The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) believes that the challenges faced by EU islands are not adequately addressed by the EU's sectoral policies. Instead of being treated as peripheral territories, islands should be recognised as frontline regions for Europe.

The EU requires a 'systemic shift' to address the needs of islands. This would entail the development of a dedicated EU islands strategy (the Islands Pact), the EESC said in its opinion on The Island Dimension in European Cohesion, Competitiveness and Sustainable Development Policies, which had been requested by the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU.

The Islands Pact should be supported by a clear legislative framework (the Islands Act) containing an 'insularity clause'. This clause would systematically incorporate the specific needs and constraints of islands into EU policies on cohesion, transport, energy, State aid, the environment, and maritime affairs, said the rapporteur for the opinion Ioannis Vardakastanis.

The opinion is seeking to feed into a new strategy for islands and coastal communities, which the European Commission is expected to unveil in 2026.

The EU comprises a variety of island regions spanning the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. It also encompasses outermost regions in the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean. Finland's Lakeland region, with its thousands of forested islands, is the largest lake region in Europe. 

These island and lake regions play a key role in ensuring Europe’s strategic autonomy with regard to defence, energy security, and access to critical resources. They are vital for the EU’s blue economy and climate resilience. 

However, they continue to be impacted by persistent structural disadvantages, leading to a range of challenges, including isolation, melting ice, high transport and energy costs, housing shortages, labour shortages and excessive dependence on tourism.

Improving connectivity and infrastructure in island territories is essential for territorial cohesion. This means better transport, mobility, digital links and energy grids supporting decarbonisation and autonomy.

Island regions must also diversify through a blue economy based on marine resources, renewable energy, tourism, heritage and the creative industries.

The 'insularity clause' should apply to the National and Regional Partnership Plans under the Multiannual Financial Framework 2028-2034, with measures on housing, transport, water and waste, climate adaptation, healthcare and economic opportunities, the EESC concluded. (mp/ll)

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) recognises the need to adapt the excise duty framework for tobacco products in line with market developments. However, it urges caution regarding excessive increases in excise duties, as these could lead to an increase in illicit trade.

Any increase in tobacco excise duties must be proportionate, economically viable and beneficial to businesses, workers and society as a whole, said EESC member Mariya Mincheva, standing in for Matteo Carlo Borsani, rapporteur for the EESC opinion on the revision of the Tobacco Taxation Directive. Speaking at the EESC plenary session in February, Ms Mincheva warned against sharp increases in excise duties, which could have adverse effects, such as fuelling illicit trade, undermining tax revenues and weakening public health outcomes. 

For this reason, the EESC recommended gradual adjustments to excise duties, accompanied by strengthened enforcement, customs cooperation and cross-border anti-smuggling measures. Policy-makers should involve the social partners, through sharing of clear and transparent information on any policy measures and draft legislation and consultation before proposing any future policies or legislation.

The EESC called for sufficient flexibility for the Member States in their excise structures, including the option to apply unit-based or weight-based taxation for heated tobacco products. This would allow national market conditions to be taken into account while respecting EU minimum rates. In line with subsidiarity and the Member States’ fiscal sovereignty, the Commission’s use of delegated acts should be limited to technical adjustments linked to inflation.

While supporting efforts to reduce tobacco consumption, the EESC noted that taxation alone cannot achieve this objective. It called for risk-proportionate taxation so that non-combustible and reduced-risk products are not taxed at the same rate as combustible tobacco, in line with the 'less harm, less tax' principle and the goals of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan. 

Proposed by the European Commission in 2025, the revised directive aims to reflect developments in the tobacco market by extending its scope to products such as e-cigarettes, heated tobacco and nicotine pouches. These would be subject to new minimum taxes adjusted to Member States’ economic conditions. The proposal also seeks stronger controls on raw tobacco to prevent diversion into the illicit supply chain. Under the special legislative procedure, the Council must adopt the proposal unanimously after consulting the European Parliament. (mp/ll)

By Philip von Brockdorff

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) welcomes the 2025 Strategic Foresight Report: Resilience 2.0, but we believe that future foresight reports would be more relevant if they also addressed external radical disruptions, the EU’s innovation gaps, internal institutional challenges and the costs of delaying EU enlargement.

The EESC is uniquely positioned to detect weak signals and underlying trends in strategic foresight. Through a permanent and structured mechanism, the EESC could contribute to the Commission’s strategic foresight cycle at all stages, rather than only at the end. To strengthen the strategic foresight process, the EESC also advocates the systematic use of multiple, divergent scenarios to stress-test existing or proposed strategies. 

