Strokovna skupina za enotni trg, proizvodnjo in potrošnjo (INT) - Related Events

The European Economic and Social Committee is organising a hearing as part of its follow-up work related to its opinion on Improving the effectiveness of EU policies for SMEs, adopted in July 2017.

The main objective of the hearing is to debate the effectiveness and efficiency of EU policies for SMEs and gather valuable input and feedback from Bulgarian stakeholders on the matter with a view to finding ways in which they can be improved. Particular emphasis will be put on the recommendations that have been outlined in the EESC opinion with the aim of implementing them at national level.

The objective is twofold: on the one hand, to review the progress made in building an ecosystem for social enterprises and, on the other hand, to see what the next steps are for this enterprise model to be recognized and more widely disseminated. The European Day of Social Economy Enterprises is also an excellent opportunity to give the floor to the actors in the field by bringing together the EESC's institutional partners and a number of sector representatives as well as several stakeholders in order to have a comprehensive view of the situation, create synergies and discuss how to proceed from the creation of an ecosystem to a systemic change at European level.

The European Commission and the European Economic and Social Committee held a joint workshop on "the impact of digitalisation and new technologies on social economy". The workshop was was be organized around 4 panels. This joint event's purpose was to contribute to the work of the permanent study group on "Social Economy Enterprises", but also to strengthen synergies between the EESC and the Commission in promoting the social economy agenda.

How could the Digital Single Market benefit european consumers? This year's theme was a wide-ranging subject covering issues affecting consumers today in a very tangible way. The Committee has recently issued several Opinions and studies covering the digital transformation and how it impacts modes of production and consumption, and its work feeded into the discussions on many relevant topics, such as data sharing, digital inclusion and access to internet for all, artifical intelligence, digital contract rights, unnecessary geo-blocking, digital currencies and fintech, the sharing economy and the Collaborative economy.