Conclusions of the annual meeting of the Presidents and Secretaries-General of the Economic and Social Councils of the EU and the EESC - The ESCs' role in sustainable development and the implementation of the
European Pillar of Social Rights
This study aims to outline the most significant features of the national economic and social councils of the Member States of the European Union in the light of the doctoral thesis defended by the author at the Catholic University of Murcia (Spain).
"The EU-China Round Table has firmly established itself as one of the key bilateral events between the EU and China, which reflects the overall positive state and stability of those relations," said the EESC president Luca Jahier, adding that as major economic, political and strategic partners, the EU and China must continue to work together on an ever increasing number of issues.
The participants at the high level conference, which took place on 15 May, were convinced that the enlargement of the EU, and in particular the spread of its democratic values and legal standards to the Western Balkan region, was in the interest of both the Western Balkan countries and the EU. Promoting EU values in the region guarantees security and stability, enhances social and economic development, as well as democracy and the rule of law in these countries which in turn means stability and security for the EU.
This year's Civil Society Days will take place right after the plenary session at which the European Economic and Social Committee celebrates its 60th anniversary.
The focus of this Civil Society Days will be on fostering the current debate about the future of Europe and on highlighting the role across Europe of the civil society organisations which come together in the EESC to represent "Europe at work".
In line with this twofold emphasis, the CivSocDays 2018 will address Europe at work in relation to a dimension which has permeated our everyday working and living environment and will affect and shape our future, as well as the future of Europe: the digital world.
Les personnes qui ont participé à la Journée de l’ICE 2017 ont eu la chance d’assister à un tournant dans l’histoire de l’initiative citoyenne européenne, lorsque Frans Timmermans, premier vice-président de la Commission européenne, a annoncé la révision tant attendue de l’instrument. La proposition de nouveau règlement de la Commission européenne a suivi peu de temps après et s’est concrétisée en septembre 2017 dans le cadre d’un train de mesures prioritaire accompagnant le discours sur l’état de l’Union.
There is a need to strike a balance in protecting consumers' rights and the responsibilities of digital service providers at the European level. By now consumer rights in the context of the digitization of the economy have been rather underestimated at the expense of the development of the digital economy. This is the common position reached by the participants in the discussion "Digital Economy: Benefits for Consumers" organized by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the Bulgarian Economic and Social Council (ESC).
In the adopted opinion on "The European Pillar of Social Rights and the Role of Organized Civil Society" the Economic and Social Council calls on the state institutions to exercise the full influence and authority of the EU Presidency and to focus the talks during the tripartite social summit and the European Council at the end of March this year by formulating concrete proposals to launch the process of building a European action plan with guidelines and a roadmap for implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) at the European level as well as at the level of individual Member States.
We are facing a revolution that will radically change the way we live, work and treat one another. This is stated in an opinion on "The Future of Labour: Challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution" adopted by the Economic and Social Council. With this document ESC draws the attention of the institutions to the new challenges related to the digital transformation of the economy, which will change the Bulgarian economy as well. ESC is of the opinion that there will be changes in the state government and institutions, education, health care, transport, etc. The fourth industrial revolution is both an opportunity and a threat to producers and workers, the opinion argues.