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At its January plenary session, the EESC debated the EU's "Strategic Compass" vision for security and defence, pointing out that security should be understood broadly, far beyond military defence. Civilian and preventive security policy should complement military defence capabilities, with NATO being the EU's key security provider. Civil society should not be a bystander in security issues. In fact, as proven in the current war in Ukraine, it can have a stabilising role in times of crisis.

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) backs a new and strengthened governance of the oceans, calling for increased international cooperation, the safeguarding of the well-being of the marine environment and the protection of fish stocks from overfishing, given their vital importance for local communities.

To prevent forced labour, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) emphasises the importance of international cooperation and the institutional anchoring of organised civil society in the Commission's new proposal. The Committee recommends guidelines to assist companies, a specific database with risk indicators and a benchmarking system.

The technical limit value for asbestos exposure should ultimately be set at a lower level than the Commission is currently proposing in a recent Directive regulating the protection of workers from dangers of occupational asbestos exposure, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) said in an opinion adopted at its plenary session in December.