European Economic
and Social Committee
606th Plenary Session - 17-18 June 2026
606th plenary session, with the following debates and guests:
- Driving a just, competitive and ecological transition towards a circular and climate neutral economy, with Teresa Ribera, European Commission ́s Executive Vice-President for a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition; linked to the adoption of opinion NAT/986 on the Circular Economy Act – Circular economy and responsible resource consumption within planetary boundaries; at 15:00 on Wednesday, 17 June.
- Building resilience in Europe’s Eastern border regions, with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, leader of the Belarusian democratic forces, Neringa Rinkevičiūtė-Laurinaitienė, Vice-Minister for Finance of the Republic of Lithuania, and Hugo Sobral, the European Commission’s Deputy Director-General for Regional and Urban Policy; linked to the adoption of opinion ECO/697 on the Strategy to support the eastern border regions to address their specific challenges and support them in the reorientation of their local economy; at 16:00 on Wednesday, 17 June.
- From the EU Blue Deal and water resilience to global water action, with Jessika Roswall, European Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, Hildegard Bentele, Member of the European Parliament, vice-chair of the Committee on Development (DEVE) and chair of the MEP Water Group (remotely), and Pedro Arrojo- Agudo, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation (remotely); linked to the adoption of opinions CCMI/254 on the EESC Contribution to the UN Water Conference 2026: from the EU Blue Deal and Water Resilience Strategy to global water action, and CCMI/261 on the Blue Deal Accelerator – technology, skills and finance for a water-resilient future; at 09:30 on Thursday, 18 June 2026
You will be able to follow the debates by web streaming. Web streaming