At the request of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU, the EESC is drawing up this opinion to suggest recommendations on how to tackle inequalities, foster upwards social convergence and strengthen social security systems and ensure its long-term affordability, in an EU economic governance framework/European Semester defined around debt sustainability, productive investments and reforms. This opinion is also focusing on the implications of such a framework for the European Semester, and the further strengthening of the social pillar herein. Finally, the opinion also looks at ways of continuing to further develop fiscal instruments that have a stabilising role at the European level, based e.g. on the experience of SURE.
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Reporting requirements are key for the enforcement and monitoring of legislation, but can also lead to burdens on stakeholders. The European Commission, under the REFIT programme, is proposing to streamline reporting obligations and reducing administrative burdens with regards to financial services, the InvestEU programme and certain benchmarks, while allowing the reuse of data for innovation and research purposes.
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Every year in February, the EESC adopts an opinion on Annual Sustainable Growth Survey, which the Commission usually presents at the end of November in the year before. This communication outlines the economic and employment policy priorities for the EU for the following 12 months, with a view to mitigating the negative impacts of the energy shocks in the short term and to foster sustainable growth and increase the EU’s resilience in the medium term. The structured approach, like in previous years, centres around the four dimensions of competitive sustainability and in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The ASGS also continues to guide Member States in the implementation of the national Recovery and Resilience Plans (RRPs). The EESC's opinion on the ASGS 2024 is due to be adopted at the plenary session of 24-25 February 2024.
The EESC supports the development of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) as an alternative to court proceedings when consumers seek redress for the damage traders may cause them, alongside accessible judicial proceedings and enforcement of consumer rights by national authorities. It considers enforcement by national authorities to be essential as a foundation of trust in consumer protection, while redress, whether through court or an ADR procedure, offers a way to restore trust when an incident occurs between consumer and trader.
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Since the inception of the Single Market, the EU has prioritized open, rule-based trade and economic stability. Recent global challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and rising geopolitical tensions, underscored vulnerabilities in Europe's economic structure, compelling a strategic response.
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The EESC calls for a strategy for civil dialogue, resulting in an action plan, and potentially an interinstitutional agreement for improved civil dialogue. It advocates for making Article 11 TEU effective by strengthening actors in the different EU institutions dealing with civil dialogue and create an annual civil dialogue scoreboard tracing the EU's engagement with civil society, and an accreditation mechanism for CSOs. It reiterates that the EESC should be at the centre of civil society consultation and civil dialogue and calls for a stronger role for the Committee in participatory democracy, including being a potential hub for citizen panels.
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In this opinion, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) highlights the challenges hindering efficient cross-border access to social security services, including bureaucratic complexity and uneven progress in digitalisation across Member States. While supportive of the European Commission's efforts to simplify processes and enhance digitalisation, the EESC emphasises the need for accelerated progress and urges developing comprehensive action plans considering diverse stakeholder needs. Recognising the overall need for digitalisation, the EESC stresses the importance of inclusive solutions for digitally excluded individuals as well as robust IT systems to ensure data protection and cybersecurity. Additionally, the EESC calls for the finalisation of the revision of Regulation 883/2004 to address obstacles to free movement more effectively.
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The European Union has close to 182 million hectares of forests covering 43% of its land area and these forest areas are one of Europe's most important renewable resources. EU forests are exceptionally diverse, with a large variety of forest types, characteristics and ownership structures. They provide multiple benefits for society and the economy whilst being a major source of biodiversity.
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Microplastics are persistent, very mobile, and hard to remove from nature. Microplastics are widespread in the world and in the human body, and a cause of growing concerns. Plastic pellets are found in water and soil, including agricultural lands, and harm ecosystems and biodiversity. Plastic pellets are the one of the largest sources of unintentional microplastic pollution.
For the first time, the European Commission proposes measures to prevent microplastic pollution from the unintentional release of plastic pellets.
The EC proposes establishing a Head Office Tax system for micro, small and medium sized enterprises (HOT), and amending Directive 2011/16/EU. The objective of the proposal is to give small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating cross-border through permanent establishments (PE) the option to interact with only one tax administration – that of the Head Office – instead of having to comply with multiple tax systems.
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The Commission is proposing new rules to create a legal form for European cross-border operations of non-profit associations, which will coexist with national non-profit associations. They will serve as a vehicle to facilitate the operations of associations with activities in more than one Member State. The new rules will eliminate legal and administrative obstacles, supporting the freedom of establishment, the free provision of services and goods, the freedom of capital and the mobility rights of non-profit associations. The proposal also encourages measures to ensure the interoperability of national registers with existing tools at EU level, such as the Single Digital Gateway, in order to allow automated access and exchange of data and/or use of agreed minimum standards to ensure comparability of data and the Internal Market Information System (IMI) to support administrative cooperation between competent authorities.
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EESC exploratory opinion NAT/913 - Towards the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) post-2027: for an agricultural sector that meets economic, social and environmental needs
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The Belgian presidency asked the EESC to provide an opinion on how to tackle poverty through social innovation and the development of the social economy. The fight against poverty and social exclusion must take into account the numerous dimensions of the concept of poverty that affect access to employment, education, healthcare, housing, food, mobility, digital tools, energy and culture, among other things. A cross-cutting approach to poverty is therefore essential in order to ensure social inclusion. Even though all economic actors are involved in the fight against poverty, it is up to the state to exercise its full responsibility in this area. The social economy contributes to this fight in an organic and cross-cutting way, through its diverse activities and social orientation.
The Belgian presidency of the Council of the European Union asked the EESC to provide their insights on the rethinking of the internal market in light of the acceleration of the Union’s twin transitions towards a green and digital economy and on crafting a European Industrial Strategy that positions industries as the backbone of Europe's economy.
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