European Economic
and Social Committee
European Economic
and Social Committee
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is the voice of organised civil society in Europe.
Find out more about its role and structure at http://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/about
The EESC issues between 160 and 190 opinions, evaluation and information reports a year.
It also organises several annual initiatives and events with a focus on civil society and citizens’ participation such as the Civil Society Prize, the Civil Society Days, the Your Europe, Your Say youth plenary and the ECI Day.
Find the latest EESC opinions and publications at http://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/our-work/opinions-information-reports/opinions and http://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/our-work/publications-other-work/publications respectively.
The EESC is active in a wide range of areas, from social affairs to economy, energy and sustainability.
Learn more about our policy areas and policy highlights at http://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/policies
The EESC holds nine plenary sessions per year. It also organises many conferences, public hearings and high-level debates related to its work.
Find out more about our upcoming events at http://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/agenda/our-events/upcoming-events
Here you can find news and information about the EESC'swork, including its social media accounts, the EESC Info newsletter, photo galleries and videos.
Read the latest EESC news http://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/news-media/news and press releases http://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/news-media/press-releases
The EESC brings together representatives from all areas of organised civil society, who give their independent advice on EU policies and legislation. The EESC's326 Members are organised into three groups: Employers, Workers and Various Interests.
Find out more about our Members and groups at http://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/members-groups
The EESC has six sections, specialising in concrete topics of relevance to the citizens of the European Union, ranging from social to economic affairs, energy, environment, external relations or the internal market.
Find out more at http://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/sections-other-bodies
Christian Moos
Zaskrbljenost zaradi zlonamernih vplivov sovražnih držav, kot je Rusija, je povsem upravičena. Obstaja več primerov ugodnih posojil za skrajno desničarske stranke, položajev v nadzornih svetih za bivše politike, dobičkonosnih pogodb za sumljive podjetnike in financiranja domnevnih nevladnih organizacij.
Zato moramo biti zelo pozorni, ko gre za evropske volitve. Kljub nekaterim dobrim priporočilom državam članicam pa je sveženj za obrambo demokracije veliko prepozen. Prvič, Komisija je sveženj pripravila pozno. Nato je na začetku poletja 2023 predlog preložila za več kot pol leta, ker je bila kritika zakonodajnega predloga, ki naj bi ga sveženj vključeval, zelo močna in soglasna.
Končni sveženj, objavljen decembra, pa je potrdil najhujše strahove. Predlagana direktiva bi stigmatizirala nevladne organizacije, ki prejemajo sredstva od vlad držav, ki niso članice EU, kot so ZDA. Že sam predlog je lahko izgovor za avtoritarne vlade, ki uporabljajo zakone o tujih agentih, da utišajo vsakršno demokratično opozicijo.
Poleg tega so opredelitve v direktivi nejasne, za dejanske moskovske agente pa obstajajo ogromne vrzeli. Predstavniki organizirane civilne družbe se sprašujejo, zakaj Komisija ne vzpostavlja splošnega registra za preglednost, ki bi zajemal vse zastopnike interesov in bi bil združljiv z veljavno zakonodajo na nacionalni ravni ter bi ustvaril jasno in varno pravno podlago za vse deležnike.
Komisija bi morala ta osnutek direktive umakniti in sprejeti celovitejši pristop k njenemu nasledniku leta 2025, ki ne bo šel na roke sovražnikov demokracije.