The EESC issues between 160 and 190 opinions and information reports a year.
It also organises several annual initiatives and events with a focus on civil society and citizens’ participation such as the Civil Society Prize, the Civil Society Days, the Your Europe, Your Say youth plenary and the ECI Day.
Here you can find news and information about the EESC'swork, including its social media accounts, the EESC Info newsletter, photo galleries and videos.
The EESC brings together representatives from all areas of organised civil society, who give their independent advice on EU policies and legislation. The EESC's326 Members are organised into three groups: Employers, Workers and Various Interests.
The EESC has six sections, specialising in concrete topics of relevance to the citizens of the European Union, ranging from social to economic affairs, energy, environment, external relations or the internal market.
In 2021 the European Commission announced the revision of the Council Directive 2011/64/EU on the excise rules for tobacco. In the inception impact assessment, the EC stated that there are areas of weakness and ambiguity in the current legal arrangements which give rise to market distortions, legal uncertainty and can also hinder the detection and prevention of fraud. The review will ensure that the rules remain fit for the purpose and improve the proper functioning of the internal market, and a high level of health protection. The policy changes focus on:
W toku (updated on 27/02/2024) - Bureau decision date: 18/01/2024
Consumers are increasingly mindful of environmental and social issues when buying products, emphasizing the importance of information on product origin and distribution in their decision-making process.
W toku (updated on 27/02/2024) - Bureau decision date: 16/01/2024
Already in 2018 the European Commission has proposed a Regulation on a mechanism to resolve legal and administrative obstacles in a cross-border context for the programming period 2021-2027. At the time, the EESC has adopted its opinion on 19 September 2018, and the European Parliament adopted its first-reading position on the proposal in February 2019. However, the Council's working party on structural measures decided to cease work on the proposal in May 2021. In October 2022, to break the impasse and take the lead on this issue, the EP's Committee on Regional Development started drawing up a legislative-initiative report, calling on the Commission to present a new legislative proposal. The EP voted the report at its September 2023 plenary session.
W toku (updated on 27/02/2024) - Bureau decision date: 20/01/2022
The aim of the opinion is to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of both conventional and organic farming in order to identify the policy levers that are most effective and most likely to attain food sufficiency in EU Member States, while ensuring the transition to more sustainable food systems.
Information memo: Sustainable food in the EU during the crisis on the basis of the new CAP: the contribution of conventional and organic farming to ensuring sustainable food sufficiency in EU Member States
The EESC is expected to contribute to the mid-term evaluation of the Digital Europe Programme by assessing its implementation in selected key capacity areas through the analysis of national stakeholders' contributions and the application of the 3 main criteria: effectiveness, relevance, inclusion of civil society and its added value.
W toku (updated on 21/02/2024) - Bureau decision date: 15/02/2024