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  • Reference number
    37/2018

    The European economy loses over 2% of productivity per year due to a mismatch of skills, according to a recent study commissioned by the European Economic and Social Committee. This means a loss of 80 eurocents for each hour of work. The situation will get even worse in the future due to demographic trends and ongoing technological developments, if no reforms are undertaken.

  • Reference number
    23/2018

    The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has used an own-initiative opinion to call for sufficient funding resources to be put in place for implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights. Adopted at its plenary session on 19 April 2018, the opinion calls for improvements in the Member States and a robust commitment in terms of budget, investment and current spending to make the Social Pillar a reality.

  • Lessons learned

    The EESC presents measures to avoid the severity of austerity in the future and to mitigate the negative effects of previous crisis management

    Future crisis management should strive for a better balance between fiscal and social objectives to avoid adverse effects on the economic capacities, labour markets and social protection systems of the countries concerned. Instead of restrictive austerity, the EU institutions should in future crisis situations implement policies in pursuit of economic cooperation, growth and solidarity.

  • The EESC advocates a fiscal stimulus focusing on public investment, while also prioritising structural reforms to enhance productivity and support the creation of quality jobs

    The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) disagrees with the European Commission's proposal for an overall broadly neutral fiscal stance in 2018, advocating a moderate positive fiscal stance of around 0.5% of GDP instead.

  • Looking back at the achievements of the Maltese Presidency and in particular at the progress made by the business community – this was the focus of a debate during the last Employers' Group meeting on 20 September, with the participation of the Employers' Group members and the presidents of the three major Maltese employers' organisations.

  • Growing inequality is a problem which can no longer be ignored. It is causing a divide between different social groups and has contributed to the rise of extreme movements and parties. It is a destabilising factor for both the economy and society and we urgently need to tackle this problem – these are among ....

  • The condition of the European economy, completing the Single Market, trade and Brexit – these are the top issues for European employers' organisations in the forthcoming months. On 29 March 2017, the Directors-General and Secretaries-General of BusinessEurope, EuroCommerce and Copa-Cogega presented their priorities and debated with the members of the EESC Employers' Group.

  • Reference number
    9/2017

    It is vital to foster economic growth; only if Europe has a strong economy, can it better face the political and social challenges that stand before it. This was one of the main messages of the EESC opinions adopted yesterday in Brussels. The EESC calls for more investment– both private and public – directly in the countries that need it most. The EU body representing Civil Society also finds that the Juncker plan is not enough ...

  • On 7th February, as we mark the 25th anniversary of the Maastricht Treaty, the European Economic and Social Committee turns to political leaders, the European civil society organisations which we represent, and all European citizens, with a call: the call for social and economic solidarity, which is urgently needed across Europe. 25 years ago, Europe was in turmoil: the aftermath of the Cold War; the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany; the path of Eastern European countries to democracy, all shaped the zeitgeist. Yet, on this momentous day in 1992, the 12 nations of the European Communities signed this European Treaty, thus creating the European Union as we know it and its greatest achievement, the single currency. Today, the geo-political landscape ...