The EESC affirms that it is time for the European Commission to propose legislation on mandatory due diligence that acknowledges responsibility based on current standards and offers a clear and secure legal framework for European businesses. It must be ensured that victims of business-related Human Rights infringements have guaranteed access to fair proceedings, courts and authorities.
Download — Mišljenje EGSO-a: Mandatory due diligence
The EESC believes that the Communication on Tourism and transport in 2020 and beyond should be a strategic policy tool for rethinking the EU sustainable model of tourism and transport and calls for a comprehensive package of measures.
Download — Mišljenje EGSO-a: Tourism and transport in 2020 and beyond
The national provisions governing seed harvested and controlled in those countries afford the same assurances as the provisions applicable to seed harvested and controlled within the European Union as regards the seed's characteristics and the arrangements for :
its examination;
ensuring seed identification;
marking;
control.
Ukraine has submitted a request that its cereal seed is covered by Council Decision 2003/17/EC as equivalent.
Download — Mišljenje EGSO-a: Seed equivalence - Ukraine
Download — Mišljenje EGSO-a: Digitalisation and Sustainability – status quo and need for action in civil society perspective (Exploratory opinion at the request of the German presidency)
The European Commission has put the social economy at the top of the agenda for 2020. The aim of the opinion is to emphasise the importance of the common good as a key European value, including in the area of economic activity, and to highlight the high level of innovation of social economy enterprises committed to the common good, with a focus on the provision of social services.
Download — Mišljenje EGSO-a: Strengthening non-profit social enterprises as an essential pillar of a socially equitable Europe (Exploratory opinion at the request of the German presidency)
Global supply chains (GSC) are key and complex in economic activities across the world and in global trade. Economic growth, job creation and entrepreneurship are also contested by evidence of negative implications for working conditions as well as for sustainability in some supply chains.
The COVID-19 crisis has unveiled the serious downfalls related to highly fragmented and undiversified supply chains. It exposed the vulnerability of workers' health and safety, and it highlighted violations of human rights. Trade will have to play a key role in promoting a sustainable economic recovery. However, stronger instruments need to deliver on a socially and environmentally responsible business, trade and investment agenda.
GSC need to become more resilient, diversified and responsible, and ambitious actions need to ensure they contribute to a fairer economic and social model, based on sustainability and decent work.
Download — Mišljenje EGSO-a: Sustainable supply chains and decent work in international trade (Exploratory opinion at the request of the German presidency)
In this opinion, the EESC notes that platforms have "a generally positive impact on the economy", contributing as much to job creation and innovation, flexibility and autonomy for workers, as to ensuring income for workers (often supplementary) and allowing vulnerable people to access employment. It also notes that there are risks that must not be underestimated: (i) for workers, the denial of basic rights, including the rights to organisation and collective bargaining; precariousness; low pay; the increasing intensity of work; the extreme fragmentation of work on a global scale; the non-affiliation of workers to social security schemes; and (ii) for society, the increased risk of competition based on undercutting social standards.
Download — Mišljenje EGSO-a: Fair work in the platform economy (Exploratory opinion at the request of the German presidency)
The forthcoming Presidency of the Council of the EU (Germany), aims to further discuss and analyze the policy objective 1 under the Common Provisions Regulation for cohesion policy that refers to '' a smarter Europe by promoting innovative and smart economic transformation''. In this context, the Presidency has asked the EESC to provide an opinion on how the structural measures and cohesion policy programmes can help in this process. The Presidency plans to present the key findings of this discussion in a High-level conference that will take place on 29th of September where also the opinion of EESC will be discussed.
Download — Mišljenje EGSO-a: The role of EU structural and cohesion policy in driving forward the transformation of the economy in an innovative and smart manner (Exploratory opinion at the request of the German presidency)
The forthcoming Presidency of the Council of the EU (Germany), aims to conclude together with the other EU Member States the new Territorial Agenda of the European Union (TAEU) together with the revision of the urban development policy based on the Leipzig Charter on Sustainable European Cities and also to update the steps for further developing of the Urban Agenda for the EU. In this context, the Presidency has asked from EESC to provide an opinion on both territorial and urban matters and thus to incorporate the points of view of the diverse interests the EESC represents in the discussions. The Presidency plans to adopt the renewed Territorial and Urban Agenda at the informal ministerial meeting for urban and territorial development on 30 November and 1 December 2020 in Leipzig.
Download — Mišljenje EGSO-a: Revision of the Territorial Agenda of the EU, the Leipzig Charter and the Urban Agenda for the EU (Exploratory opinion at the request of the German presidency)
Securing sustainable access to raw materials, including metals, industrial minerals and construction raw materials, and particularly Critical Raw Materials (CRM), is of high importance for the EU economy. However, the EU is confronted with a number of technological and environmental challenges along the entire production value chain of primary and secondary raw materials.
