EESC info

On 23 March, the EESC debated with European Commission Vice-President Věra Jourová on how to strengthen democracies and democratic values across the European Union. It also adopted a resolution on this topic with practical proposals. Policymakers, experts and civil society organisations agreed that civic education, better funding for social partners and a focus on the local dimension are key to democracy in Europe.

"The European elections in 2024 will be a test of political will, and youth organisations will play a key role in mobilising first-time and young voters," said EESC President Christa Schweng, "but we must go beyond the elections. We need to better support our youth, re-connect with them in the democratic process and empower them for a fully-fledged active citizenship."

European Commission Vice-President Věra Jourová recognised the crucial role played by civil society organisations in defending and promoting democracy, often working in spaces where states have failed. "Active participation of people is not only desired but highly necessary," she said. "Democracy is under a stress test and we need to do much more to protect it and regain the trust of our people."

Participants highlighted the need for civil society organisations, including youth organisations, the social economy and voluntary sector, to have better access to funding and to be involved in defining where these resources should be used. They also agreed that transversal competences are the true backbone of a participatory and deliberative democracy.

Following the debate, the EESC adopted a resolution entitled "United for Democracy: employers', workers' and civil society's organisations working for a sustainable democratic future", which builds on the recommendations of this year's Civil Society Days. The resolution aims to strengthen democracy by increasing public participation, and reinforce the structures for participatory democracy. It also calls for the effective implementation of Article 11 of the Treaty on the European Union on citizen participation, including a European strategy for civil society and a European Statute of Associations. (tk)

We need to invest more and more in renewable energy sources to secure a greener, safer and more affordable future for Europe: EESC president Christa Schweng and Energy commissioner Kadri Simson voiced this conviction as one at the EESC plenary session on 22 March.

Noting that skyrocketing energy prices, inflation and low economic growth had led to a very challenging year for citizens and businesses, Ms Schweng said that "working towards a clean energy transition in Europe, accelerating the roll-out of renewables, affordable energy prices, and securing and diversifying our energy supply remain top priorities for the EESC".

Ms Simson outlined the way forward for EU energy policy: "If I were to answer this in just one word, it would be 'renewables'. Because this is the Commission's top energy policy priority – to push forward and deliver on our renewable energy objectives".

For the first time ever, the EU is no longer dependent on Russian energy. Through gas supply diversification, reduced demand, increased efficiency and a stronger push on renewables, the EU has put an end to its massive dependency on Russia.

39% of the EU's electricity now comes from renewables. 2022 was a record year: the EU generated more electricity from wind and solar than from gas, with wind capacity increasing by 15 GW, and solar energy by 41 GW. (mp)

In a debate with Italy's labour minister on 22 March, the EESC backed the Commission's initiative to reinforce the role and independence of national equality bodies in a bid to wipe out discrimination practices in EU labour markets.

The two sides said they shared the goals of the Commission's proposal for a directive on standards for national equality bodies aimed at increasing their effectiveness. The proposal had been made following the failure of the current legislative measures on equality to adequately enforce EU law on unequal treatment and discrimination.

In its opinion on Strengthening the role and independence of equality bodies adopted at the plenary session after the debate, the EESC stressed the importance of striking the right balance between the principle of subsidiarity and setting out binding standards for making national bodies stronger and more efficient – a position which was echoed by the Italian minister during the debate.

"The participation of diverse groups in the labour market is not only a matter of fairness. It makes great sense from an economic and social perspective. However, the Committee remains concerned that the protection against discrimination and inequality is not yet uniform throughout the Union, and supports strong mechanisms for their monitoring, including through the reinforcement of national equality bodies," EESC president Christa Schweng said.

Minister Calderone said her government agreed with the Commission's goal, however stressed that it would be important to ensure consistency with the national systems and bodies that already exist, such as equality councils in Italy that safeguard equality at both national and regional level.

"The inclusion we are talking about today must remain at the heart of the European social agenda, on an equal footing with the ongoing discussion about reforming the EU's economic and financial governance. We know how difficult it still is to ensure effective equal opportunities on the labour market. For some social groups there are still huge obstacles to accessing labour markets and social protection," Ms Calderone said.

