News

  • EESC member Daniel Mareels, rapporteur on banking and capital market issues, participated in a debate on "EU Banking Policy and Proportionality" in relation to the 2016 banking reform package. The organisers were pleading in favour of more proportionality in the banking regulation, to bring small and non complex banks on an equal footing. The debate also showed that it is a very difficult and complex issue. Furthermore, the situation in Europe is not homogenious, which makes it probably even more difficult to obtain concrete results.

  • The European Commission should carry out an impact assessment of a possible inclusion of substances which are toxic for reproduction in the scope of its Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive (CMD), the EESC said at its May plenary session. While welcoming the opening of a three-fold process to revise the CMD for the first time in more than 10 years, the EESC recommended that the last batch of the revision, planned for 2018, should pay greater attention to...

  • The president of the European Parliament (EP) Antonio Tajani joined the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) plenary session on Thursday 1 June to discuss the EP's priorities and the strengthening of cooperation between the two institutions.

    The EP's six priorities for this year are very much in line with the concerns of Europe's civil society, according to the EESC. They include: giving a new boost to jobs, growth and investment; addressing the social dimension of the European Union; better protecting the security of EU citizens; reforming and developing migration policy in a spirit of responsibility and solidarity; delivering on the commitment to implement a connected Digital Single Market; delivering on the objective of an ambitious Energy Union and a forward-looking climate-change policy.

  • EESC supports Common Internal Market of Defence Industry

    It is essential for the EU to continue pursuing preventive and multilateral diplomacy, but at the same time Europe needs to strengthen its military defence capabilities in order to guarantee freedom and peace in Europe, says the EESC.

  • The EU needs a concrete plan to champion culture as a vital element in open, tolerant societies, according to Europe’s leading organised civil society body.

    The 350-member European Economic and Social Committee held a debate with Culture Commissioner Tibor Navracsics and voted through its opinion on the EU’s recent strategy for international cultural relations on Wednesday at its May plenary in Brussels.

  • On 31st May, EESC Vice President Gonçalo Lobo Xavier and European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström accompanied the EU Green Bikers by cycling with them during the first kilometer of their yearly journey by bike to Essen, Germany. Departing from the Berlaymont building, they escorted 8 cyclists until the Arch of the …

  • On 30 May 2017 in Prague an event on "Participatory Approaches and the EUSDR - Czech National Day of Participation" will be organised in which  the ECO Section is a partner to the Czech Ministry for Regional Development and the Priority Area 10 (Stepping Up Institutional Capacity and Cooperation) of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR).

  • On 23 May, Georges Dassis, President of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), participated in the conference on "Social Economy, an enterprise model for the future of Europe", that was held on the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía.

  • Since 1987, the Erasmus exchange programme has had a major impact on the lives of more than 9 million EU citizens by allowing them to take part in multicultural exchanges and develop new skills. At an event organized by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) on 18 May, Erasmus was recognized as a milestone in the creation of a European identity.  

     

     

  • Innovative solutions that improve people's lives, platforms that better communicate these solutions, and address ethical, social and environmental issues are the pillars of responsible research and innovation (RRI). Today RRI is one of the answers to meet the needs arising from society for safer, more ethically acceptable and better quality health solutions. A conference held at the EESC on 18-19 May explored how civil society is involved in this process and how to make its contribution more effective.