The Committee is delighted of the process to update and modernise the guidelines on public aid for businesses in disadvantaged areas and calls on the Commission to make EU policies more consistent with competition policy. The Committee requests that the new guidelines on state aid for the regions give Member States a flexible cross-sectoral instrument and asks for the adoption of more flexible parameters that are better tailored to a dramatically changing economic context.
Download — EESC opinion: The Internal Market and State aid for the regions
The EESC is convinced that "good" and thus "sustainable" business management must be built on the legal structures and practices of employee involvement based on information, consultation and, where applicable, co-determination. The "sustainable company" as a business management concept entails that the "voice" of employees is respected in business decisions and a "fair relationship" between employees, management and owners. A set of tools already exists for the obligatory involvement of employee representatives at national and European level. These provisions should be consolidated and applied generally in EU law, and in particular definitions of information, consultation and participation should be standardised. A new stage in this debate is marked by the European Parliament's resolution of 15 January 2013 on minimum standards for restructuring.
Download — EESC opinion: Employee influence and participation
In this opinion, the EESC will aim to adopt a stance on the role of social protection in development policy. This is likely to be one of the main topics in the debate about the new goals of development policy which are to replace the Millennium Development Goals after 2015.
Download — Social protection in European Union development cooperation
