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  • The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and Serbia held the 6th meeting of their Civil Society Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) at the EESC in Brussels. This civil society platform between the EESC and civil society in Serbia was established within the institutional framework of the EU-Serbia Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) in order to allow civil society organisations on both sides to monitor the country's accession negotiations. It is also a platform to discuss issues of common interest and to inform the public at large of the challenges ahead during the accession period. Besides the current state of play in EU-Serbia relations and the accession process, main topic of the 6th JCC meeting was: Social economy and Involvement of social partners and other civil society organisations in the elaboration of Economic Reform Programmes. A common declaration of the JCC was issued after the meeting.

  • The Western Balkans Conference was planned as a civil society contribution to the EU-Western Balkans Heads of State Summit, scheduled by the Bulgarian Presidency that took place on 17 May 2018 in Sofia. The Conference gathered EESC members, civil society representatives of the countries of the Western Balkans, as well as Bulgarian officials and members of the organized civil society (including social partners from the Economic and Social Council of Bulgaria). The outcome of the Conference was shared with the participants of the EU-Western Balkans Summit.

  • Hearing in the framework of the EESC opinion (REX/497)

    At the request of the current Bulgarian presidency of the Council of the EU, the EESC was asked to prepare an exploratory opinion on the challenges and priorities that 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. Following the recent economic crises in Europe, the forecasts for economic growth in the Western Balkans are now good, although progress on reform has been slow, the rule of law has been weak, and corruption is persistent. With a view to gather expert input during the preparatory process for this opinion from a wide range of stakeholders - civil society organisations, think tanks, and EU institutions included - a hearing is organised at the EESC premises on the challenges and priorities for the economic and social cohesion of the Western Balkans.

  • This 10th JCC was held in Brussels and it tackled the following issues:

    • The current state of play in EU-Montenegro relations and the accession process
    • The digitalization as a tool for social and economic development
    • Public administration reform
    • Overview of the civil society in Montenegro
    • State of the media sector in Montenegro
    • The Joint Declaration from the meeting was adopted
  • This years' meeting outside of Brussels was held on 2 June 2016 in the Delegation of the European Union in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and included a hearing with the civil society organisations (CSOs).

    The goal of this hearing was for our Western Balkans Follow-up Committee to listen to the views on the role of civil society in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and to convey these messages to the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina and to the political authorities of the EU. The following topics were discussed at the hearing: social dialogue and civil dialogue, the state of the economy and the labour market, the participation of civil society organisations in the EU's enlargement process and in the implementation of the Reform Agenda 2015 – 2018, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This hearing is a step towards the 6th Western Balkans Civil Society Forum to be held in 2017.

     

     

  • 9th meeting of the EU-Montenegro Civil Society Joint Consultative Committee.

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    The EESC organised its Sixth Western Balkans Civil Society Forum in Sarajevo on 10-11 July 2017.

    The main topics on the agenda were the role of civil society organisations in promoting sustainable growth and employment, migration in the Western Balkans, freedom of expression and media, as well as rights and empowerment of women.

    It brought together a broad range of civil society representatives from the EU and the Western Balkans, as well as representatives of EU institutions, international organisations and governments of the region.

  • Published in
    8 pages

    The External Relations Section (REX) of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is responsible for dialogue between European civil society organisations and their homologues from the countries with which the European Union has formal relations (e.g. under the form of a Free Trade Agreement). Through this dialogue, made possible by a series of bilateral bodies, and through specialized opinions and information reports, the Committee is able to concretely contribute to EU foreign policy.

  • Published in
    Thematic paper
    2 pages

    Judging by recent events, migration can be unpredictable and unprecedented, with EU policy being anticipatory and yet reactive. This paper highlights recent EU policy and developments, and the EESC's position in response to them.

  • Statement by
    Christa Schweng and Dimitris Dimitriadis
    Organisation
    Statement by Christa Schweng, president of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), and Dimitris Dimitriadis, president of the Section for External Relations (REX)

    Statement by Christa Schweng, president of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), and Dimitris Dimitriadis, president of the Section for External Relations (REX)