
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), home of Europe's organised civil society, stands side by side with the European Commission as the perfect partner to address the future of EU migration and integration policies.
03/03/2020
Looking back to their past experiences as organisers of European Citizens' Initiatives, activists attending the ECI Day 2020 at the EESC on 25 February warned against asking people what Europe they want and then ignoring their input.
27/02/2020
An EESC report finds the situation in the live-in care sector to be unsustainable, with working conditions of carers bordering on sheer exploitation and care recipients struggling to find affordable and quality care. This state of affairs has emerged due to a lack of state support for the care industry and is a product of political neglect.
26/02/2020
At its plenary session on 20 February, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) welcomed the instigators of the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) “Eat Original. Unmask Your Food”, which calls on the European Commission to impose mandatory origin labelling for all food products in order to prevent fraud and guarantee consumers' right to information.
20/02/2020
The EESC President
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Due to the outbreak of COVID-19 (Coronavirus), the EESC has decided to cancel or postpone all non-statutory events to take place in the EESC premises in Brussels until 22 March 2020 as a precautionary measure. This includes hosted and co-hosted events, cultural events and exhibitions, visitor groups, events organised by outside bodies and Members'/staff personal visitors. The March Plenary session will go ahead until further review. Updates...
Once again, the EESC Civil Society Days will take place at a crucial moment for Europe, shortly before the kick off for the Conference on the Future of Europe scheduled for 9 May 2020. At a time when citizens are demanding broader involvement in shaping European policies, this pan-European conference is intended to be a bottom-up public forum to connect European...
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The EESC is concerned to note the euro area's economic downturn and the gradual end to a fall in unemployment, wedded to the persistent higher incidence of risk factors affecting economic performance. It is the European Green Deal that the EESC sees as the backbone of the future EU and euro-area economic configuration – the potential start of a fundamental change and a turning point. If managed successfully, it could move Europe up a gear economically and socially; if not, its failure could fatally jeopardise the integrity of the EU.
The EESC welcomes the approach taken by the annual growth strategy for 2020, based on the four key pillars that are the environment, productivity, stability and fairness and also welcomes the inclusion of the United Nations' 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. It also welcomes the fact that social rights are highlighted in the 2020 growth strategy and hopes that special attention will be given to the gender issue.
The EESC is currently drafting an opinion that aims to define what "the sustainable economy we need" should look like by exploring new economic models, investment decisions vis-à-vis technological advances as well as novel indicators for growth and competitiveness.
Taxation policies are fundamental for the SDGs as they determine the economic environment in which investment, employment, and innovation take place while providing the government with revenues for financing public spending. Businesses are global drivers of productivity, inclusive economic growth, job creation, investment and innovation. Private sector expertise holds the keys to unlocking many of the challenges linked to sustainable development. Tax bases should be as broad as possible allowing tax rates to be as non-distortive as possible.










Work in progress