Events

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and Serbia will hold the 5^th meeting of their Civil Society Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) in Belgrade, Serbia. This civil society platform between the EESC and civil society in Serbia was established within the institutional framework of the EU-Serbia Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) in order to allow civil society organisations on both sides to monitor the country's accession negotiations. It is also a platform to discuss issues of common interest and to inform the public at large of the challenges ahead during the accession period. Besides the current state of play in EU-Serbia relations and the accession process, main topic of the 5^th JCC meeting is: Environmental issues in the areas of energy and transport in Serbia - How to mitigate economic and social impact of industrial pollution and climate change. A common declaration of the JCC will be issued after the meeting.

The 7th Joint Seminar of the European Economic and Social Committee and the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation (CCRF) will bring together EESC members and representatives of their Russian counterpart, representatives of the European Commission, experts and academics, to discuss cooperation in the areas of higher education and rural development. During four thematic sessions, participants will focus on EU-Russia cooperation in the fields of science, research and innovation; aligning higher education in the EU and Russia (the Bologna Process) and Erasmus+, on narrowing the gaps between rural and urban areas, and on cross-border cooperation for businesses and SMEs.