I started in April 2018 thinking we needed to rediscover the humanistic spirit of the Renaissance to speed our journey on the path to a sustainable Europe. On the back of Brexit and ahead of the European elections, I knew civil society had a vital role to play to steer the European economy and society towards more sustainable and smart models.
At the end of my mandate, I can say Europe has once again shown its resilience.
Publications
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This study examines the impact on the automatic stabilisation properties of national unemployment benefit systems of a European policy initiative that would introduce minimum standards to those systems.
The Group on Fundamental Rights and the Rule of Law (FRRL) was set up in 2018 as a horizontal body within the EESC, and was tasked with enhancing the contribution of organised civil society in strengthening fundamental rights, democracy and the rule of law and responding to the shrinking civic space for civil society organisations.
The End of Mandate Report summarises the main activities led by the FRRL Group between 2018 and 2020.
This brochure looks back on some of the success stories of the Committee from 2019. It illustrates our ongoing efforts to fulfil the mission we were given more than 60 years ago. 2019 was an eventful year on many levels for the European Union and the EESC has played to the fullest its role of acting as a bridge between the EU and civil society through their work in the Member States to systematically advance civil and social dialogue and put citizens at the heart of the Committee's opinions, publications and activities.
This publication is the executive summary of the study "Finding a new consensus on European civil society values and their evaluation".
Do civil society organisations in France, Germany, Italy, Greece, Hungary, and Poland share a common understanding of the values of democracy, the rule of law, and solidarity? This research shows that CSOs tend to converge in their definitions of these values, even if they display more diverse interpretations of solidarity than of democracy and the rule of law. It also reveals that CSOs recognise the crucial role that the civil sector plays in promoting these values.
The study provides a review of the issues facing non-state actors in accessing climate finance in the EU. Non-state actors, including local and regional authorities, businesses (including SMEs), trade unions, civil society and NGOs, face specific challenges when accessing climate finance. These can include the absence of enabling regulatory and policy frameworks, information barriers, internal capacity constraints and a group of challenges related to restricted availability of climate finance.
The EESC adopted its contribution to the 2021 European Commission work programme on 17 July 2020, with a very broad consensus. The document links the priorities already identified in the EESC resolution on post-Covid 19 recovery and reconstruction with the six Headline ambitions defined by the EC President von der Leyen.
The EESC adopted its contribution to the 2021 European Commission work programme on 17 July 2020, with a very broad consensus. The document links the priorities already identified in the EESC resolution on post-Covid 19 recovery and reconstruction with the six Headline ambitions defined by the EC President von der Leyen
The EESC suggests taking the opportunity of the Covid-19 crisis to build a new societal model, making our economies greener, fairer and more resilient to future shocks.