Det Europæiske Økonomiske og Sociale Udvalg
The Euro-Mediterranean Summit of Economic and Social Councils and Similar Institutions aims at promoting greater understanding of the main issues affecting organised civil society in the Mediterranean region and discussing the common challenges they face.
This years' meeting of the EESC's Western Balkans Follow-up Committee outside of Brussels will take place on 24 May 2022 in the Delegation of the European Union in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and will include a hearing with the civil society organisations (CSOs).
The goal of the hearing is to listen to the views on the role of civil society in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as to hear their concerns, and to convey these messages to the political authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina and of the EU.
The following topics will be discussed at the hearing:
The next meeting of the European Economic Area Consultative Committee's will held in Bergen (Norway) on 11 May 2022. Reports and resolutions are prepared on two subjects:
For the 15th time, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and Montenegro held the Civil Society Joint Consultative Committee (JCC). It took place in Brussels and tackled issues such as: Current state of play in EU-Montenegro relations including 2021 Montenegro Report / Revised enlargement methodology – Cluster 1: The Fundamentals of the Accession Process, with a special focus on Economic Criteria, Public procurement, Statistics and Financial Control and the response to the COVID-19 pandemic / Overview of the civil society situation in Montenegro.
A joint declaration was adopted at the meeting and distributed to all relevant EU institutions, as well as to the Montenegrin authorities.
The 21st meeting of the EU Advisory Group for the EU-Central America Association Agreement took place virtually on 4 April 2022.
The Forum aimed to break down the silos and enable inclusive and interactive debates between institutions, academia and civil society, all on an equal footing. The event covered topics relevant to trade and sustainable development (TSD) – from substantive rights through monitoring to enforcement and much more. The ambition was to feed innovative ideas and concrete recommendations to the ongoing reflections on the future of EU TSD policy, in the double context of the review of the 15-point action plan and recent trade and sustainability developments outside the EU.
The EU-Serbia Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) held its 13th meeting on 25 March 2022 in Brussels at the EESC. It is a platform established within the institutional framework of the EU‑Serbia Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), enabling representatives of both the EU and the Serbian civil society to monitor the country's accession negotiations, discuss issues of common interest and point out concerns to be tackled on the Serbian path towards the European Union.
The webinar will take place in the context of the EESC International Trade Follow-up Committee, in cooperation with the EESC INT Section and will explore the topic of 'Supply chains and the case of reshoring'.
Representatives of the two Domestic Advisory Groups (DAG) from the EU and Moldova, established under Chapter 13 on Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement between the Republic of Moldova and the European Union, held the sixth joint meeting via video conference on 16 February 2022.
This meeting of the EU DAG for Vietnam focused on the future work of the EU DAG and the papers drafted by the working groups within the 2020-2023 mandate. The EU DAG also followed up on the first joint meeting with the Vietnamese civil society counterparts, which took place in November 2021. It was likewise an opportunity for the EU DAG to receive an update from DG Trade on TSD-related issues and implementation.
Additionally, Deputy Head of Mission, Mr. Le Vinh Thang, from the Vietnamese Mission to the EU, participated in an exchange with the EU DAG members and shared his views on Vietnam's climate change commitments, in particular with regard to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's statement at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26).
