At the request of the future Bulgarian presidency of the Council of the EU (January-June 2018), the EESC was asked to prepare an exploratory opinion on the challenges and priorities countries of the Western Balkans are facing in the European integration process, as well as in the area of economic and social cohesion. Western Balkans will be one of the policy priorities of the Bulgarian presidency and a Western Balkans Summit is scheduled to take place in May 2018 in Sofia.
Download — Dictamen del CESE: Economic and social cohesion and European integration of the Western Balkans – challenges and priorities (exploratory opinion at the request of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council)
The European maritime technology industry is an important sector in terms of employment, directly providing more than 500 000 jobs. Shipyards and firms manufacturing marine equipment make a significant contribution to the economic development of the regions where they are located, and across the entire supply chain, which is particularly important to SMEs. Each direct job in a European shipyard means, on average, seven jobs created in the region.
Download — Dictamen del CESE: The LeaderSHIP 2020 strategy as a vision for the maritime technology industry: towards an innovative, sustainable and competitive maritime industry in 2020 (own-initiative opinion)
The EESC supports the proposal to increase the Structural Reform Support Programme (SRSP) budget and to include a dedicated reform delivery tool for the "reform commitments". Priority should go to the reforms that have direct spill-over effects on the other Member States. While the increase in the SRPS budget is welcomed, its scale is insufficient considering the growing number of requests from the Member States. Special attention should be given to non-eurozone Member States that are on track to join the euro area.
Download — Dictamen del CESE: Support to structural reforms in the Member States
In order to continue the funding of nuclear research and training it is necessary to adopt a new regulation to prolong all research activities carried out under Council Regulation (Euratom) No 1314/2013. The Euratom programme proposal for 2019-2020 continues to complement the Horizon 2020 programme.
In accordance with Article 7 of the Euratom Treaty, the current (2014-2018) Euratom programme is bound by a five-year timeframe. The present proposal intends to ensure the seamless continuation of the programme in 2019-2020. This approach will ensure greater coherence with the Horizon 2020 timeline. This is all the more important in view of the fact that the Euratom programmes and Horizon 2020 pursue mutually reinforcing objectives.
Download — Dictamen del CESE: Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2019-2020) complementing the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation
The Commission's report highlights the key findings of the mid-term evaluation of the European Earth monitoring programme, Copernicus, three years into its implementation. The EESC welcomes the results achieved so far by the Copernicus programme and emphasises that when assessing the achievements of the programme, social and environmental aspects should be considered, in addition to the economic aspect.
Download — Dictamen del CESE: Mid-term review of the Copernicus programme (2014-2020) (report)
The EESC agrees with the Commission's objectives regarding the harmonisation of legal systems and the interpretation of the 2004 intellectual property rights enforcement directive (IPRED).
Download — Dictamen del CESE: Property rights package (Communication)
The EESC welcomes the new set of measures proposed by the European Commission to complete the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and move towards an optimal monetary zone. The EESC supports the various proposed goals for reinforcing the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) and the Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM). The EESC welcomes that the present communication provides scope for a broader discussion and for a phased approach to implementing the European Deposit Insurance Scheme (EDIS) and underlines the importance not to lose momentum in implementing the Banking Union. Finally, the EESC reiterates its commitment to a diverse financial ecosystem in which the large pan-European players coexist with small and medium-sized banks and other non-banking entities that focus reliably on the financing of the real economy on an equal footing, in an environment of much reduced systemic risk.
Download — Dictamen del CESE: Completing the Banking Union (communication)
Illegal online content is a complex and cross-cutting issue that needs to be tackled from a range of perspectives, both in terms of assessing its impact and harmonising the way it is dealt with in the legal framework of the Member States.
Download — Dictamen del CESE: Tackling Illegal Content Online – Towards an enhanced responsibility of online platforms (Communication)
The EESC welcomes the Commission's proposal for a definitive VAT system and calls upon the Member States to cooperate closely for reaching the agreement regarding the new system. The Committee stresses that the quick fixes proposed by the Commission are important as intermediary steps for the functioning of the VAT system and encourages the Member States to adopt the quick fixes for all businesses.
The introduction of digitalisation in business is having a momentous impact on the production systems, labour conditions and organisational models of the labour market and the society in general. Quality basic education, high-standard and effective training, lifelong learning, up- and re-skilling for all will be the necessary tools for grasping the job opportunities of the future and fostering enterprise competitiveness. In this context, it is important to keep a human-centred approach and to find ways to accompany vulnerable people who will not be able to respond to the growing demands of the new technological era.
