Europejski Komitet Ekonomiczno-Społeczny
The majority of road accidents are down to human error alone, so a comprehensive approach to road safety is needed. It should cover driver behaviour, the working conditions and skills of professional drivers, and infrastructure.
The EESC strongly rejects the Commission's proposal to cut the EU's budget by 10% in real terms and urges the Member States (MS) to find solutions that allow this budget to be kept at the same level as the 2014-2020 programming period.
In several Eastern and Southern EU countries there is a steady flow of young people leaving their hometowns to find work in distant cities. This is a worrisome trend. An ever-increasing global food demand will require in the near future that all agricultural surfaces be cultivated.
To abandon large production areas is a luxury that the EU cannot afford. In order to attach young workers to their rural territories, or to bring them back if they are already gone, the availability of good job opportunities is a necessary condition but not a sufficient one. Education and health services, ICT links, even cultural activities have to reach a minimum level that makes living in these places not only acceptable but indeed attractive.
Mr van Iersel, President of the ECO Section and Mr Haken, vice-president of the ECO Section, represented the EESC at the Informal Meeting of Ministers responsible for urban policy which took place on 30 May 2016 in Amsterdam. After decades of working together towards a common European urban project, it is within this context that the 28 Ministers, along with representatives from other EU Institutions, cities and urban authorities agreed on the "Pact of Amsterdam" which sets out the principles of the EU Urban Agenda.
Mr Ostrowski, EESC member, participated in the conference on the Urban Agenda for the EU, organized under the Polish Presidency in Visegrad Group held on 27th October in Warsaw
