EESC info

The European Economic and Social Committee has taken a tough stance on breaches of the rule of law in the EU, declaring that it is committed to ensuring that the Council of the European Union and the European Commission impose high dissuasive penalties on Member States which systematically disrespect the rule of law in a way that puts the EU budget at risk.

In the own-initiative opinion Rule of law and the recovery fund adopted at its plenary session on 20 January, the EESC welcomes EU Regulation 2020/2092, which enables the Commission to impose financial penalties for systematic shortcomings in the rule of law in a given EU country, and calls for the regulation to be applied strictly in all areas that are relevant to the budget.

"The rule of law is the indispensable basis for a democratic, pluralistic society in Europe and for the continued existence of the EU," said the rapporteur for the opinion, Christian Bäumler.

In order to tackle systematic failures to comply with the rule of law, the EESC recommends that the EU use all other means of sanction, such as the infringement procedure provided for in Article 263 of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union and the procedure set out in Article 7 of the Treaty on the European Union.

In the EESC's view, if an EU country systematically violates the rule of law, this always compromises, or at least seriously jeopardises, the implementation of EU-funded programmes and is detrimental to the EU budget. That is why it is essential that all beneficiaries of payments from the Union budget comply with transparency rules and are able to fully demonstrate what the funds are used for.

The national recovery and resilience plans should also spell out the measures that the respective governments will take to strengthen the rule of law.
However, most of the national plans submitted so far include too few initiatives in this regard. Moreover, in its assessment of these plans, the Commission did not attach enough importance to the rule of law, which the EESC finds regrettable.

In the opinion, the EESC urges all Member States to take part in the European Public Prosecutor's Office's enhanced cooperation, and calls for this to become a prerequisite for participating in EU-funded programmes. This cooperation is already starting to yield results and is likely to contribute in the long term to a huge improvement in cross-border criminal prosecution. (ll)

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has welcomed the designation of 2022 as the European Year of Youth, but feels that it should go beyond mere promotional activities: it should contribute towards the EU's Youth Strategy through clear plans and commitments aimed at achieving tangible results for all young Europeans.

The EESC debated the European Year of Youth 2022 at its January plenary, with the participation of Anne Kjær Bathel, representing the European Young Leaders' programme, Joe Elborn, secretary-general of the European Youth Forum, and Miriam Teuma, chair of the Council of Europe's European Steering Committee for Youth.

"It is essential that young people have a say in formulating today's and tomorrow's policies," said Christa Schweng, president of the EESC. "They are the future, so involving them and investing in them is crucial to building stable, peaceful and sustainable societies and developing policies that meet the specific needs of younger generations."

The EESC is uniquely positioned to work and liaise with youth networks, and is ready and willing to play a leading role in the Year of Youth, building on its successful initiatives such as Your Europe, Your Say!, the Youth Climate and Sustainability Roundtables and the EU Youth Climate Summit that it organises in early summer.

The EESC is looking forward to making a positive contribution to the European Year of Youth 2022. The year must produce tangible outcomes for Europe's young people in policy areas that impact their lives. (ks)

Recovery, strength and a sense of belonging are the three main objectives of the French Presidency, which the EESC shares and supports, as its president Christa Schweng made clear at the January plenary session on 19 January 2022 when addressing the French Secretary of State for European Affairs, Clément Beaune.

"Looking at your priorities - a more sovereign Europe, a new European model for growth and a humane Europe - I am happy to see that many of these priorities are very similar to those of the EESC", said Ms Schweng, highlighting the EESC's commitment and contribution to shaping a resilient, strong, sustainable and inclusive Europe.

Mr Beaune stressed that the French Presidency would help prepare the Europe of tomorrow, with an eye to 2030, laying the groundwork for far-reaching changes on values, investment, youth, culture and health. Special focus would be placed on promoting the values uniting us all but which had weakened in recent years, perhaps because they were seen as a given, such as the rule of law and democratic values. "We want to foster a sense of belonging and champion our values. There will not be a political project without this common European identity beyond the national identities", he said.

With reference to the upcoming conclusion of the Conference on the Future of Europe, Ms Schweng added that "as the house of Europe's organised civil society, we can be your best allies in this sensitive final phase. Ensuring tangible results and transparent follow-up will be crucial. People will need transparency and seeing that the EU is 'walking the talk'. The role of the French Presidency, therefore, will be key for the Conference's success and for giving the EU back to its citizens."

