On the 7th of May the Diversity Europe Group of the EESC organised its Extraordinary Meeting in Bucharest. This high level conference took place at the Atrium of the National Library, and its topic was 'A Europe of Shared Values and Civil Society'.
On 15 February, the Bureau of the Diversity Europe Group of the EESC hosted an extraordinary meeting on the topic 'Brexit' at Queen's University in Belfast. The seminar entitled 'The Implications of Brexit for Civil Society and the Peace Process' focussed on the fragility of the Good Friday Agreement in view of an impending Brexit. Politicians, academia and civil were called upon to give their views and some one hundred participants are expected. The conference took place at Isdell Courtyard seminar room, Ridell Hall.
On 6-7 December, the Diversity Europe Group held its extraordinary meeting at the EESC premises (VMA Building - Room VMA3). During this meeting entitled 'Bursting Brussels' 'Bubble': How to communicate Your Europe', EESC Group III Members learned more about efficient communication tools in order to become EU 'ambassadors' and to communicate the way they feel about Europe.
On 27 November the Liberal Professions Category (EESC) hosted an event related to the Day of the Liberal Professions. After this event, Group III President Arno Metzler and both Spokespersons of the Liberal Professions Category Marina Elvira Calderone and Rudolf Kolbe met with the President of the European Parliament Antonio TAJANI. They jointly discussed the next steps to infiltrate the common definition of liberal professions in the European law making process, in order to fully unfold their potential and thus improve the competitiveness of EU economy.
On 14 November, the Group III organised its Extraordinary meeting in Luxembourg, at the premises of the European Investment Bank (EIB). The meeting entitled Communicating Your Europe: Solid Facts and Information was divided in two main parts: one part dealing with the EFSI and the Invest EU Programme (2021-2027) and the other part focussing on a presentation by Eurostat of 1) Big Data, challenges and opportunities and 2) Quality of Life Indicators. Stay tuned to get more information regarding this event !
The Diversity Europe Group (Group III) held an extraordinary meeting on 11 October on the question: "Can Economic Progress and Social Stability Cure EU-scepticism?"
The meeting was organised in partnership with the Vorarlberg Chamber of Labour and took place in the Montforthaus Congress Centre in Feldkirch, Austria.
On 6 March 2018, the Various Interests Group of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), organised a conference in Sofia, Bulgaria, entitled 'Supporting Vulnerable Regions and Citizens: boosting sustainable growth and cohesion'. The event took place at the Boyana conference centre, which had been kindly made available to the EESC by the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU.
On 15 February 2018 afternoon Group III held an extraordinary meeting for the presentation of a study promoted in cooperation with the Liaison Group on The future evolution of civil society in the European Union by 2030.
47 million people in Europe work in regulated professions i.e. 22% of the working population. Liberal professions undeniably play a key role in our economies and societies. With this in mind, the EESC Group III "Various interests" decided to organise a meeting to discuss the challenges faced by these professions and to lay the foundations for ensuring that they achieve their potential in the European Union in the coming years.
The European Commission and the EESC co-organize, on the sidelines of the Summit, an event on the role of the social economy in the future of work.
