Events

  • The first ever launch event for the European Day of Sustainable Communities showcased the critical contribution that community-led initiatives on climate change and sustainability are making to support EU policy goals in these areas.

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    528th Plenary Session including a debate with Karl-Heinz Lambertz, President of the Committee of the Regions, on Thursday 21 September at 9 a.m., and a debate on the state of the Union, with Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, on Thursday 21 September at 11 a.m.

     

    Presentation of the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI): Stop glyphosate with Herman van Bekkem, representative of Greenpeace Netherlands, and David Schwartz, campaign coordinator in Brussels,  on Wednesday 20 September at 4.30 p.m.

  • Turkey’s geographical position makes it a first reception and transit country for many refugees and migrants. As the result of an unprecedented influx of people seeking refuge, the country currently hosts around 3 million registered Syrian refugees and is making commendable efforts to provide them with humanitarian aid and support. The EU is committed to assist Turkey in dealing with this challenge. The EU-Turkey Statement, which was issued on 18 March 2016, reconfirmed both parties' commitment to the implementation of the EU-Turkey joint action plan activated on 29 November 2015.

    A hearing will be organized by the EESC to examine different aspects of protection which Turkey offers to refugees, from the point of view of civil society organisations (CSOs). Particular attention will be devoted to evaluating economic, social and humanitarian conditions of refugees in the country and new areas of cooperation will be explored.

  • The hearing will explore EU funded projects and identify best practices and challenges. The main focus will be on the impact of funding on field work and on the design of projects and their implementation. Additionally, the sustainability of projects and absorption capacity will be discussed.

  • Public hearing Taxation of the sharing economy - analyse of possible tax policies faced with the growth of the sharing economy in the framework of exploratory opinion requested by the Estonian Presidency.

  • The conference "Smart solutions for sustainable and inclusive society" was focused on promoting e-services, e-government, urban development and e-solutions and their role in boosting innovation and sustainable and inclusive EU, which is a crucial component of the current Estonian Presidency's work programme.

  • Taking account of the outcome of debates with organised civil society in all Member States, the EESC adopted an opinion on the European Pillar of Social Rights in January 2017. It is now working on an opinion on the draft interinstitutional proclamation endorsing the European Pillar of Social Rights and the link between the pillar and the reflection paper on the social dimension of Europe by 2025. A hearing on this issue will take place on 11 September 2017.

  • The event will focus on the role of civil society in preventing radicalisation of young people. The debates will serve to clarify how EU policy-makers can help civil society practitioners to successfully prevent radicalisation. The first panel will cover different elements of anti-radicalisation policy, focusing on what is needed to increase success rates. The second panel will focus on the role of education in preventing radicalisation. Participants will share their view on what can be done to render more effective existing civil society initiatives aiming to prevent radicalisation.

  • The event seeks to foster the debate of cross-cutting topics that have emerged from the EESC's recent work on the "Clean Energy for All Europeans" package, namely governance, empowering consumers, financing the energy transition, greening the economy, and the future (progress) of the Energy Union

  • Civil society organisations (CSOs) play an important role in fostering participatory democracy and active citizenship in Europe and beyond; EU funding is paramount to support this work. The goal of this EESC hearing is to present working solutions and come up with recommendations for revised financial regulations and the future Multiannual Financial Framework after 2020 that would enable better civil dialogue and easier and transparent access to resources.