Mr Beaune pledged that the Conference on the Future of Europe would bring about concrete proposals that "it is essential to implement rapidly, because the Conference cannot be an artificial exercise but is meant to prepare the ground for real reform." (mp)

The EESC firmly believes that a care model for dependent older people should be mainstreamed into EU policymaking, given that the proportion of the population aged over 80 is expected to more than double by 2050.

The pandemic has revealed failures in this area and the Commission's initiative to establish a new European Care Strategy is a step in the right direction, in the EESC's view. However, consultative institutions and European civil society organisations representing older people have to have a say.

In its own-initiative opinion Towards a new care model for older people: learning from COVID-19, adopted at the January plenary session, the EESC took a closer look at the various models of long-term care for people over the age of 65 who have lost their autonomy or are dependent on institutional care homes.

Miguel Ángel Cabra De Luna, rapporteur for the opinion, stressed: "Care for all older people must be a cornerstone of EU policies, linked to compliance with the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan."

The EESC proposed setting up a European Observatory for care for older people, which would make it possible to collect sufficient statistical data, compare good practices between different State models, identify structural weaknesses in national systems, provide technical support to facilitate the adoption of EU political guidelines and help implement the European Pillar of Social Rights.

In addition, the EESC opinion called for a European Year of Older People, as recognition of the fundamental rights of older people and their contributions to society, as laid down in Article 25 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

During the pandemic, the rights and needs of older people were only partially taken into account, bringing to light the conceptual, structural and functional shortcomings in care models for older people. In a broader context, this situation helped to further highlight the fact that population ageing is a key strategic challenge for the EU and its Member States. (at)

Despite the shift in occupational risks brought about by the digitalisation of work - which has led to a spike in stress and burnout-induced conditions or ergonomic injuries, and to a slight drop in the number of workplace accidents - social dialogue remains instrumental in promoting occupational safety and health (OSH), the European Economic and Social Committee said in the opinion Social dialogue as a tool to promote health and safety at work.

"OSH measures carried out through social dialogue not only contribute positively to workers' health but they can also improve the profitability of businesses and reduce healthcare costs and absenteeism. The cost to society of work-related injury and illness is estimated at EUR 476 billion or 3.3% of EU GDP," said the opinion rapporteur Franca Salis-Madinier.

However, the quality of social dialogue varies in different Member States, making the application of autonomous agreements concluded by social partners in the field of OSH sometimes uneven across the EU.

According to the EESC, European social dialogue should be beefed up to ensure uniform protection of all EU workers.  
The European Commission should therefore set clear criteria to ensure that the agreements signed by social partners are implemented in all Member States, especially with a view to the judgement of the Court of Justice of the EU, which stated that the Commission is not obliged to act on the social partners' requests to implement the agreements.

However, in addition to productive social dialogue, setting the general OSH guidelines requires a strong regulatory framework. Agreements leading to Council directives following a request from both signatory parties seem more effective as they ensure specific action plans in the Member States.
To this end, the EESC calls for new guidelines on telework, a more ambitious position on combating cancer and for EU directives on musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and psychosocial risks, which are becoming a major occupational threat to European workers.

The EESC's Employers' Group tabled several amendments to the opinion, voicing its opposition, especially as regards calls for new regulatory measures for instance, to the proposed EU action on MSDs and psychosocial risks, as well as to the drafting of new telework guidelines.

The opinion, which was requested by the French EU presidency, was adopted at the EESC plenary session in January, with 172 votes in favour, 32 against and 70 abstentions. (ll)
 

The EESC has called for the creation of special ombudsmen to help SMEs in Europe cope with their financial and funding issues. The Committee also stresses that, for SMEs to take up AI, there needs to be the political will to support them in the process.

At its January plenary, the EESC adopted two reports dealing with some of the most pressing issues impacting SMEs.

In Next Generation SME Strategy – Enhancing Effective and Swift Delivery, the EESC stresses that access to credit, liquidity, cashflow and payments are all critical stumbling blocks for SMEs, especially with COVID - hence the proposal to create a network of financial and funding ombudsmen to:

• promote SMEs' access to funds;
• study whether and how intermediary banks use financial instruments to reach the SMEs most in need of financial resources;
• mediate disputes between SMEs and financing and funding providers.

