In two newly adopted opinions, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) gives updated views on the Commission's Annual Sustainable Growth Survey 2022, which outlines the upcoming economic and employment policy priorities for the EU, as well as on the Recommendations on euro area economic policy for 2022. The EESC calls for a balanced approach that does not jeopardise the EU's social and environmental goals.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the European Commission unveiled an updated Protocol on Cooperation. The document further consolidates and intensifies the political and legislative cooperation between the two organisations, as well as their joint efforts to communicate about Europe.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) held a conference on the prospects for the European economy in times of crisis. The event gathered high-level policy-makers, civil society representatives and economic researchers to see how the EU can tackle new dilemmas posed by low-growth prospects and record-high levels of inflation. All agreed that the war in Ukraine has only aggravated trends that have been going on for years. The main takeaways of the event were that fiscal policies need to be revised, that supporting productive investment amidst difficulties is key, and that vulnerable businesses and households need more public support.
In an own-initiative opinion, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) proposes creating a Climate Adjustment Fund (CAF) to ensure a rapid response to new climate and energy crises. The CAF would complement existing EU policies and ensure more effective use of existing funding.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) calls on the European Commission to publish an overdue report to consider extending the EU's sustainability taxonomy's scope to social objectives.
The European Economic and Social Committee backs increased regulation of crypto-assets, with robust, coherent rules to better protect investors across the EU in line with current measures applied to traditional financial services.
The EESC held a debate in plenary on the growing importance of organised civil society and cities in Europe's ability to face asymmetric shocks and unforeseen crises. This was linked to the adoption of two opinions, on Flexible Assistance to Territories (FAST-CARE) and on the Ljubljana Agreement on the Urban Agenda of the EU. The Committee welcomes both initiatives, but finds they miss the bar in terms of properly empowering and involving organised civil society. A key measure proposed by the EESC is to create a separate EU fund for the reconstruction and development of Ukraine to complement the efforts made by the Member States.
Cohesion policy is key to overcoming the COVID-19 crisis, to achieving climate neutrality by 2050 and to reducing disparities in Europe. Its most serious challenge for the foreseeable future, however, is the war in Ukraine, the EESC cautions in a recent opinion. Rapid action is needed to help refugees and ensure the country's European integration.
The European Economic and Social Committee is calling on the European Commission to carry out more targeted impact assessments of its proposals for new EU budget funding sources to repay NextGenerationEU debt. The EESC generally agrees with the proposed EU "own resources" revenues for the budget. However, they need to be stable and fair – and should not burden households or businesses.
Na sua resolução sobre a participação da sociedade civil organizada na execução e no acompanhamento dos planos nacionais de recuperação e resiliência (PRR), o Comité Económico e Social Europeu apela para a adoção de regras claras tendo em vista a participação efetiva dos parceiros sociais e das organizações da sociedade civil nas estratégias de relançamento da economia adotadas pelos Estados-Membros.
