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.
At a high-level conference, the EESC, the EU’s home of organised civil society, sounded the alarm: the shortage of decent and affordable housing is a matter of increasing concern, especially for vulnerable groups and young people, and the European Union must pull together the resources to fight it.
The pivotal role of civil society in driving forward the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) took centre stage during the plenary session of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). The discussion made it crystal clear that the UN and EU need to work together to advance the SDGs.
In a debate with Commission Vice-President and Commissioner for Democracy and Demography Dubravka Šuica, the EESC called for a strategy on civil dialogue as a first step towards strengthening the role of civil society and increasing citizen participation in EU policy-making
Today, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) officially launched its initiative to welcome civil society representatives from EU candidate countries. A total of 131 'Enlargement Candidate Members' (ECM) were selected to make up the pool of civil society experts who will be participating in the Committee's work, thus making the EESC the first institution to open its doors to EU candidate countries. The initiative, a political priority of EESC President Oliver Röpke, sets new standards for involving candidate countries in EU activities, facilitating their progressive and tangible integration into the EU.
At the February plenary session, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) pointed out that the key factors for recovering from the recent crises and delivering a more resilient EU were sustainable growth, social convergence, a favourable business environment and better employment conditions.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is giving its flagship Civil Society Prize to non-profit projects supporting the mental well-being of Europeans
More flexible and even tailored pathways to upskilling and lifelong learning can be one way of reaching people with low skills levels, from poorer backgrounds or at risk of social exclusion. Attention still needs to be paid to gender imbalances in labour markets.
At the current rate, one third of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets will not be achieved by the EU by 2030. This was the main takeaway of the 5th edition of the Europe Sustainable Development Report (ESDR), launched on 25 January during an event co-organised by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) NAT Section and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN).
The January plenary session of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) hosted a debate on energy infrastructure planning, pointing out that transnational electricity and gas grids are essential in connecting the Union and must be strengthened through targeted investment.
Competitiveness, SMEs and social inclusion are at the heart of the Belgian Presidency programme. The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) makes policy recommendations on the relationship between economic governance, long-term inclusive growth and sustainable security, and the power of the social economy in combating poverty and social exclusion.