Room VMA 2, VMA building, Rue Van Maerlant 2, 1040
Brussels
Belgium
As in previous years, the Bureau of the European Migration Forum has decided to organise a consultation with civil society on the topic of the next Forum. This consultation consists of a survey and a meeting on 30 March.
The EESC´s Consultative Commission on Industrial Change (CCMI) organised a hearing on initiative on virtual worlds, such as the metaverse, with the participation of civil society stakeholders.
HOTEL INTERNATIONAL PRISHTINA, RR. SHKUPI, VETERNIK
Pristina, KOSOVO
This years' meeting of the EESC's Western Balkans Follow-up Committee outside of Brussels took place on 29 March 2023 in Pristina, Kosovo, and it included a hearing with the local civil society organisations (CSOs).
The goal of the hearing was to listen to the views on the role of civil society in Kosovo as well as to hear their concerns, and to convey these messages to the political authorities of Kosovo and of the EU.
The following topics were discussed at the hearing:
2023 European Year of Skills: skills, education and youth policy in Kosovo
State of social dialogue in Kosovo
Enabling civic space in Kosovo
@EESC_REX #EESC_WB
* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
As part of its work on the exploratory opinion requested by the forthcoming Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU on Measures to fight stigma against HIV, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is holding a remote public hearing on 29 March 2023 from 10:00 to 13:00.
By means of a discussion with civil society organisations and socio-professional stakeholders, the event will examine possible measures to fight stigma against HIV and to help improve prevention and the quality of life of people with HIV.
The Vietnam DAG members, invited to Brussels by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), met the EU DAG members on 28 March 2023. The overarching objective of the visit was capacity building. It was an occasion for the members to exchange views on topical issues and on the work of the respective DAGs since the joint meetings in October 2022.
There was also a workshop on the EU's Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (CSDD) with presentations of the institutional view.
The 3rd Joint Meeting of the Domestic Advisory Groups (DAGs) under the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement featured updates on the activities of the Singapore and EU DAGs since the December 2021 meeting, as well as a topical discussion on EU-Singapore trade prospects in the current geopolitical landscape.
European Economic and Social Commitee - 99 rue Belliard
1040 Brussels
Belgium
Every year, schools from all European Union Member States and candidate countries are invited to apply to take part and one school from each country is then selected at random. The selected schools each choose three pupils and one accompanying teacher to come to Brussels for two days, to work together, debate and draw up resolutions addressed to the EU institutions. All secondary schools in Europe can apply and this year, it could be your school!
The event is planned to take place in person at the EESC's headquarters, on 23 and 24 March 2023. The discussions will focus on youth and democracy, on how active citizenship fosters participatory democracy and the role of youth voices and initiatives in achieving this.
The EESC, as the voice of civil society, wants to ensure that the ideas of Europe's younger generation are heard.
Stay tuned for the launch of the event, expected later this month!
On Thursday, 23 March 2023, the NAT Section is organising a public expert event "What next for European action on childhood obesity?" to feed into the exploratory opinion requested by the upcoming Spanish Presidency to the Council of the European Union.
577th Plenary session, with the following guests: Kadri Simson, Commissioner responsible for Energy; Marina Elvira Calderone, Minister of Labour and Social Policies of Italy, Ambassador Lachezara Stoeva, President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council; Věra Jourová, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Values and Transparency, Daryna Onyshko, President of the European Democracy Youth Network, Brikena Xhomaqi, Co-chair of the EESC Liaison group with European civil society organisations and networks, Liina Carr, Confederal Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), Ken Godfrey, Executive Director of the European Partnership for Democracy, and Helfried Carl, Partner and co-founder of the Innovation in politics Institute and founder of the European Capital of Democracy initiative.
The thematic debate of the Group will see the participation of Marina Elvira Calderone, Minister for Labour and Social Policies of Italy, Marie Toussaint, MEP and Vice-Chair of the European Parliament's Intergroup on "Fighting against poverty", and several representatives of civil society organisations.
