European Economic and Social Committee
On 13 May 2016, the EESC's TEN Section project delegation carried out a study visit in Malaga to gain first-hand knowledge of some of the extremely interesting smart city projects that have been set up in the city. The delegation learned, inter alia, about the "ZeM2All" project (Zero Emissions Mobility to All).
The first and inaugural meeting of the EU-Moldova Civil Society Platform (CSP) will be held on 10 May 2016 at the EESC. The CSP complements the political bodies existing within the framework of the EU-Moldova Association Agreement, and it allows civil society organisations from both sides to monitor the implementation process and prepare recommendations to the relevant authorities both in the Republic of Moldova as well as in the European Union.
The CSP is made up of nine members from both Parties, representing the EESC and large European civil society networks, on the one side, and civil society organisations from Moldova, on the other side.
The first and inaugural meeting of the EU-Moldova Civil Society Platform (CSP) was held on 10 May 2016 at the EESC. The CSP complements the political bodies existing within the framework of the EU-Moldova Association Agreement, and it allows civil society organisations from both sides to monitor the implementation process and prepare recommendations to the relevant authorities both in the Republic of Moldova as well as in the European Union.
The CSP is made up of nine members from both Parties, representing the EESC and large European civil society networks, on the one side, and civil society organisations from Moldova, on the other side.
On 4th May 2016, a delegation of EESC Members of the "Transport, energy, infrastructures and information society" section is on mission to the island of Samsø (Denmark), with the objective to evaluate the islands' smart projects developed in the area of energy autonomy.
The hearing is part of the preparation of an initiative opinion on the same subject.
To meet the goals of the EU ambition to become a "recycling society" the Commission has asked external experts to consider a feasible system for incentives, based on the polluter-pays-principle for end-of-life ships and applicable to all ships entering EU ports. That system will be presented at the end of this year. The EESC intends to issue an opinion on this subject.
On 29 April 2016, the EESC's TEN Section project delegation conducted a study visit in La Rochelle to discover some of the inspirational smart city initiatives that have been implemented so far.
The delegation had the opportunity to make a technical visit to find out, inter alia, about the Atlantech project.
516th Plenary Session, with a debate on the Energy Union initiative on 28 April at 10.30 a.m., with Maroš Šefčovič, vice-president of the European Commission, responsible for the Energy Union
The organisation and provision of long-term care (LTC) is a challenge many Member States are facing. The sector is low paid, highly feminised and employs often undocumented migrant workers. It suffers from workforce imbalances and skills shortages. Situations of undeclared work and poor working conditions affect mainly "live-in" care workers. Proactive measures to encourage the creation of quality, well-paid jobs in the sector with decent working conditions are needed to ensure an adequate labour supply for the LTC sector. The public hearing - which will contribute to the opinion on the subject - will elaborate on the human and social rights of "live-in" care workers in the context of labour supply and mobility issues. It will explore these issues in the interplay of labour and migration policies.
The hearing allowed aviation stakeholders to come together and shape concrete proposals for successful implementation of the aviation strategy, in order to inform the EESC's forthcoming opinion on this issue.
On Thursday 21 April, the EESC's Various Interests Group has held an extraordinary meeting at the Dutch Economic and Social Council (Sociaal-Economische Raad/SER) in The Hague. The conference was entitled From agricultural to food policy – Towards healthy and sustainable production and consumption.
