At its January plenary session, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) adopted an opinion welcoming the EU's new approach to Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) as laid out in the recent Communication on "The power of trade partnerships". The EESC supports the Commission’s comprehensive review setting a new benchmark on TSD and considers the introduced elements as part of the package in all trade agreements – be it future ones, those under negotiation or applied to existing agreements as much as possible. However, the new TSD plan is not exempt from shortcomings, and the EESC regrets that no action is being taken to involve civil society more thoroughly during the negotiation process.
At its January plenary session, the EESC debated the EU's "Strategic Compass" vision for security and defence, pointing out that security should be understood broadly, far beyond military defence. Civilian and preventive security policy should complement military defence capabilities, with NATO being the EU's key security provider. Civil society should not be a bystander in security issues. In fact, as proven in the current war in Ukraine, it can have a stabilising role in times of crisis.
The European Commission's proposal for a comprehensive European care strategy that should guarantee to all Europeans the possibility of receiving high quality healthcare and care service throughout their lifetime has been met with approval by the EESC
Comitetul Economic și Social European (CESE) sprijină o guvernanță nouă și consolidată a oceanelor, solicitând o cooperare internațională sporită, prezervarea stării bune a mediului marin și protejarea stocurilor de pește împotriva pescuitului excesiv, având în vedere importanța lor vitală pentru comunitățile locale.
Într-un aviz adoptat în sesiunea plenară din ianuarie, Comitetul Economic și Social European (CESE) afirmă că nimeni nu ar trebui lăsat în urmă și că este esențial să se intensifice coordonarea politicilor fiscale naționale cu politica monetară a Băncii Centrale Europene.
Pentru a preveni munca forțată, Comitetul Economic și Social European (CESE) subliniază importanța cooperării internaționale și a ancorării instituționale a societății civile organizate în noua propunere a Comisiei, recomandând orientări pentru sprijinirea întreprinderilor, o bază de date specifică cu indicatori de risc și un sistem de evaluare comparativă.
The technical limit value for asbestos exposure should ultimately be set at a lower level than the Commission is currently proposing in a recent Directive regulating the protection of workers from dangers of occupational asbestos exposure, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) said in an opinion adopted at its plenary session in December.
A new social contract for Latin America is needed, ensuring political accountability, inclusion, social protection and quality employment, said the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in its own-initiative opinion on the socio-economic situation in Latin America, following the pandemic. Freely and democratically organised civil societies are the best starting point.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) welcomed the Commission's proposal for a Directive on asset recovery and confiscation as an important step towards combatting money laundering and terrorist financing in the EU. Despite a general improvement in some of the Member States, the percentage of criminal assets that are frozen or confiscated remains extremely low across the EU.
