The EESC considers that a new vision is imperative in order to establish a European Standardisation System (ESS) able to adapt to constantly changing international circumstances and deliver increasing benefits to businesses, consumers, workers and the environment alike.
The EESC calls for a financial instrument to end "beaching".
The EESC appreciates the coherent and ambitious strategic vision in industrial policy being displayed in the Communication and its focus on four key issues: (1) technologies and platforms; (2) standards and reference architectures; (3) geographic cohesion, embodied in a network of regional Innovation Hubs; (4) skills at all levels.
If the message of this opinion should be summarised in a sentence, this would be: "Enough is enough; rules must be respected".
Steel industry is at the forefront of granting MES to China. However, the opinion does not tackle the legal and political side of granting MES to China (CCMI/144). It focuses on the Commission's communication and puts forward specific additional measures to provide Europe's steel industry with the level playing field it needs to preserve growth and jobs.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) warns against granting China market economy status (MES) and calls on the European institutions to promote fair international competition and actively defend European jobs and European values with efficient trade defence instruments (TDIs). In its opinion, adopted at its 514th plenary session on 14th July, the EESC points to the disastrous impact a possible granting of MES to China would have on Europe's industry and consequently on Europe's labour market. The EESC insists on China's fulfilment of the five EU criteria for achieving the MES.
During the energy transition towards the low-emission economy, the EU energy system faces a period of profound technological, economic and social change that will affect many of the energy sectors, including the coal industry and hence the coal-mining regions of the EU.
The EESC fully supports the consolidation, codification and thereby simplification of the text of the proposal relating to certain aspects of company law. The EESC would also have wished for a more ambitious exercise that aimed to codify aspects that are still spread across other legislative instruments.
The EESC welcomes the Commission's initiative to address "cross-border portability" through a regulation, but considers it necessary for a subscriber's "Member State of residence" to be clearly defined. The vacatio legis period of six months would be for the EESC a reasonable period for the service providers concerned to adapt their delivery systems to the new situation.
