When it comes to development and EU-Africa relations, the EESC consistently emphasised the importance of sustainable development and cooperation based on the rule of law and the respect for human rights. Initiatives focused on trade, investment and business relations with Africa could be welcomed, but not to the detriment of traditional development policies focusing on reaching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). EU and Africa leaders agreed in 2015 at the Valletta summit on migration on setting up the EU Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF), as the main instrument of EU external migration policy. The Fund finances the development of border protection capacities, but also long-term development policy projects so as to decrease the likelihood of further migration.
Download — Mnenje EESO: External aid, investment and trade as instruments to reduce the reasons of economic migration, with a special focus on Africa (own-initiative opinion)
Against a background of rising poverty levels during the crisis, levels that remain high in many Member States, in particular among the unemployed, this own-initiative opinion would address the huge differences in levels of protection under national unemployment insurance systems within the EU.
Possible standards in this respect could be:
a minimum standard for the net replacement rate of unemployment benefits;
a minimum standard of coverage ratio of unemployed people receiving unemployment payments;
a minimum standard for the duration of unemployment benefit entitlement;
a right to (re)qualification and training
With the objective of promoting upward social convergence within the EU, the proposal for such standards is a concrete step towards effective implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights recently announced by the EU institutions in Gothenburg.
Download — Mnenje EESO: Common minimum standards in the field of unemployment insurance in EU Member States – a concrete step towards the effective implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights (own-initiative opinion)
The INT section is currently preparing an opinion on the Commission's Communication "Building Trust in Human-Centric Artificial Intelligence" COM(2019)168. The Commission considers that in order to achieve ‘trustworthy AI’, three components are necessary: (1) it should comply with the law, (2) it should fulfil ethical principles and (3) it should be robust. Based on these three components and the European values, the guidelines identify seven key requirements that AI applications should respect to be considered trustworthy. The guidelines also include an assessment list to help check whether these requirements are fulfilled. The CCMI previous experience on the automotive sector is a solid asset to produce a supplementary opinion on this particular Automotive Sector.
AI systems must comply with existing legislation. It is important to identify which challenges can be met by means of codes of ethics, self-regulation and voluntary commitments and which need to be tackled by regulation and legislation supported by oversight and, in the event of non-compliance, penalties.
The evaluation will take a broader perspective than the young farmers’ payments under the first pillar of the CAP and the measures for young farmers under Pillar II of the CAP.
Technical appendix - Evaluation of the Impact of the CAP on Generational Renewal
The Commission launched a debate on an enhanced use of qualified majority voting (QMV) in social policy to render decision-making more flexible and efficient. The EESC supports the transition to QMV in the areas of non-discrimination, social security and protection of workers, as well as for employment conditions of third-country nationals.
Download — Mnenje EESO: More efficient decision-making in social policy: Identification of areas for an enhanced move to qualified majority voting
The EESC welcomes the proposal to use the passerelle clauses to establish a qualified majority in the Council and a co-decision system with the European Parliament. In this new set-up, the EESC could play an important role in supporting the trilogue and should be involved.
Download — Mnenje EESO: New institutional framework for energy and climate policy by 2025
