The future of the European automotive industry will be green and digital and green means carbon neutral and circular as clearly stated in the European Green Deal Communication. The Green Deal is the political compass of the European Union Industrial policy for the coming decades even though the number of challenges ahead is huge.
Download — Mnenje EESO: The EU mobility strategy and EU industrial value chains: automotive eco-systems approach (own-initiative opinion)
The EESC endorses the Commission proposal and agrees that action must be taken to bolster the instruments safeguarding the EU market and its businesses. This will entail plugging a gap in the legislative framework as regards competition, trade and public procurement with a view to guaranteeing fair competition which is not distorted by foreign subsidies. Some aspects of the intrinsically complex and far-reaching legislative mechanism need to be further refined.
Download — Mnenje EESO: Foreign subsidies distorting the internal market
This opinion deals with the new Strategy for the future of Schengen issued by the European Commission last June. The Strategy is part of a broader effort to update and strengthen Schengen, which also includes a proposal to amend the regulation on the Schengen evaluation and monitoring mechanism. In this opinion, the EESC welcomes the Commission's Strategy towards a fully functioning and resilient Schengen area and reaffirms its full support for the principles underlying Schengen cooperation. Nevertheless the opinion also advances some concerns, such as: reports of fundamental rights violations at the EU's external borders; the semi-permanent reintroduction of border controls at parts of Member States internal borders and the negative economic and social impact this has had on businesses, and in particular frontier workers, border communities and Euroregions.
Download — Mnenje EESO: Communication on a Strategy for the future of Schengen and Amendment of the Regulation establishing the Schengen Evaluation Mechanism
The objective of the evaluation is to gather evidence on the implementation and performance of e-Cohesion systems for the operational programs funded by ERDF and Cohesion Fund during the programming period 2014-2020. Performance of e-Cohesion systems is understood primarily as: simplification, reduced administrative burden, and streamlined reporting and verification procedures for the four main types of users of such systems: i) beneficiaries, ii) managing authorities and intermediate bodies, iii) certifying authorities, iv) and audit authorities.
Download — Information report: Evaluation of the implementation of e-Cohesion in Programmes financed by ERDF and Cohesion Fund 2014-2020
In this opinion, the EESC recalls that media freedom, including the safety and security of journalists, and media pluralism are cornerstones of liberal democracy. It therefore notes with regrets that the developments within the EU are alarming and calls for urgent steps by Member States and the EU, including through the use of the new general regime of budget conditionality. The EESC welcomes the broad range of reports and initiatives by the European Parliament and the Commission, including the Commission's plan for a "European Media Freedom Act". It also supports measures to increase the safety of journalists and underlines the necessity of a legal ban on Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP). The EESC supports the idea of a European Agency to bolster media skills of EU citizens through educational programmes. It also proposes the creation of a fully independent European public service broadcaster.
Download — Informativno poročilo: Securing media freedom and diversity in Europe (own-initiative opinion)
