European Economic and Social Committee
Mario Monti, former EU commissioner for competition and Prime Minister of Italy, will be the keynote speaker at the EESC event "Towards a Net Zero Industrial Future: Harnessing the Power of the Single Market", which will be held on 4 April to mark the 30th anniversary of the single market.
Amid a projected rise in the number of people at risk of poverty, adequate minimum income is a necessary condition to ensure a dignified life for many Europeans. To make sure it is available to all those who need it, Member States should put in place transparent and non-discriminatory criteria for people to obtain it.
The global fertiliser crisis has reached a critical level in Europe, where farmers are facing unprecedented challenges due to record prices. The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) adopted an opinion on its March plenary on the EU strategy on fertilisers calling for availability, affordability and sustainability.
Addressing the European Commission's report on trends and issues to watch, the EESC stressed that it could have helped much more if it had been involved in the foresight exercise from the start.
On 23 March, the European Economic and Social Committee adopted two opinions on the Commission's latest proposals to further develop the EU's Capital Markets Union. Regarding the Listing Act, the Committee recommends that the full listing documentation be published in the national languages to empower local retail investors and help the development of a national retail investment base.
EESC plenary to debate energy with commissioner Kadri Simson.
Webstreaming Agenda
The Social Progress Protocol, proposed during the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE), gives precedence to social, workers' and trade union rights when they are in conflict with economic freedoms. However, while everyone agreed that social rights and economic freedoms can co-exist, support for making the protocol primary EU law is far from unanimous, with diverging views among the social partners and in the academic community, an EESC hearing confirmed
President of the European Economic and Social Committee, Christa Schweng, highlights the requirements for Europe to become globally more competitive and sustainable.
Persistent health inequalities are a huge factor behind the twofold higher mortality rate of people with disabilities, who on average die 10 to 20 years earlier than people without a disability. At the top of the list of barriers creating such inequalities are exorbitant treatment costs, inaccessible transport and health facilities, and stigma – but also a healthcare workforce that lacks proper training on disability issues.
The EESC included a youth delegate in its UNFCCC COP delegation for the first time in 2021 and committed to repeating this experience in the years to come. The EESC youth delegate to COP has a mandate of two years and at the end of each mandate a transparent and open selection process is carried out to designate the new delegate. The new EESC youth delegate to the COP has just been selected!
