On 14th of September 2021 the co-chairs of the EESC Liaison Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the EESC and the European civil society organisations that are member of the EES Liaison Group. With a view to the Conference of the Future of Europe, this MoU aims to join forces and to co-organise joint activities, debates and events at EU, national, regional and local level over the next few months.

At today's informal meeting of the EU ministers for employment and social policy, I underlined that work on resilient and inclusive labour markets for all is among the core priorities of the EESC's work.
The COVID-19 pandemic has made us realise that we need more than just money to solve the current situation. The transition to an economy that is greener and more digital needs to be linked to a social recovery.

The state-orchestrated forced landing of the civilian plane connecting two EU capitals on 23 May 2021 at the airport of Minsk represents an unacceptable attack on the safety of travellers and an assault on the freedom of press. The EESC, as representative of organised European civil society, strongly opposes any attack against the freedom of speech or press and severely condemns all acts of violence. ...

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) intends to play an active part in joint European efforts to translate the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) into action and to build a fairer and more prosperous Europe for everyone.

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) adopted at its April plenary session a resolution on the Conference on the Future of Europe in which it calls on "a new narrative grounded on the realities of everyday life" to reconnect and engage with European citizens. For this, according to the resolution, it is essential to ensure that organised civil society is involved and plays a major role.

Organised civil society is a key player in our democracies in Europe. We need to involve it in the current recovery and reconstruction process to make sure that no one is left behind on our way towards a sustainable Europe in 2030 and beyond.

Statement by EESC President Christa Schweng
I welcome today's signature of the joint declaration between the European Commission, European Parliament and the Council that sets out the Conference on the Future of Europe. The European Economic and Social Committee is looking forward to actively contributing to the debate, being invited as an observer.

Read the full statement here

EESC president Christa Schweng welcomes the result of the vote by the European Parliament's Budgetary Control Committee (CONT), adopting a draft report to grant our institution budgetary discharge for 2019. The Committee takes all the recommendations very seriously and will continue to cooperate with the European Parliament to address remaining doubts.

We are deeply concerned at the humanitarian crisis that thousands of Afghan, Iranian and Pakistani migrants are currently facing in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Regrettably, migrants are also experiencing the same inhumane treatment at other external borders of the EU and in countries such as Libya and Turkey, where they have been stranded on their way to the EU.

Statement from Christa Schweng and Jack O'Connor – Congratulations to the European Union and United Kingdom negotiators for successfully concluding a most complex and difficult negotiation to deliver a Trade Agreement which is vitally important to the people of both the UK and all of Europe.

In spite of the enormous challenges posed by the pandemic, European employers, workers and civil society organisations jointly urge all 27 Member States to deliver the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and the EU's Resilience and Recovery fund.

Long-term EU budget clinch, fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and the conference on the future of Europe – these were the main topics of the discussion between the presidents of the European Council and the European Economic and Social Committee. Christa Schweng and Charles Michel met via video conference on Friday, 27 November.

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) releases the full programme of its new president, Christa Schweng, for her 2020-2023 term of office

In an annual conference held entirely online on 3-4 November, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) voiced its determination to help make the Circular Economy Platform a real hub of the collective effort to build a circular economy in Europe.

Unidos por el futuro de Europa: la nueva presidenta está decidida a reconstruir la unidad y el prestigio del CESE y a demostrar el valor añadido que supone su influencia en la elaboración de las políticas de la UE

Sitting in front of a screen is not exactly how we had pictured this inaugural session. You may be asking yourselves why, as the new president, I am also participating remotely. Believe me, it was not easy for me to decide not to travel to Brussels. The reason for my decision is simple: we can only ask our people, our members and staff to limit their social interactions and change their everyday behaviour to fight the COVID-19 pandemic if we ourselves set an example.