In an opinion adopted during its March plenary, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) welcomed the European Commission (EC) proposal to implement the remaining elements of the Basel III international standards in the EU. The aim is to strengthen the resilience of the banking sector while ensuring that it continues to finance economic activity and growth. But the EESC also calls on the EC to find a proper balance between faithful implementation, and the need to reflect the specificities of the EU economy and banks.
On 14 March, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), the Fair Trade Advocacy Office (FTAO) and the Global Competition Law Centre of the College of Europe organised an online conference on Competition Policy and Social Sustainability to continue the debate onhow joint sustainability initiatives can be compatible with competition law.
Ensuring effective and fair taxation across the Single Market is crucial to stimulating a real recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic. In an opinion adopted at its March plenary session, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) supported the European Commission (EC) proposal on the misuse of shell companies for tax purposes. This is purely a tax directive proposal, however, and the Commission needs to dig deeper into the topic, and address other key issues related to shell companies.
The EESC’s Transatlantic Relations Follow-up Committee met to discuss two current and timely topics with the aim of strengthening the EU-US partnership on a global scene, particularly important in the current challenging international context: the state of play of the transatlantic trade policy and the Year of Action between the two Summits for Democracy.
With the war in Ukraine bringing the topic of the EU's energy supply back to the fore, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) says that coordinated measures to tackle the current energy price crisis are needed but they must not undermine climate policy efforts. On top of its emergency response aimed at avoiding severe social consequences, the bloc must closely monitor the energy market and step up investment in renewables.
In an opinion adopted at its plenary session on 23 February, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) welcomed the communication of the European Commission (EC) on this year's Annual Sustainable Growth Survey, outlining the priorities and guiding principles for the 2022 European Semester cycle. The Committee applauded the unprecedented actions of solidarity taken by the EU in dealing with the COVID-19 crisis. The impact on economic activity, however, has been significant, and the level of uncertainty in Europe continues to rise.
The EU needs to reassess the priorities of its industrial policy in light of the pandemic and the conflict on Europe's eastern border: this is what emerged from a conference hosted by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) on 4 March 2022.
EESC President Christa Schweng on Twitter: "On #InternationalWomensDay, I wish to pay tribute to all women and stand up for #GenderEquality. United we must shape a peaceful future in which ️women have as many opportunities to flourish as ️men. #IWD2022.
The EESC opinion on the "Reinforcing democracy and integrity of elections package", adopted at the February plenary session, comes in at a very timely moment, with populist voices and anti-democratic rhetoric gaining ground in Europe. Manipulative information, interference and fake news disseminated by "bots" and "trolls" could generate a "casus belli" pretext, as we have witnessed all too recently. The EESC welcomes the aims of the European election package and makes recommendations to further secure transparent, accessible and honest political activities and an active role of civil society.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) says that the greening of river and seaport activities should consider the impact on the health and quality of life of local residents and workers. To this end, port and transport stakeholders should work together with local and regional authorities to rethink the links between cities, ports and transport means.
