The European packaging sector comprises five main sub-sectors. "Paper and board" (including paper bags and cartons) is the largest consumer packaging category with a~34% share of the total packaging market. "Rigid plastics" (tubs, pots and jars etc.) is the second-largest packaging category with a ~27% share and is one of the faster‑growing categories, forecast to grow above real GDP (~4% per year) until 2015.
In order to maximise the benefits offered by wood products in the carbon balance and to enhance the competitiveness of the European woodworking industry and its capacity to drive innovation, the European Economic and Social Committee has drawn up the following recommendations...
Download — Contribution of the woodworking sector in the carbon balance
The EESC proposes to reduce and standardise the range of different taxes, extend tax bases, align tax rates more closely, and strengthen cooperation and information exchange mechanisms in order to combat fraud and evasion.
Tax should be captured where the economic substance is located. Feeding into the current political discussion, the EESC equally calls to urgently eliminate practices used in the Member States to grant selected corporations special tax privileges. The Committee wants to involve citizens in combating the black economy, tax evasion and tax fraud by encouraging instruments such as service vouchers and forms of electronic payment that leave a trace.
The objective of the own-initiative opinion is to analyse the state of affairs of civil society in Russia and to elaborate recommendations on how the EU and EU civil society organization can contribute for improving the working conditions for civil society organizations in Russia and for the strengthening of genuine civil and social dialogue.
The Europe 2020 strategy's main problems can be seen in the areas of governance, the targets set, civil society participation and its implementation. The architecture of the strategy's governance has formalised a structural distortion in which economic aspects take precedence over social and environmental governance, subordinating the Europe 2020 targets to the macro-economic priorities of the European Semester. It is worrying that the Europe 2020 strategy does not involve organised civil society adequately, at either national or European level.
Discours de M.Palmieri, lors 502e session plénière
At the Vilnius Summit, which took place on 28-29 November 2013, it was expected that Ukraine, as the first of the EaP countries, would sign the Association Agreement, including Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, with the European Union. However, the Ukrainian Government, rather unexpectedly, took the decision to temporarily suspend the process of preparations for signature of the Association Agreement. This decision caused political turmoil and instability in the whole country, with, to this day, far-reaching political consequences.
Download — Situation of Ukrainian civil society in the context of European aspirations of Ukraine
This opinion aims at exploring the obstacles to overcome and the conditions for developing quality services for the family in order to create decent and attractive jobs.
Previous work on the professionalisation of domestic work and on a family policy that tackles the challenge of demographic change need to be continued and updated by: revealing and describing the nature of the obstacles currently blocking the development and professionalisation of these jobs which; and making known positive experiences and good practices being implemented today in a number of Member States and major companies.
The EESC fully supports the aim of the European Commission to rapidly create an optimal investment climate for RPAS production and operations activities in the EU. The Committee sees many resulting positive effects on direct and indirect employment and the associated increase in productivity in general.
The EESC considers the emergence of harmonised rules as a fundamental prerequisite for the use of small RPAS in the EU. This particularly concerns the safety and training requirements applied to RPAS operators. Appropriate rules and provisions are also needed for privacy, data protection, liability and insurance.
Europe 2020 and Horizon 2020 goals will not be reached without stronger input from female scientists. Today, only 20% of all professors and just 10% of university vice-chancellors are women. This issue is constantly raised by both civil society and EU institutions, yet there is a lack of focus on this topic. The opinion aims to analyse the reasons for the gender gap in science (especially in STEM fields) and tackle the main obstacles to gender equality in science. It will provide a thorough analysis of the education and science sectors in the EU in relation to gender and make recommendations to ensure the appropriate talent allocation, which will increase Europe’s talent pool, promote employability and innovation and benefit the economy.
The information report will seek to take a holistic approach to situation of young people in the north and south of the region, looking not just at the employment market but at wider trends amongst young people also outside of work, their self-perception, their political and social outlook on the future, their living arrangements, their view of their parents' generation and other older generations, as well as their view of the region and its role in a globalised world.
Download — The Economic and Social Situation of young people in the Euromed region
In July 2013, the EESC has adopted an Opinion on Industrial policy in which industrial policy was qualified as a Growth initiative with great potentials. Following up the Opinion it is suggested to discuss somewhat underestimated aspects of the on-going industrial cycle that are vital for future growth and jobs, entailing huge consequences for (manufacturing) industry. It is about the impact of services, digitalisation, ICT and new variations in the same framework - such as 3D printing and other applications (ICT-plus) - on the industrial processes. Services are an increasing part of the European economy, and creating more jobs than manufacturing. The ICT-industry itself is growing in Europe by 10% annually. Services and ICT-plus have huge socio-economic and political implications.
The EESC opinion will be dedicated to standalone investment agreements, with a particular emphasis on issues related to sustainable development and civil society involvement. It will contribute to the on-going discussion on the content and level of ambition of sustainable development chapters in the EU standalone investment agreements, as well as on civil society role in the course of negotiations and at the implementation stage.
Download — EESC opinion: Role for sustainable development and civil society involvement in stand-alone EU investment agreements with third countries
