On 6 June, the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, invited Luis Planas to join his government as minister for agriculture. With 35 years of experience in European affairs, having served as diplomat, senior Commission official and MEP, and as an advocate of a strong, united and solidarity-based European Union, he has played a prominent role in the development of the EU institutions over the years.
While the risk of cyber attacks is growing, most European companies are still unprepared and unaware of the risk. This was highlighted in a recent study commissioned by the European Economic and Social Committee. Small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) are the most exposed, as they often cannot afford to invest adequately in cybersecurity. The level of investment in cybersecurity overall is insufficient. Most businesses do not realise its importance until after experiencing a security breach.
Instead of being exclusively viewed as an instrument of environmental and climate policy, energy policy should directly serve regional development goals
The transparent working conditions directive is areal step towards implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights and adapting to the future world of work, says the EESC.
"Civil society's contribution enriches the multi-faceted partnership between the European Union and the People's Republic of China, and results in better international relations," agreed the EESC president Luca Jahier and the vice-president of the Chinese Economic and Social Council, Yang Chongui, during the 16th Round Table meeting between their institutions. A joint statement released by the two counterparts following the 16th EU-China Round table meeting, which took place on 28-29 May in Varna, Bulgaria, summarises the main conclusions and recommendations of the meeting.
The EESC supports the European Commission's initiative to create the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking and states that this key technology will help tackle the most challenging issues facing society today and will ultimately benefit our well-being, competitiveness and jobs.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) welcomes the European Commission's proposals regarding its Action Plan on VAT, which aim to modernise the EU Value Added Tax (VAT) system, at the same time calling for some modifications. It asks the Member States to do their utmost to implement the proposed reforms and move towards the definitive VAT system within a reasonable timeframe.
EESC President Luca Jahier participated in the 129th plenary session of the Committee of the Regions. In the debate about "Regions and cities - Key drivers for reinforcing the European identity through culture" the participants highlighted that cities and regions reflect Europe's cultural diversity and are best placed to turn Europe's cultural heritage into a strategic asset.
Read the press release here | Read President Jahier's speech here
News article: The success of the accession process of the Western Balkan countries needs “meaningful involvement” of civil society organisations in the integration process, Luca Jahier, President of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), told EURACTIV.
