The EESC welcomes the proposal to use the passerelle clauses to establish a qualified majority in the Council and a co-decision system with the European Parliament. In this new set-up, the EESC could play an important role in supporting the trilogue and should be involved.
Download — Opinjoni tal-KESE: New institutional framework for energy and climate policy by 2025
Download — Opinjoni tal-KESE: Summary of the costs and benefits of Investments in occupational safety and health (OSH) (Exploratory opinion at the request of the Finnish Presidency)
2019 is the year we are celebrating the ten-year anniversary of a real and living partnership – the Eastern Partnership (EaP). Over the last decade this partnership has gone through its share of difficulties. Yet, it not only endured - it developed, matured and delivered beyond what we foresaw at the beginning.
Thus after 10 years of EaP policy, it is crucial to properly evaluate the achievements and aims and reflect on the next possible steps. It is important to ensure that EaP policy connects countries and people and covers a broad area of issues, including supporting civil society, pluralism and independent media, as well as ensuring gender equality and non-discrimination. As it is likely that the policy will change its course from a one-size-fits-all to a tailor-made approach, it will be crucial to ensure that those wanting to get closer to the EU have this opportunity, adapted to their ambitions and pace.
Download — Opinjoni tal-KESE: 10 years of Eastern Partnership: reflecting on achievements and shaping the future policy of the EaP
Download — Opinjoni tal-KESE: Proposal for a regulation amending Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013 on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (2014-2020)
With this opinion the EESC wishes to highlight the scale of Dieselgate and regrets that the Commission was not able to anticipate these events by means of effective measures from the outset. The EESC further considers that the solution put forward in this proposal should not be limited to dealing with an issue of form, without genuinely serving the applicants' interests. Lastly the EESC also fears that, by empowering the Commission to issue delegated acts under the terms it sets out, the proposal would undermine not only the effectiveness of the legislation but also the intentions of the legislator when establishing these delegated act.
Download — Opinjoni tal-KESE: Motor vehicles - emissions from light passenger and commercial vehicles - repair and maintenance information (amendment)
The EESC would like a vigorous SME-friendly initiative (Act Small First) to be implemented with a view to achieving this objective, and calls for the Think small first principle and the SME test to be evaluated. The goal here will be to make these tools more effective and to design SME-compatible legislation so that SMEs can develop within the single market on the basis of complete legal certainty...
In this opinion, the EESC notes that the measures taken by the EU Member States to address the challenge of an ageing workforce remain isolated and their impact has not been gauged. Therefore, the EESC highlights the need for comprehensive strategies, to deal with the demographic and employment challenges in a holistically manner.
The Committee also issues concrete recommendations to encourage longer active working lives.
Download — Opinjoni tal-KESE: The changing world of work and the longevity/ageing population - The preconditions for ageing workers to stay active in the new world of work (Exploratory opinion at the request of the Finnish Presidency)
This opinion calls on the EU to develop a strategy to enhance continuous, learner-centred learning, with digitalisation and the deployment of trustworthy AI at its heart, and stresses the essential role of both public education and non-formal education to enhance inclusiveness and active citizenship. Such a strategy requires an increased allocation of EU funds and more cooperation between policymakers, education providers, social partners and other civil society organisations.
Download — Opinjoni tal-KESE: Digitalisation, Al and Equity - How to strenghten the EU in the global race of future skills and education, while ensuring social inclusion (Exploratory opinion at the request of the Finnish Presidency)
The EESC notes that the Global Compact is a non-binding instrument that does not create new obligations for EU Member States and its content is fully in line with the principles and values of the European Union, most notably Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union, which includes – as its main values – respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. The EESC therefore regrets the fact that the Compact has not been approved by all Member States and recommends that the EU clarify and build on the Compact's objectives using appropriate mechanisms.
Download — Opinjoni tal-KESE: Implementation of the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration based on EU values (own-initiative opinion)
Download — Opinjoni tal-KESE: The European Pillar of Social Rights – evaluation of the initial implementation and recommendations for the future (own-initiative opinion)
The EESC takes note of the Fourth Report on the State of the Energy Union (SEU), supports the objectives of the Energy Union and welcomes the emphasis on the engagement and mobilisation of EU society to take full ownership of the Energy Union.
Download — Opinjoni tal-KESE: Report on the State of the Energy Union
The European Commission’s first progress report on the implementation of the Strategic Action Plan on Batteries shows that a variety of actions have been launched to develop a significant battery industry in the EU. Although it is far too early to draw definitive conclusions, the EESC supports the initiatives that the Commission has taken and has announced it will take to work with Member States and European industry to break Europe's dependence on non-EU – particularly Asian – countries. There is much to be done in the coming years to achieve the necessary level of technological expertise in the EU, to secure the supply of raw materials from third countries and EU sources and to ensure that batteries can be recycled safely and cleanly. Investing in staff is the joint responsibility for the government and the business community.
Download — Opinjoni tal-KESE: Strategic Action Plan on Batteries (report)
The future of Europe and of the EU will be shaped and developed by our young people – by the students sitting in classrooms today. The foundations of their perceptions of and attitudes towards developments in Europe and the EU, and of their according them value or rejecting them, are already being laid in class and during discussions at school. The aim of a "Teaching Europe" initiative would be to put more emphasis on Europe and the EU in teaching in schools, and to highlight the EU's main achievements and its future challenges. The way the history of the EU Member States is taught should also be taken into consideration. As an idea, easy-to-use teaching materials could be developed, which would explain, among other issues, the role played by the EESC, civil society and the social partners.
Download — Opinjoni tal-KESE: Teaching Europe – developing a toolkit for schools (own-initiative opinion)
The EESC calls for synergy between European PES Network strategy going beyond 2020 and the principles of the EPSR. An innovative role for PES in implementing national employment and labour market policies and in guaranteeing more effective services for companies has to be properly supported at national level with sufficient capacity, skilled staff, IT and technical equipment and financial support. Greater efforts should be made to monitor, evaluate and benchmark PES services to assess the effectiveness of these services in assisting jobseekers entering the labour market.
Download — Opinjoni tal-KESE: The new role of public employment services (PES) in the context of the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights (own-initiative opinion)
