Recent natural disasters have showed the limitations of insurance markets. This is an own-initiative opinion intended to deliver concrete policy proposals to add an EU-wide layer of pooled/solidarity funds to insurance schemes, drawing on the evidence and proposals of the joint paper by EIOPA and the ECB Towards a European system for natural catastrophe risk management.
The Multimodal digital mobility services (MDMS) initiative is aimed to support the development of multimodal ticketing services within and across passenger transport modes, with the intention to significantly improve multimodality, inclusiveness and sustainability in the EU, within Member States and across borders.
Building on the EESC's work on the EU Blue Deal, this opinion examines how innovative desalination technologies and processes can help address water scarcity, strengthen Europe's water resilience and support a circular water economy. The opinion will explore opportunities related to clean energy integration, water recycling, sodium recovery, skills development and industrial competitiveness, with a view to providing policy recommendations that support sustainable growth and strategic autonomy in the European water sector.
The construction sector is a strategic pillar of the EU economy and a key enabler of the green and digital transitions. It has a direct impact on housing, transport, energy and climate-resilience infrastructure across Europe. Strengthening innovation and digitalisation is therefore essential not only to decarbonise the economy by 2050, but also to reinforce the EU’s industrial autonomy, productivity and global competitiveness in a sector that underpins many strategic value chains.
The EU emissions trading system (ETS) is the key policy tool for achieving the EU's climate targets. The existing ETS (ETS1) aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from industrial and energy installations, aircraft operators and maritime transport by setting a price on carbon through a cap-and-trade system.
The Commission's ETS revision proposal is expected to address several issues, notably the role of carbon dioxide removals, the expansion of the current scope to additional sectorsand GHGs not yet covered by the ETS, new rules on how to account for non-permanent carbon capture and utilisation, and the risk of carbon leakage in sectors not covered by the carbon border adjustment mechanism.
The Single Digital Booking and Ticketing Regulation (SDBTR) aims to make rail travel more accessible by allowing passengers to book multi-operator journeys through a single digital platform. It focuses specifically on expanding digital access to rail tickets and fares and reduces ticketing fragmentation while ensuring passengers retain their rights throughout the entire journey.
