As committed during the negotiations on the long-term EU budget 2021-2027, the European Commission has on 20 June 2023 completed its proposal for a next generation of own resources. The package includes a new temporary statistical own resource based on company profits. The Commission also proposes to adjust the own resources proposals based on the Emissions Trading System (ETS) and Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) compared to the original proposals from December 2021.
Download — Mnenje EESO: Next generation of own resources
The proposed initiative aims to improve access to the labour market and social inclusion by supporting Member States in integrating the social economy into their socio-economic policies and creating support measures and a favourable environment for the sector.
The EESC calls for an action plan to properly implement the European Skills Agenda and its twelve proposed actions. Significant political efforts and systemic reforms in education and training and smart investments in human capital are needed to tackle skills-related challenges. Social partners, education providers and civil society organisations should work more together to design skills strategies that best respond to the needs of the labour market and society in general. The EESC points at the importance of improving EU and Member State initiatives regarding employee training in the workplace and creating the right incentives for employers to continue investing in the training of their workforce, with the involvement of social partners.
Download — Mnenje EESO: The impact of education on wages and labour productivity
Every year in February, the EESC adopts an opinion on Annual Sustainable Growth Survey, which the Commission usually presents at the end of November in the year before. The Committee works under tight deadlines, in anticipation of the referral, to finalise the opinion before the March Council discussion on the topic. To reinforce the Committee's impact throughout the entire European Semester, an own-initiative opinion with additional considerations is regularly produced by October taking into account the overall European Semester, which plays a central role in implementing the Recovery and Resilience Facility and is vital in current discussions about the review of the EU macro-economic governance framework.
Download — Mnenje EESO: Additional considerations on the Annual Sustainable Growth Survey 2023
Download — Mnenje EESO: Individual and collective energy self-consumption as a factor in the fight for the green and energy transition, and for economic and social balance
The EESC welcomed the European Commission's proposal to modernise the EU legislative framework against corruption by incorporating international standards, including those in the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC). The EESC recommended that Member States adopt rules in a number of areas, including on incompatibility, lobbying, access to elected officials, recruitment of public officials and funding of political parties. Other ways to reinforce anti-corruption measures would be through an extension of the competences of the EU Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) and the creation of an independent corruption prevention authority at EU-level. The opinion also suggested to extend the legal basis of the Directive and introduce speedy procedures to administer justice for corruption-related crimes.
Download — Mnenje EESO: Update of the anti-corruption legislative framework
The EESC supports the digital euro project, while underlining the importance of a clear European legal framework able to establish the exceptional possibility of temporary exemptions for certain payees, and to harmonise practices and standards that vary from one Member State to another. It is essential to ensure that the digital euro does not negatively impact financial stability or the lending potential of credit institutions. The EESC encourages a broad public debate on the reasons for possible issuance of a digital euro, its merits and drawbacks, in order to make informed decisions and ensure public understanding of the project.
Download — Mnenje EESO: A digital euro and the scope and effects of the legal tender status of banknotes and coins