The minister stressed the gender gap in employment rates was still over 10 % at the EU level. There was not a single country in the EU where this gender gap – to the detriment of women everywhere – did not exist. Young graduates also struggle to find a job. Persons with disabilities and legal migrants and refugees still encounter discrimination when looking for or trying to keep a job. (ll)

Speaking at the EESC's March plenary session, the president of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) advocated a strong role for civil society in implementing the 2030 Agenda.

Ambassador Lachezara Stoeva, President of the UN ECOSOC, said civil society players are indispensable allies for implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

"We have to be ambitious; global challenges require strong global answers", said EESC president Christa Schweng. "Civil society should have a seat at the table at the SDG September Summit, with more structured and concrete involvement", she added.

UN Ambassador Lachezara Stoeva said: "We cannot do anything without civil society. European civil society has often played a leadership role in forward-looking thinking. The EESC, with its multi-stakeholder nature, has the ability to contribute and make public policies more balanced, equitable and responsive".

The EESC has actively contributed to the EU's first Voluntary Review as a bloc, which will be presented at the High-Level Political Forum in July. In particular, the Committee has been producing a "model" contribution of civil society, which could be used as a best practice for other regions around the world. (mt)

The EESC has lent its support to the European Commission's proposal for a Council recommendation on adequate minimum income, hailing it as a necessary part of efforts to combat poverty and to achieve the EU target of reducing the number of people at risk by at least 15 million by the end of the decade.

In the opinion adopted at its plenary session in March, the EESC said it particularly welcomed the implementation of realistic and not-overly-restrictive criteria for making minimum income available to all, at a level that guarantees people a life of dignity, not leaving anyone behind.

Making sure that minimum income schemes provide sufficient resources also requires keeping them in line with inflation, which is set to rise a further 6.5% in 2023 (in the context of the rise in the costs of living sparked by recent food and energy price hikes). To this end, the EESC proposes that Member States assess minimum income levels on a yearly basis, depending on the level of inflation.

This should be monitored by civil society organisations, social partners and welfare organisations.

"Effective minimum income schemes can help to guarantee that human rights are respected, ensure that people live in dignity, help them remain active and included in society and help integrate them into good quality employment," said the rapporteur of the opinion, Jason Deguara, adding that self-employed people should also be fully entitled to the minimum income and other benefits.

Rapporteur Paul Soete said: "The target is to reduce the number of people at risk of poverty by at least 15 million by 2030. At first glance, this target does not seem very ambitious, but the guidance provided to Member States and the basis for a solid methodology certainly make it an important step forward."

Minimum income levels and composition differ considerably across welfare states in general, and this is also the case in the EU. The labour market situation of minimum income beneficiaries varies significantly across Member States.

None of the EU countries currently ensure adequate income support for jobless families to avoid poverty risks. Due to eligibility conditions, such as minimum age, residence status, homelessness or family composition issues, some 20% of jobless people are not eligible to receive any support at all.
There is also a problem of non-take-up of minimum income estimated at between 30% and 50%, to a large extent due to administrative burdens. (ll)

Addressing the European Commission's report on trends and issues to watch back in March, the EESC stressed that it could have helped much more if it had been involved in the foresight exercise from the start.

The EESC opinion on the 2022 Strategic Foresight Report (SFR), adopted at the March plenary session, stressed that the EESC can strengthen the EU's analysis and foresight capacities. As the eyes and ears of civil society, it is best placed to pinpoint emerging trends. As a demonstration of this, the EESC also volunteered early input to the forthcoming 2023 SFR.

The rapporteur, Angelo Pagliara, set out some of the thinking behind the opinion: "Many of the issues in the Commission's report have already been addressed by the EESC in its opinions in previous years, and we have very strong expertise and experience. So, come to us, involve us more, because we can really help you."

The 2022 SFR looks into how best to align the EU's climate ambitions and its potentially clashing digital goals, and identifies ten key areas where action is needed to maximise synergies and consistency. In this respect, the EESC calls for a strategic foresight agenda geared towards a new development model that combines economic, environmental and social sustainability and puts people at the centre.

One of the key weaknesses that the EESC pointed to in the 2022 report is the lack of a clear picture of risks and scenarios should the EU fail to meet its objectives when it comes to the availability of raw materials, rare earth metals and water resources.

