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.
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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.
The EESC adopted this opinion after in-depth work carried out during the four meetings of the study group. The opinion also reflects the national debates with civil society organisations carried out in all Member States between 2 September and 2 November 2016. These discussions were coordinated by three members of the EESC ('trios') from the country concerned, often in cooperation with the European Commission (15 debates) or the national economic and social council (7 debates). Participants came from a wide range of employers' and trade union organisations and other civil society organisations, as well as, to a lesser extent, from the academic world. A total of 116 EESC members and nearly 1,800 representatives of civil society organisations participated in the 28 debates. The conclusions/recommendations of the national debates have been grouped in the opinion, while the reports on the national debates will be published separately.
This exploratory opinion responds to a request made by the Polish Presidency. One of the key messages is that the number of high quality jobs needs to be increased. If we succeed to use the untapped employment reserves in all age brackets, many other issues - for instance the long term funding of the pension systems - will be solved. If the real retirement age is to be raised then it is necessary to ensure that people can work longer. The opinion lists a package of measures to make working conditions favourable for older people.
EESC opinion: Demographic trends and the labour market
Some 42% of Europe's older population report that age discrimination is prevalent in their country, with ageism peaking in the workplace. As the proportion of people over 65 is set to steadily rise in the coming decades, the EU is in dire need of a comprehensive strategy which will allow for a fundamental change, both in policies and in society's perception of older people
In a plenary debate with Commission Vice President Dubravka Šuica, the EESC asked the Commission to present a new strategy for older persons before the end of the current mandate
Europejski Komitet Ekonomiczno-Społeczny uważa, że godne starzenie się powinno stać się podstawowym prawem. Europejczycy żyją dłużej, co jest pozytywnym zjawiskiem. Starzenie się niesie ze sobą jednak nowe wyzwania społeczne, gospodarcze i zdrowotne, które wpływają zarówno na osoby starsze, jak i ich rodziny i społeczeństwo. EKES uważa, że temat ten był zbyt długo pomijany, a coraz większe potrzeby starszych osób – bagatelizowane.
W swej opinii EKES podkreśla olbrzymi potencjał nowych miejsc pracy i postępu technologicznego, jaki wiąże się z sektorem potrzeb osób starszych.
The European economy loses over 2% of productivity per year due to a mismatch of skills, according to a recent study commissioned by the European Economic and Social Committee. This means a loss of 80 eurocents for each hour of work. The situation will get even worse in the future due to demographic trends and ongoing technological developments, if no reforms are undertaken.