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.
CANCELLED / The 6th meeting of the EU-Georgia Domestic Advisory Group will take place on 30 March 2020 in Brussels. Please click on the programme tab to consult the topics on the agenda.
On 25 March 2020, the EESC and Arizmendiarrieta Foundation are hosting a half-day conference "Towards a new European company model for the 21st century" in Brussels (EESC premises, room VMA3) with a debate focusing on the role of businesses in today's society.
At a time when markets are not working as well as they should, inequalities are rising and the environment is suffering, companies can play a crucial role and change the rules of the game. They can do so by putting people and the planet at the core of their model – that is by going back to the humanistic roots of Europe's culture.
As job creators and providers of goods and services, businesses represent the ideal driver for new economic models that meet social and environmental criteria, by promoting transformative initiatives in the area of self-regulation and co-responsibility. They can thus be key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015.
This conference will take a broader look at the role of businesses in society, focusing on new company models based on an inclusive and participatory approach.
University of Rijeka, Filozofski fakultet u Rijeci, Sveučilišna avenija 4, 51000 Rijeka
Rijeka
Croatia
The Diversity Europe Group is organising an extraordinary meeting in Rijeka (Croatia) to discuss and invigorate the civil society debate on the current and future role of European citizens in the protection and promotion of fundamental European values, with a special focus on democracy and the state of civic space across the EU, solidarity in the context of global migration and sustainable development – the Green Deal.
The current EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies runs till 2020 and is coming to an end soon. A new initiative for Roma integration is currently being developed.
To strive towards a more effective post-2020 initiative, a thorough evaluation of the current framework is necessary. This hearing seeks to offer a platform to assess the current framework's shortcomings and achievements, with a view to identifying the areas that still necessitate action. It will also feature a discussion geared towards providing recommendations for the upcoming post-2020 strategy.
Climate change is on everyone's mind, and young people all over the globe are mobilising to save the planet. The European Economic and Social Committee is joining the movement and is asking the young participants at YEYS for the best way forward in protecting our planet.
Following the growing increase of the Covid-19 epidemic, the Committee has taken the exceptional decision to CANCEL all meetings and activities in Brussels and beyond, until 27 March 2020.
Therefore, this conference is CANCELLED.
The Committee regrets the inconveniences this decision may cause and thanks you for your understanding.
Over the past decade, the European Semester has established itself as the key tool for the coordination of economic and related policies. As the EU faces new challenges, the European Semester is constantly evolving to address them. The new European legislature is now refocusing the European Semester process to incorporate the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. With the European Green Deal, the new growth strategy for the EU, the topic of resources and funding will be of utmost importance in 2020. The discussion on how to obtain the necessary investments to implement the Deal and how to assure a just and inclusive transition has been opened.
12/03/2020 - Taking on board the opinion of our medical service and the recommendations issued by the Belgian authorities and our Member States, which are imposing specific obligations and travel restrictions, the President today decided to suspend all EESC meetings and events held on and outside EESC premises, including the March plenary session, until Friday 27 March.
Replaced by web streaming! / From understanding to addressing this challenging phenomenon
Meeting
(Only webstreaming) Room JDE 62, EESC building, rue Belliard 99, 1040
Brussels
Belgium
The event about environmental migration aims to provide an understanding of the challenges at hand and their impact, as well as proposing policy solutions. It will present projections for climate change and how this will force people to migrate, seek to define environmental displacement, paying attention to its current occurrence and providing estimates on its future. Emphasis will be on the legal protection gap, as environmental refugees are currently not covered by any international law.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and Serbia held the 10th meeting of their Civil Society Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) at the EESC in Brussels. This civil society platform between the EESC and civil society in Serbia was established within the institutional framework of the EU-Serbia Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) in order to allow civil society organisations on both sides to monitor the country's accession negotiations. It is also a platform to discuss issues of common interest and to inform the public at large of the challenges ahead during the accession period. Besides the current state of play in EU-Serbia relations and the accession process, main topics of the 10th JCC meeting were: Effects of economic and industrial reforms on the quality of life of citizens, Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, civil society point of view and theoverview of the civil society situation in Serbia. A common declaration of the JCC was issued after the meeting.
Hotel Pod zámkom - Hurbanovo námestie 2 1581, 972 01 Bojnice, Slovakia
Bojnice
Slovakia
During the energy transition towards the low-emission economy, the EU energy system faces a period of profound technological, economic and social change that will affect many of the energy sectors, including the coal industry and hence the coal-mining regions of the EU. However, the currently active coal-mining regions have to prepare for the phasing-out of coal production to be in line with EU energy and climate policy decisions on fossil fuel use or for economic reasons.