Comité Económico e Social Europeu
As water scarcity and pollution continue to pose global challenges, the current EU policy framework seems insufficient. To address this, top-level water experts gathered on 27 February at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) to identify possible solutions. The hearing marks the beginning of the EESC's work on water.
Water is a vital but an increasingly scarce resource. As the global population grows, so does the demand for water. The problem is global, but also concerns our continent: in summer 2022 Europe saw the most severe droughts in 500 years. Almost two thirds of European citizens consider water quality and/or quantity in their country to be a serious problem. Climate change will further affect the availability, quality and quantity of water. …
With this debate, the ECO section is providing ex-ante input to the European Commission, in preparation for the upcoming 2023 strategic foresight cycle that wants to shed light on the strategic decisions needed to ensure a socially and economically sustainable Europe with a stronger role in the world in the coming decades.
The European maritime technology industry is an important sector in terms of employment, directly providing more than 500 000 jobs. Shipyards and firms manufacturing marine equipment make a significant contribution to the economic development of the regions where they are located, and across the entire supply chain, which is particularly important to SMEs. Each direct job in a European shipyard means, on average, seven jobs created in the region.
The European Economic and Social Committee calls on the European institutions to consider water as a priority and to adopt an EU Blue Deal as a standalone strategic policy, on an equal footing with the EU Green Deal.
Consultative Commission on Industrial Change (CCMI) high-level hearing 27/02/2023
On 5 July President Röpke participated in the 2023 Euromed Summit organised in cooperation with the Union for the Mediterranean Secretariat, the Anna Lindh Foundation and Bibliotheca Alexandrina. This year's summit focused on water scarcity and desertification as well as on digital and energy transitions in the Euro-Mediterranean region.
This publication provides an overall perspective of the key recommendations contained in the opinions adopted by the European Economic and Social Committee on maritime affairs over the last four years. EESC opinions express the views of organised civil society and, according to the Treaties, are published in the Official Journal of the EU and taken into consideration by the European Institutions involved in the legislative process (European Parliament, Council of the European Union and European Commission).
The European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) “Water and sanitation are a human right! Water is a public good, not a commodity!“ was the first successful ECI, achieving over 1.6 million validated signatures from across 13 Member States. The Initiative called upon the Commission to “implement the human right to water and sanitation in European law“.
Presque 90 millions de tonnes de nourriture sont gaspillées chaque année en Europe et près d'un tiers de la nourriture produite pour la consommation humaine est perdue ou gaspillée à l'échelle mondiale...
