The EESC agrees with the principles of the initiatives. It believes that education policies should also refer to the value of cultural diversity and tolerance, and that the responsibility of all parties in educating people should be stressed. It wishes a more a holistic strategy that would also highlight the role of real-life educators and the importance of social sciences and humanities. It considers essential an effective social dialogue, and encourages the Member States to establish the needed education systems.
Download — EESC opinion: Renewed EU education agenda
The EESC believes that the collaborative economy may offer a new opportunity for growth and development for the countries of the EU. The Committee underlines that given the particularly fluid and rapid nature of change in this sector, it is crucial for fiscal regulatory systems and tax regimes to be adapted in an intelligent and flexible way. The EESC urges the Commission and the Member States to work together to adopt an overall legal framework for the collaborative economy that can coordinate and standardise the tax rules that apply to these new forms of economic activity.
Download — EESC opinion: Taxation of the collaborative economy – analysis of possible tax policies faced with the growth of the collaborative economy (exploratory opinion requested by the Estonian presidency)
The EESC welcomes the fact that the ESC promotes awareness of European citizenship. It expresses its satisfaction that priorities highlighted by CSOs were included in the legal basis, but believes that youth organisations (YO) and social partners must be involved in its co-management. Is very concerned by the merging of its goals with those of employment policies. It asks that better preparation is provided, also for the disadvantaged, before placement, and demands that more "fresh money" is invested in it.
Download — EESC opinion: European Solidarity Corps
This own-initiative opinion is a joint proposal of the two EESC bodies with a cross cutting and horizontal approach: the SDO and the Europe 2020 Steering Committee (SC).
Download — EESC opinion: The transition towards a more sustainable European future – a strategy for 2050 (own-initiative opinion)
With this package of measures the Commission continues to deliver on its Single Market Strategy – a roadmap to unlock the full potential of the Single Market. This will make it easier for people and companies to manage their paperwork online in their home country or when working, living or doing business in another EU country and it will help ensure that commonly agreed EU rules are respected.
The opinion stresses that the EU has a responsibility to become a global actor in promoting respect for fundamental rights and adequate protection of private life and personal data and encourages the European Commission to be pro-active at bilateral and multilateral level in promoting the highest standard of personal data protection.
In this sense, the EESC finds well-balanced and reasonable the four key criteria outlined in the Communication to be taken into account by the Commission when assessing the countries with which a dialogue on adequacy should be pursued. However, it finds important to interpret these criteria in the light of a real commitment on the part of the governments, parliaments, and courts in these countries to reach an equivalent and functional level of personal data protection and calls for more transparency and civil society participation in the process of granting adequacy decisions.
Download — EESC opinion: Exchanging and protecting personal data in a globalised world (communication)
The EESC believes that equal access to healthcare, one of the main objectives of health policies, can benefit from digital support provided certain conditions are met: equal geographical coverage; bridging the digital divide; interoperability among the various components of the digital architecture (databases, medical devices); and protection of health data which must under no circumstances be used to the detriment of patients. The EESC highlights the need to develop and facilitate people's digital health literacy to encourage a critical approach to health information and to support the development of a nomenclature of reimbursable treatments and wellbeing services
Download — EESC opinion: Impact of the digital healthcare revolution on health insurance (own-initiative opinion)
The EESC endorses the aims of the Commission proposals in the area of the CCCTB and recommends the greatest efforts be made to pursue the CCCTB by consensus. The Committee recognizes that the Commission relaunched the CCCTB proposal both with the objective to aid the single market and to combat aggressive tax planning, attributing income where the value is created.
In its opinion the EESC underlines that the social economy is a key player and helps to achieve the objectives of all European policies with an external dimension: external and security policy, trade policy, neighbourhood policy, climate change policy, development cooperation and sustainable development policy. However, the lack of an appropriate regulatory environment, at both European and national level, prevents this sector from developing its full potential and maximising its impact. The Commission and the Member States must promote the participation, consultation and coordination of their external entrepreneurial and development cooperation activities with the bodies representing the social economy at European and national level, as well as with those of partner countries, and with international social economy organisations with a North-South and South-South dimension.
Download — EESC opinion: The external dimension of social economy (own-initiative opinion)
