Water is a vital but an increasingly scarce resource. As the global population grows, so does the demand for water. The problem is global, but also concerns our continent: in summer 2022 Europe saw the most severe droughts in 500 years. Almost two thirds of European citizens consider water quality and/or quantity in their country to be a serious problem. Climate change will further affect the availability, quality and quantity of water. Without action, water scarcity and poverty could concern ever larger parts of civil societies around the world, with far-reaching implications for food security, the environment, human health as well as economic, social, and political stability.
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The thematic debate of the Group will see the participation of Marina Elvira Calderone, Minister for Labour and Social Policies of Italy, Marie Toussaint, MEP and Vice-Chair of the European Parliament's Intergroup on "Fighting against poverty", and several representatives of civil society organisations.
Web streaming - 577th Plenary session, with the following guests: Kadri Simson, Commissioner responsible for Energy; Marina Elvira Calderone, Minister of Labour and Social Policies of Italy, Ambassador Lachezara Stoeva, President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council; Věra Jourová, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Values and Transparency, Daryna Onyshko, President of the European Democracy Youth Network, Brikena Xhomaqi, Co-chair of the EESC Liaison group with European civil society organisations and networks, Liina Carr, Confederal Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), Ken Godfrey, Executive Director of the European Partners
On Thursday, 23 March 2023, the NAT Section is organising a public expert event "What next for European action on childhood obesity?" to feed into the exploratory opinion requested by the upcoming Spanish Presidency to the Council of the European Union.
Every year, schools from all European Union Member States and candidate countries are invited to apply to take part and one school from each country is then selected at random. The selected schools each choose three pupils and one accompanying teacher to come to Brussels for two days, to work together, debate and draw up resolutions addressed to the EU institutions. All secondary schools in Europe can apply and this year, it could be your school!
The event is planned to take place in person at the EESC's headquarters, on 23 and 24 March 2023. The discussions will focus on youth and democracy, on how active citizenship fosters participatory democracy and the role of youth voices and initiatives in achieving this.
The EESC, as the voice of civil society, wants to ensure that the ideas of Europe's younger generation are heard.
Stay tuned for the launch of the event, expected later this month!
As part of its work on the exploratory opinion requested by the forthcoming Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU on Measures to fight stigma against HIV, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is holding a remote public hearing on 29 March 2023 from 10:00 to 13:00.
By means of a discussion with civil society organisations and socio-professional stakeholders, the event will examine possible measures to fight stigma against HIV and to help improve prevention and the quality of life of people with HIV.
Your participation and input are most welcome!
This years' meeting of the EESC's Western Balkans Follow-up Committee outside of Brussels will take place on 29 March 2023 in Pristina, Kosovo, and it will include a hearing with the local civil society organisations (CSOs).
The goal of the hearing is to listen to the views on the role of civil society in Kosovo as well as to hear their concerns, and to convey these messages to the political authorities of Kosovo and of the EU.
The following topics will be discussed at the hearing:
The conference is open to the public. You may join the debates online via the videoconferencing platform Interactio. If you wish to take part, please register on this page by 26 March 2023.
As in previous years, the Bureau of the European Migration Forum has decided to organise a consultation with civil society on the topic of the next Forum. This consultation consists of a survey and a meeting on 30 March.