26/07/2010 – The Hague, Netherlands

Dutch Council (SER): greater awareness of colour blindness

The Dutch Working Conditions Committee will pay closer attention to the problems of colour blindness in the workplace, according to its chairman, Ferdinand Grapperhaus. He was presented with a research report on social barriers for colour-blind people, produced by the Verwey-Jonker Institute on behalf of the advisory bureau Blind Color. Colour blindness is most common in men: one in twelve men have a form of colour blindness, compared with one in 250 women. Colour blind people may have problems with all colours, including red and green. This can lead to dangerous situations, not only on the roads but also in the workplace. It is therefore important for colour blindness to be taken into consideration when deciding on the colour of, for example, warning signals and labelling requirements. Mr Grapperhaus has called for an absolute NEN standard on the functional use of colour by the government and in matters of public interest, such as traffic lights and road signs; a relative standard could be sufficient for workplace situations, provided it is based on creating a safe working environment and on ensuring equal treatment.

16/07/2010 - Brussels, Belgium

EESC priorities during the Belgian Presidency of the EU

The Belgian Presidency of the EU will have the task of leading Europe during a tough period of economic and social crisis which poses a particularly difficult challenge for the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty.

The European Economic and Social Committee is strongly engaged in this process. It will continue to assist the EU institutions by paying close attention to economic and social problems, following the "road map" for recovery that the Committee launched in March and the EESC biennial conference in Florence on "Education to combat social exclusion". One area of work which will be at the core of our actions and reflections is the implementation of participatory democracy.

Read more about the EESC priorities

 

12-15/07/2010 - Luxembourg

The Economic and Social Council of Luxembourg organises a supranational seminar

on development indicators, with the participation of the EESC co-rapporteur, Agnes Cser. The event will take place at the headquarters of the European Court of Auditors in Luxembourg.

Read more

 

04/07/2010 – The Hague

Dutch Economic and Social Council (SER): Pension Accord Spring 2010

In this Pension Accord, the employers federations and trade union federations, the social partners forming the Labour Foundation [Stichting van de Arbeid], set out the adjustments they agree are necessary for occupational pensions in the second pillar, for which they bear particular responsibility. This Agreement also contains proposals regarding the future stability of the related state pension in the first pillar. The social partners believe that significant changes are necessary in order to safeguard the sustainability of the entire Dutch pension system. The two pillars of the Dutch pension system are coordinated and must remain compatible in the future. The proposals for the near future – to have both the state pension and occupational pensions reflect the fact that the average Dutch citizen is living longer and to offer more flexible retirement ages in both pillars, and thus also with regard to the state pension – will ensure this. Read the abstract

 

01/07/2010 – Brussels, Belgium

Belgium takes over EU Council Presidency on 1 July 2010

The Presidency of the European Union Council is held by a different Member State every six months. In the second half of 2010 it will be Belgium's turn. Toward this end, Belgium cooperated closely with Spain, which presided during the first half of 2010, and Hungary, that will take the honours during the first six months of 2011, for a joint programme that covers an 18-month period. During this Presidency, Belgium will play an important role in organising and stimulating European activities. More on the Belgian presidency of the EU

 

19- 20/07/2010 – Madrid, Spain

ESC of Spain: Seminar on "Change of the model of growth: cohesion, employment and productivity"

The seminar will take place at San Lorenzo del Escorial (Madrid) in the framework of the Summer courses of the General Foundation of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, under the supervision of Jorge Aragón Medina and Juan Antonio Fernández Cordón, members of the Economic and Social Council. The event aims to contributing to the debate and reflection over a new pattern of growth, with a view to finding alternatives of development that could be implemented in the production and labour structure of Spain. More

 

07- 09/07/2010 – Santander, Spain

ESC of Spain: "The socio-economic and labour situation. Learning from the crisis: towards a sustainable future"

The seminar will take place in Santander, during the Summer courses of the Universidad Internacional Menendez Pelayo. Director: Javier Ferrer Dufol, member of the ESC. The meeting will take stock of the current socio-economic and employment situation and analyze the initiatives seeking to overcome the weaknesses of the current production model, for a post-crisis strengthened Spanish society, back to a sustainable economic growth path. More

 

24-25/06/2010 – Sofia, Bulgaria

Annual meeting of the "CESlink" online cooperation network

The 2010 annual meeting of the CESlink cooperation network is hosted by the Bulgarian Economic and Social Council, in Sofia, on 24 and 25 June. Agenda

Aiming to reinforce communication between the Economic and Social Councils in the EU and the European Economic and Socal Committee, the network runs a joint portal, a joint document database and an intranet for internal communication.

