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.
Interactio and Room JDE 60, EESC building, Rue Belliard 99, 1040
Brussels
Belgium
In order to prepare the exploratory opinion requested by the future Spanish presidency of the EU on "Measures to improve mental health", the EESC is organising a hybrid public hearing on 11 April 2023 from 9:30 am to 1 pm.
The aim of the event is to gather input from policy makers, civil society organisations and social partners, which will feed into the EESC's opinion.
The Commission and the High Representative adopted in October 2022 the Joint communication Youth Action Plan in the European Union external action for 2022-2027, the first-ever policy framework for a strategic partnership with young people around the world to build a more resilient, inclusive and sustainable future. It will help deliver on international commitments, such as the United Nation's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Climate Agreement, by enhancing meaningful youth participation and empowerment in the EU's external action policies.
The Youth Action Plan (YAP) in EU External Action is guided by three pillars of action that will help shape the EU's partnership with young people in partner countries:
partnership to engage: increasing young people's voices in policy and decision-making;
partnership to empower: fighting inequalities and providing young people with the skills and tools they need to thrive;
partnership to connect: fostering opportunities for young people to network and exchange with their peers worldwide.
Hearing "YAP to youth worldwide: Next step – implementation!" in the framework of the EESC REX/566 opinion will focus on the implementation of YAP by hearing views of International Organisations, social partners and youth representatives from around the Globe.
The EESC included a youth delegate in its UNFCCC COP delegation for the first time in 2021 and committed to repeating this experience in the years to come. The EESC youth delegate to COP has a mandate of two years and at the end of each mandate a transparent and open selection process is carried out to designate the new delegate. This webinar will provide useful information for applicants.
The Western Balkans Civil Society High-Level Conference brought together EESC members, civil society representatives from the countries of the Western Balkans, as well as Czech officials and members of organised civil society. The conference complemented the work the EESC has already been undertaking by organising the Western Balkans Civil Society Forum every two years since 2006.
The main topics on the agenda were:
European path for the Western Balkans: Roadmap towards clear accession perspective and the role of young people
Contribution of civil society to youth policy in the Western Balkans: challenges and opportunities in building a better future for the Western Balkans and amplifying the voice of young people from the Western Balkans
Human capital development in the Western Balkans
Youth employment challenges in the Western Balkans
Young people in the Western Balkans as an important force in regional cooperation and promoting European integration
The EESC will host a public hearing in the context of its own-initiative opinion: Empowering youth to achieve sustainable development through education. The event aims to explore innovative ideas to foster opportunities and overcome challenges for the implementation of a transformative education for sustainable development.
Category meeting centred around the question of Workers' Voice in EESC work and also in particular in the youth, dealing with the specific challenges of unionising young workers.
This interactive conference with experts in circular economy competences and youth, policy-makers, academics and business representatives will explore the outputs from the CESCY project.
The EESC is organising a virtual public hearing which will feed into its own-initiative opinion on “The EU Youth Test”. This opinion will look at how youth engagement can be fostered to bring a youth perspective into policy-making at all levels.
The aim of the hearing is to find out more about the experience of Member States already implementing the Youth Test and to look at youth participation in the context of Europe's future.