Sections contributions

NAT section

  • Fostering the transformation towards fairer and more sustainable agriculture and food systems, including through a fair income for European farmers, regenerative agriculture and the future CAP post 2027
  • Accelerating the implementation of the SDGs
  • Promoting climate neutrality and appropriate climate finance towards COP 30
  • Developing the social dimension of the transition towards a well-being economy – for a just transition
  • Fostering the circular economy (European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform, ECESP) in Europe and beyond, and aligning the circular economy and the bioeconomy
  • Restoring and preserving natural capital – a healthy planet for healthy people (biodiversity, environmental protection, the right to a healthy environment)
  • Promoting a holistic strategy for sustainable rural/urban development and the Rural Pact
  • Youth engagement in sustainability and the climate.

REX section

  • Continuing the successful implementation of  the ‘Enlargement Candidate Members’ (ECMs) project allowing members from civil society in the candidate countries to contribute to the drafting process of key EESC opinions;
  • Continuing dialogue with civil society from the enlargement countries on the reforms needed for fostering European integration and promoting the rule of law, civil and social dialogue;
  • Ensuring specific support for Ukrainian civil society struck affected by the war, via the EESC’s Ukraine Hub;
  • Maintaining relations with independent civil society in Russia and Belarus in exile;
  • Strengthening relations between EU and UK civil society and actively contributing to the reset of the EU-UK relations and the review of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement;
  • Working with civil society from the Euro-Mediterranean region on the new Pact for the Mediterranean;
  • Supporting stakeholders on in the Africa, Caribbean and the Pacific region on specific issues such as migration, sustainable development and the promotion of democracy;
  • Further supporting civil society involvement in the EU trade policy, as well as stronger links between international trade and overarching EU policies like such as economic security, strategic autonomy and sustainable development;
  • Enhancing dialogue between European and Latin American civil society on issues of common interest, such as promoting efforts to combat climate change and deforestation;
  • Continuously engaging in activities aimed at combating disinformation in the EU Member States and in third countries.;

TEN section

  • The cost-of-living crisis: the role of public services in inclusive mobility, quality jobs, energy poverty and competitiveness
  • The housing crisis in Europe – promoting access to affordable, decent, energy-saving housing for all
  • Towards a balanced European energy system: advancing Europe’s greening agenda and maximising the share of renewable energy
  • Planning sustainable urban mobility in the EU
  • For a closer EU Health Union: calling for an EU Action Plan on Rare Diseases
  • TEN-T corridors: dual use for anto increased the EU's strategic autonomy of the EU
  • Building an efficient, integrated and green European transport system
  • Promoting a global and secure strategy for an EU space policy.

SOC section

  • Contributing to the new action plan on the European Pillar of Social Rights
  • Boosting quality employment, improving working conditions, social protection and training: working time, economic efficiency and well-being of workers, access to social protection of for workers and the self-employed, older people in employment, the views of the social partners and civil society on the EU’'s path to reaching the headline employment and training targets, contributing to the Union of Skills and addressing the skills challenge in the green and digital transitions, while also promoting apprenticeships and dual- learning schemes for young people
  • Addressing the potential and the risks of new technologies and artificial intelligence: levers for harnessing the potential and mitigating the risks of AI in connection with employment and labour market policies, health and safety at work and the inclusion of persons with disabilities in this context
  • Overcoming the cost-of-living crisis: how to address the loss of purchasing power and the risk of rising inequalities, exclusion and marginaliszation and contributing to the EU anti-poverty strategy
  • Strengthening fundamental rights and the rule of law: evaluation of the European Commission’'s annual reports on the rule of law, labour rights for journalists and media professionals as a safeguard for independence and truthful information
  • Promoting gender equality: preparing for the 69th meeting of the UN Commission on the Status of Women and tackling violence against women and girls in the EU
  • Increasing preparedness: crises and crisis phenomena in modern Europe and civil society
  • Supporting legal migration and integration: enhancing legal migration corridors to the EU, ex-post evaluation of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund for the 2024-2020 programming period
  • Enhancing civil dialogue: good practice for EU civil dialogue in the light of participatory processes
  • Improving health and the quality of care: inequality for and people’'s state of health, further implementation of the European care strategy
  • Contributing to the second phase of the European disability strategy
  • Strengthening intergenerational solidarity: addressing loneliness / cementing measures for demographic cohesion, evaluating the impact of public policies in the medium and long term through intergenerational budgeting

