About

The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission shall be assisted by an Economic and Social Committee (...) acting in an advisory capacity.”

1957, Treaty on EU, Art. 13

329 Members

for 5 years



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Members?

Employers, trade unionists and representatives of social, occupational, economic and cultural organisations.

Appointed for renewable 5-year term by the Council on a proposal by Member States.

3 Groups

  • Employers Group 1
  • Workers Group 2
  • Civil Society Organisations' Group 3
President 2 Vice-presidents 2 1/2-year term

Our work: opinions

European Commission, Parliament or Council > REQUEST
EESC > OWN INITIATIVE
Bureau > AUTHORISATION
Rapporteur and Study Group Members appointed by Groups
Rapporteur > DRAFT OPINION (often assisted by Study Group)
Sections


> DISCUSSION > CONSENSUS
  • Employers Group 1
  • Workers Group 2
  • Civil
    Society
    Organisations'
    Group 3
PLENARY SESSION > VOTING OPINIONS
ADOPTED OPINION sent to EU institutions and publicised as appropriate

Working bodies

  • ECO
  • INT DSMO
  • TEN
  • SOC LMO
  • NAT SDO
  • REX
  • CCMI
  • ESG
  • LG
  • FFRL

6 Sections

ECO
Economic and Monetary Union, Economic and Social Cohesion
INT
Single Market, Production and Consumption
TEN
Transport, Energy, Infrastructure and the Information Society
SOC
Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship
NAT
Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment
REX
External Relations

1 Commission

CCMI
Consultative Commission on Industrial Change

3 Observatories

DSMO
Observatory of the Digital Transition and the Single Market
SDO
Sustainable Development Observatory
LMO
Labour Market Observatory

3 Other bodies

ESG
European Semester Group
LG
Liaison Group
FRRL
Group on Fundamental Rights and the Rule of Law

EESC mission statement

Committed to European integration, the EESC contributes to strengthening the democratic legitimacy and effectiveness of the European Union by enabling civil society organisations from the Member States to express their views at European level.

This Committee fulfils three key missions:

  • helping to ensure that European policies and legislation tie in better with economic, social and civic circumstances on the ground, by assisting the European Parliament, Council and European Commission, making use of EESC members' experience and representativeness, dialogue and efforts to secure consensus serving the general interest;
  • promoting the development of a more participatory European Union, which is more in touch with popular opinion, by acting as an institutional forum representing, informing, expressing the views of and securing dialogue with organised civil society;
  • promoting the values on which European integration is founded and advancing, in Europe and across the world, the cause of democracy and participatory democracy, as well as the role of civil society organisations.

Workings of the EESC

The EESC is a consultative body that gives representatives of Europe's socio-occupational interest groups and others a formal platform to express their points of view on EU issues. Its opinions are addressed to the Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament. It thus has a key role to play in the Union's decision-making process.

Presidency

President

Vice-President - Communication

Vice-President - Budget

Origins

The ESC was set up by the 1957 Rome Treaties to involve economic and social interest groups in the establishment of the common market and to provide an institutional structure for briefing the European Commission and the Council of Ministers on European Community issues.

The Single European Act (1986), the Maastricht Treaty (1992), the Amsterdam Treaty (1997) and the Treaty of Nice (2000) have reinforced the EESC's role.

Membership

The EESC has 329 members, who are drawn from economic and social interest groups in Europe.

Members are nominated by national governments and appointed by the Council of the European Union for a renewable 5-year term of office. The latest renewal was in October 2020 for the 2020-2025 term of office.

They belong to one of three groups:

The number of members per Member State is as follows:

  • France, Germany and Italy have 24 members each
  • Poland and Spain have 21
  • Romania has 15
  • Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden have 12
  • Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Lithuania and Slovakia have 9
  • Latvia, Slovenia and Estonia have 7
  • Cyprus and Luxembourg have 6
  • Malta have 5

The members' mandate

The members' task is to issue opinions on matters of European interest to the Council, the Commission and the European Parliament.

Video on the life cycle of an opinion.

Advisory role

Consultation of the EESC by the Commission or the Council is mandatory in certain cases; in others it is optional. The EESC may, however, also adopt opinions on its own initiative. The Single European Act (17.2.1986) and the Maastricht Treaty (7.2.1992) extended the range of issues which must be referred to the Committee. The Amsterdam Treaty further broadened the areas for referral to the Committee, and allowed it to be consulted by the European Parliament. On average, the EESC delivers 170 advisory documents and opinions a year (of which about 15% are issued on its own initiative). All opinions are forwarded to the EU's decision-making bodies and then published in the EU's Official Journal.

Information and integration role

Over the last few years the EESC has stepped up its role in the European Union and has transcended the basic role assigned to it in the Treaties. It acts as a forum for the single market and, with the support of other EU bodies, has hosted a series of events aimed at bringing the EU closer to the people.

Organisation

1. Presidency and bureau

Every two and a half years the EESC elects a bureau with a president and two vice-presidents chosen from each of the three groups in rotation.

The president is responsible for the orderly conduct of the Committee's business. He is assisted by the vice-presidents, one of whom is responsible for communication and one for the budget.

The president represents the EESC in relations with outside bodies.

Joint briefs (relations with EFTA, CEECs, the AMU, ACP countries, Latin America and other third countries, and Citizens' Europe) fall within the remit of the EESC bureau and the president.

The bureau's main task is to organise and coordinate the work of the EESC's bodies and to lay down policy guidelines for this work.

2. Sections

The Committee has six sections:

  • Economic and Monetary Union and Economic and Social Cohesion (ECO)
  • The Single Market, Production and Consumption (INT)
  • Transport, Energy, Infrastructure and the Information Society (TEN)
  • Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship (SOC)
  • Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment (NAT)
  • External Relations (REX)

The Consultative Committee on Industrial Change (CCMI) was incorporated into the EESC structure following the expiry of the ECSC Treaty in July 2002.

3. Study groups

Section opinions are drafted by study groups. These usually have 12 members, including a rapporteur. Study group members may be assisted by experts.

4. Sub-committees

The EESC has the right to set up temporary sub-committees for specific issues. These sub-committees operate on the same lines as the sections.

5. Plenary session

As a rule, the full Committee meets in plenary nine times a year. At the plenary sessions, opinions are adopted by simple majority, on the basis of section opinions. They are forwarded to the institutions and published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

6. Secretariat-General

The Committee is supported by a secretariat-general, headed by a secretary-general who reports to the president representing the bureau.

Some 700 staff members work at the EESC. Since 1 January 1995, the EESC and the Committee of the Regions have shared some services, such as logistics, IT and translation.

Downloads

Discover what the EESC can do for you - 2023 Edition
2022 – A Year in Review
The PowerPoint presentation of the Committee 2021
The EESC in the interinstitutional framework
EESC meetings calendar 2023
Annual activity report 2022
Annual activity report 2021
Annual activity report 2020
Annual activity report 2019
Annual Activity Report 2018
Annual Activity Report 2017