The 14th meeting of the EU Advisory Group for the EU-Central America Association Agreement took place on 14 January 2019 in Brussels. Please click on the programme tab to consult the topics on the agenda.
For the 12th time, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and Montenegro held the Civil Society Joint Consultative Committee (JCC). The JCC is a civil society platform established between the EESC and Montenegrin civil society. It complements with a civil society point of view the EU institutional framework related to the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the EU and Montenegro. This joint institution allows civil society organisations on both sides to monitor the country's accession negotiations. It is also a platform to discuss issues of common interest and to inform the public at large on the challenges ahead during the accession period.
This 12th JCC was held in Brussels and tackled the following issues:
The current state of play in EU-Montenegro relations and the accession process
Chapter 3: Right of establishment and freedom to provide services
Chapter 24 : Justice, freedom and security, with a special focus on migration
Overview of the civil society in Montenegro
A joint declaration was adopted at the meeting. The joint declaration is distributed to all relevant EU institutions, as well as to the Montenegrin authorities.
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The Euro-Mediterranean Summit of Economic and Social Councils and Similar Institutions aims at promoting greater understanding of the main issues affecting organised civil society in the Euromed region and at discussing the common challenges they face. The Summit brings together aound 120 participants from economic and social councils, or similar institutions, representatives of employers, trade unions, other economic and social interests groups and NGOs from countries which are members of the Union for the Mediterranean (UFM). This year, the exchange will focus on the following topics:
Education and Training in the Euro-Mediterranean region
Social Economy and entrepreneurship in the Euro Mediterranean region
The meeting will conclude with the adoption of recommendations that will be sent to the political authorities of the countries involved in the UFM Ministerial Summits and disseminated widely amongst civil society organisations in the region.
This year's event is co-organised by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the European Training Foundation (ETF). The event is co-financed by the European Commission.
As in previous years, the EESC was present at the yearly Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – COP24, which took place in Katowice, Poland, from 2-14 December 2018.
The EESC is pleased to announce the five winners of the 10th edition of the Civil Society Prize.
The first prize, of a value of 14.000 EUR, went to Tastes of Danube – Bread Connects (Germany).
2nd prize: SWANS initiative (Germany), 3rd prize: Eco-Museum by the social cooperative Aria Nuova (Italy), 4th prize: Safe Passage (UK), 5th prize: Balkans Beyond Borders short film festival (Greece).
539th Plenary Session - With Frans Timmermans, First Vice-President of the European Commission, 12 December at 2.30 p.m., for a presentation of the conclusions of the European Commission's high-level multi-stakeholder platform and debate on Towards a Sustainable Europe by 2030. Thursday 13 December, Award ceremony for the Civil Society Prize. (Web streaming of the session)
Durante la reunión, el Grupo Consultivo Interno de la UE (GCI de la UE) y los representantes de la sociedad civil de Colombia, Perú y Ecuador discutieron la implementación del Título de Comercio y Desarrollo Sostenible del Acuerdo de Libre Comercio con un enfoque particular en el respeto de las normas internacionales laborales y ambientales. Asimismo, discutieron los impactos económicos, sociales, ambientales y de derechos humanos que resultan de la implementación del Acuerdo. Los participantes reflexionaron además sobre cómo la sociedad civil de la UE, Colombia, Perú y Ecuador pueden cooperar para promover el desarrollo sostenible en el contexto de las relaciones comerciales y prepararse para la próxima reunión conjunta. Los participantes trabajaron en una declaración conjunta que resume los resultados de la discusión y que fue presentada a las Partes durante la Sesión Abierta con la sociedad civil el día 12 de diciembre.
The purpose of this event will be to propose ways to guarantee the appropriate funding needed to achieve the transition to a zero-carbon economy and a sustainable Europe by 2050.
This side event addresses two urgent questions. First, how do non-state and subnational climate actions perform? Second, how can such actions be strengthened in order to implement the Paris Agreement, and achieve higher ambition?