Download — Mišljenje EGSO-a: Digital Mining in Europe: New solutions for the sustainable production of raw materials (own-initiative opinion)
The European Commission’s ‘Green Deal’ proposes to use public procurement as a tool to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. Such ‘green public procurement’ is necessary to move toward a carbon-neutral society. However, the Commission omits that public procurement which makes up to 11% of GDP can be a tool for a fairer, more equitable society and can produce sustainable growth. At present, the ‘green public procurement’ and social considerations are discussed in different DGs. An opinion by the EESC-CCMI could bring social and ecological considerations in regards to public procurement together.
Download — Mišljenje EGSO-a: Public procurement as a tool to create value and dignity in work in cleaning and facility services (own-initiative opinion)
Aviation is one of the sectors most badly affected by the Corona crisis and the EU Member States are willing to assist all economic sectors in the recovery process. Nonetheless, it is unlikely that global economic activities will regain pre-Corona levels in the near future. For this reason, the EESC calls upon the Commission to develop a comprehensive road map for the recovery of the entire European aviation sector; such an action plan should include dedicated resources to support all sub-sectors and their workforce.
Download — Mišljenje EGSO-a: The future of EU air transport in and after the Corona crisis
The EESC welcomes the Commission's proposal for a Data Strategy that sets cross-sectoral data sharing as a priority and to improve the use, sharing, access and governance of data with legislative, sector-specific action. An ambitious Data Strategy can address the critical need to enhance EU data capabilities.
Download — Mišljenje EGSO-a: A European strategy for data
In this own-initiative opinion, the EESC calls on the European Union to develop a coherent and uniform approach to protecting unaccompanied foreign minors in Europe. It urges the European Commission to draw up a Directive on the protection of unaccompanied minors that serves the best interests of the child. The principle of "the best interests of the child" should take precedence over all other national and international law. The EESC calls on the Member States to evaluate minority based on a body of evidence, consisting principally of the declarations by the person in question, civil status documents presented and interviews with the person. Given that bone tests are not really reliable, the EESC calls for them to simply be stopped.
Download — Mišljenje EGSO-a: The protection of unaccompanied migrant minors in Europe (own-initiative opinion)
The EESC recommends that the Commission encourage all decision-making authorities to: create the conditions for access to energy for all, reduce energy poverty, and gather qualitative and gender-specific data with appropriate indicators; strengthen and enforce existing legislation; provide for a targeted policy on gender equality in the energy sector.
Download — Mišljenje EGSO-a: Energy: women as equal players in the 21st century
This opinion deals with three of four megatrends at the heart of the new Commission priorities: climate change, biodiversity loss and globalisation. While the European Green Deal will result in higher environmental standards with, for instance, stricter climate change targets, it is important that all Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are not undermining these improvements by contributing to deforestation or biodiversity loss in other countries. As one of the world's largest importer of energy, agricultural goods and raw materials, the EU has contributed to deforestation and biodiversity loss in other countries.
Download — Mišljenje EGSO-a: Compatibility of EU trade policy with the European Green Deal (own-initiative opinion)
The EESC, through its consultation and platform can offer an expert, objective view that identifies key priorities for future rural policy, thereby considering in particular the needs of the vulnerable regions. Rural-proofing needs to be reinvigorated alongside specific rural policies while transgenerational and smart community measures need to be mainstreamed.
Download — Mišljenje EGSO-a: An integrated approach for the EU's rural areas, with particular emphasis on vulnerable regions (own-initiative opinion)
This opinion will look into the possibilities to engage with young people in a formal way at institutional level and provide the building blocks for a new structured approach to youth engagement at EU level.
Download — Mišljenje EGSO-a: Towards structured youth engagement on climate and sustainability in the EU decision-making process (own-initiative opinion)
This Opinion was proposed to provide timely inputs to the evaluation the European Commission is carrying out to assess the impact of the EU-Colombia/Ecuador/Peru Trade Agreement. The purpose of the evaluation is to provide an evidence-based report assessing the impact of the implementation of the Agreement. The evaluation comes five years after the implementation of the Agreement with Colombia and Peru and two years after its implementation with Ecuador.
For the EESC, through this opinion, the evaluation is an opportunity to propose improvements along the lines repeatedly put forward by the European DAG, made up of the EESC and other European organisations, and to echo the great efforts made by civil society organisations to take part in the follow-up to the Agreement, presenting numerous observations, complaints and proposals to the authorities, especially to the Sub-committee on Trade and Sustainable Development.
Download — Information report: Evaluation of the role of civil society in the participation structures under the European Union/Colombia/Peru/Ecuador Agreement (information report)
