The Information Report can serve as a tool to promote and share the rich experience of the EU and its Member States in the area of CSR with partner countries and their civil society. It can provide a basis for discussion in EESC dialogues with partner countries, as well as the Committee's contribution to the work of the monitoring mechanisms established by the recently negotiated EU trade agreements.
Download — Corporate social and societal responsibility
The Economy for the Common Good model proposes the transition towards a "European Ethical Market" which will foster social innovation, boost the employment rate and benefit the environment, for example through using indicators of wellbeing and social development beyond the GDP such as the Common Good Product and the Common Good Balance Sheet. The EESC considers that the Economy for the Common Good model is conceived to be included both in the European and the domestic legal framework and demands from the European Commission, in the framework of the upcoming renewed CSR strategy, to make a qualitative step in order to reward (in terms of public procurement, access to external markets, tax advantages, etc.) those enterprises that can demonstrate higher ethical performance.
Download — EESC opinion: Recognition of skills and qualifications acquired through non-formal and informal learning – the practical input of organised civil society
This opinion is drafted at the request of the European Parliament, within the context of the two reports of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, namely: Improving the Functioning of the European Union Building on the Potential of the Liston Treaty (rapporteurs Ms Bresso and Mr Brok) and Possible Evolutions and Adjustments of the Current Institutional Set-up of the European Union (rapporteur Mr Verhofstadt).
Digital technologies have reached a degree of maturity that allows their use across a wide range of economic sectors in manufacturing as well as in service industries. According to the 2010 edition of the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS), more than 50% of the EU workforce use ICT in their daily work, with individual EU Member States reaching rates above 85%. Services sectors are identified as the heaviest users of ICT (for instance, more than 90% of finance employees using ICTS in their daily work), which is to be seen as a natural consequence of the increasing digitalisation of many services – such as eBanking, eCommerce, and online media.
Download — Effects of digitalisation on service industries and employment (own-initiative opinion)
