Cillian Lohan from Ireland is the designated candidate for the Presidency of the EESC Civil Society Organisations’ Group

The Civil Society Organisations’ Group has elected Cillian Lohan as its designated candidate for the 2025-2028 presidency of the Group. Mr Lohan will take office in the course of the European Economic and Social Committee’s renewal in October 2025. Prior to this, Members will officially confirm his appointment at the first meeting of the newly constituted Group.

On 13 February, the 106 Members of the Civil Society Organisations’ Group of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) have elected their candidate for the 2025-2028 presidency of their Group. The elections have taken place at an internal meeting looking towards the EESC’s renewal in October 2025. The Group’s chosen candidate for the presidency is Cillian Lohan from Ireland. Mr Lohan will succeed fellow Irishman Séamus Boland, who led the Civil Society Organisations’ Group from October 2020 to September 2025.

‘I believe in clear, strong leadership built on a process of consultation and collaboration’, said Cillian Lohan when presenting his candidacy. ‘I am passionate about ensuring all voices are heard and have a space to be expressed. Now, maybe more than ever, our political leaders need to connect with citizens.’

Mr Lohan’s main priorities for the Civil Society Organisations’ Group will be to work effectively together. ‘We must be a leader in developing valuable insights for the legislative EU bodies into how civil society is thinking’, he said. ‘We have a professional active membership that can have measurable and tangible successes in shaping the current and future direction of the European Union.’

After graduating from university with a Bachelor’s and a Master’s in Environmental Science, Mr Lohan worked for an international conservation organisation focused on saving species from extinction. He was appointed as CEO of the Green Economy Foundation in 2012 and two years later became an Irish Member of the EESC, representing the Irish Environmental Network. Cillian Lohan has worked on strategic development and organisational restructuring. As a Member of the EESC, he served as Vice-President for Communications from 2020 to 2023 and has worked as a rapporteur on numerous opinions. Mr Lohan helped establish the innovative European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform, and initiated the Committee’s work on youth engagement. Mr Lohan has consistently worked to improve the effectiveness of the EESC’s work, including by chairing a group to reformat EESC opinions.

Further information about Cillian Lohan’s work at the EESC is available on the EESC website.

The EESC renewal will take place in October 2025. At the first meeting of the newly constituted Civil Society Organisations’ Group, all returning and new Members of the Group will be asked to officially confirm Mr Lohan’s presidency.

In addition to the elections for the Group presidency, the Civil Society Organisations’ Group has also nominated its designated candidates for the following positions for the 2025-2028 term:

• Presidency of the Section for Economic and Monetary Union and Economic and Social Cohesion (ECO): Elena-Alexandra Calistru (Romania);
• Presidency of the Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment (NAT): Stoyan Tchoukanov (Bulgaria);
• Presidency of the Consultative Commission on Industrial Change (known by its French acronym CCMI): Alain Coheur (Belgium); and
• Quaestor: Maurizio Mensi (Italy).

At the first meeting of the new EESC assembly in October 2025, all 329 Members of the EESC will vote on the appointment of these four designated candidates for the 2025-2028 term.

Background information:

The EESC is made up of 329 Members from the 27 EU Member States. They are nominated by their national governments and appointed by the Council of the European Union for a period of five years. EESC Members work independently, in the interests of all EU citizens. They are employers, trade unionists and representatives of various sectors of society. The current term of office 2020-2025 will come to an end in September 2025.

Presidential terms are linked to the EESC’s renewal and mid-term renewal every two and a half years, unlike the terms of EESC Members, who are elected for five years.

The Civil Society Organisations’ Group is made up of a wide range of civil society representatives and stakeholders, particularly in the economic, civic, professional and cultural fields; they come from farmers’, consumers’ and environmental organisations, the professions, the social economy, associations representing persons with disabilities, women and young people, and many other organisations. Alongside the Committee’s Employers’ and Workers’ Groups, the Civil Society Organisations’ Group ensures that the EESC is a dynamic force and is empowered to give full voice to the concerns of the various economic, social, occupational and civic organisations that make up civil society in the Member States.