Press releases

  • Reference number
    25/2019

    Margrethe Vestager, European Commissioner for Competition, declared at the May plenary session of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) that "the Commission has been pushing for digital taxation because we need a global solution; it's unacceptable that some companies pay taxes and others don't". Read more..

  • Reference number
    23/2019

    Young Europeans think that belonging to the EU benefits them directly and are keen to learn other languages, explore other cultures, and have friends of other EU nationalities. These are just the first results of a study on "Youngsters and the EU - Perceptions, Knowledge and Expectations", which the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and its Diversity Europe Group presented at a major event in Brussels on 15 May 2019.

  • Reference number
    22/2019

    The 7th edition of the Western Balkans Civil Society Forum, which took place in Tirana on 16 and 17 April, concluded with a call for the next Commission to maintain the Western Balkans enlargement policy as one of its priorities in the interest of both the region and of the EU.

  • Reference number
    21/2019

    The Commission has the moral obligation to react to ECIs, said First Vice-President Frans Timmermans

    Today's 8th ECI Day marks a special step forward for the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI). We are proud that, not least because of the endeavours of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and particularly the annual ECI Day, it was finally possible to revise the ECI. So today we are very pleased to welcome First Vice-President Timmermans, who will present a simplified and improved tool for genuine citizen participation, said Christophe Lefevre, EESC member and president of the ECI ad-hoc group, who opened the 8th European Citizens' Day on 2 April on behalf of EESC President Luca Jahier.

  • Reference number
    20/2019

    The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is starting to take stock of progress made so far in implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights ("the Social Pillar"), a tool for social policy proclaimed by the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission at the Gothenburg Summit in November 2017.

  • Reference number
    19/2019

    The European Union must get closer to its citizens and become the global leader in sustainable development, argues the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in a bold opinion on the future of the EU, which was adopted at its plenary session in March. In this opinion, the Committee calls for a new EU strategy which takes a holistic and cross-sector policy approach centred around Europeans' needs and sustainability, and puts forward policy recommendations touching on eleven priorities.

  • Participants in YEYS 2019
    Reference number
    18/2019

    Na akci pro mládež Vaše Evropa, váš názor (YEYS) 2019, kterou uspořádal Evropský hospodářský a sociální výbor (EHSV) ve dnech 21.–22. března 2019, se návrhem s největším počtem hlasů stal povinný studijní program věnovaný evropským politikám, jehož účelem je zlepšit znalosti občanů před volbami. Tato iniciativa a tři další vybrané návrhy zaměřené na využívání nových technologií a sociálních médií ke zvýšení účasti v evropských volbách budou zaslány Evropskému parlamentu k posouzení.

  • Plenary session March 2019 - day 22 - bilateral meeting - presidents Jahier and Bernasconi
    Reference number
    17/2019

    The future of Europe was high on the agenda of the EESC March plenary, which hosted a debate with Patrick Bernasconi, president of the French Economic, Social and Environmental Council. Luca Jahier, president of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), reaffirmed that civil society had a vital role to play in the European project.

  • Reference number
    16/2019

    The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) welcomed the promoters of the STOP EXTREMISM European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) at its 21 March plenary held in Brussels, providing them with a platform at EU level to present the goal of their initiative and their concerns about extremism.

  • Reference number
    15/2019

    With many legal and technical barriers still in place across the EU, not a single Member State has ensured that elections are accessible to all, an EESC report finds

    On 20 March, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) issued an information report presenting the full state of play when it comes to the right of persons with disabilities to vote in the European Parliament elections.