Evropski ekonomsko-socialni odbor
The thematic debate of the Group will see the participation of Marina Elvira Calderone, Minister for Labour and Social Policies of Italy, Marie Toussaint, MEP and Vice-Chair of the European Parliament's Intergroup on "Fighting against poverty", and several representatives of civil society organisations.
Energy poverty exacerbates gender gap worldwide. It is estimated that 70% of 1.3 billion population in developing countries living in poverty are women. Research has shown that women are more likely to fall into energy poverty as they are the main users and producers of household energy, due to economic, biological/physiological and socio-cultural factors. For instance, older women are the most likely to suffer from energy poverty due to a higher life expectancy and lower pensions compared to men. Women are also more likely to be responsible for householding and cooking activities requiring energy sources.
The EESC is organising a hybrid conference entitled "Towards an EU framework against homelessness based on the principle of 'Housing First'" on 7 October 2022 (9h30 to 13h00).
The aim of the conference will be to reflect on how the EU, national, regional and local authorities, as well as organised civil society, can join forces to identify practical steps to be taken to eradicate homelessness in the EU.
Your participation and input are most welcome!
As part of its work to prepare an opinion on "Tackling energy poverty and the EU's resilience: challenges from an economic and social perspective'', the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is organising a remote public hearing on 25 May 2022 from 9:30 am to 1 pm.
The discussion will focus on how European organised civil society, together with the EU, national, regional and local authorities, can join forces to fight against energy poverty.
Your participation and input are most welcome!
While Europe and its societies are still in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic and with the Conference on the Future of Europe in its closing stages, the EESC will be holding its annual Civil Society Days in March 2022.
Globally, inequality and poverty also have led to migration, fostering, inequality and tensions in the host countries.
Europe has reacted to these challenges by proclaiming the European pillar of social rights, a set of key principles aiming at a more social Europe. Its main purpose is to fight against inequality and poverty. The fight against inequalities is also linked to the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In its own-initiative opinion, the EESC is looking at the efficiency of the efforts, funded from the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD), in tackling poverty and social exclusion in Europe – as one of the Europe 2020 strategy's most important goals.
The aim of this hearing is to collect specific observations and recommendations based on the experiences of civil society organisations with the implementation of the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) for combating poverty and social exclusion.
The Dutch Presidency has requested an exploratory opinion about the shift from the traditional employment relationship to more non-standard forms of employment, introduced among others by online platforms like Uber. The EESC is to examine the link between new forms of employments relationships to a decent living wage and make policy recommendations as to how to take full advantage of digital innovation but regulate and mitigate the effects in terms of labour law protection and social protection.
Approach and priority areas of the Civil Society Organisations' Group for 2023
For the current mandate (October 2020 to April 2023) of the Civil Society Organisations’ Group (Group III), it has been decided to concentrate on the topic of poverty and on the role of civil society organisations and citizens' initiatives in combating it. The objective of the work programme of Group III for this period is to contribute to making local communities more sustainable, resilient, equitable, productive and socially just, whilst also upholding the highest levels of democratic governance, respect for rights and the rule of law.
