Press releases

  • Reference number
    68/2016

    Joint Press Release EESC-ILO

     

    BRUSSELS - The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) have started a two-day high-level dialogue on the future of work bringing together more than 300 representatives of the social partners and civil society in Europe. They are expected to map out the main drivers of change which are transforming jobs and the economy in Europe.

  • Reference number
    67/2016

    Following the extraordinary meeting of the Bureau of the European Economic and Social Committee, held on 10 November 2016, the President made the following statement. I wish to voice my very serious concern at the current situation in Turkey concerning respect for the fundamental rights. While the crime committed in attempting to seize power by violence is to be strongly condemned, under no circumstances can an attempted coup d'état serve to justify any deviation from respect of the fundamental rights. It moreover gives cause for alarm that citizens, civil society organisations, journalists and ...

  • Reference number
    66/2016

    Exactly 20 years since the first Cork Declaration, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the Committee of the Regions (CoR) organised a joint conference on balanced territorial development under the title ...

  • Reference number
    65/2016

    Ahead of the demonstration organised by IndustriAll for 9 November, which will bring to Brussels 10,000 steel workers from across Europe to protest against the continuous decline of their sector, the EESC's "steel" rapporteurs from both Employers' and Workers' groups have called for a level playing field for Europe's steel industry. Europe's steel industry has been hard hit by the financial and economic crisis and the austerity policies adopted as a result. It has also suffered harshly from the massive influx of unfairly traded steel products, mainly from China. As result, plants have been downsized and tens of thousands of jobs lost. The rapporteurs ...

  • Reference number
    64/2016

    Faced with a greater need than ever to enhance dialogue between countries of the Euro-Mediterranean region, civil society organisations answered the invitation of the European Economic and Social Committee and the Greek Economic and Social Council to discuss their role in addressing the challenges in the region. This was the main goal of the yearly Euromed summit of economic and social councils and similar institutions, organised by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the Economic and Social Council of Greece in Vravrona - Attica. Opened by the Greek Prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, it closed with the adoption of a common declaration, which underlines the conclusion of civil society representatives on ...

  • Reference number
    63/2016

    Today the European Economic and Social Committee's plenary assembly welcomed Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for research, science and innovation, for a debate on Horizon 2020, the EU's most ambitious programme for research and innovation ever, intended to provide approximately 80 billion euros-worth in funding to European R&I projects over the 2014-2020 period. In his opening remarks EESC President Georges Dassis observed that R&I is the poor relative ...

  • Reference number
    62/2016

    The list of high-risk third countries subject to enhanced due diligence measures, published on 14th July, does not include many of the countries believed to be acting as tax havens for money laundering, and in particular, those mentioned in the 'Panama Papers'. The EESC opinion on the EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive proposes that a new list of high-risk third countries be drawn up, or the scope of the measures be broadened...

     

  • Reference number
    61/2016

    The EU has not delivered on its promise to abolish obstacles to the free movement of goods and services for consumers. The European Economic and Social Committee, Europe's voice for civil society, has delivered three key opinions on geo-blocking, roaming and parcel delivery – and concluded that Europe "can do better" in making the single market a reality for consumers ...

  • Reference number
    60/2016

    An EESC debate on fighting money laundering, terrorist financing and tax evasion called for a number of policy proposals aimed at "making the lives of criminals more difficult and their actions impossible". The Brussels event made a clear distinction between tax fraud, tax avoidance and money laundering and brought forward policy proposals including enhanced control through cooperation of financial intelligence units, a centralised European register of bank accounts, more transparency on the beneficiaries of companies and trusts and tackling the anonymity of financial transactions made with prepaid cards ...

  • Reference number
    Nº 59/2016

    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...