The EESC issues between 160 and 190 opinions and information reports a year.
It also organises several annual initiatives and events with a focus on civil society and citizens’ participation such as the Civil Society Prize, the Civil Society Days, the Your Europe, Your Say youth plenary and the ECI Day.
Here you can find news and information about the EESC'swork, including its social media accounts, the EESC Info newsletter, photo galleries and videos.
The EESC brings together representatives from all areas of organised civil society, who give their independent advice on EU policies and legislation. The EESC's326 Members are organised into three groups: Employers, Workers and Various Interests.
The EESC has six sections, specialising in concrete topics of relevance to the citizens of the European Union, ranging from social to economic affairs, energy, environment, external relations or the internal market.
In its evaluation of the implementation of EU directives on legal migration from the perspective of organised civil society in selected Member States, the EESC considers the impact of these directives to be generally positive, albeit partial and fragmented. It also notes the impact of irregular migration on the directives' applicability.
The EESC provides a series of recommendations, covering the design of wider legal channels for labour migration; the role of the social partners and other organisations in this field; a simplified implementation of the directives and the modification of some of them; fact-based discourse to better inform the general public, integration and the fight against discrimination.
Information report: State of implementation of legal migration legislation (Information report – impact assessment)
The EESC has been asked by the European Commission to contribute to the EC's mid-term evaluation of the Erasmus+ programme. In this context, two questionnaires were widely disseminated by the EESC in the member states and four fact-finding missions have been organised. The EESC also held an expert hearing to collect the views of specialised civil society organisations. An information report has been drafted containing the results of this exercise, accompanied by a detailed technical appendix containing important data on the awareness and perception of the programme. The aim of this evaluation was to provide information to the EC on the experience of civil society organisations with the enlarged and improved programme.
The Mid-term evaluation of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) is one of the evaluations on which the Commission is consulting the EESC.
The CEF was proposed as a financing programme for the completion of trans-European infrastructure networks in the fields of transport, energy and information and communications technology (ICT).
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) welcomes the opportunity to take part in the evaluation of the CEF programme. Transport, energy and ICT are also the core of the EESC Smart Islands Project. Therefore, the EESC's response is based on the above mentioned project, which analyses primary data collected through fact-finding missions taking place in the EU in the course of 2015 and 2016.
Information report: Mid-term evaluation of the Connecting Europe Facility (formerly Smart Islands)
The EESC welcomes the CEF's support for clean, low-carbon transport and sustainable energy structures, as well as the attention given to energy vulnerability. However, the Committee would like to see more financial resources allocated to the CEF.
It will be possible to meet the expectations of city "users" – inhabitants, businesses, visitors and administrators – thanks to digital service ecosystems overlaying high-quality material and immaterial enabling infrastructure. Establishing this infrastructure will also have a significant impact in terms of growth, employment and productivity.
Information report: Mid-term evaluation of the Connecting Europe Facility (formerly Smart Cities)
The survey initiated by the EESC on the automotive industry and its value chain was inspired by the GEAR 2030 initiative and the changes taking place in this sector. It is expected that the new challenges of electrification, digitisation, connectivity and mobility will define the structural transformation of traditional automobile manufacturing. During the next decade, innovation and transformation will take place much more quickly than they have done over the course of the last century.The survey initiated by the EESC on the automotive industry and its value chain was inspired by the GEAR 2030 initiative and the changes taking place in this sector. It is expected that the new challenges of electrification, digitisation, connectivity and mobility will define the structural transformation of traditional automobile manufacturing. During the next decade, innovation and transformation will take place much more quickly than they have done over the course of the last century.
The automotive industry on the brink of a new paradigm? (Information report)
The European car industry employs 2.5 million workers. Together they account for 8% of total value added in industry. Indirectly the sector provides employment for 12 million workers. European exports of cars are twice as big as imports, resulting in a large trade surplus. European assembly plants produce one out of three cars worldwide. The sector is highly innovative as it accounts for 20% of industrial research funding in Europe.
Information report: The automotive industry on the brink of a new paradigm? (Information report)
Following a request from the Commission, the information report seeks to provide input for the Commission's interim evaluation of Horizon 2020 and, in addition, of its Science with and for Society (SwafS) sub-programme.
The EESC's recommendations are based on the views of civil society organisations gathered by EESC Members through an online questionnaire and a number of fact-finding missions.
Information report: Interim evaluation of Horizon 2020
On the request of the Commission, this Information Report evaluates the perception and experience of EU civil society organisations (CSO) in the implementation of EU Consumer and Marketing Law. The information gathered and the interesting solutions proposed are the result of questionnaire responses, five fact-finding missions (Athens, Vilnius, Paris, Lisbon, Brussels) and an Expert Hearing.
On the request of the Commission, this Information Report evaluates the perception and experience of EU civil society organisations (CSO) in the implementation of the Consumer Rights Directive (2011/83/EU). The information gathered and the interesting solutions proposed are the result of questionnaire responses, five fact-finding missions (Riga, Rome, Warsaw, Madrid, Brussels) and an Expert Hearing.
This report follows the conclusion of the 2015 Euro-Mediterranean Summit of Economic and Social Councils and Similar Institutions on cooperation with third countries in promoting regular migration to the EU and will be presented at the 2016 Euromed Summit. Cooperation with countries of origin and international bodies to increase transit possibilities for regular migrants to the EU is the most effective way of combating the illicit trafficking of people and meeting the need for workers in EU countries. The aim of the information report is to define the pillars that can facilitate cooperation on regular migration and ascertain what experience has been gained from labour migration agreements with countries of origin and from the ways in which the Member States manage recruitment abroad.
Information report: Cooperation with third countries in promoting regular migration into the EU (Information report)