Due to the personal and societal impact of social networks and their future development and consequences, the EU institutions need to prioritise the adoption of binding and non-binding supranational measures leading to self-regulation or, preferably, co-regulation, in line with the Digital Agenda, to foster responsible and intelligent use within a dynamic Digital Single Market and to prevent the problems associated with its inherent risks. The EESC believes the ideal situation would be to have "model laws" on which to base international regulation. However, until this becomes possible, we need to find an EU-level solution.
"The opinion is therefore based on the realisation that the handicap beleaguering Europe now is not so much delays in building its internal market as the need to establish a strong economic, industrial and technological identity in the context of globalisation. The EESC believes that discussion therefore needs to consider all the costs of non-Europe resulting from the failure to complete European integration.
The approach advocated in the opinion seeks to reduce costs, optimise expenditure, maximise opportunities and provide an appropriate response for meeting current challenges and finding a positive way out of the crisis which will benefit everyone.
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• The EESC acknowledges the quality of civil society's contribution prior to publication of the communication, as well as the efforts made by the Commission to implement the trade-related aspects of the Agenda for Change.
Download — EESC Opinion: Seeds/updating the names of a third country and of the authorities responsible for control of the production (Category C opinion)
The EESC supports the Commission's proposal which will allow for the creation of the European Foundation (FE), for which it has called already in 2010 in its own-initiative opinion (INT/498). The EESC recommends adopting the proposal without delay. As an optional instrument, FE will give the opportunity to foundations opting for the statute to work in each EU country without the need to create local structures, provided that the foundation will be recognised in the country of origin of its creation.
Download — EESC opinion: Statute for a European Foundation
The EESC considers that this issue needs to be analysed very thoroughly and placed within an EU framework taking into consideration the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. Special emphasis must be placed on empowering, informing and educating children, families and teachers. The EESC calls on advertisers and sponsors to adopt and apply the highest levels of protection of children's rights.
Download — EESC opinion: Advertising / young people and children
The EESC feels that the triple objective of the Europe 2020 strategy, i.e., smart, sustainable and inclusive-cohesive growth, is generally appropriate; however, in order to achieve it, a well-balanced macroeconomic policy mix and structural reforms together with more and better instruments are needed. The EU needs to show that it has the necessary political will and a specific vision of substantially closer integration. All the funds and programmes should be more tailored to the social goals of Europe 2020, and work on drawing up a European Territorial Strategy must be accelerated. It is vital to ensure much broader involvement of experts and public opinion in preparing decisions.
The EESC is of the opinion that the proposal for a regulation on ship recycling is a rather pale reflection of the previous green paper and the communication on the same subject. The two previous documents provided an impeccable analysis of ship recycling problems in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan and expressed the view that robust measures were needed to tackle the unacceptable conditions in these countries. The measures proposed in the proposal for a regulation do not however solve these problems. The EESC can only conclude that the political will is manifestly absent.
With the number of pensioners growing faster than the working population and an economic crisis putting additional pressure on the national budgets, the EU Member States need to find ways of delivering fair, safe and sustainable pensions. Following on from a consultation on European pensions systems in 2010, a new policy paper on sustainable pensions proposes mainly to link retirement age with life expectancy, restricting early retirement, to close the pension gap between men and women and to develop private pension schemes. In its opinion on that White Paper, the EESC recommends that Member States focus their reform efforts on increasing the revenues that fund their pension systems by boosting employment, improving the mechanisms for collecting contributions, and tackling undeclared work and tax evasion.
