AMSTERDAM – Child Helpline International (CHI), INHOPE and Insafe, together with 26 organizations from 19 EU Member States and two neighbouring countries, are calling on the Irish Presidency and all EU institutions to help secure the future of Europe’s Safer Internet Centres.
For more than two decades, Safer Internet Centres have been an integral part of Europe’s efforts to protect children online. Bringing together child helplines, hotlines and awareness centres, they offer trusted support when children experience harm, provide a way to report illegal content, and help families, educators and young people navigate the digital world more safely.
Following the latest EU funding call, 13 Member States and several accession countries are experiencing severe funding disruptions. In a joint statement published today, child helplines and hotlines across Europe warn that many of these services, some of which have decades of specialist experience, are struggling to sustain essential operations. The statement is supported by organizations from 77% of the affected Member States, reflecting the scale of concern across Europe.
The signatories are calling for immediate bridge funding, sustainable national support and the structural inclusion of Safer Internet Centres in the EU’s next long-term budget.
Ireland holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU from 1 July to 31 December 2026, a crucial point in negotiations on the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework for 2028–2034. Securing sustainable funding for SICs is a necessary step to fulfil the Irish Government’s commitment to prioritizing online safety during its Presidency.
Helen Mason, Child Helpline International Executive Director, said:
The EU cannot credibly commit to protecting children online while allowing the services they rely on to be weakened. This includes child helplines, which provide direct and trusted support to children experiencing or at risk of online harm."
Safer Internet Centres also provide evidence and insights into emerging online risks, helping national authorities and EU institutions identify gaps and strengthen the implementation of online safety and child protection policies.
Child helplines across Europe receive approximately one million counselling contacts each year. In 2024, one in three children and young people who contacted a child helpline did so through an online channel. This funding gap could severely reduce access to those channels.