Today on International Equal Pay Day, the message from the EESC Workers' Group is loud and clear: Equal pay is not a bureaucratic box to tick; it is a fundamental human right, essential for social progress. Governments must ensure that pay equity becomes a reality for all workers – a goal that benefits workers, strengthens businesses and contributes to a fairer society for everyone.
supports satellite Direct-to-Device connectivity, which can extend mobile coverage beyond the reach of terrestrial networks and provide supplementary connectivity when those networks are disrupted; stresses that deployment should particularly benefit underserved rural, remote, island, mountainous, border and outermost areas, thereby contributing to territorial and digital cohesion; calls for coverage reporting to be complemented by indicators on effective service availability, continuity and quality, and for services to be accessible and affordable, including for persons with disabilities, with transparent information for users on actual availability and limitations;
recommends that the proposal extend beyond pre-contractual data to cover post-purchase information, integrating EPREL into the product lifecycle via the future Digital Product Passport; considers that the EPREL database structure should be updated to showcase operational data such as battery cycles, repairability and water usage; stresses that relevant information must remain free and accessible without registration for as long as the product is usable, even after the model has been withdrawn or the supplier has ceased its activities, so that consumers, repairers and technicians can still service and repair the product;
The European Commission's proposed Cloud and AI Development Act (CADA) aims to strengthen Europe's cloud and artificial intelligence ecosystem and reduce dependence on non-European providers. In our Opinion INT/1126 Cloud and AI Development Act we welcome this ambition but if Europe wants to remain competitive in the global digital economy it must swiftly move from declarations to delivery.
Teatro Thalia, Estrada das Laranjeiras 205, Lisboa, Portugal
Lisbon
Portugal
The annual Euro-Mediterranean Summit of Economic and Social Councils and Similar Institutions provides civil society organisations (CSOs) from the UfM Member States with a platform to debate common challenges and opportunities and to exchange best practices.
The Water Resilience Stakeholder Platform will be launched on 21 September 2026, co-hosted by the European Commission, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. The afternoon will see the launch of the European Water Academy