The previous annual CESlink meeting was held in Malta on 7 and 8 May 2009, following the invitation of the Maltese Council.

 

28/05/2010 – Sofia, Bulgaria

The Economic and Social Council of Bulgaria organized a Conference on combating poverty and social exclusion

More than 100 representatives from various government institutions and civil society structures in Bulgaria, members of the Economic and Social Council (ESC), academics and experts as well as the Vice-President of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), Irini Pari, and the World Bank Representative for Bulgaria, Florian Fichtl, participated in Conference on “Combating poverty and social exclusion – public consensus on new effective policy” held on May 28, 2010 in Sofia.

The Conference was organized by ESC of Bulgaria as part of its efforts to launch a broad public discussion on the formation of long-term vision for combating poverty and social exclusion in a shared responsibility between government agencies and social partners and NGOs.

More info on the debates

 

20-22/05/2010 – Florence, Italy

EESC Biennial Conference on "Education to combat social exclusion"

More than a quarter of Europeans are affected by social exclusion. Its causes are wide and varied and include poverty, disability, membership of an ethnic minority, difficulties in cultural integration, and job insecurity.

In line with his programme and mandate, the President of the European Economic and Social Committee, Mario Sepi, has decided that the 2010 Biennial Conference should address the issue of education as a fundamental tool in combating social exclusion of all kinds. This three-day conference in Firenze brings together Italian and European personalities, as well as many civil society organisations, in order to debate the links between education and social exclusion. The results of the debates will be used concretely to feed the EU institutions' work in responding to the European citizens' expectations in this domain. Programme, participants, documents and photos
Editorial / Press release / Newsletter / Blog of Mario Sepi

 

17/05/2010 - Valletta, Malta

The Malta Council for Economic and Social Development is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms Sylvia Gauci to the position of Executive Secretary of the Council, beginning with April 2010.

Ms Sylvia Gauci is Vice-president of the Bureau of the Employers' Group of the European Economic and Social Committee, an Executive Council Member of the Malta Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises (GRTU) and former Director of the National Statistics Office and of Public Broadcasting Services Ltd, Malta.

The Malta Council for Economic and Social Development / Sylvia Gauci

 

10/05/2010 – Talinn, Estonia

Mall Hellam is "European of the year"

Estonian Member of the EESC Mall Hellam has been nominated European of the Year 2010 by the European Movement Estonia (EME) for her work as the Executive Director of the Open Estonia Foundation. Currently Vice President of the Various Interests Group of the EESC, Hellam has worked to connect different layers of the Estonian society to Europe through multiple ways, whether through ideas and knowledge or people and organizations. “For me, Europe is freedom. Belonging to Europe guarantees the freedom of Estonia, just as respecting European values guarantees our freedom as individuals,” Mall Hellam said, receiving the award. EME’s Director Kristiina Ling stressed: “Mall Hellam’s courage and open mind sets an example to all participants in today’s civil society – from volunteers to politicians. She has helped build a bridge to take ideas of an open and integrated society to people right where they live and act.” European Movement Estonia is a pro-European civil society organization acting as a discussion forum for people and associations interested in the European Union. EME is a member of the international European Movement network.

