European Economic
and Social Committee
EDITORIAL: Resilient communities are at the heart of a strong EU
Welcome to the October edition of our Bulletin. In the last month, we all waited for, and then watched, the annual State of the Union speech by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, known here in Brussels as SOTEU. In my response, I focused on the fact that we, as a society, must not forget that collaboration and cooperation are as important as competitiveness and that robust action is still needed to address the root causes of the challenges facing us, including of course climate change. Just look at the opportunities presented by adaptation. Resilient communities are at the heart of a strong EU. We must recognise them, empower them and celebrate them.
In this edition, our members will share their thoughts on subjects ranging from the recent SOTEU address, the future of the European Pillar of Social Rights and the proposed gender equality strategy for 2026 – 2030 to today’s International Day of Older Persons and the rapidly approaching European Week of Cities and Regions.
Our work as a Group has continued, with my agenda focusing on building strong links with all of our civil society partners. On 14 September, I met in Vilnius with representatives of civil society organisations and government ministries, anticipating the future Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. As part of the ongoing Irish Presidency, I spoke in Dublin about the essential role played by trusted information and effective communication in steering a just transition to a carbon-neutral economy – here with a view to the circular economy. This follows on from our work on the much anticipated Circular Economy Act for which we produced an exploratory opinion at the request of the European Commission. We will wait for the Act to be published before assessing how we influenced it.
In September, I also welcomed Piotr Sadowski, co-chair of the EESC Liaison Group, to our Group meeting in Brussels as we prepared for the Committee’s plenary session. We are working to find even more ways to work together and strengthen our collective voice.
17 October is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, which fits in nicely with the publication of our new study on poverty – you can read about it in this Bulletin, including an interview with the co-authors. We will build on this study with several relevant opinions in the coming months. We are also hosting Eurochild and Terre des hommes and their Daphne-CHILD High-Level Conference today.
Finally, our October plenary, which is livestreamed, will include a vote on two opinions that are strongly connected to our priorities as a Group: one on inclusive democratic participation (SOC/873) and the other on anti-poverty and the links to the Sustainable Development Goals (SOC/865).
President, EESC Civil Society Organisations’ Group