The European Economic and Social Committee greets the Commission's legislative proposals with interest, and notes that some – although far from all – recommendations made in its past opinions have been taken into account. Most importantly, the Committee has repeatedly stated that the future CAP must be driven by a determination to defend the European agricultural model, which is based on the principles of food sovereignty, sustainability and responsiveness to the real needs of farmers and consumers.
The EESC repeats that the European agricultural model cannot operate at world market prices and conditions and does not come free of charge. Any policy that promotes this agricultural model thus requires sufficient financial resources. However, in the current proposals concerning the Union budget for the 2014-2020 period, the resources earmarked for the CAP would be clearly reduced in constant price terms.
A substantial change in behaviour is needed to move to the low-carbon economy provided for in the Commission's 2050 Roadmap. It is imperative to involve civil society in order to achieve the EU's objectives, in particular its target of at least a 20% reduction in energy consumption by 2020. NGOs' first-hand expertise in developing energy education models and tools is extremely important.The EESC believes it is necessary to develop innovative education, teaching and training methods.
With the notable exception of some sectors cooperatives represent a limited part of the European economy. However data reported in this opinion show that in times of crisis cooperatives are more resilient and stable than other forms of enterprise as well as they develop new entrepreneurial initiatives. This can be attributed to the specificity of the cooperative enterprises: their long term approach, their strong territorial roots, their promotion of members’ interests, and their focus on cooperation among themselves. The manifested cooperative excellence is important to disseminate and develop in national and EU policies.
The Committee welcomes the Commission's legislative proposals as a step in the right direction, as they halve the GNI contribution and compensate for that with two new own resources, one based on VAT and the other on a tax on financial transactions. The EESC regrets that the text under discussion does not refer to the new own resources in order to address the key issue of budget size. The Committee regrets the fact that the Commission has not used this opportunity to provide financial support to help fulfil the obligations arising from the Treaty of Lisbon, the 2020 Strategy or the need to take measures to stimulate growth.
The proposal for an EU financial transaction tax seeks to change the short term oriented behaviour of financial actors whilst at the same time providing an own resource to the budget of the European Union that could considerably reduce the contributions by Member States based on their gross national income (GNI). The second initiative is in line with the treaties and wants the EU- budged be to a higher extent be financed by own resources. This would also put an end to the ongoing "juste retour" discussions that jeopardises the European project. The EESC welcomes these two Commission initiatives.
The Committee supports the Commission proposal to improve the regulation of rating agencies in order to further eradicate major shortcomings in transparency, independence, conflict of interest, and the quality of procedures used in making ratings. The dependence on these ratings should also be reduced, according to the Committee. Insider trading and market abuse damage confidence in the integrity of the markets, which is an essential prerequisite for a functional capital market. The EESC welcomes the fact that the Commission, with a new proposal, is responding to changing market conditions and is seeking to update the framework created by the market abuse directive.
The EESC believes that the Erasmus for All Programme should be a key instrument for increasing support for education and training in order to enhance citizens' skills, help tackle the high levels of youth unemployment in many Member States, meet the need for qualified labour, and resolve skills mismatches. It is especially important to employ such an instrument at a time of economic crisis and negative repercussions on labour markets.
The EESC supports the general principles of this program but believes it should also strengthen the support and advice to SMEs in consultation with all professional organizations. The Committee also considers that promoting access to finance and encouraging an entrepreneurial culture should be the core issues of this new regulation.
