The EESC denounces the deterioration of human rights, the rule of law, and democracy, and calls for further improvements of the Commission's Annual Rule of Law Reports. Among others, it recommends that the Commission ensures meaningful involvement of civil society in both the preparation and follow-up stages of the report at the national level, and expands the Report’s section on CSOs. The Commission's assessment should be based on objective benchmarks and transparent dialogue with CSOs and the Commission needs to develop more precise and measurable country-specific recommendations with clear benchmarks, indicators and deadlines.
Download — Γνωμοδότηση της ΕΟΚΕ: Evaluation of the European Commission's annual reports on the rule of law in the European Union
Confronted with increasing instability, increased strategic competition and growing security threats, the EU committed to taking greater responsibility for its security and to taking further decisive action to build open European sovereignty, reduce its dependencies and develop a new growth and investment model for 2030 and beyond.
The opinion aims to examine the economic development of candidate countries and the potential effects of enlargement on the EU Single Market. This opinion is part of a pilot project involving Enlargement Candidate Members in the preparatory work.
Download — Γνωμοδότηση της ΕΟΚΕ: Potential challenges for the European single market arising from the future enlargement of the Union
This subject of this own-initiative opinion is multidimensional, requiring from the opinion to address a wide spectrum of subtopics, while having a clear and logical thread.
Download — Γνωμοδότηση της ΕΟΚΕ: Water Politics: Empowering Youth, Women, and Indigenous and Local Communities
The need for open and transparent budgetary processes has never been more critical. The multiannual financial framework (MFF) emerges as a crucial tool for aligning financial resources with the Union's long-term priorities. The EESC has highlighted significant gaps in the current MFF, including its limited scope in addressing contemporary challenges such as Europe's aging population and strained budgets due to inflation.
The EESC therefore explores a paradigm shift towards Open budgets in the EU –a framework that encompasses not only participatory budgeting but a broader spectrum of fiscal transparency and citizen engagement across all stages of the budget cycle. This approach is aimed at enhancing the responsiveness and effectiveness of EU budget allocations, thereby fostering a more resilient, inclusive, and democratic European economy.
Download — Γνωμοδότηση της ΕΟΚΕ: Enhancing Fiscal Transparency through Participatory Budgeting in the EU
This own-initiative opinion stems from the European Commission call for an "Industry 5.0" based on: human centricity, sustainability and resilience. Industry 5.0 aims thus at broadening the previous concept of Industry 4.0, providing a transformative vision for a sustainable, human-centric and resilient European industry. This opinion will reflect on how to concretely implement the concept of Industry 5.0.
This opinion is part of the EESC pilot "Enlargement Candidate Members (ECM)" where representatives from Turkey will take part in the study groups an in the Section meeting. The Turkish representatives are: Özgür Burak Akkol (Turkish Confederation of Employer Associations (TİSK), for Group I), Cavit Demiral (Confederation of Turkish Real Trade for Group II) and Ayşe Yürekli (Women Entrepreneurs Association of Türkiye, for Group III).
Download — Γνωμοδότηση της ΕΟΚΕ: Industry 5.0 – how to make it happen
In this opinion, the EESC stresses that the alignment of the circular economy and bioeconomy is crucial for sustainable development and calls for a strong, interlinked strategy to foster innovation, support rural jobs, and ensure the EU stays competitive within planetary boundaries.
Download — Γνωμοδότηση της ΕΟΚΕ: Aligning the circular economy and the bioeconomy at the EU and national level
