Horizon 2020 was the EU's research and innovation funding programme for 2014-2020, with a budget of nearly €80 billion. The Commission intends to evaluate this programme in order to improve the implementation of current EU research and innovation measures and the design of future measures. It also fulfils the Commission’s legal obligation to explain how it has spent public funds (Article 32 of Regulation 1291/2013).
The EESC underlines that increased equity funding for European companies is key and therefore strongly welcomes the Listing Act proposed by the Commission. Bringing family-owned companies to capital markets would open up untapped potential to attract capital for growth. In this context, a multiple-voting rights regime helps families to retain control, making listing more attractive to them, and streamlining the contents of a prospectus would significantly reduce costs and burden for issuers.
Download — Γνωμοδότηση της ΕΟΚΕ: Listing rules for public markets (Listing act)
The Commission is presenting revised rules that will make it cheaper, quicker and more predictable to protect industrial designs across the EU. The proposals for a revised Regulation and Directive on industrial designs modernise the existing Community design framework and parallel national design regimes, created and harmonised 20 years ago.
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Efficient insolvency laws are one of the key criteria for investors to decide on whether to invest across borders. Increasing confidence in cross-border financing will boost the Union’s capital markets.
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The purpose of the opinion is to contribute to the further development of the foresight in the EU policy-making so to gather a better understanding the twinning between the green and digital transitions. The opinion should ensure that EESC views are integrated in the new EU policymaking cycle which introduced foresight as a new compass as well as in the next European Commission's Annual Foresight Report for 2023.
Download — Γνωμοδότηση της ΕΟΚΕ: Strategic Foresight Report 2022
In this opinion, the EESC states that the transformation of the European labour market requires good understanding of what type of skills are needed for future labour market transformations, including in SMEs, in order to maintain sustainable employability, contribute to a high level of productivity and to reduce labour shortages. It believes that skills development and effective implementation of the right and access to lifelong learning must be an integral part in broader economic growth strategies and recovery and resilience plans. It highlights that the capacity to constantly update digital skills according to labour market changes and introduction of new technologies will undoubtedly be among the most important challenges in the future. Support for SMEs is needed to facilitate the development of their human capital training and development policy.
Download — Γνωμοδότηση της ΕΟΚΕ: Supporting labour market developments: how to maintain employability, boost productivity and develop skills, especially in SMEs
The EESC notes that the increasing damage caused by the climate emergency and the uncertainties and crises arising from the new geopolitical and energy market situations require the European Union to radically speed up the clean energy transition and increase Europe's energy independence from unreliable suppliers and volatile fossil fuels. It therefore welcomes the European Commission's plans to this end (for example REPowerEU and its additional funding through the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF)).
In order to correct or mitigate the negative effects of the energy transition in the current context of fresh emergencies, the EESC proposes that Member States consider appropriate ways to have labour market policies better integrated into regulatory frameworks and environment and energy policies as well as into social welfare policies.
Download — Γνωμοδότηση της ΕΟΚΕ: Energy Policy and the labour market: consequences for employment in regions undergoing energy transitions
