Iomaíochas

On 23 January, Italy's National Council for Economic Labour (CNEL) held a meeting, under the auspices of the European Economic and Social Committee, entitled "EFSI: a tool for growth". The conference had two aims: to promote the use of EFSI and to examine how this financial instrument could be useful in the period 2021-2027 in relation to the European Commission's priorities: research, Erasmus, cohesion policy, agriculture, Ten-T, defence and immigration.

The success of the new Industrial Strategy will depend on the way it is implemented. Business organisations are calling for a broad, horizontal approach to industrial policy – these are some of the conclusions of the seminar on Industrial Policy that took place on 18 December in Brussels. The participants of the discussion presented their views on a recent proposal by the European Commission on industrial policy.

The EU is ready for a digital revolution and for reaping its benefits – this was one of the conclusions of the conference on the Advantages of a Digital Society, which took place on 25 October 2017 in Tallinn, Estonia. The participants discussed various aspects of e-society and the Digital Single Market. Cyber security, societal trust, the free flow of data, the further development of infrastructure and getting rid of barriers hindering the Digital Single Market were just a few of the issues raised.

The proposal for a European Pillar of Social Rights published by the European Commission elicited a critical first reaction from the secretaries general of UEAPME, EUROCHAMBRES and CEEP. Véronique Willems, Arnaldo Abruzzini and Valeria Ronzitti participated in the Employers' Group meeting to discuss their organisations' current priorities.