Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are vital to the European economy but often encounter significant administrative and regulatory challenges that hinder their participation in EU programmes. By looking at the challenges encountered by SMEs, the EESC Opinion focuses on identifying the simplification changes needed to make real and tangible improvements for SMEs. This could include looking at how to increases their involvement in EU initiatives that offer access to finance, innovation opportunities, and essential networks, thereby fostering their growth, competitiveness, and long-term success.
Download — ETSK:n lausunto: SMEs & Simplification: How the simplification agenda can deliver for SMEs
The Single Digital Booking and Ticketing Regulation (SDBTR) aims to make rail travel more accessible by allowing passengers to book multi-operator journeys through a single digital platform. It focuses specifically on expanding digital access to rail tickets and fares and reduces ticketing fragmentation while ensuring passengers retain their rights throughout the entire journey.
Download — ETSK:n lausunto: Single Digital Booking and Ticketing Regulation (SDBTR)
The EESC is drafting an opinion on European Commission proposal for the Cloud and AI Development Act (CADA) which aims at strengthening the EU's cloud and AI ecosystem, investment and infrastructure.
Download — ETSK:n lausunto: Cloud and AI Development Act
In this opinion, the EESC stresses that intergenerational fairness must be made a cross-cutting principle applied to all EU policies and all age groups, with specific and ongoing attention paid to people in vulnerable situations. It recommends that the Commission ensure that the implementation of the strategy explicitly takes into account that its central objective is to reduce social, economic, gender, age and territorial inequalities between generations, and to strengthen solidarity and social cohesion across generations to achieve democratic, resilient, inclusive and sustainable societies. The strategy should set long-term objectives with specific and measurable targets and indicators, clear accountability mechanisms, and arrangements to make intergenerational fairness a formal part of all EU policies.
Download — ETSK:n lausunto: Strategy on Intergenerational Fairness
In this Opinion, the EESC stresses that the Anti-Racism Strategy 2026-2030 requires strong political commitment and calls for stronger action against racism, discrimination and xenophobia. It recommends binding mechanisms, reinforced monitoring, stricter enforcement with effective penalties, and national plans in all Member States. The EESC supports sustainable funding, including for civil society, and stronger action in housing, health, education, work and online hate.
In this opinion, the EESC welcomes the Commission communication on the Quality Jobs Roadmap and points out that the sustainable competitiveness of the European Union, productivity, innovation and social progress must be mutually reinforcing. Job quality is key for the resilience of the European economic and social model.
The EESC considers that any European initiative must be built around social dialogue and collective bargaining in order to adapt responses to circumstances on the ground, assist transformations, increase predictability and involve workers in changes.
The opinion deals with the 28th Regime legislative initiative whose purpose is to provide companies, especially innovative ones, with a single set of rules to invest more easily and operate in the Single Market.
Download — 28th regime – a single harmonised set of rules for innovative companies throughout the EU
