Euroopa Majandus- ja Sotsiaalkomitee
Drastically improving the energy efficiency of Europe's buildings, increasing the use of renewables and educating consumers on energy savings are among the main prerequisites for reducing the number of energy poor in the EU in the long term.
In a webinar organised by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), participants advocated that the New European Bauhaus must serve the European people and help build a more inclusive and sustainable EU future.
On 25 May, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) held a hearing on the subject of "Improving equality in the EU" in preparation for an EESC opinion. It discussed intersectionality, discrimination and hierarchy of grounds, while emphasizing the importance of easier access to justice.
At its May plenary session, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) adopted an opinion on a new urban mobility framework. The main takeaway was that in light of increasingly ambitious environmental, health and societal objectives, the EU should change approach: from ensuring seamless traffic flows to moving people and goods in a more sustainable and inclusive way.
Stronger measures in four specific areas would make it more effective according to the EESC, which is otherwise happy to see that many of its proposals have been taken on board.
The EU's Global Gateway initiative is the right step forward in improving connectivity with non-EU partners and like-minded developing countries. In its relevant opinion, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) underlines that civil society representatives must be included on the board that will be set up to coordinate Global Gateway investments. It also stresses that the eligibility of Global Gateway projects must be linked to the EU's values and principles.
Cohesion policy is key to overcoming the COVID-19 crisis, to achieving climate neutrality by 2050 and to reducing disparities in Europe. Its most serious challenge for the foreseeable future, however, is the war in Ukraine, the EESC cautions in a recent opinion. Rapid action is needed to help refugees and ensure the country's European integration.
In an opinion proposed by the Consultative Commission on Industrial Change (CCMI) and adopted at May's plenary session, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) recommends that the European Commission and national governments, in consultation with all stakeholders inside the packaging industry, take the necessary steps throughout each product's life cycle to increase the industry's sustainability.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has urged the EU institutions to adopt zero tolerance towards Member State attitudes and practices that hamper the work of civil society and shrink its space in Europe.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) supports the key messages of the European Commission's Communication on Sustainable Carbon Cycles in an opinion adopted at its May plenary, and believes that the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) must provide a strategic framework paving the way for a low-carbon transition in agriculture.
