Nationality is a bond between a citizen and a state, whether by birthright or by naturalisation. However, in recent years several EU Member States have set up investor citizenship and residence schemes to attract investment. According to an opinion adopted by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) at its October plenary session, this practice poses serious risks and should be banned in all EU Member States.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) suggests that the EU should develop a certification for trustworthy AI applications, to be delivered by an independent body after testing the products for key requirements such as resilience, safety, and absence of prejudice, discrimination or bias. The proposal has been put forward in two recent EESC opinions assessing the European Commission's ethical guidelines on AI.
EESC calls for strong EU budget commitment matched by Member State and private investment
The EESC wants to see the roll-out of the European Railway Traffic Management System (ERTMS) speeded up and proposes a Commission-led initiative to raise the EUR 100 billion investment needed. It is calling on social partners and governments to ensure a smooth and socially just transition by anticipating the impact of automation and digitalisation, including on educational needs. Safety considerations must play a part in all planning and implementation.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) believes that tackling the social question is absolutely crucial to achieve the United Nations 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development in the EU. The implementation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires merging the social with the economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability, bringing about a systemic change and overcoming the silo thinking prevalent in current EU strategies. The "new deal" announced by the Commission President-elect should therefore be a Green and Social Deal ensuring that no one is left behind in the transition to a sustainable and carbon-neutral Europe.
This is key to boosting rural areas and making them more attractive,
along with robust CAP measures targeted at young farmers.
Cooperation and partnership between the European Union, national governments and civil society will be crucial for fostering the generational renewal of the farming population.
Blockchain technology has the potential to transform society, but there is a need for legal clarity and certainty and therefore a common EU approach. This is the key message of an own-initiative opinion adopted by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) on 30 October, which also calls on the European Commission to launch a comprehensive initiative to make the EU a global authority in this field.
The EESC draws forward-looking conclusions from the 2019 Semester and the Committee's civil society consultations in the Member States
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) hosted a debate on “rEUnaissance - A cultural vision for Europe”, featuring Andre Wilkens, director of the European Cultural Foundation; Pier Luigi Sacco, special adviser to Tibor Navracsics, commissioner for education, culture, youth and sport; Airan Berg, artistic director of the Festival of the Regions and Elke Kaschl Mohni, director of the Goethe Institute in Brussels.
Fisheries, aquaculture and algae cultivation are crucial to increasing sustainable aquatic food production in the EU, promoting food security and creating economic growth and sustainable jobs. The potential of the blue bio-economy remains untapped in the EU. The EESC therefore recommends introducing pan-European pilot projects, and based on their results tapping the sector's full potential with the involvement of both local stakeholders and the scientific community.
Now we have a golden opportunity to align the EU's next disability strategy with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
On 21 October, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) held a public hearing to gather input from grassroots organisations for its opinion on the EU's next ten-year strategy for disability rights and to draw the lessons from the agenda due to expire in 2020.
