A great majority of 465 Members of the European Parliament from all 28 Member States and all 9 political groups support AMBER Alert Europe’s 5 point plan and call for better European cooperation on saving the lives of missing children. The Written Declaration is the most successful Declaration since 2011.

250 000 children are reported missing in the EU each year. When a child is abducted and killed, in 76% of cases the child was murdered within three hours of the abduction. The search for an endangered missing child often stagnates at internal borders while 37.5% of Europeans live in border areas.

Mr. Zdechovský, Member of European Parliament and initiator of this Declaration, is proud on this historic result and proposes the first step: “We call on the European Commission and European Council to adopt AMBER Alert Europe’s 5 point plan. This is crucial to improve European cooperation in saving the lives of endangered missing children”.

Improving European cooperation saves missing children

“Since the recommendation on child alerting in 2008, too little progress is made. This overwhelming support is a strong appeal from the European Parliament on the European Commission and Member States to reinvigorate the recommendation and act now”, says Frank Hoen, President of AMBER Alert Europe.

The successful Written Declaration calls on the European Commission and Member States to improve European cooperation in saving the lives of missing children in Europe by subscribing to AMBER Alert Europe’s 5-point plan:

  1. Bigger, stronger AMBER Alert network
  2. More flexibility in issuing AMBER Alerts
  3. Better cross-border information sharing
  4. Better cross-border law enforcement cooperation
  5. Improving the identification and protection of children at borders

Written Declaration

The written declaration was initiated by Tomáš Zdechovský (PPE), Eleonora Evi (EFDD), Jana Žitňanská (ECR), Kinga Gál (PPE), Helga Stevens (ECR), Lefteris Christoforou (PPE), Roberta Metsola (PPE), Patricija Šulin (PPE), Dubravka Šuica (PPE), Theodoros Zagorakis (PPE), Catherine Stihler (S&D), Miriam Dalli (S&D), Renate Weber (ALDE), Philippe De Backer (ALDE), Anna Maria Corazza Bildt (PPE), Jeroen Lenaers (PPE), Indrek Tarand (Verts/ALE), Sophia in ‘t Veld (ALDE), Caterina Chinnici (S&D).

090516, Straatsburg (F): Amber Alert, Europees Parlement. Foto: Marcel van Hoorn.

MEP Tomáš Zdechovský (PPE, CZ) & President AMBER Alert Europe Frank Hoen

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MEP Tomáš Zdechovský (PPE, CZ) & MEP Helga Stevens (ECR, BE)

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MEP Caterina Chinnici (S&D, IT) & MEP Jana Žitňanská (ECR, SK)

Hoen, Amber, Alert, Straatsburg

MEP Jeroen Lenaers (PPE, NL)