EESC info

Cohesion policy is key to developing a new post-COVID-19 vision for the European Union, centred on prosperity, inclusion and environmental sustainability, a vision in which organised civil society is fully included. This was the message from Christa Schweng, EESC president, and echoed by Elisa Ferreira, European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, at the EESC September plenary session.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, cohesion policy has been instrumental in finding solutions during the emergency, and in the 2021-2027 programming period it should continue to be used to address the challenges and inequalities existing within and between Member States, regions, cities and people, with the situation worsening during the pandemic.

"Cohesion policy plays a key role in ensuring a balanced recovery that leaves no one behind. The principle of partnership with civil society organisations is part of the policy's DNA, and we would like to see this principle extended to NextGenerationEU and the implementation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plans. Cohesion policy should also become less bureaucratic, more digitalised and more effective", said Ms Schweng.

Ms Ferreira noted that the COVID-19 crisis had made existing inequalities worse and opened up new ones, affecting in particular workers on the front line, vulnerable people such as the elderly and people with disabilities, those with less access to services, and those who had suffered more from the impacts of lockdown, such as women and young people: "our Union is as strong as its weakest link. To fight back and reduce inequalities is a sine qua non for a strong and thriving Union. Social fairness and inclusivity need to be at the centre of our recovery. We cannot solve social issues without solving spatial and regional inequalities. We must take account of the places where people live". (mp)

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is joining the EU's efforts to reverse the worrying trend of declining media freedoms and the increasing curbs on journalistic independence caused by mounting pressure from various power and business structures, poor pay, media ownership concentration and a proliferation of fake news on social media and other channels.

In a debate with the head of the Brussels Office of Reporters without Borders, Julie Majerczak, and the General Secretary of the European Federation of Journalists, Ricardo Gutiérrez, held during its September plenary session, the EESC expressed concern at the way journalists are increasingly becoming targets of verbal and physical attacks, with 16 murdered since 2015.

"We see trends in Europe that we cannot accept. Media freedom and diversity are the preconditions for a well-functioning democracy and therefore concern all of us. Professional journalism can never be replaced by algorithms, news aggregation and social networks," EESC president Christa Schweng said.

The EESC endorsed the latest European Commission initiatives, including the Recommendation on the Safety of Journalists, presented last week by Commissioner Věra Jourová. It welcomed the Commission president's State of the Union speech, in which Ursula von der Leyen announced the plans for the European Media Freedom Act.

However, in the opinion on Securing media freedom and diversity in Europe, adopted at the plenary session, the EESC called on the Commission to apply general conditionality rules and impose budgetary sanctions without delay on those countries where media freedom and pluralism were seriously threatened.

The rapporteur for the opinion, Christian Moos, warned: "Recommendations on the protection and safety of journalists will not be enough. There is no more time to lose. Member States that stifle media freedom must be excluded from Next Generation EU. The regulation on conditionality must be applied. Hungary and Poland are actively destroying or have already destroyed media freedom. Their governments must restore democracy and the rule of law, otherwise they cannot remain members of the EU, which legally guarantees democracy and the rule of law and, as an indispensable prerequisite for both, media freedom."

Ms Majerczak and Mr Gutiérrez expressed their support for the EESC opinion and for EU action to secure media freedom and pluralism, but stressed the importance of ensuring that the Commission's recommendations and proposed plan did not remain a dead letter. (ll)

A strong emphasis on the EU's recovery, health union and digitalisation, a firm position on defending the rule of law and a focus on the future of Europe: the EESC welcomes these aspects of this year's State of the Union address, which are in tune with its priorities.

The EESC's priority continues to be the implementation of the reforms set out in the national recovery and resilience plans, taking into account the needs of employers, workers and civil society at large.

"Turning such reforms into actions will only be possible with the full involvement of organised civil society," said Christa Schweng, EESC president.

The swift research, availability and rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines showed that Europe is delivering. A genuine Health Union as highlighted by the Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen is one of the key priorities for the EESC's current term of office.

When it comes to investment in future technologies, the EESC stresses that the EU must develop its own vision and strategy for digital sovereignty, while remaining open to free trade and supporting the multilateral system.

