Based on an intensive civil society dialogue the EESC contributed to establishing the EU's position on Rio+20. In February 2012, the major EESC conference Go sustainable, be responsible! European civil society on the road to Rio+20, sent out a list of messages to take on board at Rio+20 and called on our political leaders to step up their efforts to arrive to an ambitious outcome at the UN conference.

The European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform was launched as a joint initiative by the European Commission and the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in March 2017. The two institutions are working closely together to develop the Platform as a space for the exchange of ideas and a growing body of information, and to make the circular economy happen faster to the benefit of all.

The 12^th Civil Society Media Seminar, organised at the Aegli Zappiou in Athens, Greece, on 22-23 November 2018, looked in three panels at burning issues such as multiculturalism, growing nationalism and illiberalism and declining solidarity, which are challenging the values Europe is based on.

The research shows that economic decline, social instability and limited levels of education are significant factors in explaining the increase in support for populists throughout the EU, but that there are also more complex and interdependent matters to be considered. This is why civil society organisations have a key role to play in fighting populism.

The conclusions provide guidelines to help us better understand the rise of the phenomenon of populism across the entire EU.