Comité Económico e Social Europeu
In supporting a proposed EU strategy for the Schengen area, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has called for more action to be taken to protect the EU's freedoms and rights in the face of human-rights violations at its external frontiers. The EESC is worried about the reintroduction of internal border controls by some Member States, and strongly deplores the slow progress in fully including Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Romania in the Schengen area.
The October plenary of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) adopted an opinion recognising the value of electronic communications infrastructure while highlighting the potential risks.
The European Economic and Social committee (EESC) has participated in the ongoing public debate with a hearing on non-standard employment and platform cooperatives. It discussed platform cooperatives' role in promoting the business motivations, ecosystems, bargaining power and social rights of "freelancers".
Disregard for social and economic rights, restrictions placed on fundamental rights with no end date, broad emergency measures adopted in haste and allowing little scrutiny by parliaments, the judiciary, and civil society - all these contribute to the erosion of public trust in public policies, which can have serious repercussions not only for people's health but also for the health of our democracies, an EESC hearing warned
Recent events caused by COVID-19, extreme weather due to climate disruption, cyber-attacks and Brexit demonstrate the need to rethink priorities and improve the resilience and sustainability of EU food systems by reinforcing its autonomy. Food security is not a given for many EU citizens.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is contributing to the ongoing public debate with an event on the debt-equity bias; it assesses core elements such as the effects of this bias, its economic and social costs and ways of reducing it.
The situation of civil society in Belarus following the presidential elections in August 2020 and the huge level of repression, as well as the tragic fate of the people in Afghanistan, show that the EU has to speak up with one voice in the geopolitical arena.
Taking stock of how EU Member States are combating energy poverty in their recovery plans: this was the objective of an event organised by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), showcasing examples of national recovery efforts and bringing civil society representatives together to monitor their progress.
Building energy efficient systems is key for Europe's future and both public and private sectors could contribute to energy savings, EESC hearing concludes.
The recent leak of the Pandora Papers has brought the issue of fighting money laundering back to the fore. The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) discussed this issue at a recent conference, in which the participants assessed the European Commission's new legislative package establishing a new ad hoc EU anti-money-laundering authority.