Ms Schweng also welcomes the European Commission's firm stand on the rule of law. We must defend European values.

For the EESC, the future success of Europe's economic and social model will largely depend on our ability to partner and connect with the rest of the world, from our closer neighbours such as the Western Balkans to other geopolitical strategic partners. (at)

The EESC broadly supports the EU's new 2021-2025 strategy against trafficking in human beings, but also calls attention to the need to incorporate the social dimension into the policy.

When it comes to victims' rights and the social dimension, the new EU strategy on the fight to uproot trafficking falls short. The EESC feels that the situation of victims is not addressed in a consistently humane way throughout the strategy.

As Carlos Manuel Trindade, EESC rapporteur, pointed out, "Human trafficking leads to huge suffering among victims: it is an attack on dignity. That is why the social dimension should be taken on board in this fight."

With both profits and victims on the rise, the EESC welcomes the Commission's position that the Anti-Trafficking Directive must be implemented in all Member States and reviewed on the basis of a thorough assessment of the limitations identified and developments in human trafficking.

Furthermore, the EESC highlights the need to improve sanctions and endorses the establishment of minimum standards at EU level that criminalise networks involved in the whole process of trafficking and exploiting human beings.

Factoring the social dimension into the implementation of the strategy

The plan completely fails to provide for the recognition and enforcement of victims' rights, which should be a core concern in affirming human dignity and human rights. Victims should be granted the right to be integrated into the host society, by means of an appropriate, fast-track integration process.

The opinion also highlights the need to create decent and adequate economic and social conditions for people in the countries of origin, the main way of curbing or preventing the recruitment of trafficking victims.

Lastly, the new strategy should recognise the significant support provided by community solidarity networks in protecting, welcoming and integrating victims and the work carried out by civil society organisations. (at)

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) welcomed the Commission's efforts to harmonise the measures regulating voluntary return of migrants and their reintegration into their country of origin, but said it doubted the feasibility of some of the proposals put forward and expressed concern that voluntary returns could turn into expulsions of migrants from the EU.

The EESC stressed that the majority of voluntary returns did not work properly because the countries of origin were not sufficiently involved and because migrants in irregular situations were often reluctant to go back.

The EESC's standpoint was presented in the opinion on the Voluntary return and reintegration strategy adopted at its September plenary session, in which the Committee took a closer look at the strategy which is one of the key objectives of the New Pact for Migration and Asylum.

The EESC reiterated its previous criticism of the Pact which was almost exclusively focused on tackling irregular situations at the border or through voluntary and forced returns, while failing to offer a comprehensive approach to managing migration by promoting legal and safe mobility. The EESC sees this as a strategic weakness of the EU's migration and asylum policy.

"We have to manage irregularity before irregularity occurs. This means we have to ensure safe and effective ways of entering the EU. If we can do that, we could see a reduction in irregular arrivals," said the rapporteur for the opinion, José Antonio Moreno Díaz.

The current piecemeal approach contained a number of flaws.

The incentives currently given to countries of origin may actually discourage them from trying to reduce the flows of migrants, as these incentives are offered through programmes based on the existence of persons in irregular situations.

The EESC said that it was particularly concerned about the Pact's objective of increasing swift voluntary returns from the EU's external borders.

"Are these expedited returns really voluntary or are they expulsions? We are worried that 'voluntary return' may become a euphemism for expulsions or for financial compensation paid to the destination countries that receive returnees, without ever considering their wishes or - even more worryingly - their rights, " said Mr Moreno Díaz.

The EESC concluded that cooperation with third countries on any aspect must be based on their respect for international public law, as well as their protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. (ll)

 

In two reports on draft EU legislation on AI, the EESC calls for an all-out ban on social scoring and for a complaint and redress mechanism for people who have suffered harm from an AI system.

At its September plenary, the EESC welcomed the proposed Artificial Intelligence Act (AIA) and Coordinated Plan on AI.

The EESC feels that the new legislation really places health, safety and fundamental rights at its centre, and resonates globally by setting a series of requirements with which developers both in and outside Europe will have to comply if they want to sell their products in the EU.