 

12/05/2010 – Paris, France

"Improving the image of France" – a study of the French CESE

The French Economic, Social and Environmental Council has released the report “Improving the image of France” this past April. Commissioned in February 2009, the publication includes a thorough examination of how the image of France is perceived outside of the country and within the context of other European Union member states and other countries. The report focuses primarily on the foreign press and how various forms of media shape perception to the advantage and disadvantage of the French nation.
"Many media, whether they are objective or represent specific interests, present a harsh opinion about France and the French, often without giving sound arguments. All of these play a role in shaping the image of our country, to our advantage AND disadvantage. France must analyse these critiques with an open mind, and use the power of the image to its advantage. The measures that certain actors from the public and private sector have taken are good examples of this practice. In this respect, the French Economic, Social and Environmental Council commits itself to supporting a policy that aims to reinforce the image of France."

 

26/04/2010 – Helsinki, Finland

Dr. Jukka Pekkarinen has been appointed Secretary-General of the Finnish Economic Council for a two year term, starting on April 19th 2010.

Mr. Jukka Pekkarinen holds a permanent position as a Director General at the Ministry of Finance.

Mr Pekkarinen will replace Secretary-General Vesa Vihriälä, who will be on leave of absence until February 29th 2012 after taking up a position in the Cabinet of the EU Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, Olli Rehn.

Finnish Economic Council / Website

 

24/03/2010

Sign the Declaration calling for a Social Action Programme!

Jacques DELORS, President of the European Commission between 1985 and 1995 and Philippe MAYSTADT, President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) are some of the 283 European citizens that already expressed their support. Adopted in November 2009, during the conference organised by the EESC with Notre Europe for the 20th anniversary of the Community Charter of Fundamental Social Rights, the Declaration calls upon the European Commission to propose a Social Action Programme which guarantees that fundamental social rights will be given the same importance as competition and economic freedom. Civil society representatives at local, regional, national and European level are invited to support this initiative. Sign the Declaration / See the signatures / Mario Sepi's blog

 

26/03/2010

Study to analyse consultation with civil society at the national level

The European Economic and Social Committee launched recently a call for tender to produce a study on "EU Member States Consultations with Civil Society on European Policy Matters". The aim of the study is to analyse consultation with civil society at the national level, in order to provide methods and approaches that can be used to better consult civil society under the new Lisbon Treaty. Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies from the European University Institute (EUI) won the tender and the project is led by Didier Chabanet, who is supported by a team of experts consisting of EUI researchers and external experts trained in the field. They will contact the ESCs with the request to kindly and on a voluntarily basis provide relevant information in order to prepare the national reports. The EESC would very much appreciate your kind cooperation on this important matter. Read more about the study

 

03/03/2010 - Brussels, Belgium

Study upon social consultation in Belgium

Luc DENAYER, Secretary of the Central Council for the Economy of Belgium and associate professor with the Catholic University  of Louvain, presented the study:

Concertation sociale et transformations socio-économiques en Belgique, de 1944 à nos jours (FR)
by Isabelle Cassiers and Luc Denayer - Discussion paper for the Institute for Economic and Social Research of the Catholic University  of Louvain.

To be published (2010) in E. Arcq et al. (eds.),"Les relations collectives du travail en Belgique", Bruxelles, CRISP.

 

23/02/2010 - Brussels, Belgium

Evelyne PICHENOT, Chair of the Delegation of the French Economic, Social and Environmental Council to the EU and member of the Economic and Social Committee (EESC) organises a lunch-debate in collabaration with the Representation of the European Commission in Belgium: The Ifri's Tuesdays in Brussels: "How the Commission is organizing the Green Papers" - Tuesday 23 February 2010, between 13:00-14:30 pm

Consult Ms. Pichenot's communication "For the active participation of civil society in European public consultation":

Consult the note on the communication:

Reports published in 2009 by the Irish National Economic and Social Council (NESC) concerning Ireland needs to formulate an integrated national response to the current crisis

NESC Report 118: "Ireland’s Five-Part Crisis - an Integrated National Response"

NESC Report 119: "Well-Being Matters: A Social Report for Ireland" (Volume I - Volume II - highlights)

NESC Report 120: "Next Steps in Addressing Ireland’s Five-Part Crisis Combining Retrenchment with Reform"

 

Interviews realised by the Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands with leaders of:

The National Economic and Social Council of Ireland
The Hungarian Economic and Social Council
The Brazilian Council for Economic and Social Development