Europski odbor regija

In the context of the ongoing exploratory opinion, requested by the Polish Presidency, to examine how civil society actors can make use of a results-orientation approach in cohesion policy in the next programming period, the EESC is organizing a hearing in Warsaw on 17 January 2025. The hearing will be important as the EESC will explore how civil society and local actors understand the concept of a results-orientation approach to cohesion policy, to which degree they are prepared and if they have the administrative capacity to implement it. 

The hearing is co-organized with the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU and it has the patronage of the Polish Presidency. The venue is the premises of the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy of Poland.

The EESC is organising this public debat to discuss how civil society partners can use a results-orientation approach in cohesion policy for the next programming period. The principles of multi-level governance and shared management are contradictory or complementary to the results-focused cohesion policy ?

Public debate The involvement of youth in the work of the ECO section - Recent experience and way forward, organised during the ECO section meeting.

Public debate on 9^th Cohesion report: Lessons learned from the first years of the implementation of the programming period 2021-2027, in the framework of the ECO section meeting.

This public hearing is being organised as part of the preparation of the exploratory opinion ECO/630 on "Boosting long-term inclusive growth through reforms and investment" requested by the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU. It focuses on how to foster upwards social convergence and cohesion, in an economic governance framework defined around debt sustainability, productive investments and reforms. It also looks at the implications of such a framework for the European Semester and the strengthening of the European Pillar of Social Rights.

The EESC is convinced that islands, mountainous regions and sparsely populated areas face significant challenges and that there is a solid legal basis that obliges the EU to take action in order to tackle these challenges. In this context, the organised civil society has an important role to play and through this debate, the aim is to find the best practices and solutions so that these regions can perform better and recover from the multiple crises. Therefore the EESC- ECO section has decided to organise this public debate in the framework of the EESC own-intiative opinion on "Main challenges that EU islands, mountain and sparsely populated areas face.

Insularity is considered to be a permanent and unchangeable geographical feature which involves additional costs (transport, energy, waste management, public services, necessity goods and services) that hamper the development and competitiveness of the islands, while particularly exposing them to biodiversity loss and climate change. The organised civil society has an important role to play and tackle all these challenges and through this debate. The aim is to find the best practices and solutions so that EU islands can preform better and recover from the multiple crises.

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) will be producing an own-initiative opinion on the main challenges faced by EU islands and mountainous and sparsely populated areas, which is scheduled for adoption at the EESC's September plenary session. In this context, the EESC, along with the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR) and the North Sweden European Office (NSEO), will be holding a public hearing in Umeå (Sweden) on 4 May 2023 entitled "Challenges and opportunities that the digital and energy transitions present to the northern sparsely populated areas and islands. How can these regions become drivers for growth and development?". The hearing is an event under the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU.

The EESC will organise a hearing with the title: ''New own resources package: The three engines for financing growth and recovery of the European economy'' in order to present the views of all relevant stakeholders and civil society for this initiative to support the funds for NextGenerationEU.

The conference "The Anti-Money Laundering Legislative Package" will take stock of the state of play and debate in particular the legislative proposals tabled by the European Commission in July 2021 to strengthen the EU's anti-money laundering and countering terrorism financing (AML/CFT) rules.

The conference is organised on 5 October 2021, starting at 14:30.

The event is accessible via webstream. No registration is needed, and participation is free of charge.