Sport helps meet the EU’s strategic objectives, brings to the fore key educational and cultural values and is a conduit of integration, since it is open to all members of the public, regardless of their gender, ethnic origin, religion, age, nationality, social situation or sexual orientation. Sport is a tool to tackle intolerance, xenophobia and racism. The principle of good governance and sound management should ensure integrity in sporting competitions.
Download — EESC opinion: Sport and European Values
The EESC endorses the Energy Union and considers its implementation urgent – this could lead to making energy the fifth EU freedom. At the same time, the Committee stresses the need for a clearer message a leading vision – on what European citizens and enterprises will gain from the Energy Union. It also underlines that the Commission, when preparing proposals for reviews of energy legislation, as outlined in the roadmap, should avoid inconsistencies and increasing costs but rather try to simplify processes. The Committee recommends that the most urgent priority, notwithstanding the importance of security of supply and the sustainability, should be action on energy costs.
Download — EESC opinion: The Energy Union strategic framework
The EESC wants the conditions be created for an efficient, modern financial services sector with appropriate regulations, which grants access to capital providers by companies seeking investment, especially SMEs and high growth companies, and finds it of utmost importance to overcome the current fragmentation of the markets.
Since a Capital Markets Union (CMU) is to a significant extent a reality for large companies, the EESC stresses the need for measures that will also allow SMEs to benefit from it, for example through accepting simplified standardised criteria for registration on regulated markets, and providing a definition of an emerging growth and high growth company and devoting special attention to the needs of such companies on the capital market.
The EESC considers that smart cities can become drivers for development of a new European industrial policy that can influence the development of specific productive sectors, extending the benefits of the digital economy onto a large scale. To achieve this, it is essential to converge towards a development model that is more advanced and effective than those applied to date, which have been characterised by extremely fragmented action.
Download — EESC opinion: Smart cities as a driver of a new European industrial policy
The Neighbourhood policy is high on the agenda of the EESC's external relations priorities. This opinion will provide the contribution of the Committee to this consultation process as a first step, to be followed by a reaction to the Commission document that will be issued in the 2nd semester of 2015.
Download — EESC opinion: Towards a new European neighbourhood policy
On 13 May, the European Commission presented a European Agenda on Migration outlining the immediate measures that will be taken in order to respond to the crisis situation in the Mediterranean as well as the steps to be taken in the coming years to better manage migration in all its aspects. The EESC welcomes the Commission's "European Agenda on Migration", which it believes symbolises a new-found understanding of the need to address migration at a European level, and encourages the Member States to collectively support the implementation of this Agenda.
The recent flow of disinformation in Europe, following the crisis in Ukraine, has underlined the need to consider the influence it has on social and political processes in the EU and the Eastern neighbouring countries. The impact caused by disinformation is often underestimated, as heavily funded disinformation is being spread not only via media, but also through cultural channels and public figures; its presence is strong and influential in the lives of European citizens, especially in Eastern Europe.
How media is used to influence social and political processes in the EU and Eastern neighbouring countries
Since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the investment policy is an exclusive competence of the European Union. The EU is aiming to include therefore in the new trade and investment agreements provisions on investor protection and investor to state dispute settlement (ISDS) which will replace existing Bilateral Investment Agreements (BIT) signed by Member States and will grant the same level of protection to all EU investors.
Download — Investor protection and investor to State dispute settlement in EU trade and investment agreements with third countries
The EESC welcomes the Proposal for a Directive presented by the European Commission, through which the Commission is continuing to implement the measures included in the action plan to strengthen the fight against tax fraud and tax evasion. Information on advance tax rulings and advance pricing arrangements is very important and can help the Member States to trace artificial transactions. The EESC recommends that the Member States make efforts to ensure that the provisions of the proposal for a directive are transposed correctly.
The EESC is of the opinion that persisting imbalances as well as the creation of trust and confidence across Europe require more effective and democratic economic governance, notably in the Eurozone. It has become clear that the current system of rules underpinning the EU, and particularly the euro area, has created confusion on the legal, institutional and democratic fronts. A new approach is therefore needed. With this in mind, the Committee presents its contribution to the new five presidents' report which will propose next steps on better economic governance to the European Council in June. The EESC contribution summarises the different stages and puts forward institutional proposals and preparatory initiatives regarding the completion of the political pillar of the Economic and Monetary Union.
Download — EESC opinion: Completing EMU: The political pillar
Preparing for Next Steps on Better Economic Governance in the Euro Area - presentation by Baudouin Regout (European commission)
Completing Political Union: How the Euro-Union could work - presentation by Ulrike Guérot (The European Democracy Lab, European School of Governance, Berlin)
The Employment Guidelines cover job creation, skills supply, well-functioning labour markets, social protection and fighting poverty. They should set quantified objectives for employment and poverty reduction, and support entrepreneurship and the social economy. Public investment should not be considered as expenditure. Workers' mobility should safeguard the transferability of their social rights.
The Food and drink Industry is the largest manufacturing sector in the EU economy employing directly 4.25 million workers in the EU. It is a non-cyclical and resilient pillar with a strong presence in all member states. It processes 70% of EU agriculture produce and provides safe, quality and nutritious food to the benefit of European consumers, besides being the largest global exporter of food and drink products. The sector generates 7% of EU GDP and should be an important contributor to achieve the EU target set in the 2020 strategy of achieving the necessary expansion of the manufacturing sector that will make it a contributor of 20% of European GDP.
3D printing, in combination with the internet, robotics and open-source software, will result in a new industrial revolution with profound implications over the coming years for national economies, business models and education.
3D manufacturing – better known as 3D printing – is a process that uses digital "blueprints" to produce three-dimensional products and parts. It is also referred to as "additive manufacturing". A wide variety of materials are commonly used in this process: bioplastics, gypsum, gold, etc. Particular attention should be paid here to the origin of products. There are unprecedented opportunities in this field for businesses.
The EU Climate and Energy Framework is based on substantial previous legislation, some of it incompletely transposed and ineffectively implemented. Bringing the Energy Union into being will require further legislation and rigorous implementation of it. A robust governance framework is vital and the most effective type of governance is where agreeing methods for determining and implementing the objective is seen as a joint enterprise involving all stakeholders.
Download — EESC opinion: Governance system/2030 climate and energy framework
