Comité Económico e Social Europeu
At its March plenary session, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) hosted Ambassador Lachezara Stoeva, president of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Ambassador Stoeva strongly supported the key role civil society must play in implementing the 2030 Agenda.
The EESC included a youth delegate in its UNFCCC COP delegation for the first time in 2021 and committed to repeating this experience in the years to come. The EESC youth delegate to COP has a mandate of two years and at the end of each mandate a transparent and open selection process is carried out to designate the new delegate. The new EESC youth delegate to the COP has just been selected!
An interview with Cillian Lohan: His leading role in the field of Circular Economy, his work on Youth Climate and Sustainability Round Tables, and the importance of giving space to voices, such as those of youth, that usually do not have the resources or connections to reach the decision-makers in Brussels.
On Tuesday 24 January, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) held an exchange of views with Guillaume Lafortune, Vice-President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UN SDSN), on the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The debate revealed that the EU is failing to meet the objectives of the UN's 2030 Agenda. Yet, there is hope. The EU has the opportunity to take the lead, including through financial support. The EESC plays an important role in monitoring progress.
Transforming societies from fossil-fuel based to circular and sustainable will require far-reaching changes in all sectors, including education. In an own-initiative opinion, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) calls for transformative education that empowers young people to contribute to the green transition.
The global food price crisis has only been exacerbated by the war in Ukraine. It is actually due to more structural and systemic problems in the commodities market, creating hunger and threatening people's livelihoods, points out the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in its own initiative opinion.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) held a debate on Gender Equality and Women's and Girls' empowerment in the context of Food Security and Nutrition. In light of the climate crisis, and in the context of the recent COP27, the EESC has identified the intersection between gender and climate change as a top priority for the EU. The debate is an important contribution to the ongoing EESC initiative on gender equality.
In an own-initiative opinion, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) highlighted the many benefits of a green EU strategy for expanding plant protein and plant oil production and proposed how that strategy should look. These benefits include reducing the EU’s dependence on imports and a contribution to the development of rural areas.
The EESC is currently gathering inputs and views of diverse European actors working on the agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. Civil society organisations who want to share their views on the EU’s internal and external implementation of the SDGs, are invited to submit their contribution via the online consultation.
