Presentations and Statements

It has been almost a year since the pandemic hit Europe hard...resulting in the worst economic recession since the Second World War. The EU has taken unprecedented steps in supporting its member states in the crisis, releasing billions of Euros to combat the effects of Covid-19. ...

We are deeply concerned at the humanitarian crisis that thousands of Afghan, Iranian and Pakistani migrants are currently facing in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Regrettably, migrants are also experiencing the same inhumane treatment at other external borders of the EU and in countries such as Libya and Turkey, where they have been stranded on their way to the EU.
For weeks now, around 2 500 people, many of whom are unaccompanied minors, families with children and elderly people in need of medical assistance, have been left without basic shelter and are struggling to survive hunger, thirst and the freezing Balkan temperatures after the Lipa refugee camp in north-eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina was burned down and closed.

During their meeting on 27 January 2021 EESC President Christa Schweng and Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa stated that, at a time when everything was becoming a matter of urgency – vaccination, economic recovery, the climate and digital transitions, and the relaunch of the European Pillar of Social Rights – it was especially important to focus on quality delivery.