The EESC issues between 160 and 190 opinions and information reports a year.
It also organises several annual initiatives and events with a focus on civil society and citizens’ participation such as the Civil Society Prize, the Civil Society Days, the Your Europe, Your Say youth plenary and the ECI Day.
Here you can find news and information about the EESC'swork, including its social media accounts, the EESC Info newsletter, photo galleries and videos.
The EESC brings together representatives from all areas of organised civil society, who give their independent advice on EU policies and legislation. The EESC's326 Members are organised into three groups: Employers, Workers and Various Interests.
The EESC has six sections, specialising in concrete topics of relevance to the citizens of the European Union, ranging from social to economic affairs, energy, environment, external relations or the internal market.
Statement of the President of the Employers' Group
On 20 February 2019 the EESC adopted an opinion calling for an EU framework directive on minimum income. The Employers' Group fully shares the view of the EESC that fighting against poverty is a necessity. However, for us the instrument proposed in the opinion is not the correct one. For this reason, the Group tabled a counter-opinion, presenting its views on measures needed to reduce poverty. The counter opinion was supported by almost 40% of the EESC Members.
A new VAT system for taxing trade between Member States must tap its full potential and limit any possible negative effects for the single market, says the European Economic and Social Committee in its recently adopted opinion on a proposal presented by the European Commission. Greater collaboration between national authorities and extensive communication by the Commission will be key to its successful implementation. Clarifications are needed on some proposed concepts and criteria and a common system for goods and services must follow as soon as possible.
The Diversity Europe Group recently organised a structured brainstorming session aiming at encouraging its Members to think out of the box and to come up with ideas to feed into proposals for the Sibiu Summit on the Future of Europe. This session kick-started our Group's contribution to the EESC Roadmap 'From Cracow to Sibiu and beyond'.
The European economy loses over 2% of productivity per year due to a mismatch of skills, according to a recent study commissioned by the European Economic and Social Committee. This means a loss of 80 eurocents for each hour of work. The situation will get even worse in the future due to demographic trends and ongoing technological developments, if no reforms are undertaken.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has used an own-initiative opinion to call for sufficient funding resources to be put in place for implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights. Adopted at its plenary session on 19 April 2018, the opinion calls for improvements in the Member States and a robust commitment in terms of budget, investment and current spending to make the Social Pillar a reality.
Η ΕΟΚΕ παρουσιάζει μέτρα για την αποφυγή της αυστηρής λιτότητας στο μέλλον και το μετριασμό των επιπτώσεων της διαχείρισης παλαιότερων κρίσεων
Η μελλοντική διαχείριση κρίσεων πρέπει να επιδιώκει καλύτερη ισορροπία μεταξύ των δημοσιονομικών και των κοινωνικών στόχων προκειμένου να αποφευχθούν οι δυσμενείς επιπτώσεις στην οικονομική ικανότητα, τις αγορές εργασίας και τα συστήματα κοινωνικής προστασίας των εν λόγω χωρών. Αντί της περιοριστικής λιτότητας, τα όργανα της ΕΕ πρέπει να υλοποιούν, σε μελλοντικές περιπτώσεις κρίσης, πολιτικές που θα επιδιώκουν την οικονομική συνεργασία, την ανάπτυξη και την αλληλεγγύη.
Η ΕΟΚΕ προκρίνει την παροχή δημοσιονομικών κινήτρων εστιασμένων στις δημόσιες επενδύσεις, με παράλληλη ιεράρχηση των διαρθρωτικών μεταρρυθμίσεων για την ενίσχυση της παραγωγικότητας και τη δημιουργία ποιοτικών θέσεων εργασίας
Η Ευρωπαϊκή Οικονομική και Κοινωνική Επιτροπή (ΕΟΚΕ) διαφωνεί με την πρόταση της Ευρωπαϊκής Επιτροπής για έναν γενικά ουδέτερο δημοσιονομικό προσανατολισμό κατά το 2018 και αντιπροτείνει έναν ελαφρώς θετικό δημοσιονομικό προσανατολισμό της τάξης του 0,5% του ΑΕΠ.