Comité Económico e Social Europeu
Housing shortages and rising housing costs in metropolitan and peri-urban areas have led to a rise in housing exclusion, homelessness, and poor-quality housing that is now affecting young people, single-parent and large families, workers and the middle classes more broadly, who are being driven out of major European cities by excessive housing costs and forced to relocate to rural areas. ...
The webinar will serve to bring the concept of wellbeing economy to the debate in the EU. By presenting several perspectives, it will contribute to the debate on the post-COVID recovery and reconstruction at the level of the EESC. ► Watch again
The European Economic and Social Committee will hold a conference on "Social housing: a service of general interest to guarantee decent, energy efficient and affordable accommodation for all?" that will take place on 4 December 2019 at 10.00 am dedicated to testimonies and debates on the theme of the current housing crisis in the European Union.
The EESC believes that sustainable European systems of transport, energy and services of general interest are vital for addressing the global challenges in a modern, digitised and smart environment. The active participation and engagement of European Civil Society and citizens are crucial when assessing the challenges, consequences and impacts of digital transformation.
The objective of the hearing is to gather relevant views of experts and stakeholders that will help the EESC to know first-hand the objectives and concerns of Civil Society regarding the digital transformation and to formulate recommendations to the new European Commission and European Parliament for achieving shared goals.
The rights and principles forming the European Pillar of Social Rights fall into three areas, one of which is social protection and inclusion, which is to say everything touching upon living conditions in our society.
The 20th and final principle of the European Pillar of Social Rights deals with "access to essential services". It establishes the right to essential services of good quality and gives a non-comprehensive list of those services most important to people's daily lives. The Member States continue to be responsible for identifying, organising, providing and funding these services at national, regional or local level. However, it is not enough simply to state that essential services – including services across borders – must be universally available; the notion of essential services and how they can be delivered must be clarified.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is pleased to announce that a Public hearing on the Application of State aid rules for compensating the provision of services of general economic interest will be held on 10 May 2017 from 9.30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the headquarters of the EESC, 2 rue Van Maerlant - 1040 Brussels, Room VMA 3.
The main objective of the hearing is to brainstorm on the challenges and opportunities arising from the current State Aid rules for services of general economic interest.
The consequences of the financial and economic crisis has triggered considerable changes in the ways in which services of general interest (SGIs) are provided and financed, incentivising providers to explore new modes and mechanisms to keep delivering affordable services without impacting the quality of services. Overall, an increased involvement of private players in the provision of SGIs through outsourcing and public-private partnerships (PPPs) has happened, driven by efficiency and budgetary concerns. On the financing side, there have been significant budget cuts, particularly in sectors such as education and healthcare, while new investments are needed. This has raised questions on the use of new financing modes, such as project financing and the use of new financial instruments.
