Events

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 9^th 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 9^th 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.

A part of the REX Section meeting will be dedicated to the Eastern Partnership under the point called "2020 and beyond: civil society's vision of the future of the Eastern Partnership":

• Ten years of the Eastern Partnership – main achievements and missed opportunities
• Stronger and empowered civil society for a stronger partnership
• Eastern Partnership beyond 2020 – what's next?

The 17th meeting of the EU-China Civil Society Round Table will take place in Shanghai, China on 11 and 12 July 2019. In the margins of the Round Table meeting, a tripartite seminar - open to other stakeholders and civil society representatives – will be held on the topic of Urban culture in relation to scientific and  technological innovations.  

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 fourth joint meeting in Chisinau, Moldova, on 5 July 2019.

The sixth meeting of the EU-Africa Economic and Social Stakeholders' Network took place in Brussels, Belgium, on 3 and 4 July 2019. A political declaration was adopted by the network to be addressed to the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the African Union.