children report abuse. Integrated child protection systems should be strengthened to ensure holistic support across the EU.123
Why — This would solidify the role of MCE's member hotlines as essential entry points for justice.45
Impact — Offenders lose their anonymity and face higher prosecution risks as reporting rates increase.6
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Meeting with Alice Kuhnke (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and International La Strada Association

12 Jun 2023 · Stakeholder consultation anti-trafficking

Meeting with Malin Björk (Member of the European Parliament)

23 May 2023 · Trafficking in Human Beings

Meeting with Paul Tang (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and Google and

12 Jan 2023 · Closed door stakeholders meeting on Child Sexual Abuse Regulation with MEP Alex Agius Saliba and MEP Helene Fritzon

Meeting with Catharina Rinzema (Member of the European Parliament)

17 Nov 2022 · Trafficking of Children

Meeting with Dubravka Šuica (Vice-President)

25 Oct 2022 · Child Rights Strategy and actions emanating from it.

Missing Children Europe supports mandatory rules for online child safety

12 Sept 2022
Topic — New EU rules defining provider responsibilities to detect and report online child sexual abuse.
Message — The group calls for a transition period to prevent gaps in detecting abuse. They also want to allow voluntary detection alongside new mandatory requirements to protect children.12
Why — This framework would strengthen efforts to prevent grooming and better integrate local child safety hotlines.34
Impact — Online service providers face mandatory detection orders and new requirements to assess and mitigate risks.56
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Meeting with Helena Dalli (Commissioner) and Amnesty International Limited and

6 Apr 2022 · Cabinet Dalli invited Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to discuss concerns equality and non-discrimination CSOs are raising regarding the situation of people fleeing from the Ukraine

Response to European Statistical System – making it fit for the future

21 Mar 2022

The EU’s revision of the European Statistical System should make it possible to produce statistics in a quick and timely manner to close the data gap on children who slip through the net of our child protection systems and include children who go missing. Up to date statistics are crucial to provide the best support and protection to vulnerable children at risk. In light of this, Missing Children Europe supports the policy options that would allow for better data collection systems, namely either Option 3 Address specific issues through a targeted revision (amendments) of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 or Option 4 Introducing fully harmonised measures by completely overhauling Regulation (EC) No 223/2009. Particularly, Missing Children Europe recommends that the revision of the Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics includes provisions to: Increase cooperation and data sharing between European Statistic System partners Make publicly available missing children statistics through yearly reports. Implement mechanisms to record: the type of disappearance through a suitable system of categories. the nationality and migration status of the child. the relation to the child of the person reporting the disappearance. the type of abuse the child incurred during the disappearance, if any. disaggregated demographic data on missing children that allows identification of the impact of discrimination on missing
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Response to Emergency measures for Latvia, Lithuania and Poland

2 Feb 2022

Missing Children Europe is the European federation for missing and sexually exploited children, representing 31 organisations from 27 European countries. We provide the link between research, policies and organisations on the ground to protect children from any kind of violence, abuse or neglect that is caused by or results from them going missing. Migrant and refugee children are especially at risk of abuse and violence. According to the Lost in Europe journalism project, 18,292 unaccompanied child migrants went missing in Europe between 2018 and 2020, which is equivalent to 17 children a day. Research shows that these children went missing for various reasons. Missing Children Europe believes that the proposed Council Decision on provisional emergency measures for Latvia, Lithuania and Poland could cause adverse consequences for children and young persons in migration and may put them at risk of going missing. Therefore, Missing Children Europe makes the following recommendations: - Missing Children Europe proposes to delete Article 2(1), which extends the deadline to register applications for international protection up to four weeks. As children often go missing quickly after arriving, even before being identified, it is important to collect information as soon as possible in order to secure collection, should the child disappear quickly, or move to another facility. - Missing Children Europe proposes to delete Article 2(2), which extends the border procedure to all applicants, including minors, and allows Member States to examine the substance of an asylum claim at the border or in a transit zone. EASO indicated that the high number of applicants and low availability and quality of necessary facilities could complicate the procedure, including procedural safeguards and the protection of vulnerable persons, such as children. Moreover, the Commission’s justification on whether the measure will achieve the objective is not clear. - Missing Children Europe proposes to delete Article 2(3), which requires Member States to prioritize the examination of applications that are likely to be well-founded or lodged by minors and their family members. As mentioned above, applying the border procedures to vulnerable groups, such as minors, could have negative implications. - Missing Children Europe proposes to delete Article 2(5), which increases the time limit during which a decision on the application for asylum is taken from 4 to 16 weeks. Research shows that children often become discouraged by the length and complexity of legal procedures, which can increase the risk of them going missing. Moreover, this measure increases the number of children being stuck at the border and at risk of refoulement and police violence, which is incompatible with EU and international refugee law. - Missing Children Europe proposes to delete Article 3, which reduces reception conditions. Research shows that poor reception conditions motivated children to leave the facility they were staying in, ending on the streets at risk of traffickers. Children in migration are a particularly vulnerable group and in need of additional protection and services. - Missing Children Europe recommends that people, in particular unaccompanied minors and children with their families, should not be placed in detention. Detention can increase the risk of children going missing and is incompatible with international law. For more details, please read Missing Children Europe’s detailed contribution attached.
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Response to Combating child sexual abuse

