European Economic and Social Committee

Creation of the Europe 2020 Steering Committee

In 2010, the Steering Committee has been created by a decision of the EESC Bureau.

It has a horizontal mandate in order to integrate the concept and the EU working programme of Europe 2020 in the daily activities of the EESC Sections, CCMI and the Observatories and to stimulate national ESCs and similar organisations to take an active part in national programmes related to Europe 2020, notably the National Reform Programs (NRP).

It also allows the various bodies of the EESC to interact more effectively as well as work jointly with national stakeholders in identifying problems and promoting particular initiatives and best practices in the ongoing adjustment processes in the Member States.

Missions

The EESC Bureau has mandated the Europe 2020 Steering Committee to:

1.             coordinate and ensure consistency of the work carried out in the Sections, the CCMI, the Observatories, and in the opinions of General Rapporteurs on issues related to Europe 2020;

2.             hold joint meetings with national ESCs and similar organisations to prepare joint initiatives and reports related to Europe 2020;

3.             coordinate with the Communication group on a Europe 2020 communication strategy by organised civil society.

The mandate is carried out in close cooperation with the European Commission. The European Council, the Council and the European Parliament will be kept informed.

Work programme

All EU policies should be inspired by the Europe 2020 objectives. The EESC is asked to follow in the same vein. The Europe 2020 Flagship Initiatives and related issues are the thematic backbone of the new Strategy. Thematic work on these Flagship Initiatives and related issues will be carried out in the Sections, the CCMI and the Observatories, focussing not only on the EU level, but highlighting as well the situation in the Member States. The latter will be achieved by conducting "going local events" complementing the work on opinions.

The Steering Committee will be the place to promote common approaches in the work carried out by the Sections, the CCMI and the Observatories underlining the interconnection between various fields.

The Steering Committee will also work on governance and related issues, by preparing Integrated reports with national ESCs on the different elements of the Strategy not covered under the flagship initiatives (strategic overview, structural elements, midterm review etc) and by conducting fact-finding missions and high-level events to present the overall work carried out by the EESC with the network of national ESCs.

Concretely, the Europe 2020 related tasks will be distributed as follows:

Work of the Steering Committee

1.             Holding general discussions with policy- and decision- makers as well as experts on the overall state of play of the Europe 2020 Strategy, and expressing civil society concerns.

2.             Providing the opportunity to national ESCs and similar organisations to actively take part in the EU discussion and to raise issues they cannot cope with effectively at national level.

3.             Providing a platform for debate on the Reports and/or Resolutions on the governance of the Strategy.

4.             Holding regular debates on the progress of the work in the Sections, the CCMI and the Observatories on the Flagships Initiatives and related work by inviting the respective rapporteurs to the meetings. By doing so the rapporteurs will receive additional input to their work from the overall Europe 2020 perspective.

5.             Organising high-level events to present the overall work carried out by the EESC with the network of national ESCs.

6.             Conducting fact-finding missions as appropriate to explore issues related to governance of the Strategy within the Member States.

Work of the Sections, the CCMI, the Observatories

1.             The opinions on the Flagship Initiatives and related topics will be carried out autonomously by the relevant Sections, the CCMI, and the Observatories.

2.             The Sections, CCMI, or Observatories will also prepare follow-up reports to these opinions focusing on a limited number of national cases under the heading of "going local events". They will be organised with the support of respective EESC Section secretariats in cooperation with national partners (national ESCs and other partner organisations) which will further deepen the liaison with our national civil society counterparts. These events at national level will involve missions composed of at least 3 members, decided by the relevant Section, CCMI, or Observatory Bureau, including the rapporteur of the respective flagship opinion. Following the "going local" event concise reports will evaluate the grass-root level engagement in the reform process and present conclusions with added value also for the European level.

3.             The opinions and the follow-up reports will be put together in a joint publication, possibly with further documentation. Following its presentation to the respective bureau session it can be submitted to the Commission and other interested parties in addition to the Integrated Reports and/or Resolutions on the governance of the Strategy debated in the Steering Committee.

The communication aspects of Europe 2020

The success of Europe 2020 depends greatly on the translation of the objectives into concrete actions in the Member States. By working with partners at national level the EESC has the potential to provide some valuable input.

Tailor-made debates, carefully following the situation in each Member State on concrete and selected issues could help to improve communication at grass-root level and to find appropriate tools to deliver on the objectives.

Communication should be a continuous process, evaluated and adapted regularly to reflect the reality of each and every Member State. To this end, the Steering Committee will maintain an enhanced cooperation with the EESC Communication Group.

In addition to the Brussels based activities, the "going local" events on the Flagship initiatives and related issues undertaken by the Sections, the CCMI and/or Observatories, organised in cooperation with a local partners will serve to improve communication on issues of concern within the Member States.