EESC President

EESC President Oliver Röpke met today with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels. The meeting marked their first official bilateral discussion since President von der Leyen’s reappointment.

EC President von der Leyen and EESC President Röpke agreed that in times of geopolitical uncertainty, challenges to multilateralism and growing threats from disinformation and foreign interference, unity among the leaders of the EU institutions is of paramount importance.

During the meeting, President Röpke outlined key priorities for his mandate, emphasizing the EESC's commitment to participatory democracy, youth engagement, and civil society collaboration. He also presented the institutional reforms undertaken by the EESC under his leadership and discussed strengthening cooperation between the two institutions.

A central topic was the EESC’s Enlargement Candidate Members (ECM) initiative, which aims to involve civil society representatives from EU accession countries in the Committee’s advisory work. This initiative has proven to be a success story, and is being praised by EESC Members, Enlargement Candidate Members and social partners and civil society organisations across the EU and the candidate countries as a concrete example of gradual EU integration.

President Röpke highlighted the EESC’s strong commitment to engaging young people, particularly through the pioneering implementation of the Youth Test. This initiative ensures that youth perspectives are integrated into policy discussions by fostering direct collaboration between young people and EESC members. The Youth Test has become a model of meaningful youth engagement, with over 100 youth organisations expressing interest in participating in 2024.

The discussion also covered the EESC’s increasing international role, including its participation in major global events such as the G20 Social Summit, the UN High Level Political Forum and the UN Conference on the Status of Women. 

Lastly, President Röpke extended an invitation to President von der Leyen to address an upcoming EESC Plenary Session, offering a platform for engaging with organised civil society on the Commission’s priorities for the new mandate.

This meeting reaffirmed the strong institutional relationship between the EESC and the European Commission, paving the way for even deeper cooperation in promoting democratic participation, civil society engagement, and youth empowerment across the EU.