26 Oct 2021

Missing Children Europe is the European federation of 31 grassroot organisations working for the prevention, protection, and support of missing children’s cases. Missing Children Europe welcomes the Commission’s proposal to review Directive 2011/93/EU on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography. Every year an estimated two hundred thousand children go missing in Europe. Child sexual abuse is both a driver and a consequence of children going missing. Abuse is a key underlying cause of children running away from home, care, or reception centres. When a child goes missing, it is not only a sign of possible underlying abuse, sexual abuse is often also a consequence. 1 in 6 runaways is attacked physically or sexually while running away and a history of running away exacerbates the risk of sexual abuse by 2,5 times. Meanwhile, Europol has intelligence that trafficking networks are increasingly taking advantage of children going missing in migration to sexually exploit them. Grooming for sexual exploitation is a growing problem, increasingly leading to disappearances. In order to adequately address sexual abuse and child disappearances, the evaluation of the Directive and the impact assessment should take into account the following challenges: • Lack of reporting children (in particular runaways) going missing • Unregulated innovations in the ICT sector and the increase in online grooming • Detecting, reporting and removing child sexual abuse material online • Cooperation with law enforcement • Victim support and child friendly justice systems • Cross border dimension In light of the current challenges (see the attached contribution for more details), Missing Children Europe believes that the impact assessment should support legal changes and a reinforcement of implementation. In our view, this would lead to option 4 ‘New legislation on prosecuting offenders, protecting victims and preventing offences plus non-legislative measures’. We also recommend that the consultation strategy includes targeted consultations with national 116 000 hotlines for missing children. Missing Children Europe is available to support these consultations.
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Response to Proposal for a Regulation - Migration and Home Affairs

6 Oct 2021

Missing Children Europe welcome the important fundamental rights reinforcements in the proposal, most notably, the enlargement of the scope of the Regulation to include siblings as well as families formed in transit countries. We also welcome the strengthened emphasis rights for unaccompanied minors, in particular the best interest of the child as set out in article 13 of the proposal. That being said, we recommend the following: • Article 13(2) should be extended to ensure that unaccompanied minors are ensured access to both a legal representative and a guardian. These two professionals have a different role to play in supporting unaccompanied minors. The role of the guardian is to take parental responsibility, with the mandate to take important decision in their best interest. The guardian is also equipped to take that responsibility in difficult matters such as family tracing and the asylum procedure. For instance, in the context of disability, it is essential that the guardian is informed and trained on the rights of the child under the UN CRPD. The legal representative (e.g. lawyer) provides legal assistance to the child in matters pertaining his/her legal status. • The factors under consideration for the best interest of the child should include also the following: o the risk of children running away from the care placement, under article 13(c) o the prohibition of placing the minor in detention. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child defines that the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration in all actions concerning children (Art. 3) and that "no child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily" (Art. 37). The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has called on states to "expeditiously and completely cease the detention of children on the basis of their immigration status" and "adopt alternatives to detention that fulfil the best interests of the child" (para 78 and 79). o the prohibition of placing the minor in a residential institution. Following the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and General comment no. 5 (2017) on living independently and being included in the community, no child should be placed in a residential institutions. The EU strategy on the rights of the child further calls on Member States to ensure transition towards family-base care and community-based services, including for unaccompanied migrant children. • Article 13(5) should be extended to ensure that the best interest assessment precedes the transfer of all minors, both accompanied and unaccompanied. • Where family members or relatives are staying in more than one Member State (article 15(4)), the Member State responsible should be decided not only on the basis of the best interests of the unaccompanied minor, but also on their views. • Contrary to what is currently included under Article 24, dependence of a person should take into account all illnesses, trauma or disability no matter the severity, in line with international standards, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Furthermore, the Commission should adopt delegated acts listed in paragraph 3 in line with the international human rights standards, in particular with UN CRC and the UN CRPD. • Article 34 should be amended to ensure that, in line with the best interest of the child pursuant to article 13, minors shall not be held in detention. The UN CRC defines that the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration in all actions concerning children (Art. 3) and that "no child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily" (Art. 37). The committee has called on states to "expeditiously and completely cease the detention of children on the basis of their immigration status" and "adopt alternatives to detention that fulfil the best interests of the child". More details attached.
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Response to Preventing and combating trafficking in human beings - review of EU rules

