The study carried out by the European Citizen Action Service (ECAS) aims to provide an analysis of the current consultation practices at the European Commission as well as to examine the potential of an intermediary body, such as the EESC, and organised civil society, in improving this tool for participatory democracy in the EU.
This study focuses on the use of trilogues and early agreements in the European Union (EU). Today, trilogues form the standard operating procedure for reaching agreements between the European Commission, European Parliament, and the Council of the EU. The use of trilogues has long raised concerns about public transparency and accountability. Much has already been done to improve the way in which each institution’s negotiating team is held accountable to their respective institutions. However, there is still scope for improving the transparency of trilogue meetings.
The general objective of the Report is to study the recent evolution of the social economy in the European Union. It focuses on three areas: firstly, the social economy and the emergent concepts/movements related to it, secondly, the public policies adopted in both the EU and the member states in recent years to enhance the social economy sector and thirdly, measuring the weight of the social economy in each EU member country.
SMEs are the backbone of the EU economy and have been placed in the focus of European policy following the adoption of the Small Business Act in 2008. This study makes a comprehensive overview of EU support initiatives for SMEs in the period 2007-2015 with the aim to assess the effectiveness of EU SME policies – both in terms of their formulation and implementation.
Digitalisation is transforming business landscapes and the world of work, and redefining the boundaries of production, consumption and distribution. This has created tremendous opportunities, as new products, processes and techniques have emerged, but has also created threats, as new ways of employment pose new challenges to employers and employees. The overall consequences on labour markets are, however, still highly uncertain, which is reflected in the wide variation in the outcomes of the existing research.
The publication is a summary of the conference "Does the EU encourage private sector investment" that took place on 11 May 2017 in Valletta, Malta. The conference was jointly organised by the Employers' Group of the European Economic and Social Committee and all major Maltese employers' organisations: Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, Malta Employers' Association (MEA), Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) and Malta Chamber of SMEs (GRTU).
This study shows that the Almunia package has led to substantial improvements in clarity and legal certainty as regards the provision of SGEIs and state aid. It has achieved the right balance between the need to foster and support SGEIs and the objective of preventing potential distortions in competition.
In recent years, REFIT and the institutional agreement on Better Regulation have focused on reducing regulatory burdens, increasing the number of impact analyses, and wide-ranging consultations. As a result, the legislative process has ground to a halt. Having mapped and quantified the EU acquis, the Commission is preparing to launch a targeted deregulation with the aim of reducing regulatory burdens.
Balancing economic benefits and ethical questions of Big Data in the EU policy context
The focus of the study is to analyse the progress of the Jobs, Growth and Investment Package and its contribution towards promoting more sustainable and inclusive growth. The study is based on the concept of inclusive growth, derived from the development literature: it not only states that growth with equity is possible, but also that equity is necessary for growth.