The EESC also suggests:

• creating an SME liquidity task force to monitor the European Commission's new measures to improve the short-term liquidity of micro-SMEs;
• introducing a one-sheet application form to ease the burden for companies with limited human resources and legal teams which wish to apply for EU funds;
• providing more opportunities for SMEs to bid for and win public contracts in the Member States.

In Developing artificial intelligence in European micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), the EESC stresses that strong political will is needed to overcome the barriers which stand in the way of MSMEs embracing AI.

Political will is needed to build trust, using social partners, chambers of commerce, professional associations and the like to dispel MSMEs' concerns on the ground.

The EESC suggests a set of measures that also require sustained political will - first and foremost:

• using education and vocational training to promote a general mastery of AI;
• ensuring that MSMEs have easy access to both public and private funding for AI;
• guaranteeing infrastructure and connections everywhere;
• promoting awareness of cybersecurity issues;
• disseminating best practices and success stories as widely as possible. (dm)

New financial instruments are needed if the social economy is to keep growing beyond the stimulus provided by public programmes, says a new report by the EESC, which also calls for financial training to foster private funding.

The social economy can only attract suitable investments if there are dedicated financial instruments that balance social impact with acceptable returns for investors, and fair risks to social enterprises, the EESC says in an opinion adopted in January.

Rapporteur Giuseppe Guerini said: “There is a real need to facilitate the connection between the world of private investment and the world of the social economy. We believe that too often financial operators treat social economy organisations as high-risk simply because they use tools that are commonly employed to assess other kinds of enterprises”.

Social impact investments should meet the following criteria:

• have a clear goal to create social impact;
• support enterprises that are clearly defined as social economy enterprises;
• set levels of expectation based on fair, sustainable and transparent economic returns, even if lower than market average;
• allow part of the assets to be reinvested in other investments with social goals;
• have a measurable impact;
• be consistent with the values of the enterprise in which they invest.

Sound mutual knowledge is essential to bridging the investment gap.  "Financial actors need to be better supported to understand the realities of social enterprises, and to help the latter understand the world and the instruments of finance", says co-rapporteur Marie Pierre le Breton.

Dissemination of good practices, such as Finland’s Centre of Expertise for Impact Investment, or France's "pay-by-results" investment models, can also help. However, EU-wide indicators must be established to assess impact. These could be objective indicators, such as jobs created, or subjective ones, such as community wellbeing. (dm)

In the opinion on Food security and sustainable food systems adopted at its plenary session on 19 January 2022, the EESC identified the key levers for sustainable and competitive EU food production and for reducing dependence on imports while increasing the EU's protein autonomy.

For a comprehensive food policy to be truly relevant for European consumers, it is essential for the price and quality of food produced sustainably in the EU to be competitive. This means that the European agri-food sector is able to deliver food for consumers at prices that include extra costs for criteria such as sustainability, animal welfare, higher input costs, food safety and nutritional value, but also a fair return for farmers, while at the same time maintaining its position as the preferred choice for the vast majority of consumers.

Although the European Green Deal offers an opportunity to reaffirm the "social food contract" between the EU and its citizens through the principles of the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity Strategy, much still remains to be done. "The Commission proposes too few concrete actions to strengthen the agri-food sector and farmers and workers' income, and to promote fair prices and the value of food", stressed the co-rapporteur, Peter Schmidt.

As highlighted by the rapporteur for the opinion, Arnold Puech d'Alissac, "fostering open strategic autonomy, ensuring reciprocity of trade standards, promoting research, enhancing digitalisation, developing innovative technologies and seeds and facilitating access to training for farmers on these new technologies are among the key levers for safeguarding the competitiveness of European producers".

Enhancing EU production of legumes and pulses with high protein content and of oilseed and oilseed cake would benefit EU farmers and have a positive impact on climate, biodiversity and the environment. (mr)

The EU needs to continuously adapt European transport to current and future needs, especially in view of the changes in demand and the upward trend in seaport turnover. The key features must be multimodality and smart shipping, tapping into the advantages of the various modes of transport to achieve the best possible results, while at the same time increasing safety and reducing the environmental burden.

This is the main message of the opinion drafted by Mateusz Szymański and adopted at the EESC's January plenary session, addressing the Commission's Communication on "NAIADES III: Boosting future-proof European inland waterway transport".

