Plan Europe is a regional network within Plan International which links 11 European offices of Plan and our 50 programme countries around the world with the Plan EU Office in Brussels. Plan has the active support of 700,000 individual donors in EU member states through child sponsorship. Plan Europe strives to ensure that the promotion and protection of the rights of the child is a priority for the EU’s external action in policy and practice. The European Union (EU) is one of the world’s largest and most important development and humanitarian actors, and influencing its policies, programmes and diplomatic actions has the potential to positively affect the lives of hundreds of millions of children in developing countries. We therefore aim to influence EU external action in favour of children’s rights and equality for girls. If we are to achieve our ambitions and deliver the results we seek for children, business as usual approaches will not work. We will push the EU to do more, and do it better, to ensure that all children enjoy their rights and no one is left behind.