Strategic foresight should primarily support sustainable and inclusive well-being as part of the European social model, with a focus on the European Pillar of Social Rights and intergenerational fairness. At the same time, it should take into account the current fragmentation of European capital markets, which severely constrains the efficient flow of capital to firms of all sizes, limiting innovation for SMEs and microenterprises. The EESC considers the completion of the Savings and Investments Union to be a central pillar of the EU’s resilience strategy, and this should feature prominently in the process. Equally, greater recognition of the role of entrepreneurship, SMEs and microenterprises is essential.

Future strategic foresight reports should also examine whether certain regulatory approaches unintentionally undermine the competitiveness of European companies and innovators compared with third-country operators, or whether they incentivise the relocation of innovation outside Europe. In this context, we must explicitly acknowledge that the EU is falling behind global competitors in certain areas of technological innovation, with all the consequences this entails. Similarly, we need to adequately address the risks for the EU if it fails to develop and scale these technologies.

A more thorough reflection on labour migration driven by demographic change would also be relevant, particularly in light of the projected decline in the EU's working-age population by 2040. 

With regard to environmental considerations, the EESC calls for strategic foresight to integrate a specific analysis of the triple planetary crisis into the report, by developing dedicated chapters on climate, biodiversity and pollution, across short-, medium- and long-term scenarios.

Finally, the EU could benefit from a joint foresight exercise aimed at developing strategic visions for future reports that are embraced by all EU institutions. Such an approach would help align strategic priorities and commit EU institutions to a shared long-term vision, rather than allowing parallel or competing strategic narratives to emerge.

EU Strategic Foresight is a policy tool used by the European Commission to think ahead about major global economic, technological, social, environmental and geopolitical changes and help shape policies for the future. Philip von Brockdorff, rapporteur of the EESC opinion on the Strategic Foresight Report 2025, explains what Europe needs to consider to stay prepared in today’s turbulent geopolitical and economic context.

Social media may have democratised political engagement, but it has also weaponised misogyny. Women entering public life face online attacks that differ sharply from those directed at men, targeting their appearance, private lives and family roles rather than their ideas. Such abuse undermines women’s very presence in politics and discourages many from entering or staying in public life, writes our surprise guest Barbara Helfferich, political scientist, gender equality expert and co-founder of a Brussels-based feminist think tank.

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) deems sodium batteries a strategically important technology for Europe at its plenary debate on the potential of these batteries and in its latest opinion.

EESC President Séamus Boland announced that the Committee was placing sodium batteries firmly at the centre of its work on the EU industrial and energy agenda. ‘Sodium batteries, and batteries more broadly, are key for the EU’s competitive edge, and it is urgent that the next Multiannual Financial Framework recognises this by providing the necessary funds for the sector,’ he said.

The EU has already launched large-scale gigafactory projects to produce batteries at high volumes in order to reindustrialise Europe and strengthen its strategic autonomy. However, these projects focus mainly on lithium batteries and largely neglect the emerging technology of their sodium equivalents. 

Unlike lithium, sodium does not expose the EU to the same geopolitical dependencies or supply chain vulnerabilities. Produced from abundant and widely available raw materials in Europe, sodium batteries can reduce dependence on critical imports, support EU climate and industrial objectives and create jobs through the development of gigafactories across the value chain.

The debate also highlighted the strong links between sodium batteries and both the EU’s Green Deal and the EESC’s EU Blue Deal initiative. ‘The EESC put water on the agenda because, in emergency preparedness, water, energy and food are the real raw material emergencies. The vast majority of the Earth’s water is salt water. By using the sodium from desalination processes, we can turn a largely untapped resource into a sustainable, circular industrial solution,’ said Paul Rübig, EESC rapporteur for the opinion on Enhancing EU strategic autonomy and developing a greener and bluer economy: the potential of the sodium battery manufacturing sector.

Europe must act quickly to avoid falling behind its global competitors, which are already advancing on sodium battery technology.  ‘Either we remain mere consumers, or we propose an ambitious plan for the next ten years and become one of the largest suppliers of sodium-based batteries. All European countries can participate in the construction process and benefit from a technology that promotes our independence while creating jobs in all regions,’ said Hervé Jeannin, co-rapporteur for the opinion. 

The EESC opinion on sodium batteries presents an overview of the current situation and the development potential of this emerging industry, it showcases the potential applications of such batteries in different sectors (e.g. by industry, local and regional authorities and private households) and sets out the way forward for the industry. (gb)