Download — Dictamen del CESE: Future of work – acquiring of appropriate knowledge and skills to meet the needs of the future jobs (exploratory opinion at the request of the Bulgarian Presidency)
Social sustainability is achieved through the reaffirmation of the role and value of the European social model, which represents the identity and specificity of our continent and which guarantees high social protection and citizenship rights for all. There is a clear connection between competitiveness, productivity and social sustainability: all stakeholders must commit themselves to promoting inclusive growth and at the same time foster conditions that are favourable for the world of enterprise, with the aim of creating more and better jobs.
Download — Dictamen del CESE: A socially sustainable concept for raising living standards, boosting growth and employment, as citizens' security in the digital era (Exploratory opinion requested by the Bulgarian Presidency)
This opinion is on the revision of the Guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States, which provide common priorities and targets for employment policies of the Member States.
The European Commission has proposed to amend the 2015 Guidelines, to align the text with the principles of the European pillar of social rights.
They are adopted in the context of the European Employment Strategy, and form, together with the Guidelines for the Economic Policies of the Member States and of the EU, the Integrated Guidelines.
Download — Dictamen del CESE: Employment guidelines
With this amended proposal, the Commission proposes to extend the scope of the proposal for a Directive on certain aspects concerning contracts for the online and other distance sales of goods to cover also face-to-face sales.
Download — Dictamen del CESE: Contracts for the sale of goods (amendment)
The EESC welcomes the Commission's proposals that are a new, important step in the efforts to achieve greater integration and convergence by increasing integrated supervision and provide new building blocks for the realisation of the Capital Markets Union (CMU) in the EU. A smoothly operating CMU can make an important contribution to private, cross-border risk-sharing. The challenge is to find the right balance between the competences of national and European supervisors and, where possible, to apply the subsidiarity and proportionality principles. Keeping the future in mind, new developments and modern technologies, such as FinTech, as well as more sustainable financing, in line with international activities and agreements should be reflected in the system of supervision. Close attention should be paid to costs for the supervision. Where part of the costs is directly borne by the private sector, care should be taken to exercise budgetary discipline and avoid duplication.
Download — Dictamen del CESE: European System of Financial Supervision (ESFS) – review
The Commission's proposal on the free flow of non-personal data in the European Union represents one of the most important legal aspects of the future European policy for developing the data economy and its repercussions on economic growth, scientific research, industry and services in general and public services in particular.
Download — Dictamen del CESE: Free flow of non-personal data in the European Union
The recommendations of this opinion would be principally addressed to the political decision-makers at different levels in order to practically align the policies to the needs of non-state climate actors.
Download — Dictamen del CESE: Boosting climate actions by non-state actors: An EU framework for encouraging more and better actions (exploratory opinion requested by the Commission)
The medical technological industry – focus of the opinion – plays a major role in the current transformation of the health sector to the benefit of patients and a value-based health care in Europe.
A major issue is highly personalised health care that ensures equal and better access and quality. Technology and large sources of anonymous data will greatly facilitate new treatments and operations as well benefit all phases of prevention and recovery. Recovery increasingly takes place outside hospitals, using eHealth technology.
Download — Dictamen del CESE: Industrial changes in the health sector (own-initiative opinion)
As a key driver of productivity and innovation, industry has always been a cornerstone of economic prosperity in Europe. We can rely on a strong industrial base, but important efforts are needed by Member States, EU institutions and most importantly industry itself to maintain and reinforce Europe's industrial leadership in the age of globalisation, sustainability challenges and rapid technological change.
Download — Dictamen del CESE: Investing in a smart, innovative and sustainable industry – A renewed EU industrial policy strategy (Communication)
This opinion is on the Annual Growth Survey 2018 (AGS), which establishes the main economic priorities and provides policy guidance for the following year. The European Commission published the 2018 AGS on 22 November 2017 as part of the European Semester Autumn Package. The 2018 AGS is focused on fostering job creation and growth and establishes three main priorities: boosting investment to support the recovery and to increase long-term growth; structural reforms for inclusive growth, upward convergence and competitiveness; responsible fiscal policies to support sustainability and convergence.
Download — Dictamen del CESE: Annual Growth Survey 2018 (communication)
