Comité Económico y Social Europeo
EESC conference warns against fragmentation of the Single Market and calls for upskilling Europe's work force
An EESC conference on the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies discussed the most pertinent issues that will shape the medium to long-term future of Europe. It particularly looked at the future of manufacturing and service industries and the necessary changes in our society. Moreover, it reflected on strategic options for Europe moving forward.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) suggests that the EU should develop a certification for trustworthy AI applications, to be delivered by an independent body after testing the products for key requirements such as resilience, safety, and absence of prejudice, discrimination or bias. The proposal has been put forward in two recent EESC opinions assessing the European Commission's ethical guidelines on AI.
EESC calls for strong EU budget commitment matched by Member State and private investment
The EESC wants to see the roll-out of the European Railway Traffic Management System (ERTMS) speeded up and proposes a Commission-led initiative to raise the EUR 100 billion investment needed. It is calling on social partners and governments to ensure a smooth and socially just transition by anticipating the impact of automation and digitalisation, including on educational needs. Safety considerations must play a part in all planning and implementation.
Según el CESE, el sector manufacturero europeo solo podrá realizar una transición eficaz y competitiva hacia una economía digital de vanguardia y respetuosa con el medio ambiente cuando esté preparado para llevar a cabo considerables inversiones en innovación. Como principales creadoras y proveedoras de empleo, las pequeñas y medianas empresas precisan de un apoyo particular. Así pues, las medidas previstas por la Comisión Europea para facilitar un mejor desarrollo del sector manufacturero deberían basarse de modo sistemático en una verdadera concienciación acerca de las necesidades que presentan las empresas y, en especial, las pymes.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) calls on the Commission to reflect in more depth on policy options that help both to reduce greenhouse gases and thus fight climate change and to maintain competitiveness. The goal must be to better protect and promote the EU's resource and energy-intensive industries (REII), otherwise Europe runs the risk of losing jobs to less clean economies and missing its goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) calls on the Commission to reflect in more depth on policy options that help both to reduce greenhouse gases and thus fight climate change and to maintain competitiveness. The goal must be to better protect and promote the EU's resource and energy-intensive industries (REII), otherwise Europe runs the risk of losing jobs to less clean economies and missing its goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
EESC calls for better protection of workers in the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD)
The creation of healthy and energy efficient homes and work places, as foreseen in the revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), should be achieved by creating synergies with the removal of harmful substances during energy renovation, says the EESC in its opinion on Working with Asbestos in Energy Renovation, which it adopted at its May plenary.
El Comité Económico y Social Europeo considera que envejecer dignamente debe convertirse en un derecho fundamental. Los europeos viven más tiempo, lo que es una buena noticia. Pero el envejecimiento conlleva nuevos retos sociales, económicos y sanitarios que afectan a las personas mayores y a sus familias y sociedades. En opinión del CESE, durante demasiado tiempo se ha descuidado este tema y no se han anticipado las crecientes necesidades de las personas mayores.En su Dictamen, el Comité destaca el enorme potencial que representan las personas mayores para la creación de nuevos empleos y el progreso tecnológico.
CCMI hearing discussed "Economic, technological and social changes in advanced health services for elderly people"
In the event of a deal, the UK should stay aligned with EU laws; for chemicals, the REACH regulation is key. As for the aeronautics industry, agreements on reciprocity in the most important areas should be put in place. The planned transition period is too short, however, and should be extended to at least five years.
