The EESC president, Luca Jahier, and the European Parliament vice-president, Klára Dobrev, exchanged views on the future of Europe during a fruitful debate at the EESC plenary session in September.

Mr Jahier underlined the importance of being closer to European citizens, strengthening democracy and increasing civic participation in EU policy-making, while at the same time demonstrating that Europe is committed to delivering results.

"The EESC has always had a clear position towards the European project: we need more and better Europe and we will support any action towards that objective, but we need to demonstrate to the European citizens that Europe delivers!" he said. "Citizens have to be at the core of the institutions and without civil society, democracy remains fragile".

Ms Dobrev, who presented the Parliament's focus for the 2019-2024 legislature, was pleased to note that the EESC and the European Parliament were on the same wavelength. "We have to realise that our short-term political mandate will depend on our long-term political commitment. We need to listen to European citizens and this is a common task of all the institutions. We need to hear their voice: they are asking for more security and better living conditions," she said. "Our priorities will be deepening the economic and monetary union, dealing with unemployment and tackling the social impact of climate change", she concluded. (mp)