EESC President: European civil society pleads for immediate take off of European recovery fund

EESC President Christa Schweng in a video call with David Sassoli, President of the European Parliament

Recovery from the current crisis, the impasse on long term EU budget and the future of the EU were the main topics of the discussion between the president of the EESC, Christa Schweng, and the president of the European Parliament, David Sassoli. The two presidents met virtually on 1 December for the first time in the current EESC term.

President Schweng echoed concerns of the European employers, workers and civil society organisations on delay of the adoption and implementation of the long-term EU budget and the recovery fund NextGenerationEU. She thanked the European Parliament for upholding the rule of law.

The EESC president also offered the Committee's expertise to assess the impact of recovery funds on the ground. Civil society should also be involved in preparing and implementing the national recovery plans.

Regarding the conference on the Future of Europe, Ms Schweng assured Mr Sassoli that the EESC is pleased to actively participate in this discussion. The Committee stands ready to bring to the table concrete proposals on behalf of the European civil society.

The two presidents also discussed possibilities of closer cooperation between the two institutions. The EESC is open for suggestions how to further increase the added value of the Committee's work for the needs of the European Parliament.

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