Civil society is urging the EU to put people, not just policies, at the heart of its new Ocean Pact. In a new position, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) calls for maritime strategies that protect biodiversity while ensuring fairness for coastal communities and industry competitiveness. It also stresses the need to align the Pact with broader EU goals like the Green Deal, SDGs, and Blue Economy Strategy, and to ensure coherence with related frameworks.
Introduced by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in 2024, the Youth Test is now being recognised as a pioneering method for integrating youth voices into policy-making. A recent roundtable in Bratislava brought together young leaders, policymakers and civil society to examine how the Youth Test can be meaningfully integrated into national decision-making processes.
