Euroopa Majandus- ja Sotsiaalkomitee
The Commission's initiatives on a European child guarantee and an EU Strategy on the rights of the child call on European and national policy-makers to work toward the common good of all children growing up in the EU. Ambitious and bold in their approach to ensuring a life free from any discrimination for each and every child, both initiatives have won the EESC's approval.
According to the EESC, the Commission's Action Plan on the European Pillar of Social Rights is both timely and necessary to thwart the threat of inequalities deepening across Europe in the aftermath of the pandemic.
EESC plenary debate on 7 July 2021
On 30 June, the Diversity Europe Group held a webinar under the banner of the Conference on the Future of Europe on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the mental health and employability of young people.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) welcomes the Commission's initiative on binding pay transparency, but considers that the proposed Directive should be strengthened in various areas and that further measures need to be taken to address the root causes of the gender pay gap.
With cancer set to become the leading cause of death in the EU, Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan is certainly timely. The EESC welcomes this plan which is a milestone in the fight against cancer and its social, financial and psychological impact on EU citizens. However, unresolved forms of regional and social inequality mean that there is still room for improvement.
Thanks to their bold ambition to ensure a life free of any discrimination and intimidation for each and every child and to break down the cycle of disadvantage across generations, the EU's two new comprehensive initiatives on children's rights have been receiving positive reactions. However, there are concerns as to whether their implementation in the Member States will go as smoothly as hoped, an EESC hearing has found
Rooted in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), which was the first international treaty to take a human rights approach to disability, the EU Disability Strategy for the next decade is a promising document with many commendable proposals and only a few flaws. But for the strategy to be able to live up to its promise of ending discrimination against 87 million European with disabilities, its implementation will require a strong political will and resources.
Equal pay for men and women or for work of equal value is one of the fundamental rights and principles of the EU, but on average women are still paid 14% less per hour than men, with pay differences present in all sectors and widening with age. Although welcomed as a much-needed step to close the gender pay gap, the Commission's proposal on pay transparency is receiving a mixed response, an EESC hearing found.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) intends to play an active part in joint European efforts to translate the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) into action and to build a fairer and more prosperous Europe for everyone.