Looking ahead to the 2023 SFR, which the Commission is expected to publish in the second quarter of 2023 focusing on a socially and economically sustainable Europe, the EESC singled out the following areas for special attention:

• supply systems and the resilience of Europe's agri-food sector;
• fostering a strong, cohesive and innovative European industrial system that is capable of generating quality jobs;
• the need to achieve strategic energy autonomy and to support businesses and workers, following on from what was done during the pandemic crisis. (dm)

In its March plenary, the EESC adopted an opinion urging the European institutions to address the fragmented implementation of foreign policy sanctions across Member States. The EESC is concerned about these inconsistencies and calls for immediate action to offer humanitarian aid and protect journalists in sanctioned regimes.

The Council of the European Union sets foreign policy sanctions for all Member States. However, their implementation and enforcement are currently decentralised. This has resulted in a patchwork of differing definitions, scopes, penalties, and investigative capacities across Member States. The fragmentation undermines the effectiveness of EU sanctions and risks dividing the Union, with some countries more lenient on sanction violations than others. To address these issues, the European Commission has proposed a directive to standardise criminal offences and penalties for violating EU sanctions.

With its opinion on the Violation of sanctions / EU crimes, the EESC urges the EU institutions to expand the humanitarian carve-out in order to prevent any unintended negative consequences on humanitarian aid and assistance. "We want to protect the delivery of humanitarian aid to people in need living under sanctioned regimes," explained EESC Member José Antonio Moreno Díaz, rapporteur of the opinion. "We ask for a standing humanitarian exemption, to ensure that humanitarian staff can operate without risking criminal liability".

The Committee stressed the need to provide adequate information and proactive support to the private sector and civil society organisations, to enable them to adjust to new legislation and comply with the requirements of sanction regimes. Member States must be equipped with sufficient administrative capacities, funds, and trained personnel to detect, prosecute and punish sanction violations. (gb)

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) adopted an opinion on the EU strategy on fertilisers at its March plenary, calling for availability, affordability and sustainability.

The global fertiliser crisis has reached a critical level in Europe, where farmers are facing unprecedented challenges due to record prices and supply shortages. This crisis has been exacerbated by the recent war in Ukraine, making it a serious threat to European agriculture and global food security.

At its March plenary, the EESC welcomed the communication from the Commission on ensuring fertiliser availability and affordability, highlighting the need for emergency domestic actions to limit the impact of the crisis.

''Farmers face high fertilicer prices which impact on consumers. We welcome the European Commission's communication on ensuring their availability and affordability. However, emergency and longer-term actions are also required to limit the impact of the crisis,'' said Arnold Puech d'Alissac, rapporteur for the EESC opinion.

The EESC has proposed various corrective measures to improve the functioning of the EU fertiliser market, including direct support to the most affected nitrogen manufacturers and farmers through state aid.
However, the Committee also stresses the need to address fertiliser supply and prices by facilitating imports and domestic competition. This can be achieved by suspending EU import tariffs on all fertilisers, facilitating fertiliser logistics and providing regulatory flexibilities.

In addition to short-term measures, the EESC has called for medium-term solutions to limit the EU's dependence on imported mineral fertilisers and reduce the environmental footprint of crop fertilisation.
The EESC has also welcomed the establishment of a new fertiliser market observatory in 2023 to increase transparency in the EU fertiliser market through the regular publication of representative domestic market prices and statistics on fertiliser production and use.

On the international stage, the EESC urges the EU to step up actions against global food insecurity by promoting fertiliser transparency, availability, and effective use. Global fertiliser trade should be facilitated by keeping markets open, avoiding export restrictions and bans, increasing fertiliser production in Europe and expanding logistics routes. (ks)

Too many obstacles still undermine the potential of digital energy systems. Smarter solutions are difficult to put into practice, especially due to heavy administrative procedures, lack of effective incentives, and the inflexibility of the transmission and distribution network owing to underinvestment in energy infrastructure.

These are the main conclusions reached in the EESC opinion "Digitalising the energy system – EU Action Plan".

