Evropský hospodářský a sociální výbor
V Asii udržuje EHSV vztahy s organizacemi občanské společnosti v Číně, Japonsku, Singapuru, Jižní Koreji a ve Vietnamu.
V roce 2007 byl v návaznosti na 9. vrcholnou schůzku EU-Čína vytvořen oficiální kulatý stůl občanské společnosti EU-Čína, jenž se koná jednou ročně.
V únoru 2009 byl zřízen monitorovací výbor EU–Japonsko, jehož úkolem je monitorovat aspekty týkající se občanské společnosti ve vztazích mezi EU a Japonskem a podporovat spolupráci mezi EHSV a organizacemi podnikatelů, pracovníků, spotřebitelů, environmentálními organizacemi a dalšími důležitými organizacemi občanské společnosti v Japonsku. V rámci dohody mezi EU a Japonskem o hospodářském partnerství byla zřízena interní poradní skupina EU–Japonsko. V kapitole této dohody věnované obchodu a udržitelnému rozvoji se občanské společnosti přiznává monitorovací a poradní úloha.
EU uzavřela dohody o volném obchodu s těmito asijskými zeměmi: Jižní Koreou (2011), Japonskem (2019), Singapurem (2019) a Vietnamem (2020). Pro tyto dohody je charakteristické, že obsahují kapitoly o obchodu a udržitelném rozvoji a přiznávají EHSV a dalším organizacím občanské společnosti spolu s organizacemi občanské společnosti partnerských zemí formální úlohu, jež spočívá ve sledování provádění dohod a poskytování poradenství příslušným politickým orgánům v oblasti ekologických, sociálních a pracovních norem a v souvislosti s dalšími záležitostmi, které mají pro občanskou společnost bezprostřední význam. Tato činnost se provádí prostřednictvím interních poradních skupin. Každý rok se konají dvě až tři schůze interních poradních skupin EU a společná schůze pak jednou ročně.
EHSV navíc příležitostně spolupracuje s občanskou společností i v dalších asijských zemích a podílí se na relevantních mezinárodních akcích.
The 16th EU-China Civil Society Round Table will take place in Varna, Bulgaria from 28 May to 29 May 2018.
The topics of the Round Table meeting will be the following: Social security and social solidarity mechanisms, and trade and investment as part of EU-China relations. In the fringes of the Round Table, a tripartite seminar on EU-China Tourism Year 2018 will be organised.
During the 6th EU-Korea Civil Society Forum (CSF), participants discussed labour standards with the ILO representative, including progress achieved by both Parties to the Agreement as well as the next steps in the ratification and effective implementation of the ILO fundamental and other up-to-date conventions. Both DAGs also exchanged information about the role of civil society in the EU and the Republic of Korea in the development and implementation of the climate change policy at national, EU and international level. They then adopted final conclusions.
During the meeting, the EU DAG discussed with a representative of the European Commission the preparation for the meetings with Korea under the trade and sustainable development chapter, as well as about the current business environment in Korea and presentation of the white paper of the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea. Preparations of the 6th meeting of the EU-Korea Civil Society Forum in Seoul were also discussed.
In the light of the agreement in principle reached in July 2017 between the EU and Japan on an Economic Partnership Agreement, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)'s Follow-up Committees on International Trade and Japan are taking the opportunity to organise a half-day joint seminar. The seminar aims at examining the significance of the EU-Japan Agreement in the global context, reflecting on the role that civil society may play in the implementation of such agreement, and aims to assess possible challenges and benefits for different stakeholders (the business community, workers, farmers, consumers, etc.).
During the meeting, the EU DAG discussed with a representative of the European Commission the outcome and follow-up of the last CTSD meeting, held on March 24th, as well as the Commission's annual report on the EU-Korea FTA that was presented in June. Presentations of the recent developments in the Republic of Korea were also made by representatives of the correspondent country desk oin the European Commission and the EEAS. The EP shadow rapporteur on the implementation of the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Korea, Dr Joachim Schuster, MEP (S&D Group), presented the European Parliament resolution adopted on 18 May 2017 to the EU DAG.
The 15th EU-China Civil Society Round Table will take place in Beijing from 28 to 30 June 2017. To mark this anniversary edition of the Round Table – it has been 10 years since it was first set up – an overarching theme, “Partnership for Growth, Civilization of mutual benefit”, was chosen. Thematic session will examine key aspects of this partnership.
During the 5th EU-Korea Civil Society Forum (CSF), participants will discuss labour standards with the ILO representative, including progress achieved by both Parties to the Agreement as well as the next steps in the ratification and effective implementation of the ILO fundamental and other up-to-date conventions. Both DAGs also will exchange information about the role of civil society in the EU and the Republic of Korea in the development and implementation of the climate change policy at national, EU and international level. They then will adopt final conclusions.
The discussion focussed on the preparation (topics, stakeholders, organizational aspects) of the Civil Society Forum with Korea and the Workshop on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), held In February in Brussels (20-21 February 2017).
During the meeting, the EU DAG will discuss with a representative of the European Parliament the progress in work on its report on implementation of the EU-Korea FTA. The European Commission will update participants on the state of play and the next steps in the implementation of the EU-Korea joint project related to the ILO Convention No. 111. The EU DAG will discuss moreover preparations for the next EU-Korea Civil Society Forum.
The EESC Employers' Group is organising a seminar on "Strengthening European Growth and Competitiveness: Proactive Trade Agenda – NOW!" taking place on 26 October in Helsinki and jointly organized with the Confederation of Finnish Industries and the International Chamber of Commerce, ICC Finland.
Trade and Investment are hugely important for the EU: 1 in 7 EU jobs depend on exports. The EU cannot risk falling behind in the global race to build a wide and ambitious network of free trade agreements. The signing of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement (involving 12 countries and 40% of world GDP) is a timely reminder of this. This seminar, which will be attended by many of our Members together with Finnish employers and entrepreneurs, politicians and academics aims to examine how to best contribute positively to the debate as trade agreements (TTIP - TISA - CETA - EU-JAPAN) increasingly become a top political issue.
