European Economic
and Social Committee
EESC PLENARY: Danish Council Presidency will work for ‘a strong Europe in a changing world’
The July plenary session of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) hosted a debate on the political priorities of the Danish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Under the motto ‘A strong Europe in a changing world’, the presidency’s two main priorities will be security and competitiveness. The presidency started on 1 July and will come to an end on 31 December 2025.
‘We need a strong, competitive and green Europe. A Europe that is able to take responsibility for its own security. And a Europe that is able to innovate and compete at global level. Supporting Ukraine and moving forward on enlargement will be key,’ said Marie Bjerre, Denmark’s Minister of European Affairs, speaking at the EESC plenary session on 16 July.
Several members of the EESC’s Civil Society Organisations’ Group took the floor during the debate:
Séamus Boland, group president, said that ‘A strong, competitive Europe is about how we manage to leave no one behind in our society. We can learn a lot from Denmark’s best practises.’
Juliane Neiiendam said that ‘Women’s participation in the economy, innovation and defence is vital. When we let women in 100%, we strengthen our resilience and our common values. I would like to encourage the Danish Presidency to invite women into all aspects of its programme.’
Jan Dirx, group vice-president, said that ‘The European Parliament’s rapporteur for the proposals to amend the European climate law will come from the radical right-wing group Patriots for Europe. What will this mean for this important and necessary legislative process?’
Christian Moos thanked the Danish Presidency for focusing on empowering the EU to defend itself, including in terms of ‘a whole of society approach, meaning the defence of democracy’. Mr Moos asked the presidency to work against the counter-narrative which holds that efforts to ramp up defences will take money away from social or environmental policies.
Rudolf Kolbe, group vice-president, highlighted the timeliness of the presidency’s focus on cutting red tape and strengthening the single market. However, he pointed out that ‘Simplified rules and digital tools free us to innovate, but must be backed by robust security. SMEs and professions need support. Targeted investments and public-private partnerships can deliver reliable, user-friendly digital infrastructure.’
Elena Calistru spoke about the expected proposal for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF): ‘We welcome the goal of simplification, but this should not come at the expense of democratic participation.’ Ms Calistru also asked the presidency to help ensure that civil society’s voice is heard along the entire MFF cycle.
Read the EESC’s press release: https://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/news-media/press-releases/danish-council-presidency-will-work-strong-europe-changing-world
Watch the debate at: https://webcast.ec.europa.eu/eesc-plenary-session-2025-07-16