There are some weaknesses in the proposals in the EESC's view, including in the area of "social scoring". The Committee flags up the danger of this practice gaining currency in Europe as it is doing in China, where the government can go so far as to deny people access to public services.

The draft AIA does include a ban on social scoring by public authorities in Europe, but the EESC would like to see it extended to private and semi-private organisations so as to rule out such uses as establishing whether an individual is eligible for a loan or a mortgage.

The EESC also points out the dangers of listing "high-risk" AI, warning that this listing approach can normalise and mainstream quite a number of AI practices that are still heavily criticised. Biometric recognition including emotion or affect recognition, where a person's facial expressions, tone of voice, posture and gestures are analysed to predict future behaviour, detect lies and even to see if someone is likely to be successful in a job, would be allowed. And so would assessing, scoring and even firing workers based on AI, or assessing students in exams.

In addition, the proposed requirements for high-risk AI cannot always mitigate the harm to health, safety and fundamental rights that these practices pose. Hence the need to introduce a complaint and redress mechanism which will give people who have suffered harm from AI systems the right to challenge decisions taken solely by an algorithm.

More generally, in the EESC's view, the AIA works on the premise that, once the requirements for medium- and high-risk AI are met, AI can largely replace human decision making.

"We at the EESC have always advocated a human-in-command approach to AI, because not all decisions can be reduced to ones and zeros," says Cateljine Muller, rapporteur for the EESC's opinion on the AIA. "Many have a moral component, serious legal implications and major societal impacts, for instance on law enforcement and the judiciary, social services, housing, financial services, education and labour regulations. Are we really ready to allow AI to replace human decision making even in critical processes like law enforcement and the judiciary?" (dm)

With Europe slowly getting back on track after the COVID-19 crisis, it is high time it moved from words to action and implemented the Farm to Fork strategy. The EESC strongly advocates supporting the transformation of Europe's food systems so that they become more environmentally, economically and socially sustainable. It also stresses that cooperation (rather than competition) among food chain operators is essential to foster a more resilient and inclusive food system, ensuring a fair share for all.

The European Union celebrated its first "organic day" on 23 September 2021 and the EESC has just adopted opinions on the Action Plan for the development of EU organic production and Towards a Fair Food Supply Chain.

Great opportunities are coming up for decision-makers to bring about the transformations needed. We are at a critical point for implementing a comprehensive food policy.

From 8.5% to 25% of agricultural land for organic farming in the EU: an ambitious target

As part of the European Green Deal, the Commission has set a target for organic production in the EU under the Farm to Fork Strategy and the Biodiversity Strategy: at least 25% of agricultural land is to be farmed organically by 2030.

"Organic farming has a role to play in achieving the objectives of the European Green Deal. A market-oriented approach to further increase consumer demand and confidence in organic products will be the key," said Andreas Thurner, rapporteur for the EESC opinion on organic production.

The EESC nevertheless stresses the need for sufficient financial resources to ensure that the benefits of this major conversion to organic farming are enjoyed by all EU citizens. (mr)

The EU needs efficient and urgent measures to reduce emissions and get to grips with climate change. To that end, the Sustainable Finance Package presented by the European Commission has the potential to establish a clear, coherent and comprehensive framework in which a greener economy can develop without lock-in effects.

In the opinion adopted at the September plenary session, drawn up by Stefan Back, the EESC fully supports the Commission's measures aimed at setting standards for the definition of "sustainable economic activities", but points out that some elements may prove a complex and costly challenge, particularly for SMEs.

The Committee says that it is important to clearly define technical criteria for the green investments that directly contribute to Europe's climate objectives and to which the practices of the business sectors concerned and the financial sector can be aligned. Setting standards that diverge from the maximum requirements of EU legislation may create confusion, and the EESC therefore recommends strengthening those requirements.

