Comitato economico e sociale europeo
EESC public hearing on the revision of the ECI instrument on 22 February 2016
"Not just nice words and high ideals, but a concrete tool must be built" – this was the original idea of an instrument allowing citizens "to submit any appropriate proposal on matters where citizens consider that a legal act of the Union is required…" laid down in Article 11 of the Lisbon Treaty.
Successful European citizen initiatives must trigger dialogue and proper follow-up at EU level
Six years after the introduction of the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) with barely any impact on EU legislation, the constructive criticism, particularly from the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and other institutions such as the European Parliament and the European Ombudsman, is finally beginning to bear fruit, tempting the European Commission to review this important instrument of participative democracy.
On 26-27 June, the EESC, joining forces with other civil society organisations and European institutions, hosted the annual Civil Society Days. This major gathering of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) from across Europe provided strong civil society input to the reflection on the future of Europe launched by the Commission with its "White Paper on the future of Europe". A forceful call was made for a new political impetus to relaunch the EU on the basis of our fundamental values and also to express a clear commitment by civil society organisations to forge ahead.
The successful experience of Estonia with E-government as well as questions concerning cybersecurity were discussed during the EESC conference on the “Future development of E-government in the EU” held in Tallinn. The EESC hosted a debate on the priorities of the incoming Estonian Presidency of the Council of the EU which have as an overarching goal to improve the ...
The president of the European Parliament (EP) Antonio Tajani joined the EESC plenary session on Thursday 1 June to discuss the EP's priorities and the strengthening of cooperation between the two institutions. The EP's six priorities for this year are very much in line with the concerns of Europe's civil society, according to the EESC.
EESC launches digital version of the European Passport to active citizenship.
"The European Citizens Initiatives (ECI) is an instrument for citizens to take a role in European policy making. After 5 years of experience we see it is not working properly.
The Commission proposed in March 2021 new pay transparency measures, such as pay information for job seekers, a right to know the pay levels for workers doing the same work, as well as gender pay gap reporting obligations for big companies. The proposal aims to strengthen the tools for workers to claim their rights and facilitate access to justice. Employers will not be allowed to ask job seekers for their pay history and they will have to provide pay related anonymised data upon employee request. Employees will also have the right to compensation for discrimination in pay.
To improve the implementation of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights it is necessary to empower civil society organisations, rights defenders and justice practitioners, and strengthen people’s awareness of their rights under the Charter. CSOs and social partners are operating at grassroots levels and can help spread awareness and foster implementation. Moreover, the social partners have a special role in contributing to the implementation and defence of socio-economic fundamental rights.
In the context of the opinion on a "Union of equality: EU anti-racism action plan 2020-2025", the European Economic and Social Committee is organising a virtual public hearing on 18 March. The aim of the hearing is to gather the points of view of international organisations, European platforms for human rights and the fight against racism, and representatives of European institutions, on key measures of the action plan, and to discuss how to tackle racism and racial discrimination more effectively in the EU.
