The opinion looks into the opportunities and risks from new technologies for public services, which are taken to mean the activities or services that public authorities of the Member States at national, regional or local level classify as being of general interest.
The EESC considers that AI can make public services more efficient and more accessible, in particular to the most vulnerable people in society. It can also reduce workload for public services' workers and it should be borne in mind that these services are provided by human beings, at their own pace, in their own time and with their own requirements.
Download — ETSK:n lausunto: Fostering opportunities and managing risks from new technologies for public services, the organisation of work and more equal and inclusive societies
In its opinion on 'Additional considerations on the euro area economic policy 2024', the EESC urges closer coordination of national budgetary policies and considers instruments like NextGenerationEU essential for future stability.
The EESC recommends including similar tools in the EU’s future financial frameworks to ensure resilience and fiscal sustainability.
The Committee calls for the completion of the Capital Markets Union to prevent investors from migrating to global markets, prioritising financial market stability and consumer protection, and highlights the need to fully implement the Banking Union by addressing regulatory disparities across Member States, creating a common deposit insurance scheme, and mobilising financial resources for European infrastructure projects.
Ensuring adequate social protection is key to decent work. To secure a sustainable future for the EU with a strong economy and social dimension, in this opinion the EESC advocates improving social protection for all workers, including those in atypical or new forms of work, including under comparable conditions, for the self-employed, to provide sufficient benefits for all. This would help reduce inequalities, as well as the gender gap in social protection. While this is primarily a national responsibility, the EESC urges the EU to support Member States in addressing protection gaps for atypical work, without undermining the flexibility it offers to workers and employers. Finally, the EESC encourages Member States to share best practices and calls on the Commission to promote mutual learning with social partner organisations.
In this opinion, the EESC calls for a general European strategy for geothermal energy development in order to harness the potential of geothermal energy. Geothermal energy production has extremely low greenhouse gas emissions, thus reducing the continent’s dependence on fossil fuels and facilitating its decarbonisation, thereby making a significant contribution to achieving the EU’s 2050 climate neutrality goals.
Member States should facilitate inclusive engagement, openness and transparency with civil society in all areas of RWM. Available funding should be used to increase the capacity of civil society groups, particularly local communities close to nuclear installations, to participate independently in projects and studies to assess participation and transparency practices in RWM. Member States shall assume all their responsibilities so as not to leave future generations with the burden of processing nuclear waste, whatever its nature, lifespan and hazard level. The development of shared solutions, including but not limited to multinational radioactive waste repositories, could be of interest to some EU Member States, particularly countries with small or medium-sized inventories.
The EESC stresses the urgent need to adapt strategies for work-life balance taking into consideration the shifting demographics, new forms of work, flexible working arrangements and rising care demands, also in view of the 2027 revision of the Directive (EU) 2019/1158 on work-life balance for parents and carers. While looking at the increased demand for care services, it recommends the Council asks the Commission to develop a Care Toolbox with indicators for long-term care. Highlights that despite some progress, women still bear most unpaid care work, contributing to the “feminisation of poverty” as women leave their jobs or reduce their working hours to care for relatives or children. Stresses that care work and financial security of families and workers should be seen as an investment benefiting society and the economy and not as an expense.
Download — ETSK:n lausunto: Ensuring a needs-based work-life balance for all: How adequate flexible working conditions can support intergenerational solidarity and the empowerment of women
In this opinion, the EESC is calling on the Commission to launch a comprehensive European Action Plan on Rare Diseases (APRD) with SMART targets that can be achieved by 2030 to enable the diagnosis of rare disease patients within one year. Such plan should be accompanied by the allocation of appropriate budgetary resources and identify common and measurable goals to help define and implement national plans and strategies for RD, encourage Member States and continue cooperation at EU level.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) was asked by the upcoming Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the EU to produce an exploratory opinion on paving the way to EU accession for the Western Balkans, underlining the benefits of the future enlargement to the region from a holistic point of view.
Climate change is a matter of urgency and demands a green shift in our economies. To achieve the EU's climate targets, a profound modernisation of the capital stock is needed. This entails a massive expansion of public investments. The need for an EU-level investment fund to finance the green transition is also a matter of economic strength and sustainable competitiveness. One central element of closing the financing gap is an investment friendly reform of the EU fiscal rules. While the reform process is still ongoing and is supposed to be finished by the end of this legislature, it is already clear that the fiscal space for public investments at national level will not significantly increase with the reform.
