Download — EESC opinion: Conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction – ratification of BBNJ Agreement
The opinion examines how regulatory simplification and the integration of digital tools in law-making can enhance the legislative process. It looks into how innovative, technology-driven solutions can reduce administrative burdens and foster a more business-friendly environment across Europe.
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 — EESC opinion: Looking to the future of EU-UK relations: 2026 Review of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) from a civil society perspective
In this own-initiative opinion, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is addressing the growing disparities in healthcare access across the EU. These inequalities, exacerbated by inflation and the cost-of-living crisis, disproportionately affect vulnerable groups such as low-income households, people with disabilities, children, and older people. The opinion calls for urgent action to ensure equitable access to healthcare and long-term care, in line with the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR), and proposes concrete policy recommendations to strengthen healthcare systems and reduce barriers to care.
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.
In the current context of multiple crises, in addition to digital challenges, urges the EU institutions and Member States to act on the EESC’s proposals on social and civil dialogue to engage individual citizens in democracy in general. It proposes to work closely with the Commission in the creation, governance and regular operation of a civil society platform and to act as a hub and custodian for public and organised civil society participation, and recalls that the Conference on the Future of Europe explicitly calls for the EESC’s institutional role to be enhanced and for it to be empowered as a facilitator of participatory democracy activities, such as structured dialogue with civil society.
Europe’s energy system is increasingly unbalanced due to intermittent renewable sources like wind and solar, often relying on fossil fuels for stability. Achieving balance is key for energy reliability, climate goals, economic growth, and technological innovation. This opinion explores how Member States can integrate renewables while ensuring system stability and advancing decarbonisation, focusing on managing intermittent energy effectively.
The legislative proposal, subject of this opinion, aims at amending Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 by postponing of two years the deadline set in article 48 for the fulfilment of due diligence obligations by economic operators.