The opinion was drawn up by the rapporteur Thomas Kattnig and co-rapporteur Zsolt Kükedi and adopted at the March plenary session.

Overall, the EESC backs the objectives and most of the measures proposed in the European Commission's action plan. However, in the EESC's view, the Commission fails to integrate it into the general energy policy and creates a silo approach. The digitalisation of the energy system must lead to cooperative solutions where users have incentives to participate in the digitalised energy system.

In the future design of energy infrastructure, all consumers must be actively involved in the development of smart energy systems. "It is extremely important to strengthen the role of active consumers in digitalisation and to encourage and enable them to use as many smart solutions as possible," said Mr Kükedi.

In addition, new data-driven services and innovative technology solutions risk not being implemented fast enough owing to a lack of skilled workers and trained professionals to help deploy them. To achieve these goals, targeted labour market and education policy measures must be adopted. "We need a coordinated approach and close cooperation with the social partners. The involvement of civil society organisations is essential," said Mr Kattnig. (mp)

On 23 March, the EESC adopted two opinions on the Commission's latest work to further develop a fragmented and underdeveloped EU Capital Markets Union: a new Listing Act and a review of the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR).

With a new Listing Act, the Commission aims to reduce the administrative burden of the listing process for companies of all sizes, particularly SMEs, so they can better access funding by listing on European public markets.

The EESC welcomes the initiative, as increasing equity funding and reducing dependence on bank loans for European companies are key to ensuring the post-pandemic recovery and building a resilient economic system. The Committee believes that bringing more family-owned companies to capital markets would open up untapped potential to attract capital for growth.

EESC rapporteur Kęstutis Kupšys explains that "a multiple-voting rights regime helps families to retain control, making listing more attractive to them. It is also important to streamline the contents of a prospectus to significantly reduce the costs and burden for issuers. However, using "English-only" issuance documents, as per the Commission's proposal, would hinder the development of a national retail investment base."

The Commission has also proposed a new European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) to enhance the clearing capacity within the EU. On EMIR, the EESC had expected a clearer stance on reducing exposure to UK central counterparties (CCPs), as well as more specific rules and incentives to drive the move towards EU-based CCPs after Brexit.

EESC rapporteur Florian Marin said: "There is not a clear plan containing specific measures to create a competitive and consolidated clearing market. We regret that the current framework has not been assessed after five years, and propose that the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) issue a report on the reasons for the use of non-EU CCPs one year after the Regulation enters into force." (tk)

An EYou app to make the EU more accessible to young people was the most voted proposal emerging from the EESC's flagship youth event.

The 105 secondary school students from 35 schools in all EU Member States and the seven candidate countries who came to Brussels on 23 and 24 March for Your Europe, Your Say! (YEYS!) came up with the following five recommendations:

1.    EU simplified: an EYou app enabling young people to engage directly with politicians and civil society by selecting their main interests and following the latest developments at grassroots level;
2.    The E-Youth platform for information on the EU to simplify politics for younger generations, giving them a forum where their voices can be heard;
3.    The EYout(h)rust platform will increase transparency in politics at local, national and EU level;
4.    The Youth Democratic Opinion (YDO) project, which will improve the quality of civic education and engagement in Europe by establishing an EU ambassadorship programme assembling young people's views and proposing recommendations for policy makers;
5.    More EU-funded initiatives led BY young people FOR young people.

"Tell us what your expectations and your hopes are for the future of Europe," said EESC president Christa Schweng to the students gathered for the event. "To tackle new challenges, the EU needs to listen to young people and take new ideas on board."
 
EESC vice-president for communication Cillian Lohan told the students that the EESC will take their recommendations to the European Parliament's European Youth Event (EYE) in Strasbourg in June 2023. For vice-president Lohan, "when the system starts to show cracks or when it is at risk, we all have to step up from our private activities and become active. You have taken that step today: thank you."

The discussions showed that youth believe that there is no space for their voices to be heard in the European Union right now. EESC member Neža Repanšek reassured them that this frustration is a good starting point for change: "My motivation for starting to participate actively was born of frustration. When young people come together, we can be a very powerful force."

This 14th YEYS event focused on "Youth Democracy Dialogues" and saw students from Ukraine and Moldova participate for the first time. (gb/tk)