16 Sept 2021

Missing Children Europe (MCE) is the European federation of 31 grassroots organisation working for the prevention, protection, and support of missing children’s cases. Every year an estimated two hundred thousand children go missing in Europe. Due to the lack of comparable official statistics on missing children – the only Europe-wide report is outdated with figures from almost 10 years ago – it is difficult to grasp the full scope of the issue. Trafficking is both a driver and a consequence of children going missing. The most vulnerable children at high-risk of trafficking are: children victims of family violence, abuse and neglect and poverty, children on the move and children left alone, amongst others. Challenges to address trafficking and child disappearances include: - Lack of reliable and recent data on missing children - Failures in the child care systems leading to risk of children going missing and trafficking - Lack of clear procedures between and within Member States - Lack of cross border cooperation, in particular in cases of children in migration going missing - Information sharing - Guardians for unaccompanied minors - Lack of legal provisions and multi-agency cooperation in finding a durable solution for the child, - Training for frontline professionals - Designing child rights compliant privacy laws Bearing in mind the challenges in addressing trafficking and child disappearance, Missing Children Europe would like to recommend the following for the upcoming evaluation of the EU Anti-trafficking Directive and impact assessment: General recommendations for both the evaluation of the EU Anti-trafficking Directive and the impact assessment - The consultation strategy should include targeted consultation with national 116 000 hotline for missing children. Missing Children Europe is available to support these consultations. - The evidence base should include the findings the Interact Project run by Missing Children Europe (2018-2019). The project aimed at improving the way transnational cases of children in migration at risk of trafficking and going missing are han¬dled in Europe and to improve the day-to-day practice of professionals working on those cases. It did so by identifying gaps in practice through simulation exercises in 6 countries (BE, GR, FR, IT, SW, UK) and developing innovative practical tools to improve exchange of intelligence and follow-up on transnational cases. Missing Children Europe and partners built on the results of the Interact project to produce a report and a practical handbook. Specific recommendations for the evaluation of the EU Anti-trafficking Directive: - The evaluation should take a comprehensive approach to trafficking that looks at all different categories of children (at risk) of going missing. Given their particular vulnerability, it would be important to explore the specific application of the anti-trafficking directive to children in migration. Specific recommendations for the Impact assessment In addition to the aims described in the roadmap , the new legislative initiative should aim to analyse new policy options in light of the intersections with other existing legislations and proposals, including but not limited to: - General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR); - New Pact on Migration and Asylum, in particular the proposal for a new Regulation on Asylum and Migration Management (RAMM), the amended proposal revising the Asylum Procedures Regulation (APR); the amended proposal revising the Eurodac Regulation; the proposal on a new Screening Regulation. For more details, please read MCE’s detailed contribution attached.
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Meeting with Iris Abraham (Cabinet of Vice-President Dubravka Šuica) and Save the Children Europe and

9 Jun 2021 · Meeting on Child Rights Strategy / EC- International CSOs

Response to Child sexual abuse online: detection, removal and reporting

30 Dec 2020

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Missing Children Europe welcomes the European Commission’s commitment to combat child sexual abuse online. Please find attached our statement in response to the impact assessment, elaborating on the following main points • The fight against sexual abuse is one that must cover all areas in which potential abusers may gain access to children, including online • The fight against sexual abuses requires joint efforts by all actors involved and all intermediaries must be responsibilized, and this includes internet service providers • Grooming (on- and offline) for sexual exploitation (on- and offline) is a growing concern for our members. Anti-grooming technology which automatically detects patterns of grooming in electronic communications is the only existing tool that can prevent it. • For these reases we call for long term legislation that makes reporting and takedown of child sexual abuse material and grooming on their platforms mandatory for service providers (ie, we opt for creating a legal basis, and further more prefer option 3, mandatory reporting). Moreover, Missing Children Europe strongly welcomes the idea of a European centre to prevent and counter child sexual abuse. Prevention of sexual abuse also includes prevention and adequate responses to missing. As coordinator of the network of the EU’s network of 116000 missing children hotlines, MCE therefore looks forward to working closely with the proposed centre.
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Meeting with Dubravka Šuica (Vice-President) and Save the Children Europe and SOS Children's Villages

22 Sept 2020 · Comprehensive Strategy on the Rights of the Child

Meeting with Margaritis Schinas (Vice-President) and

5 May 2020 · Children in migration

Meeting with Věra Jourová (Commissioner) and

18 Oct 2016 · CHildren in migration