Det Europæiske Økonomiske og Sociale Udvalg
Dear Commissioner,
It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the meeting of the Employers' Group.
Although you have already been very active and engaged in the work of our Committee – and you will also be participating in the next EESC plenary - I believe today is the first time that the Employers’ Group has the opportunity to exchange views with you directly.
The study "Boosting the use of Artificial Intelligence in Europe’s micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs)" will describe opportunities and challenges that AI presents to MSMEs. It focuses on five sectors (construction, accounting, legal service, health sector, agriculture) and five Member States (Romania, Italy, Ireland, France and Sweden). The study also aims to identifying concrete measures to encourage these enterprises uptake of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a means to increase their competitiveness.
The study is commissioned by the EESC on request of the Employers' Group and it is expected to be released in June 2021.
Based on the interim findings, the EESC Employers' Group prepared a 3 page infosheet, which you can find below.
25 March 2021 - The Employers' Group in the European Economic and Social Committee massively voted against the EESC opinion on the European Commission's proposal on "adequate minimum wages in the European Union" and tabled a counter-opinion, which will be appended to the EESC opinion as it has collected more than a third of the votes.
European entrepreneurs are firmly convinced that despite current challenges, the COVID-19 crisis presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the EU, as history shows that large-scale crises force us to significantly rethink and create opportunities to rebuild better and put Europe on the path of a sustainable, green and digital recovery.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how resilience is properly built only by securing a fully functioning Single Market. This was the main message pronounced by EU Commissioner for the Internal market, Thierry Breton, who joined the Extraordinary Employers' Group meeting (1 March) to discuss a wide range of topics from the vaccine rollout, to the revised EU Industrial Strategy and Europe's sustainable recovery.
Monsieur le Commissaire,
It is a great pleasure and an honour to greet you at this Extraordinary Group meeting of the Employers' Group of the European Economic and Social Committee.
I would like to greet you first and foremost as the Commissioner responsible for some of the most important portfolios for us, such as the Single Market, industrial policy, SME policy and even Space policy.
The COVID-19 crisis has severely hit SMEs across Europe, many of which risk being swept out of business in its wake. While the impact of the crisis depends on the sector in which the SME operate and on the restrictions and financial support of the Member State, COVID19 continues to pose uncertainty to all. There is a clear risk that many SMEs lost due to this pandemic will be lost for good.
The Employers' Group of the European Economic and Social Committee takes note of the encouraging economic projections released yesterday by the European Commission in the Winter forecast and welcomes today's signing ceremony of the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility, which lies at the heart of the EU’s recovery plan.
The list of new work appointments for January 2021 and the most recent list of ongoing EESC work are available for download in the attachments below.
The Employers’ group of the European Economic and Social Committee expresses serious concerns with the difficulties linked to the EU vaccine rollout programme and calls for a change of tone and action, comparable to the one we have seen in 2020 at the onset of the pandemic.