Speaking on the sidelines of the meeting, Mr Szymański said: "NAIADES III is an important action plan. The EESC supports efforts to increase the share of inland waterway transport (IWT) in passenger and freight transport. There is huge potential in this area, which is still lying dormant. We need political will and commitment at many levels to set up support measures for the development and maintenance of infrastructure and the promotion of IWT as a career sector. The TEN-T network also needs to be updated to respond to new transport trends." (mp)

In an exploratory opinion requested by the French presidency of the Council of the EU, the EESC calls on the European Commission to consider the substantial benefits that the outermost regions can bring to the future of Europe.

The Commission should take appropriate measures to ensure that these regions do not miss out on the post-COVID-19 recovery or on the climate, social and digital transitions. The EESC suggests new key steps for food and energy autonomy in the outermost regions, the green transition, sustainable tourism, social inclusion, the involvement of civil society, skilling and the problem of water and sanitation.

Rapporteur Joël Destom said, "The outermost regions should be viewed as test beds for promoting progress on a global scale, and can become models that can be replicated".

Co-rapporteur Gonçalo Lobo Xavier said, "The EESC calls for digital access in the outermost regions to be ensured, and for a major project for access to water and sanitation to be included in the next operational programmes". (tk)

In January 2022, the EESC adopted an opinion addressing the European Commission's recommendations on euro-area economic policy for 2022, taking account of the current circumstances.

Rapporteur Juraj Sipko commented: "One of the main challenges for the euro zone economy is how to deal with the accumulation of high levels of public debt, the high level of inflation and how to continue the transformation process towards a green and digital economy, while also focusing on social stability".

The EESC is of the opinion that the EU's Stability and Growth Pact is no longer suited to these conditions. The banking union project must advance faster and the Capital Markets Union needs to be completed. The EESC is also concerned about deepening social instability and calls for new, more appropriate indicators for inequality and poverty. (tk)

In an opinion adopted in January 2022, the EESC welcomes the European Commission's objective of clarifying and updating the existing EU framework and of structuring European taxation in a way that favours sustainable non-fossil energy.

The EESC is concerned, however, at the possible negative socio-economic impact of some of the measures found in the European Commission's Proposal for a Directive.

"We call for a more flexible attitude on admissible biofuels and their taxation" says rapporteur Stefan Back.

The Committee also recommends using the concept of "energy poverty", rather than "vulnerable households", calls for environmental taxes to be returned to the people most heavily affected, and believes in adjusting the EU pricing system to reflect the price of all forms of energy.

"The EESC also regrets that proper measures to avoid mobility poverty are not included in the proposal" adds co-rapporteur Philippe Charry. (tk)

The key role of raw materials was discussed at a high-level conference hosted by the EESC on 31 January. The conference focused specifically on two main aspects: the essential role that critical raw materials play in securing the EU's strategic autonomy in the green and digital transition and the importance of circularity in creating a market for secondary raw materials in Europe.

"For most raw materials, Europe is heavily dependent on the rest of the world. Europe must lead the way in demonstrating that this industry can be sustainable in environmental and human terms," said EESC president Christa Schweng, who also stressed the need for strategic partnerships with like-minded countries around the world.

Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market, addressed the conference through a video message and said, "We will need 60 times more lithium by 2050 for electric batteries for vehicles. I have no doubt that the circular economy will become the new modus operandi for raw materials. It will be another crucial tool at our disposal to ensure the security and resilience of our supply chains. The EESC and the European Commission are on the same page".

Agnès Pannier-Runacher, French Secretary of State for Industry, recognised critical raw materials as a key issue for Europe's autonomy in the transition to a green and digital economy based on a circular model. With Europe's energy autonomy featuring among the priorities of the French presidency of the Council of the European Union, "we cannot allow our dependence to shift from fossil fuels to a new dependence on these strategic metals", she said.

The panellists agreed that Europe must show global leadership in this area by raising its environmental, social and governance standards to unprecedented levels.
"The EESC is fully aware of the urgent need to address the issue. The EESC believes that the actions envisaged by the European Commission are essential if we are to maintain and strengthen the EU's industrial base," said the president of the EESC's Consultative Commission on Industrial Change, Pietro Francesco De Lotto, who chaired the conference.

In conclusion, public institutions must continue to join forces and act and civil society must continue its involvement in this area. (ks)