A Fianna Fail MEP, Mr Niall Andrews, has called for a concerted EU campaign against child abuse and paedophile rings.
At a conference in Dublin for Fianna Fail and its European allies, Mr Andrews said that as a first step children must be made full citizens of the Union.
"The present situation is that an adult child abuser can invoke the protection of the European institutions, but the child victim cannot do so in his or her own right," he said.
With his European colleagues, he added, he intended to use the forthcoming Irish presidency of the EU to press for initiatives to combat abuse.