The Leipzig charter as a strategic part of Urban policy in Europe has recently been modified by the Ljubljana agreement that the Commission adopted on 26 November 2021. It signals the start of a new phase of the Urban Agenda for the EU. In this context, the forthcoming Czech EU Presidency, asks the contribution of the EESC to explore how these changes could impact on the creation of new Thematic Partnerships. Amongst others the Czech presidency is putting forward the following questions:
What should be put into consideration while implementing the new theme of urban communities and the involvement of citizens?
What should be the thresholds to create a functioning mechanism for strengthening the position of citizens and groups of citizens to achieve the targeted cooperative partnerships.
Download — Tuairim ó CESE: Thematic partnerships under the Ljubljana agreement
The adoption of the European Union Climate law has set an ambitious emission reduction target for 2030 while confirming the climate neutrality objective for 2050. According to the IPCC scenarios, keeping global warming below 1.5°C requires that global anthropogenic net emissions should be zero by around 2050. Secondly, meeting this goal requires the deployment of CDR, which can happen by means of bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and removals in the agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU) sector. The IPCC defines CDR as "anthropogenic activities removing CO2 from the atmosphere and durably storing it in geological, terrestrial, or ocean reservoirs, or in products".
Download — Tuairim ó CESE: Role of carbon removal technologies in decarbonising the European industry
This opinion presents the EESC's contribution to the European Commission's strategy to promote decent work not only within the EU but throughout the world. Decent work is unfortunately beyond reach for millions of workers across the globe. The Committee welcomes the Commission's initiative to promote decent work in all sectors and fields on the local and national level, within the EU and beyond. The EESC underlines that the EU must use all its policies, both internal and external, to promote and ensure decent work worldwide.
The Commission is proposing new EU legislation to prevent and combat child sexual abuse online. The proposed rules will oblige providers to detect, report and remove child sexual abuse material on their services. These rules will include risk mitigation measures; targeted detection obligations; effective removal; a solid oversight mechanisms and judicial redress. Together with this proposal, the Commission is also putting forward a new European strategy for a Better Internet for Kids to improve age-appropriate digital services and to ensure that every child is protected, empowered and respected online.
Download — Tuairim ó CESE: Combating child sexual abuse online package
EESC believes that there is a need to have a clear and structured view of which funds are targeted to tackle climate change and how they are managed. With an approved budget of over EUR 330 billion in the current programming period, cohesion policy is the largest and most important investment tool in Europe. As 30% of both the Cohesion Fund and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) will need to be spent on projects for decarbonising our economy, cohesion policy has a crucial role in tackling climate change. Moreover, funds will also be made available under NGEU, as the green transition is one of the main targets of recovery and resilience after COVID-19.
Download — Tuairim ó CESE: Climate Adjustment Fund financed by Cohesion and NGEU
Crypto-assets are a digital representation of value or rights which may be transferred and stored electronically, using distributed ledger technology or similar technology (e.g. blockhain). They are neither issued nor guaranteed by a central bank or public authority, and can be used as a means of exchange and/or for investment purposes and/or to access a good or service. A wide range of crypto-assets exist, encompassing different features and functions, hence presenting different challenges and risks.
Download — Tuairim ó CESE: Crypto Assets – Challenges and opportunities