INT section

  • Focusing on the single market as an overarching priority, inter alia by contributing to the upcoming horizontal Single Market Strategy and addressing opportunities and remaining challenges, e.g. the fragmentation issues. This includes the adoption of several opinions (on the competitiveness of the single market, the revision of the EU public procurement legal framework, the services sector, single market dysfunctionalities and their impact on the cost of living) and structured exchanges with the European Commission.
  • Keeping artificial intelligence high on the agenda, with the follow-up of the exploratory opinion entitled ‘General purpose AI: way forward after the AI Act’, and the presentation of a dedicated study on the uptake, opportunities and challenges of Generative AI and foundation models in the EU, thereby promoting the innovation efforts as well as effective implementation of the AI Act.
  • Advancing Europe’s industrial future, with a focus on a the Clean Industrial Deal and the adoption of an opinion on the future of EU industry in the face of high energy prices and transition costs, and actively contributing to the EU Industry Days to further support these efforts and foster dialogue on Europe’s industrial strategy. This work is linked to the revision of the current competition policy framework, with the adoption of an own-initiative opinion in early 2025.
  • Supporting SMEs by reducing administrative burdens and increasing their competitiveness as part of the preparation and follow-up of a dedicated opinion, while highlighting their critical role in Europe’s economy.
  • Strengthening consumer protection through the adoption of an exploratory opinion on consumer protection and the impact of the digital and green transitions on consumers, involving youth representatives in the work on this opinion to ensure their perspectives are reflected.
  • Actively contributing to the European Commission’'s work on the European Research Area (ERA), by participating in the dedicated ERA Forum and preparing an own-initiative opinion on the future ERA Act and unlocking the fifth freedom.

ECO section

  • Putting forward a comprehensive list of recommendations addressing various facets of the cost-of-living crisis in a transversal cross-cutting package of EESC opinions
  • Actively working on the involvement of organised civil society in the implementation and the monitoring of the national Recovery and Resilience Plans and closely following closely the implementation of the new economic governance framework
  • Putting forward recommendations on the documents of the European Semester, in particular on the euro area economic policy in view of creating a more sustainable, competitive and resilient EU economy
  • Continuing the work to promote a more participatory European Semester, with greater ownership at national level and closer involvement of organised civil society
  • Contributing to the preparations for the next Multiannual Financial Framework, adapted to the new challenges the EU is facing, and focussing on a participatory budgeting approach
  • Actively supporting efforts to introduce additional genuine own resources for the EU budget
  • Ensuring the stability, integration and resilience of European financial markets, and redirecting investment flows to support sustainable and inclusive growth; this includes providing input to the European Commission for a future reform of the EU securitisation regulation, and being attentive to possible actions towards a Savings and Investments Union
  • Contributing to the discussions on the future of cohesion policy after 2027 with a special focus on the results, and closely monitoring the implementation of the new territorial and urban agenda from the civil society angle
  • Proposing solutions on what has to be done in the current programming period of cohesion policy in the context of the 9th Cohesion Report
  • Examining solutions of for funding affordable housing through the cohesion funds
  • Combating tax fraud, tax avoidance, money laundering and tax havens, and assessing tax reporting obligations.

Consultative Commission on Industrial Change – CCMI

  • Pursuing the long-standing work on defence, given that the European defence industry is one of the key industries underpinning the future of European strategic autonomy, not only due to the critical importance of defence itself, but also because companies active in defence are also key players in Europe’s strategically important sectors (space, manufacturing trusted, high-end cybersecurity solutions for protecting Europe’s critical digital infrastructures). Therefore, in line with the Polish presidency's key priorities, advocating for developing the White Paper on the Future of European Defence.
  • Enhancing the strategic autonomy of the EU by improving competitiveness and supporting changes in crucial industrial sectors, especially in the health sector, including the potential of the robotics metaverse in the medical sector. In line with Commission and Polish presidency priorities, further contributing to the European action plan on the cybersecurity of hospitals and healthcare providers, as well as to the Critical Medicines Act.
  • Following up on the EESC call for an EU Blue Deal, the CCMI will continue to lead this EESC flagship initiative and push for a comprehensive approach to water at EU level, reflected in the design of upcoming top policy initiatives, such as the new Clean Industrial Deal, the Preparedness Union and the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) post-2027.
  • Enhancing the global competitiveness of EU industry, focusing in particular on the importance of sectoral industrial initiatives to build an industrial leadership and taking stock of Prof.the Draghi and Letta reports to contribute to the development of the Clean Industrial Deal, together with the Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act, addressing in a coherent manner the different industrial changes at stake.
  • Advancing the presidency work by elaborating drawing up an opinion on "The future of EU resource- and energy- intensive industries in the face of high energy prices and transition costs" to complement the exploratory opinion requested by the Polish presidency, on "The future of European Union industry in the face of high energy prices and transition costs".
  • Considering From the perspective that expenditure on R&D should match that of the EU’s global competitors, and be geared towards areas of its industrial ecosystems and innovation drivers where the most added value can be created, contributing to developing the initiative announced by the Commission and supported by Polish presidency to set up ‘AI Factories’ initiative.