Events

  • The 10th meeting of the EU-Ukraine Civil Society Platform took place on 27 September 2021 remotely by videoconference. During the meeting, a debate was held to assess the state of play of the implementation of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement with special focus on rural youth, and on digital and green skills. 

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    563rd plenary session, with the following guests and debates: "Securing Media Freedom and Diversity in Europe" with Ricardo Gutiérrez and Julie Majerczak on Wednesday 22 September at 3 p.m. and "Cohesion policy" with Elisa Ferreira, Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, on Thursday 23 September at 10 a.m.

  • This meeting is opportunity to take stock of the EU-Africa comprehensive agenda and strategy, the role of the organised civil society and social partners and the cooperation on development in the new negotiated partnership agreement between the EU and the organisation of ACP states as well as to prepare the 29th meeting of the ACP-EU economic and social interest groups. 

  • In the context of the own-initiative opinion on Volunteers – Citizens building the future of Europe, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is organising a remote public hearing on Monday 20 September 2021. The aim of the hearing is to gather the points of view of social partners and other civil society organisations, experts and coordinators of projects related to volunteering, on the topic, and to hold a discussion on the impact of civil society trends for volunteering and the current state of play of volunteering at European level.

  • Environmental protection as a prerequisite for respect for fundamental rights

    The EESC is organising this online public hearing to discuss the impacts of the environmental degradation on the fulfilment of the fundamental human rights. It will explore how recent shifts in the legal systems, the regulatory frameworks as well as the recent developments in climate litigation can leverage an achievement of environmental protection for citizens.

  • Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism
    Public hearing

    With the European Green Deal and the objective to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, the EU and its Member States have assumed a leading role in global climate action. The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is one step in the process. As part of the "Fit for 55" legislative package, it sets a carbon price on certain goods that are imported from non-EU countries.

    To feed into the EESC opinion, this remote public hearing will bring together speakers and participants from organised civil society, business associations, think tanks, as well as EU institutions to discuss the future design and implementation of CBAM.

  • De-institutionalisation and the role of families as carers of persons with disabilities

    The aim of the hearing is to discuss the challenges of the transition from institutional to community-based support for persons with disabilities (de-institutionalisation) as well as the role played by families as their carers.

  • Between June 2021 and March 2022 we organised a series of events on the updated new industrial strategy, announced by the European Commission on 5 May 2021. The main objective of these events was to hear the view of civil society organisations on the future of European industry. Each event focused on a specific aspect of the strategy, from the role of critical raw materials to industry's role to achieve the Green Deal, from Europe's competitiveness on the global stage to a truly Just Transition and public & private investments.

    On 15 September 2021 we organised a webinar on The EU's industrial strategy – which indicators to track its progress?

    The outcome of this debate contributed to the our opinion on Updating the new industrial strategy and to the debate on the objectives of the EU's industrial policy. According to the Council conclusions of 16 November 2021, these objectives need to be reflected in sound indicators, in particular concerning industrial competitiveness, industry's contribution to the green and digital transition, and the Union's resilience and strategic autonomy while preserving an open economy.

     

  • The EESC is organising an online public hearing to gather stakeholders' and civil society's views on the new EU Forest Strategy for 2030, which will feed into the preparation of the EESC opinion on this topic.

  • Both a sustainable economic and social recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and the need to address effectively the climate change will require a massive expansion of investments. To achieve this, reshaping the EU fiscal rules is indispensable. Against this background, the Section for Economic and Monetary Union and Economic and Social Cohesion (ECO) of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is currently working on an own-initiative opinion on Reshaping the EU Fiscal Framework for a Sustainable Recovery and a Just Transition.