EESC to hold high-level debate on EU enlargement with European Commissioner Marta Kos and the EU candidate countries at July plenary

607 Plenary session

15-16 July 2026
European Commission, Charlemagne building (Alcide De Gasperi room), Rue de la Loi 170, 1040 Brussels
Web stream click here

AGENDA

Wednesday 15 July 2026, 8:45-10:00 :
Press breakfast on energy, housing and drones

The event will be an opportunity to discuss main topical issues such as storage technologies for energy independence, practical solutions to the current housing crisis, and drones and counter drone security. The corresponding opinions are on the agenda of the plenary session.

Speakers include: Marcin Nowacki, President of the EESC’s Section for Transport, Energy, Infrastructure and the Information Society (TEN) and EESC members Baiba Miltoviča, Thomas Kattnig, Konstantinos Mousouroulis, Miroslav Hajnoš and John Comer.

European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)
Jacques Delors building, VIP lounge, 1st floor  – Rue Belliard 99, 1040 Brussels

Please confirm your presence by Tuesday 14 July 2026 at 13:00 at marco.pezzani@eesc.europa.eu

Debates

Wednesday 15 July 2026 at 15:00

  • Presentation of the priorities of the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union with Thomas Byrne, Ireland’s Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence

Wednesday 15 July 2026 at 16:00

  • Better protection for workers: quality jobs and fair labour mobility with Roxana Mînzatu, the European Commission’s Executive Vice-President for Social Rights and Skills, Quality Jobs and Preparedness linked to SOC/856 - Quality jobs roadmap and SOC/861 - Towards a clear EU framework for the posting of third-country nationals (TCNs): ensuring genuine posting, legal certainty and fair competition

Thursday 16 July 2026 at 10:00

High-level debate on EU enlargement

  • with Marta Kos, European Commissioner for Enlargement, Mihai Popsoi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Moldova, Zoran Dimitrovski, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of the Republic of North Macedonia, Nerijus Aleksiejūnas, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Lithuania to the EU, David McAllister, Member of the European Parliament, Chair of the AFET Committee (video-message), and participants from the enlargement candidate members initiative.

Opinions in the spotlight

ENERGY

  • Strategic Energy Storage for the European Energy Union (TEN/875, rapporteur: Thomas Kattnig (AT-II), co-rapporteur: Konstantinos Mousouroulis (EL-I))
    The EESC considers energy storage necessary to ensure the energy transition is feasible, affordable, socially fair, and territorially balanced. Yet, the EU lacks a related comprehensive strategy. For this reason, the Committee calls for the Commission to present a number of common guidelines and plans to advance the development of the Union’s storage capacity. More

HOUSING

  • EU Strategy for Housing Construction (TEN/872, rapporteur: Thomas Kattnig (AT-II))
    This EESC opinion highlights civil society’s expectations and concerns on putting into practice the European Commission’s Strategy for Housing Construction, presented under the Affordable Housing Plan. While welcoming the Strategy, the Committee urges the Commission to swiftly present the announced initiatives and adopt far more ambitious measures to address the structural housing crisis. More

DEFENCE

  • Action Plan on Drone and Counter Drone Security (TEN/883, rapporteur: Miroslav Hajnoš (SK-II))
    The EESC supports the objective of strengthening preparedness, detection and response capacities and deterring malicious drone use included in the European Commission's EU Action Plan on Drone and Counter Drone Security. However, the Committee stresses that all measures must remain proportionate and consistent with fundamental rights, privacy, data protection, legal certainty and democratic accountability. More

LABOUR MARKET

  • Quality Jobs Roadmap (SOC/856, rapporteur: Claude Rolin (BE-II))
    The EESC welcomes the Commission's Quality Jobs Roadmap and stresses that job quality, competitiveness, productivity, innovation and social progress must go hand in hand to support a resilient and sustainable European economy. The Committee calls for a common approach to measuring job quality, based on shared indicators, while strengthening social dialogue, occupational health and safety, lifelong learning, fair labour mobility and the effective enforcement of workers' rights. More
  • Posting of Third-Country Nationals (TCNs) (SOC/861, rapporteur: David Hafner (AT-II))
    The EESC considers that the increasing posting of third-country nationals within the EU highlights the need for greater legal clarity, more consistent enforcement and stronger protection against abuse in order to safeguard fair competition and the integrity of the internal market. The Committee calls for clearer guidance on the application of EU rules and CJEU case law, ensuring that the posting of TCNs reflects genuine cross-border service provision and does not circumvent national labour migration policies. More

SOCIAL AFFAIRS

  • Anti-Racism Strategy 2026-2030 (SOC/858, rapporteur: Pascal Debay (BE-II))
    The EESC welcomes the EU Anti-Racism Strategy 2026-2030 and stresses that combating racism requires stronger political commitment, effective enforcement of anti-discrimination legislation and sustained action at all levels of society. The Committee calls for binding monitoring mechanisms, national anti-racism plans with clear targets, stronger support for civil society organisations and tougher action against hate speech, hate crime and online racism. More
  • European Migration and Asylum Strategy (SOC/859, rapporteur: José Antonio Moreno Díaz (ES-II))
    The EESC acknowledges the Commission's first European Asylum and Migration Management Strategy but considers that it places too much emphasis on border control, containment and returns at the expense of integration, legal migration pathways and the protection of fundamental rights. The Committee calls for a more balanced, rights-based approach that expands regular migration channels for all skill levels, strengthens integration and inclusion policies, reinforces procedural safeguards in asylum systems and ensures full compliance with the Charter of Fundamental Rights. More
  • Gender Equality Strategy 2026-2030 (SOC/866, rapporteur: Juliane Marie Neiiendam (DK-III))
    The EESC welcomes the Gender Equality Strategy 2026-2030 and stresses that gender equality is both a fundamental EU value and a key driver of economic growth, competitiveness, social inclusion and democratic resilience. The Committee calls for stronger implementation of existing equality legislation, effective gender mainstreaming across EU policies and funding programmes, and measures to address persistent inequalities in employment, pay, pensions, care responsibilities, health and decision-making. More 

INTERNAL MARKET

  • Industrial Accelerator Act (INT/1119, rapporteur: Konstantinos Diamantouros (EL-I))
    The EESC welcomes the Industrial Accelerator Act as a timely response to declining industrial competitiveness, external economic pressure and the need to strengthen Europe’s strategic industrial base. It supports the objective of raising manufacturing to 20% of EU GDP by 2035, while calling for complementary indicators on decarbonisation, electrification, resource efficiency, quality jobs and strategic autonomy. More

ENVIRONMENT

  • EU approach to integrated wildfire risk management (NAT/989, rapporteur: Luís Mira (PT-I))
    The Committee welcomes the Commission Communication on integrated wildfire risk management, recognising the increasing severity and frequency of wildfires in the European Union. However, it considers that more priority should be given to the dimension of prevention and that there is a structural imbalance between prevention and response policies and firefighting policies. More

AGRICULTURE

  • A sustainable Livestock Strategy to support the EU’s food strategic autonomy and climate and biodiversity objectives (NAT/993, rapporteur: Joe Healy (IE-III), co-rapporteur: Florian Dalstein (DE-I))
    The EESC recommends upholding the European Commission’s decision to formulate a new EU livestock strategy, which needs to support farmers in a positive way and recognise that sustainable livestock production is a key part of the solution in tackling the economic, environmental and social challenges facing society. More

For more information, please contact:
EESC Press Unit: press@eesc.europa.eu – Tel: + 32 2 546 9793

@EESC_PRESS