emphasises that the designing of proposals for new sources of own revenues should be done in context of the budgetary pressures faced by Member States following the pandemic and the ongoing international tensions. This has become all the more important in the current higher interest rate environment;
urges the Commission to develop the proposals concerning Business in Europe: Framework for Income Taxation (BEFIT) as soon as possible and asks for more refined estimation of the potential additional revenues linked to its implementation and deems it reasonable to explore the possibility of including financial services within BEFIT or of developing a global financial transaction tax (FTT);
points out that the fundamental aspect of European integration – freedom of movement – needs to be ensured for all in the EU, while focusing on a long-term and holistic approach to regional development and labour market integration;
stresses that in order to better address the labour and skills shortages, long-term solutions are needed to support regional development, such as better infrastructure, sustainable resources, improved job quality, effective support to those not in employment, education, or training;
calls on the Commission and Member States to put in place cohesion policies and EU funds to support the shaping of labour market transitions in a way that no worker or region is left behind;
believes it is relevant to address disparities between the various MRS, especially with regard to the regions most disadvantaged, to prevent turning economic competitiveness and social cohesion into something problematic that will lead to bigger gaps between regions that are more "developed" and those that are less so;
proposes establishing a system for the short- and medium-duration exchange of civil servants between the regions of the MRS, similar to the Erasmus programme;
proposes organising forums with the representatives of civil society and social partners in MRS Member States;
The EESC undertakes to support and take part in a high-level declaration on eliminating HIV-related stigma and discrimination in Europe, to be issued by the European institutions;
considers it essential to promote awareness-raising, training and information actions with the aim of overcoming stigma, discrimination and false stereotypes;
calls for a more ambitious new target for all countries to be achieved by 2030, improving coverage levels to as high as 95% for testing, treatment and virological suppression.
The EESC agrees with the proposal to add a social progress protocol (SPP) to the Treaties. The SPP would prioritise fundamental social rights over economic freedoms in the event of conflict and in EU policies;
encourages the Spanish presidency to convene a meeting of the Council of Social Affairs Ministers that would agree on a joint proposal and enable a specific EU summit to be held to adopt it;
It is convinced that an SPP will enable the EU to be a leader when it comes to economic growth, the well-being of its citizens, and robust and sustainable businesses.
considers that the EU Youth Agenda should tackle the challenges faced by young Europeans and should also determine how the EU can help young people overcome them;
believes that the EU Youth Dialogue should be improved by involving young people's representative bodies in decision-making and by considering young people's new ways of engagement;
emphasises the importance of supporting young people when it comes to housing costs, and of promoting public housing policies.
Energy, including the infrastructure for the transport and distribution, cannot be treated like any other commodity: it is an essential building block of our economic and social system and thus a central part of the provision of public services. Therefore, energy supply is classified as a service of general interest. It is therefore necessary to create regulatory framework conditions for future energy that guarantee both an environmentally-friendly, affordable and reliable supply of energy and the right to energy.
The EESC welcomes the basic objective of the proposed Regulation to strengthen the monitoring and transparency of the wholesale energy markets. It underlines, continuous monitoring and analysis is required so that appropriate interventions and regulatory responses can be made in a timely manner on a sound basis. It also calls for proportionality in data reporting and the application of the once-only principle. The revision should aim at creating a transparent and non-discriminatory system, while avoiding a misuse of data collected.
