European Economic and Social Committee
The 10th meeting of the EU-Georgia Civil Society Platform (CSP) was convened on 16 December 2022. During the meeting, a debate focused on assessing the implementation of the 12 priorities identified by the EU and the state of play of the implementation of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement/DCFTA. The Platform also discussed the implementation of the Chapter 16 on Education, training and youth.
A joint declaration, prepared by both sides, was discussed and adopted.
574th Plenary session, with the following guests : Nicolas Schmit, European Commissioner responsible for Jobs and Social Rights, Álvaro Albacete Perea, Deputy Secretary-General of the Union for the Mediterranean, and Josep Ferré, Executive Director of the Anna Lindh Foundation, Ivailo Kalfin, Executive Director of Eurofound, Kinga Stanislawska, Founder of European Women in VC (Venture Capital) and Xenia Kazoli, Executive vice chairwoman of the Hellenic corporate governance council. And the Civil Society Prize award ceremony on Thursday 15 December at 10 a.m.
The packaging sector is pivotal to the resilience of the EU economy, as a strategic autonomy asset and as a key element to guarantee the security of products supply. For this reason, it is essential here to raise awareness about the central role that it plays in the EU economy.
The 7th meeting of the EU DAG under the EU-Japan EPA took place on 8 December 2022.
High level exploratory mission - Argentina
The aim of the conference is: to gather input from policy makers, civil society organisations and social partners on how to ensure the European Care Strategy can be successfully implemented by Member States, discuss on which role the EU, national, regional and local authorities as well as organised civil society can play to facilitate this and to formulate proposals for future EU presidencies.
This hearing will look at the state of play of the national Roma strategic frameworks in the Member States. It will look at some of the plans that these incorporate and discuss possible good practices.
Originally focused on matters of security and defence, open strategic autonomy has expanded to encompass a wide range of policies from geopolitics, trade and economics (i.e. critical raw materials and supply chains) to technology, environment and climate, social and governance. However, the Member States still do not agree to what levels of ambition should strategic autonomy be pursued or how would the concept of strategic autonomy be defined. In the wake of the COVID-19 crisis and then with the war in Ukraine, all seem to agree that the EU should develop more capabilities to increase self-sufficiency.
Recent developments in the US and some European countries have shown that rights acquired by women are not irreversible. This particularly applies to sexual and reproductive health and rights. These questions are a matter of individual rights but also of public health, as sexual and reproductive health services are an essential part of comprehensive healthcare provision. Societal debates on the questions tend more and more towards polarisation, at the expense of women who can become deprived of their free and informed choice. The hearing will gather the view of civil society on these developments.
