One year into the EESC's new term of office: a first opportunity to take stock

We all remember the day we launched the new term: it was 28 October 2020, at the height of the pandemic, and the plenary was to take place online. Everything was surreal; the future seemed uncertain; nobody knew when and how a vaccine would become available, but we managed to get our work under way.

The pandemic led to a global health crisis, with the loss of millions of lives, and a global economic crisis that we are striving to overcome. At this dramatic juncture, the European Union had the strength and determination to move extremely quickly to take unprecedented measures. On the health front, the procurement of medical supplies and protective equipment and the measures taken with regard to vaccines supported our national health services. From an economic and financial point of view, the EU has rolled out emergency measures and unprecedented funding, including SURE, to mitigate unemployment risks, and NextGenerationEU, the European Recovery Plan.

On top of this, the last year has been marked by an upsurge in events linked to climate change: fires in France, Italy, and Greece, flooding in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, and the melting of glaciers in Greenland. The environment is like the human body: it is sending out unambiguous signals about its state of health. Society is now tuned into these issues and more aware than before, and young people are key players in these battles, with the "Fridays for Future" movement that calls on politicians to take tangible and timely action to secure a future for the Earth. The European Commission has given new impetus to its environmental policy with the Green Deal: we are on the right track.

The last few months have been marked by the launch of the Conference on the Future of Europe: this is an extraordinary opportunity for citizens to have their say on the shape of the European Union.

The EESC has been heavily engaged on each of these issues. Opinions and statements on the Health Union, on NextGenerationEU, on the Green Deal and on the European Pillar of Social Rights have been drawn up and sent to the institutions. Citizens, workers, entrepreneurs and organised civil society as a whole have a voice, and this voice must be heard.

In September, President von der Leyen invited the Italian Paralympic champion Bebe Vio to her State of the Union address: a young woman who has fought against and overcome all manner of adversity since childhood. Her words should spur us all on, especially the younger generations, in building a European Union of solidarity and diversity: "If it seems impossible, then it can be done."

Giulia Barbucci, EESC Vice-President