European Economic and Social Committee
Taking account of the outcome of debates with organised civil society in all Member States, the EESC adopted an opinion on the European Pillar of Social Rights in January 2017. It is now working on an opinion on the draft interinstitutional proclamation endorsing the European Pillar of Social Rights and the link between the pillar and the reflection paper on the social dimension of Europe by 2025. A hearing on this issue will take place on 11 September 2017.
The event will focus on the role of civil society in preventing radicalisation of young people. The debates will serve to clarify how EU policy-makers can help civil society practitioners to successfully prevent radicalisation. The first panel will cover different elements of anti-radicalisation policy, focusing on what is needed to increase success rates. The second panel will focus on the role of education in preventing radicalisation. Participants will share their view on what can be done to render more effective existing civil society initiatives aiming to prevent radicalisation.
The event seeks to foster the debate of cross-cutting topics that have emerged from the EESC's recent work on the "Clean Energy for All Europeans" package, namely governance, empowering consumers, financing the energy transition, greening the economy, and the future (progress) of the Energy Union
Civil society organisations (CSOs) play an important role in fostering participatory democracy and active citizenship in Europe and beyond; EU funding is paramount to support this work. The goal of this EESC hearing is to present working solutions and come up with recommendations for revised financial regulations and the future Multiannual Financial Framework after 2020 that would enable better civil dialogue and easier and transparent access to resources.
The hearing aimed to identify how trade and investment policies can contribute to the achievement of SDGs. The main questions which were discussed during the debate included: can trade and sustainable development be mutually reinforcing? Are there SDGs, which are particularly dependent on the existence on an open, rule-based, equitable multilateral trade system? What should be the role of private sector in achieving SDGs through trade and investment policies? Can civil society be instrumental in achieving SDGs through trade policy? How can ''Aid for trade'' be an efficient tool for achieving SDGs?
In the framework of the Estonian EU Presidency, the EESC is hosting an exhibition of pictures by photographers Aivar Pihelgas, Jaanus Ree, Ilmārs Znotinš, Jelena Rudi, Sven Začek and Rene Mitt, featuring scenes from one of the biggest amateur choral events in the world, involving thousands of choir singers and dancers dressed in colourful national garments.
The EU-Turkey Civil Society Joint Consultative Committee was established in 1995, based on the mandate given by the Ankara Agreement. This body is composed of members from the EESC and members representing organised civil society in Turkey. Its objective is to contribute to the dialogue among civil society organisations in Turkey and the EU and to issue reports and recommendations to the Turkish authorities and the EU institutions.
The following topics were discussed at this JCC meeting: the state of play of the EU-Turkey relations and the implementation of the EU-Turkey Statement; the state of the economy in Turkey and the EU-Turkey economic developments; social issues including employment and women rights in Turkey.
The meeting was conclude with the adoption of a joint declaration.
The European Economic and Social Committee is organising a public hearing on the European Solidarity Corps and the Youth Initiative in the context of the EESC opinion SOC/566 on both initiatives.
The EESC side-event at the UN High-level Political Forum session this year in New York will look into the broader experiences with civil society involvement in the EU and other world regions and will try to define enabling conditions for a strong and active role of stakeholders.
During the meeting, members of the GCI were informed by the President on the civil society meeting of EuroLat's standing parliamentary committees (22-24 May), the hearing in the Walloon Parliament concerning the current state of The EU-Colombia, Peru and the FTA of Ecuador, as well as the public with DG Trade on the current status of the Advisory Groups. They were then interviewed by the European Commission on the preparation of the 2017 Civil Society Forum and the process of Ecuador's accession to the agreement.
