Dear readers,

The war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic have caused significant socio-economic turmoil across Europe and the world. Almost seven months on from the start of the war, fear of rising energy prices and energy insecurity, together with food price volatility and global inflation, are endangering people's lives and well-being worldwide. Thus, the situation in Ukraine, with its long-term consequences of soaring energy prices, will be among the topics that dominate our work at the European Economic and Social Committee in the coming months.

In our contribution to the European Commission's work programme for 2023, we emphasised the energy crisis, which has been amplified by the EU's dependency on Russian gas, the need to limit as far as possible its exposure to unreliable suppliers and to diversify its energy sources.

In addition to the supply difficulties and Member States' duty to ensure energy for households and businesses, another challenge is to stay on track with climate neutrality by 2050 and the EU's other long-term needs. EU policies should at the same time bring economic, social and environmental benefits. Achieving this magic triangle would allow our societies to overcome the crises, respecting the planetary boundaries and leaving nobody behind.
In order to take citizens' demands seriously, measures are needed to improve civil dialogue, as was highlighted in the proposals that emerged from the Conference on the Future of Europe. The EESC stands ready to play its role and properly follow up the Conference's outcome and if a Convention is organised, the EESC must play a prominent role in it. We will continue to work on this in the second half of 2022.

I hope that the summer break has brought everyone at least some peace of mind and the additional energy boost we all need to face the challenges ahead.

Christa Schweng

EESC President