"The package of Commission measures is intended to enable investors to re-orientate investments towards more sustainable technologies and businesses. We need efficient, easily applicable, innovative and productive tools that bring about rapid and clear results. The assessment of the Sustainable Finance Taxonomy Delegated Regulation should be carried out in this spirit", stressed Mr Back. (mp)

The EESC's Western Balkans Civil Society Forum, which took place in Skopje on 30 September and 1 October, shone a bright spotlight on the state of play in the region's clear EU accession prospects and the active involvement of civil society in this effort.

The Forum, held by the European Economic and Social Committee in collaboration with the European Commission and the Regional Cooperation Council, came at a timely moment, just days ahead of the EU-Western Balkan (WB) Summit in Brdo, under the Slovenian Presidency.

The prime minister of the Republic of North Macedonia, Zoran Zaev, said: "Strengthening the accession process – an EU credible perspective for the WB – is the right topic at the right time because of the imposed enlargement blockade."

EESC president Christa Schweng affirmed the Committee's clear support for the enlargement of the EU to the countries of the region.
"I truly believe that the place of the WB is in the EU. We must also not forget that any discussion on enlargement is implicitly a discussion on the future of Europe, and civil society, both from the region and from the EU, should be fully involved in the process."

Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi commented: "The path into the EU is long and complicated and full of challenges. But those truly dedicated make it. And for me, there is no doubt – the future of the Western Balkans is the European Union."

Echoing this, Gašper Dovžan, state secretary at Slovenia's foreign ministry, said enlargement was a logical step and a mutually beneficial process that required ambition and resilience.

Active involvement of civil society is a must in the accession process

Biljana Spasovska, from the Balkan Civil Society Development Network (BCSDN), expressed her concern at the shrinking space and the decreased funding of civil society, saying basic freedoms had been challenged, especially during the pandemic.

Forum participants stressed the importance of guaranteeing freedom of association and ensuring an enabling civic space.

The guidelines for the implementation of the Green Agenda and the Economic and Investment Plan (EIP) were also discussed. However, the success of these would depend on the meaningful inclusion and active involvement of civil society in policy-making.

Public funding for CSOs needed to be reformed in all countries in the region and civil society needs to be independent and free from political influence.

The final declaration of the 8th WB CS Forum here. (at)

On 1 October 2021, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) officially kicked off its participation in the European Raw Materials Alliance (ERMA). ERMA was launched on 29 September 2020 by the European Commission in order to foster resilience and strategic autonomy in the supply of critical raw materials for EU industry and society. The alliance currently comprises over 500 members from the EU and beyond.

In light of the work carried out by the EESC with opinion CCMI 177, ERMA requested its official involvement in the form of observer status participation. The EESC Bureau appointed Mr Andrés Barceló Delgado (ES-GR I) as the EESC observer in ERMA, taking into account his previous work on several EESC opinions related to the topic of raw materials. Mr Barceló Delgado's input will be supported by and coordinated together with Mr Norbert Kluge (DE-GR II) and Mr Kestutis Kupsys (LT-GR III).

This year saw the 41st Brussels 20 km race, held on 12 September. The race was dedicated to two campaigns: the first, to promote the Conference on the Future of Europe with its slogan: "The Future is in your hands", and the second, to encourage action against cancer and raise 10 000 euros to fight cancer and support research. For this campaign, EUR 10 from every registration fee went directly to TELEVIE, a charity event organised in French-speaking Belgium and in Luxembourg by RTL-TVI since 1989 for the benefit of scientific research against cancer for children and adults.

More than 22 000 runners from more than 100 nationalities, as well as walkers, hand-bikers and wheelchair users joined together to walk or run through the streets of Brussels. More than 800 colleagues from the European institutions took part in the race wearing the "Running for Europe" team jersey.

This year's race was won by Amaury Paquet from Liège in Belgium, who finished in 59'31, the third fastest time in the history of the event. In the ladies race, Florence De Cock, from Liège, finished first clocking 1:09:50.

The EESC was represented by its vice-president, Cillian Lohan, who together with Stefaan De Rynck, head of the Representation of the European Commission in Belgium, gave the signal to start the race. The runners were greeted by Jaume Duch, Director General for Communication of the European Parliament and Queen Mathilda of the Belgians, who also participated in the race.

The next Brussels 20 km race will take place on 29 May 2022. (ehp)