Comitato economico e sociale europeo
The sixth meeting of the EU-Africa Economic and Social Stakeholders' Network took place in Brussels, Belgium, on 3 and 4 July 2019. A political declaration was adopted by the network to be addressed to the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the African Union.
The 6th meeting of the EU Domestic Advisory Group under the EU-Ukraine DCFTA took place on 27 Jun 2019 in Brussels. Please click on the programme tab to consult the topics on the agenda.
This year's meetings between the EU and Central America under the Trade and Sustainable Development Title of the Association Agreement included a joint meeting of the DAGs where the representatives of the EU and Central American Advisory Groups exchanged experience in their current operation and discussed proposals for capacity strengthening of the civil society monitoring mechanism, the role of the parties in this context and future cooperation. The joint meeting of the DAGs was followed by a workshop on Trade and Sustainable Development where the participants discussed the content of the chapter and looked for a common understanding of the chapter.
During the meeting, the EU DAG discussed with a representative of the European Commission the progress in work on implementation of the EU-Canada CETA. The Group exchanged views with a representative of the Canada Mission to the EU. A discussion round on the work programme was also held.
For the 13th time, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and Montenegro held the Civil Society Joint Consultative Committee (JCC). The JCC is a civil society platform established between the EESC and Montenegrin civil society. It complements with a civil society point of view the EU institutional framework related to the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the EU and Montenegro. This joint institution allows civil society organisations on both sides to monitor the country's accession negotiations. It is also a platform to discuss issues of common interest and to inform the public at large on the challenges ahead during the accession period.
This 13th JCC was held in Podgorica and tackled issues such as:
During the meeting, the EU DAG discussed with a representative of the European Commission the preparation for the meetings with Korea under the trade and sustainable development chapter. Preparations of the 7th meeting of the EU-Korea Civil Society Forum in Brussels were also discussed, along with the state of play of the government consultations.
A system of corporate liability for human rights abuses is currently being negotiated in the UN, within the UNHRC’s open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises concerning human rights (OEIGWG), established by the UN General Assembly on 26 June 2014. The mandate of the working group is to elaborate an international legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises. While the EU and its Member States play a role at the OEIGWG, the Commission has no mandate from the Council to conduct negotiations on behalf of the EU concerning its participation in the OEIGWG.
The meeting of the Section for External Relations will take place on 24 May 2019 in the room JDE 62. During this meeting, a special attention will be given to the 25th anniversary of the European Economic Area.
The 27th meeting of of the European Economic Area Consultative Committee took place in the European Economic and Social Committee in Brussels (Belgium) on 23-24 May 2019.
The members of the Committee discussed the latest developments in EEA and well as EU/EFTA issues. Special attention has been given to the 25th anniversary of the entry into force of the EEA Agreement. The Consultative Committee adopted two resolutions on the following topics:
The 5th meeting of the EU-Moldova Civil Society Platform took place on 23 May 2019 in Brussels. During the meeting, a debate was held assessing the state of play of the implementation of the EU-Moldova Association Agreement. Reports on public integrity framework in Moldova were discussed. Platform members also had a look at the update of past declarations adopted by the CSP, more specifically through a progress report on the implementation status of the DCFTA with Moldova and a debate on Dniester Water Management.
