AMBER Alert Europe
Budget
€182,415
EP Access
4
accredited persons
Staff
6
4.75 FTE
EU Grants
None
Mission & Goals
AMBER Alert Europe, the European Centre for Missing Children, is a pan-European foundation uniting 85 organisations across 29 countries in the mission towards zero missing children in Europe. We connect law enforcement and justice authorities, interior ministries, civil society organisations, universities, and police academies to protect children from going missing, improve the search for those who do, and address root causes through evidence-based research and best practices. As a response to missing children cases exceeding geographical borders, the AMBER Alert Europe Foundation was founded in 2013 to contribute to better cross-border coordination and cooperation in the search for missing children. Since then, our network has expanded and now encompasses different experts from a variety of backgrounds who make their know-how and expertise available to improve existing practices and procedures for a safe recovery of missing children and the safeguarding of children from going missing.
EU Legislative Interests
Annually 100.000 children go missing in the European Union. AMBER Alert Europe advocates for the fundamental rights of missing children with a particular focus on endangered missing children and the need to safeguard their right to life. Moreover, the Foundation actively targets the eradication of the root causes related to children and risk prevention. Cases of long duration and their victims also present one of our priorities, as the suffering induced by such cases is particularly worrisome, requiring recognition and search for an optimal solution. AMBER Alert Europe’s policy work helped shape Prüm II (Regulation (EU) 2024/982 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the automated search and exchange of data for police cooperation), the SIS Recast(Regulation on the establishment, operation and use of the second-generation Schengen Information System), the Artificial Intelligence Act, EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child and contributed to EU Council Conclusions on Missing Persons. The Foundation has also contributed to other EU initiatives: the EU Directive on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and its victims, the revision of the EU Victims Rights Directive, the EU Victims Rights Strategy, and the EU Strategy to Fight Child Sexual Abuse.
Communication Activities
AMBER Alert Europe has carried out and continues to pursue multiple activities related to EU policies. Some of the highlights: Initiating EP Written Declaration (7/2016) supported by 465 MEPs, which urged the European Commission and Council to adopt a 5-point plan for better cross-border cooperation in child rescue, contributor and formal partner of EP Intergroup on Children's Rights, initiator of LIBE-JURI Joint Committee Hearing on Missing Children at the European Parliament in April 2024, developed and executed over 10 webinars in cooperation with CEPOL to contribute to EU’s internal security agenda - as official CEPOL Framework Partner, we have trained over 1,500 law enforcement professionals across Europe, Years of cooperation with different EU agencies – Europol, Eurojust, FRONTEX, among others. Observer of Police Expert Network on Missing Persons(PEN-MP). Our prevention campaigns have reached millions of families in 23 countries. We advise Member States on building AMBER Alert systems that mobilise entire populations within minutes when a child is in danger.
Interests Represented
Does not represent commercial interests
Organisation Members
AMBER Alert Europe has an extensive network of 85 organisations across 29 countries, nurturing a multistakeholder and multidisciplinary approach in the field of missing children, victims' rights, law enforcement cooperation and enhanced protection of fundamental rights. Full information is available on our website: https://www.amberalert.eu/our-network
Commissioner Meetings
No recorded meetings with EU commissioners.