The Commission intends to work with Member States, the Ukrainian authorities, transport operators, equipment suppliers and all other relevant stakeholders on both sides to establish alternative and optimised logistic routes: the new ‘EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes’. These lanes will facilitate in particular the forwarding of agricultural produce from Ukraine, but also our bilateral trade in goods and access of Ukraine to international markets and global supply chains making sure much needed cereals reach the world market.
EU companies rely excessively on banking financing and are highly indebted. This own-initiative opinion proposes the development of a highly subordinated instrument at EU level that boosts the recapitalisation of EU firms. This would be a secure and easy-to-implement solution for SMEs, that would improve their financial position and promote investment without increasing leverage.
Download — stanovisko EHSV: Recapitalising EU companies – An innovative way towards sustained and inclusive recovery
This own initiative opinion intends to explore the role of business transfers in the sustainable recovery and growth in European SME sector and how the business transfers could be further promoted and facilitated at the European level. There is a need to accelerate concrete follow-up actions for the promotion of business transfers, which is also one of the action points of the recent EU SME Strategy. It is crucial to raise awareness of the potential that business transfers have to the economic growth and the SME sector.
Download — stanovisko EHSV: Business transfers as promoters of sustainable recovery growth in the SME sector
This opinion will assess the chances and challenges that SMEs face due to the green transition and will call the EU and the Member States to provide them with a favourable business environment, proper funding and support measures.
Download — stanovisko EHSV: SMEs, social economy enterprises, crafts and liberal professions Fit for 55
The adoption of the European Union Climate law has set an ambitious emission reduction target for 2030 while confirming the climate neutrality objective for 2050. According to the IPCC scenarios, keeping global warming below 1.5°C requires that global anthropogenic net emissions should be zero by around 2050. Secondly, meeting this goal requires the deployment of CDR, which can happen by means of bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and removals in the agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU) sector. The IPCC defines CDR as "anthropogenic activities removing CO2 from the atmosphere and durably storing it in geological, terrestrial, or ocean reservoirs, or in products".
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The own-initiative opinion (OIO) is part of an EESC umbrella opinion “A strategic vision on energy transition to enable sustainable development”covering various aspects of the energy transition. Once all opinions by the different EESC Sections have been gathered, the respective recommendations will constitute the EESC's overarching political message to the EU Institutions.
Download — stanovisko EHSV: Geopolitical impact of energy transition
