Sustainable development

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  • Building up a more sustainable and resilient European economy and completing Economic and Monetary Union should be priorities for the next European Commission and European Parliament: these points emerged from a public hearing held by the European Economic and Social Committee on 12 April 2019.

  • Reference number
    19/2019

    The European Union must get closer to its citizens and become the global leader in sustainable development, argues the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in a bold opinion on the future of the EU, which was adopted at its plenary session in March. In this opinion, the Committee calls for a new EU strategy which takes a holistic and cross-sector policy approach centred around Europeans' needs and sustainability, and puts forward policy recommendations touching on eleven priorities.

  • The European Union urgently needs a new, ambitious and clear strategy for its future. Cohesion policy must be an integral part of it. New provisions for cohesion policy post-2020 must provide for sufficient means and guarantee improved policy efficiency and visibility, urges the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in an exploratory opinion on the future of cohesion policy, requested by the Romanian Council Presidency.

  • The member states of the European Union must strengthen stakeholder involvement in their efforts to reform national economies. Together with a new long-term EU strategy for sustainable development, improved stakeholder involvement could help create a more efficient and inclusive European semester that enjoys the support of society and is prepared to tackle the challenges facing the EU.

    These are some of the main findings of a public hearing held by the European Semester Group of the European Economic and Social Committee, chaired by Gonçalo Lobo Xavier (ESG president), on 28 February. This hearing focused on the state and outlook of the European economy and analysed stakeholder involvement in the European semester process. Through the hearing, the Committee wished to facilitate an exchange between national and European stakeholders and gather ideas on how to improve the European semester.

  • The government, representatives of organised civil society and other interest groups call for fresh impetus for the European Union

  • Reference number
    18/2018

    Italy’s Luca Jahier has been elected as the 32nd president of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), the EU body representing organised civil society, which he will head for the next two and a half years. The two new vice-presidents will be Milena Angelova (Bulgaria) for budget and Isabel Caño Aguilar (Spain) for communication. Read the inaugural speech.

  • Partnership event co-organised by the EAPN and the EESC Civil Society Organisations' Group

    This event is open to the public. It is an in-person event that will be webstreamed. Prior registration for in-person participation is required. Register by 1 April at: REGISTRATION - Unsustainable Welfare States and Risk of Austerity (google.com)

  • The Civil Society Organisations' Group will hold a thematic debate on the Nature Restoration Law during its meeting on 20 March 2024, from 12:00 to 13:00. You can follow the debate live via the streaming on this event page.

  • In the context of the upcoming European elections in June 2024, the high-level discussion at the NAT section meeting on 26 February will contribute to set the agenda of the new Commission. Building on previous EESC opinions and events on "The sustainable economy we need" and "Beyond GDP measures", the debate will feed into the own-initiative opinion on A Blueprint for a European Green and Social Deal, based on a wellbeing economy.