The EESC issues between 160 and 190 opinions and information reports a year.
It also organises several annual initiatives and events with a focus on civil society and citizens’ participation such as the Civil Society Prize, the Civil Society Days, the Your Europe, Your Say youth plenary and the ECI Day.
Here you can find news and information about the EESC'swork, including its social media accounts, the EESC Info newsletter, photo galleries and videos.
The EESC brings together representatives from all areas of organised civil society, who give their independent advice on EU policies and legislation. The EESC's326 Members are organised into three groups: Employers, Workers and Various Interests.
The EESC has six sections, specialising in concrete topics of relevance to the citizens of the European Union, ranging from social to economic affairs, energy, environment, external relations or the internal market.
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.
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 EESC welcomes the proposal for a directive for improving the gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on the stock exchange with a minimum objective of 40% by 2020. The EESC and the Commission recognise the need to respect the freedom to conduct business. This directive is a minimum standard which seeks to improve the conditions for business prosperity and allows Member States to progress beyond the measures recommended.
The opinion therefore pleads for the gender dimension to be incorporated into the National Reform Plans (NRP) and the European semester and for the Community Funds to invest more in gender equality. It highlights the important role of the social partners in achieving the needed gender mainstreaming and that of the Commission in providing the necessary gender indicators. It calls for common efforts to promote gender equality in society, eliminate structural inequalities and change gender roles.
EESC opinion: The gender dimension in the Europe 2020 strategy