As emphasised in the Letta and Draghi reports, the two main challenges of EU R&I policy are: i) reversing the declining productivity of the EU economy and closing the competitiveness gap with other global scientific and economic powers; and ii) reducing the fragmentation of the European research area to allow for the free circulation of scientific knowledge, research and innovation referred as the ‘fifth freedom’ in the Letta report.
In early 2026, the Commission is expected to publish the European Research Area Act (ERA Act). EESC’s input through this own-initiative opinion (OIO) is intended to shape the ERA Act, ensuring that it supports a vibrant ecosystem for innovation and digital transformation, and aligns with these strategic visions.
Download — Avizul CESE: The ERA Act: unlocking the fifth freedom
The opinion will examine the impact of regulatory interventions on value chains, identify key challenges, and propose a new approach to ensure effective and balanced policymaking.
Download — Avizul CESE: How to consider value chains in policymaking
In this own-initiative opinion the EESC supports the Commission’s plans to achieve simplification, reduce the administrative burden and enhance the competitiveness of the European economy. The Committee considers that tax simplification should promote giving cost-efficient information, improving the use of and exchange of information between tax authorities. The Committee recommends that an impact assessment should be undertaken for every proposal in order to properly assess the concrete implications for taxpayers and companies of new legislative initiatives. Furthermore, the Committee also recommends conducting competitiveness checks of new legislative initiatives in the field of taxation, including for SMEs, to ensure that the new rules actually support the planned objectives of the Commission in terms of simplification, decluttering and reduction of the administrative burden. Finally, the EESC proposes that a system of advance rulings at EU level be introduced.
Download — Avizul CESE: Assessing tax reporting obligations in the EU
Konstantinos DIAMANTOUROS (Employers - GR I/Greece), Javier DOZ ORRIT (Workers - GR II/Spain), Luca JAHIER (Civil Society Organisations - GR III/Italy)
Plenary session number
596
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Information Report ECO/651 and Own-initiative opinion ECO/652 are a continuation of the European Semester Group's (ESG) work to consult annually national economic and social councils, social partners and civil society organisations from EU Member States on reform and investment proposals made in the context of the European Semester and their implementation in the Member States. The Information Report aims to collect the views of social partners and civil society organisations in the Member States on the reform and investment proposals and their implementation, in particular those indicated in the 2024 Country-Specific Recommendations. The Own-initiative opinion aims to complement the Information Report and to include the EESC's policy recommendations based on the results of the stakeholder consultation. It allows the EESC to formulate general and specific considerations, and to present the associated EESC's conclusions and policy proposals.
Download — Avizul CESE: The EESC's recommendations on the reform and investment proposals formulated as part of the 2024-2025 European Semester cycle
The rule of law is one of the common values on which the European Union is founded. European Commission’s rule of law mechanism has so far only examined compliance with the rule of law in the member states in only four areas, but unfortunately not as a prerequisite for economic activity or as a location factor. The own-initiative opinion on the economic dimension of the Rule of Law looks for examples of protectionism and the implementation of discriminatory measures against foreign investors in some member states as non-compliance and circumvention of European regulations leading to enormous distortions of competition for companies operating in the internal market. The economic dimension of the rule of law is not adequately reflected in the European Commission’s Rule of Law Report, which is why the EESC advocates the inclusion of a fifth pillar.
Download — Avizul CESE: The economic dimension of the Rule of Law
