Europejski Komitet Ekonomiczno-Społeczny
536th Plenary session, with a debate on the modernisation of the European economy: decentralised energy provision, sustainable transport and regional economic development, with Maroš Šefčovič, and the presentation of the priorities of the Austrian presidency, with Gernot Blümel.
The European Economic and Social Committee is organising a public hearing on the Next EU youth strategy in the context of the EESC opinion SOC/589.
The 4th meeting of the EU Domestic Advisory Group under the EU-Ukraine DCFTA took place on 27 June 2018 in Brussels. Please click on the programme tab to consult the topics on the agenda.
The forthcoming period will be decisive for the future of the EU institutions in general, but in particular for the living and working conditions of EU citizens. This is why the Workers' Group of the European Economic and Social Committee is organising an extraordinary meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria, to discuss the social achievements of the ending Bulgarian EU Presidency and to look ahead at future challenges on the way towards a social Europe for all.
How can we foster the completion of the internal market? How would the strengthening of EMU contribute to ensuring a favourable business environment? What influence will Brexit have on the EU economy? These are just some of the questions that we will set out to address during the conference entitled "The Future of the European Union – Employers' perspectives". The event will take place on 21 June 2018 in Madrid, Spain. The conference is being jointly organised by the Employers' Group of the European Economic and Social Committee and the Spanish Confederation of Employers' Organizations (CEOE).
During the 8th meeting of the Domestic Advisory Group for the EU-Colombia, Peru and Ecuador FTA the new President and Vice-Chairs were elected under the new mandate. Members participated in debriefing on past activities and exchanged views on a possible work programme for the new mandate. DG TRADE provided the members with the latest information on the FTA.
The EESC Study Group on Disability Rights is organising a public hearing on "Persons with disabilities as a human capital: their contribution to the economy and society".
The aim of the event is to look into how persons with disabilities have been able to bring a positive change in the organisations that employ them.
Based on inspiring testimonies and presentations of good practices, we will try to identify the policy changes required to facilitate this process and what employers and organised civil society can do to help bringing them about.
Your presence and input are most welcome!
On 18 June 2018, the European Economic and Social Committee, together with the European Commission, organised a stakeholder summit on artificial intelligence (AI). The summit brought together businesses representatives, academia, workers, citizens, policy makers and NGO's to discuss the next steps to advance the EU strategy on AI.
In recent years, EU trade policy has become a true issue of debate in the civil society at national level: that shows the need to bring trade policy closer to EU citizens. EU Member States have different existing national structures, procedures and consultation methods, as well as ratification processes; however, citizens from most countries not always seem to be able to fully express their voices in national debates on trade policy. The objective of the event was that of a) assessing and examining the different kinds of consultation procedures that exist in the Member States; b) exploring how civil society and consultative structures, wherever they exist, are informed or consulted on negotiations and implementation of trade agreements, and c) promoting the experience of the EESC in the domain of the EU trade policy.
In September 2016, the EESC adopted an own-initiative opinion on "The rights of live-in care workers". It was a first policy document at the European level dealing with the sector of live-in care work in Europe. As follow-up to this initiative, the EESC will carry out 5 country visits to countries of origin and destination of live-in care workers (United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Italy and Poland) to deepen the research on labour and work conditions of these persons and the quality of care delivery. The findings will be presented in a report to be released by the EESC later in 2018.
