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.
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.
Przyjęte on 27/10/2020 - Bureau decision date: 28/05/2020
Petru Sorin DANDEA (Workers - GR II/Romania), Tommaso DI FAZIO (/Italy), Petr ZAHRADNÍK (/Czech Republic)
The EESC strongly supports the Commission's proposal – Next Generation EU – as a specific tool for a quick and effective recovery.
The EESC takes a very positive view of the Commission's two main decisions:
to introduce an extraordinary financial recovery instrument as part of the multiannual financial framework
to raise common debt, which will be repaid over a long period of time, and prevent the extraordinary financial burden from falling directly on the Member States in the short run.
The EESC strongly welcomes the fact that the newly proposed instrument should be closely coordinated with the European Semester process, and furthermore welcomes the Commission's proposal to introduce additional genuine own resources based on different taxes (revenues from the EU Emissions Trading System, digital taxation, large companies' revenues).
EESC opinion: Recovery plan for Europe and the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027
The directive on services in the Internal Market was designed to promote competitiveness, growth and employment in line with the Lisbon Strategy. It has, at the same time, triggered an intensive debate on the form to be taken by the freedom to provide services. The effects of the Directive on national labour markets, social conditions and consumer protection requirements remain a highly controversial issue.
Information report: The services directive in the meat processing sector (information report)
The EESC welcomes the Commission's proposals to amend the Taking of Evidence Regulation and the Service of Documents Regulation and calls on the Commission to take into account its observations: without a genuine judicial area, the freedoms of the single market cannot be fully taken advantage of.
EESC opinion: Taking of evidence and service of documents
The proposed measures of the services package aim to make it easier for services providers to navigate administrative formalities, helping Member States identify overly burdensome or outdated requirements on professionals operating domestically or across borders. Rather than amending existing EU rules in the services area, the Commission focuses on ensuring better application.