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.
On 4 and 5 October 2016 the first meeting was held of the EU-Chile Civil Society Joint Consultative Committee (JCC), established by the EU-Chile Association Agreement (AA). With the establishment of this Committee, the final provision of the Association Agreement is being implemented, eleven years after the Agreement entered into force. The JCC will be made up of...
Competitiveness, economy, security of supply, climate change and public acceptability are key considerations for the future of nuclear power, says EESC in its opinion adopted at today’s plenary. “The European Commission’s proposal does not offer a clear and comprehensive approach to the future of nuclear power in Europe”, deplores EESC rapporteur Brian Curtis. "The recent ...
The EESC adopted an pinion targeting aggressive tax planning by multinationals. The European Commission proposal on income tax transparency provides for multinationals with an annual turnover of over 750 million EUR to disclose publicly the income tax they pay and other relevant tax-information on a country-by-country basis. Aggressive tax planning by ...
The EESC has adopted an opinion on the rights of live-in care workers. It urges policy-makers to fully recognise their contribution to long-term care, to treat them in a similar way to other care providers and to regularise the status of undocumented workers. An ageing population and cuts in public-sector spending have created a shortfall in the ...
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) will be organising a mission to Russia on 30-31 August. The two-day visit will provide an opportunity for EESC members to meet with both the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation and other Russian civil society organisations. The EESC delegation will discuss the current situation for civil society organisations, and specifically the situation with regard to human rights and the environment.
According to Eurostat figures, in May 2016 there were 4,197 million unemployed young people(18.6%) in the EU-28. Although an improvement on the previous year (20.3%), the figure remains appalling and shows that the threat of a "lost generation", which has loomed large since the beginning of the economic and financial crisis, is still hanging dangerously over Europe. Despite this, businesses across the EU are struggling to find young people with the skills they need.
Addressing the EESC Members at their plenary session today, Margrethe Vestager, EU Commissioner for Competition, argued a strong consumer, business and social justice case for EU competition policy. Citing key recent examples on energy, transport, state subsidies and taxation, the Commissioner underlines that competition drives companies to cut prices and improve products, and brings in the investment to the economy and creates jobs.
The overarching goal of the EU Aviation Strategy should be to create a climate which encourages European investors to invest in the aviation sector, according to the EESC ...
The EESC warns against granting China market economy status (MES) and calls on the European institutions to promote fair international competition and actively defend European jobs and European values with efficient trade defence instruments (TDIs). In its opinion, the EESC points to the disastrous impact a possible ...
Europe's steel industry is the basis for many industrial sectors and the lifeline for economic and social welfare in many regions in Europe. In addition to the economic crisis hitting the steel industry hard, the flood of unfairly traded steel imports has driven down steel prices and decimated the European steel industry. "Enough is enough. We have to save our steel. We have to show our ...