The sixth meeting of the EU-Africa Economic and Social Stakeholders' Network will take place in Brussels, Belgium, on 3 and 4 July 2019. A political declaration will be adopted by the network to be addressed to the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the African Union.
During the meeting, the EU DAG will discuss with a representative of the European Commission the progress in work on implementation of the EU-Canada CETA. The Group will potentially exchange views with a representative of the Canada Mission to the EU. A discussion round on the work programme will also be held.
For the 13th time, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and Montenegro held the Civil Society Joint Consultative Committee (JCC). The JCC is a civil society platform established between the EESC and Montenegrin civil society. It complements with a civil society point of view the EU institutional framework related to the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the EU and Montenegro. This joint institution allows civil society organisations on both sides to monitor the country's accession negotiations. It is also a platform to discuss issues of common interest and to inform the public at large on the challenges ahead during the accession period.
This 13th JCC was held in Podgorica and tackled issues such as:
A system of corporate liability for human rights abuses is currently being negotiated in the UN, within the UNHRC’s open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises concerning human rights (OEIGWG), established by the UN General Assembly on 26 June 2014. The mandate of the working group is to elaborate an international legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises. While the EU and its Member States play a role at the OEIGWG, the Commission has no mandate from the Council to conduct negotiations on behalf of the EU concerning its participation in the OEIGWG.
The meeting of the Section for External Relations will take place on 24 May 2019 in the room JDE 62. During this meeting, a special attention will be given to the 25th anniversary of the European Economic Area.
The 27th meeting of of the European Economic Area Consultative Committee took place in the European Economic and Social Committee in Brussels (Belgium) on 23-24 May 2019.
The members of the Committee discussed the latest developments in EEA and well as EU/EFTA issues. Special attention has been given to the 25th anniversary of the entry into force of the EEA Agreement. The Consultative Committee adopted two resolutions on the following topics:
The 5th meeting of the EU-Moldova Civil Society Platform took place on 23 May 2019 in Brussels. During the meeting, a debate was held assessing the state of play of the implementation of the EU-Moldova Association Agreement. Reports on public integrity framework in Moldova were discussed. Platform members also had a look at the update of past declarations adopted by the CSP, more specifically through a progress report on the implementation status of the DCFTA with Moldova and a debate on Dniester Water Management.
The 15th meeting of the EU Advisory Group for the EU-Central America Association Agreement took place on 29 April 2019 in Brussels. Please click on the programme tab to consult the topics on the agenda.
The EESC organised its 7th Western Balkans Civil Society Forum in Tirana on 16-17 April 2019.
The main topics on the agenda were the role of civil society organisations in promoting regional cooperation (trade and investment, connectivity and people to people relations), the state of social dialogue, as well as enabling civic space in the Western Balkans.
It brought together approximately 180 participants, including a broad range of civil society representatives from the EU and the Western Balkans, as well as representatives of EU institutions, international organisations and governments of the region.
The EU-Turkey Civil Society Joint Consultative Committee was established in 1995, based on the mandate given by the Ankara Agreement. This body is composed of members from the EESC and members representing organised civil society in Turkey. Its objective is to contribute to the dialogue among civil society organisations in Turkey and the EU and to issue reports and recommendations to the Turkish authorities and the EU institutions.
The discussions at this JCC meeting will include the EU-Turkey relations and the meeting will focus in particular on "Trade development and investment environment for SMEs - Opportunities between the EU and Turkey" and "Civil society organisations, including the social partners, and Turkey-EU Accession Process". Other topics on the programme are "The modernisation of the EU-Turkey Customs Union" and "The visa dialogue".
