The EESC organised a regional seminar in Eastern and Southern Africa, which comprises the Indian Ocean islands (Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles), countries from the Horn of Africa (Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Sudan) and some countries of Southern Africa (Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe).
The regional seminar took place in Mauritius, on 21-22 November 2019.
The Latin America Follow up Committee of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) held a Hearing on the EU-Mercosur Association Agreement: The views of organized civil society on 13 of November 2019.
The main purpose of the debate was to:
Assess the opportunities and challenges ahead of the implementation of the Agreement;
Evaluate compromises and possible impacts of the Trade and Sustainable Development Chapter of the Agreement;
Explore how the civil society and consultative structures should monitor the impact of the Association Agreement in terms of improving human rights and labour, social and environmental rights as well as a strict compliance with international conventions or agreements the parties have committed to.
During the first joint meeting, the EU and Canada DAGs had a tour de table to introduce the respective members, and exchanged views on the work of the respective groups. A discussion on the CETA Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) Chapters followed, along with a debate on joint priorities and ways of working together.
Representatives of the two Domestic Advisory Groups (DAGs) from the EU and Ukraine held their third joint meeting in Brussels on 6 November 2019. Please click on the programme tab to consult the topics on the agenda.
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 Euromed region and at discussing the common challenges they face
During the meeting, the EU Domestic Advisory Group (EU DAG) and civil society representatives from the Colombia DAG, Peru Domestic Mechanism and Ecuador DAG discussed the implementation of the Trade and Sustainable Development Title of the Trade Agreement, with a particular focus on respect for international labour and environmental standards. They also discussed economic, social, environmental and human rights impacts resulting from the implementation of the Agreement. The participants reflected on how the civil society from the EU, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador can cooperate to promote sustainable development in the context of trade relations and prepare for the next joint meeting.
During the meeting, the EU DAG discussed with a representative of the European Commission the progress in work on implementation of the EU-Canada CETA. The Group exchanged views on the work programme and discussions on the preparation for the 1st Joint meeting of the EU-Canada DAGs were also held.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and Serbia held the 9th meeting of their Civil Society Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) in the House of Human Rights in Belgrade. This civil society platform between the EESC and civil society in Serbia was established within the institutional framework of the EU-Serbia Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) in order to allow civil society organisations on both sides to monitor the country's accession negotiations. It is also a platform to discuss issues of common interest and to inform the public at large of the challenges ahead during the accession period. Besides the current state of play in EU-Serbia relations and the accession process, main topics of the 9th JCC meeting were Rule of law and functioning of democratic institutions and overview of the social dialogue situation in Serbia. A common declaration of the JCC was issued after the meeting.
The 12th meeting of the EU Advisory Group for the EU-Colombia, Peru and Ecuador Free Trade Agreement took place on 2 October 2019 in Brussels. Please click on the programme tab to consult the topics on the agenda.
With a view to gathering as much input as possible during the preparatory process for the opinion on The role of EU's trade and investment policies in enhancing EU's economic performance from a wide range of experts, the outcomes of the debate should feed into the preparation of the EESC opinion, to be adopted by the end of 2019.
The debate includes a first session focusing on the general implications of the EU's trade and investment policies on the enhancement of its internal economic performance, and a second session encompassing sustainable trade, environment and consumer policies.
