Press releases

  • Hearing live-in care Poland
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    Reference number: 32/2018

    The EESC held the fourth of its Going Local meetings on the live-in care sector in the EU, this time in Poland. The country provides much of the sector's workforce in western EU Member States, but has itself started to face a serious shortage of qualified carers in recent years

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    31/2018

    Global developments over the past years have taken a heavy toll on Europe's political and social life and have put the European project to the test.

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    30/2018

    Citizenship, Democracy and Culture in a digitalised Europe was the motto of the 2018 Civil Society Days, organised by the Liaison Group at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) on 24 and 25 May in Brussels. In six workshops, participants discussed living together in a digital Europe in the future and concluded with the adoption of seven key recommendations. Panels focused on culture and education, identities and polarisation, cybersecurity and data protection, digital democracy and citizen participation, overcoming the digital divide and artificial intelligence as a common good.

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    29/2018

    Top EU leaders debating future of Europe agree civic space is and must remain key to European democracy

    In his speech on the occasion of the European Economic and Social Committee's 60th anniversary on 24 May, EESC President Luca Jahier articulated the Committee's resolve not to rest on its laurels and charted a course for the EESC's future action based on seven priorities.

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    28/2018

    The CAP reform must strengthen the financial position of farmers, as well as their position in the supply chain. A strong well-funded CAP is essential for sustainable and viable agriculture in the EU. The CAP's provisions must attract and support young farmers and facilitate generational renewal. This includes a strong first pillar that ensures a fair income for active farmers and an incentive for the delivery of public goods, and a second pillar that corresponds to the Cork 2.0 declaration and better supports Europe's rural areas. 

    It is crucial that the CAP protects the functioning of the single market; but the future CAP must also deliver on the environment, climate change and biodiversity, as well as social issues and employment in rural areas.

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    27/2018

    An EESC conference on the future long term budget of the European Union calls for a swift agreement on an adequate and properly reformed financial framework that strengthens the European Union

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    26/2018

    The EESC conference in Rome pointed to many shortcomings in Italy's live-in care sector, which is on the rise in the country shown to be the second "oldest" in the world according to recent figures

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    25/2018

    More than 100 civil society representatives adopted their contribution to the EU-Western Balkans Heads of State Summit in Sofia

    The participants at the high level conference, which took place on 15 May, were convinced that the enlargement of the EU, and in particular the spread of its democratic values and legal standards to the Western Balkan region, was in the interest of both the Western Balkan countries and the EU. Promoting EU values in the region guarantees security and stability, enhances social and economic development, as well as democracy and the rule of law in these countries which in turn means stability and security for the EU.

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    24/2018

    On 5-6 May, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) hosted the first European Citizens’ Panel, which was convened to prepare a public consultation on the Future of Europe. A group of 80 European citizens from 27 Member States came to the EESC premises in Brussels to work together and draft a 12-question online consultation. The Citizens’ Consultation, initiated by the French president Emmanuel Macron, is organized for the first time in the history of the EU.

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    23/2018

    The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has used an own-initiative opinion to call for sufficient funding resources to be put in place for implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights. Adopted at its plenary session on 19 April 2018, the opinion calls for improvements in the Member States and a robust commitment in terms of budget, investment and current spending to make the Social Pillar a reality.