European Economic and Social Committee
The European Commission should carry out an impact assessment of a possible inclusion of substances which are toxic for reproduction in the scope of its Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive (CMD), the EESC said at its May plenary session. While welcoming the opening of a three-fold process to revise the CMD for the first time in more than 10 years, the EESC recommended that the last batch of the revision, planned for 2018, should pay greater attention to...
Innovative solutions that improve people's lives, platforms that better communicate these solutions, and address ethical, social and environmental issues are the pillars of responsible research and innovation (RRI). Today RRI is one of the answers to meet the needs arising from society for safer, more ethically acceptable and better quality health solutions. A conference held at the EESC on 18-19 May explored how civil society is involved in this process and how to make its contribution more effective.
On 5 April, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)'s NAT section invited supporters and opponents of the European Citizens' Initiative calling for a ban on glyphosate to debate in its premises. A million supporters from at least 7 member states are needed in order for the Commission to consider taking action about this substance along the demands of the ECI. After two months the initiative has already collected over 640,000 signatures. The ECI includes three requests: firstly, a ban on glyphosate, secondly, a reform of the pesticide approval procedure, and thirdly, setting EU-wide mandatory reduction targets for pesticide use.
At the EESC plenary debate with Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas, the EESC reiterated its unwavering support for a European Health Union. It urged the Commission to be ambitious in the implementation of the new European care strategy, which aims to ensure that each and every European has access to affordable and high-quality healthcare
The European Union needs not only to improve the preparedness of its health system but also to address inequalities within the Union and globally. It needs to move quickly to assess the public health action taken to date
The EESC held the fourth of its Going Local meetings on the live-in care sector in the EU, this time in Poland. The country provides much of the sector's workforce in western EU Member States, but has itself started to face a serious shortage of qualified carers in recent years
A few weeks before the European Commission was to vote on a ten year renewal of the glyphosate licence, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) offered a forum for discussion during its plenary on Wednesday. Two of the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) proponents, David Schwartz from WeMove.org and Herman van Bekkem from Greenpeace, were invited to present the goals of their initiative.
The successful experience of Estonia with E-government as well as questions concerning cybersecurity were discussed during the EESC conference on the “Future development of E-government in the EU” held in Tallinn. The EESC hosted a debate on the priorities of the incoming Estonian Presidency of the Council of the EU which have as an overarching goal to improve the ...
The EESC has adopted an opinion on the rights of live-in care workers. It urges policy-makers to fully recognise their contribution to long-term care, to treat them in a similar way to other care providers and to regularise the status of undocumented workers. An ageing population and cuts in public-sector spending have created a shortfall in the ...
In order to prepare the exploratory opinion requested by the future Spanish presidency of the EU on "Measures to improve mental health", the EESC is organising a hybrid public hearing on 11 April 2023 from 9:30 am to 1 pm.
The aim of the event is to gather input from policy makers, civil society organisations and social partners, which will feed into the EESC's opinion.
Your participation and input are most welcome!
