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 15 November the EESC will host a pivotal event focusing on the benefits of organic food and the critical role of public procurement in advancing sustainable practices. This event will bring together representatives from cities, national governments, and institutions to discuss the future of organic farming and its impact on farmers, workers, the climate, and the environment.
This event will explore how circular economy and bioeconomy can drive sustainable agri-food systemsdevelopment across both rural and urban areas in the EU, through the presentation of innovative approaches that support the balanced development of rural and urban communities
This public hearing aims to exchange views with civil society representatives from candidate countries and EU's stakeholders on the opportunities and challenges for the EU-agri-food sector with EU enlargement and to identify the contributions of the accession countries to the EU's social, environmental, and economic sustainability.
With this debate, the EESC wants to contribute to reflections on the foundations of a just transition framework on the agri-food sector to achieve a sustainable food system and move forward with concrete recommendations, for example, looking at the skills, capacity and mental support needed, or identifying some key policy areas and legal leverage points that could be triggered to start a just food transition for the EU.
Given the link between agriculture and rural areas and farmers with food production, the recommendations of this opinion will also have a positive impact on rural development.
Lessons learned from the first years of the implementation of the programming period 2021-2027
Event type
Debate
Location
Online event
Belgium
Public debate on 9th Cohesion report: Lessons learned from the first years of the implementation of the programming period 2021-2027, in the framework of the ECO section meeting.
On Friday 15th December 2023, the EESC will host a public hearing to gather the views of the European Commission, rural development actors and various stakeholders on how to foster the implementation of the Long-Term Vision of EU's Rural Areas.
In the context of the European Gender Equality Week and as part of its section meeting, the NAT section will host a public debate on gender equality and youth in rural areas.
On 6 November 2023, the EESC will host a public hearing in the context of its ongoing opinion on 'Promoting autonomous and sustainable food production: strategies for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) post-2027' requested by the upcoming Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU.
The EESC is organising a hybrid public hearing to gather the view of youth representatives, rural development experts and various stakeholders on how to promote sustainable and inclusive rural development that benefits young people and rural communities as a whole.
In line with its commitments to the Rural Pact, the EESC will organise a thematic debate on renewable energies in rural areas during the next meeting of its Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment (NAT Section) planned on Thursday 9 March (11:00 -12:30).