The EESC issues between 160 and 190 opinions and information reports a year.
It also organises several annual initiatives and events with a focus on civil society and citizens’ participation such as the Civil Society Prize, the Civil Society Days, the Your Europe, Your Say youth plenary and the ECI Day.
Here you can find news and information about the EESC'swork, including its social media accounts, the EESC Info newsletter, photo galleries and videos.
The EESC brings together representatives from all areas of organised civil society, who give their independent advice on EU policies and legislation. The EESC's326 Members are organised into three groups: Employers, Workers and Various Interests.
The EESC has six sections, specialising in concrete topics of relevance to the citizens of the European Union, ranging from social to economic affairs, energy, environment, external relations or the internal market.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) warns against granting China market economy status (MES) and calls on the European institutions to promote fair international competition and actively defend European jobs and European values with efficient trade defence instruments (TDIs). In its opinion, adopted at its 514th plenary session on 14th July, the EESC points to the disastrous impact a possible granting of MES to China would have on Europe's industry and consequently on Europe's labour market. The EESC insists on China's fulfilment of the five EU criteria for achieving the MES.
EESC opinion: The impact on key industrial sectors (and on jobs and growth) of the possible granting of market economy treatment to China (for the purpose of trade defence instruments) (own-initiative opinion)
welcomes the EU's decision to promote the principle of the EU's open strategic autonomy, and therefore the launch of the Global Gateway initiative at the end of 2021;
argues that the Global Gateway will strengthen economic and political ties with the EU's partner countries, enabling the EU to compete effectively on a global level in the provision of infrastructure;
regrets the lack of real involvement of local European stakeholders in the overall process of development. The EESC would like to play a more active role in the key stages of the decision-making process for development projects associated with the BRI and the Global Gateway.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has adopted at its March plenary session an opinion on the Joint Communication "Connecting Europe and Asia – Building blocks for an EU Strategy", issued by the European Commission and the EU High Representative in September 2018. The EESC considers it to be a seriously missed opportunity, with many significant strategic gaps, little ambition and no real depth of vision offered as to the development of EU's relationship and connectivity with Asia.
Employers believe that the business community has a crucial role to play in spreading a positive message about trade and in explaining what an ambitious trade policy can achieve. It is businesses that can tell the story of the practical benefits stemming from trade agreements. This was the main message that the members of the EESC Employers' Group delivered to Cecilia Malmström, EU Commissioner for Trade, during their meeting on 6 December 2017.
The EESC warns against granting China market economy status (MES) and calls on the European institutions to promote fair international competition and actively defend European jobs and European values with efficient trade defence instruments (TDIs). In its opinion, the EESC points to the disastrous impact a possible ...
Europe's steel industry is the basis for many industrial sectors and the lifeline for economic and social welfare in many regions in Europe. In addition to the economic crisis hitting the steel industry hard, the flood of unfairly traded steel imports has driven down steel prices and decimated the European steel industry. "Enough is enough. We have to save our steel. We have to show our ...
The EU-China Round Table's 14th meeting was hosted by the EESC in Brussels on 18-19 May 2016. The Round Table was set up in 2007 following a Decision taken by the 9th EU-China Summit, which acknowledged that the exchanges and cooperation between the EESC and its Chinese counterpart, the China Economic and Social Council (CESC), formed an integral part of the EU-China relationship. Topics on the agenda included ...
The 18th meeting of the EU-China Civil Society Round Table took place in Brussels on 14 December 2021 in a hybrid format that allows for both physical presence and remote participation.
On this occasion, delegations from the EESC and its Chinese counterpart, CESC, focused on post-Covid economic recovery and possible EU-China cooperation.