Europeiska ekonomiska och sociala kommittén
Ongoing negotiations on enlargement, visa liberalisation, customs union can only progress in an atmosphere of respect of civil liberties, EU and turkey organisations say
The 36th meeting of the EU-Turkey JCC took place at the EESC in Brussels on 18 and 19 July 2017. At the opening session EESC President Georges Dassis welcomed the ...
Creating a positive narrative for the EU, strengthening its economic foundations, fostering its social dimension, facilitating the transition towards a low-carbon and circular economy and empowering and involving Civil Society. These are the main messages of the contribution of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) to the European Commission's 2018 Work Programme. The EESC calls on the Commission to adopt sustainable development as an overarching ...
The EESC held the 6th Western Balkans Civil Society Forum in Sarajevo on 10-11 July. Participants adopted a Final Declaration calling for increased media freedom, opening the doors of the Western Balkans to EU enlargement, the implementation of migration policies and increased employment opportunities, and working on women's rights.
The EU-China Round Table's fifteenth meeting took place in Beijing from 28 to 30 June 2017, marking 10 years since it was first set up. The theme of the 2-day meeting of delegations from the EESC and the China Economic and Social Council (CESC) was “Partnership for Growth, Civilization of mutual benefit”. The main topics of debate were innovation as a driver for economic vitality, trade, investment and social and labour rights, summed up in a joint statement.
The 4th meeting of the EU-Ukraine Civil Society Platform (CSP) in Brussels held a debate to assess the progress in the implementation of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. The discussions focused on environmental protection, media freedom and the first year of the EU-Ukraine Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement ...
The EESC held the 28th Meeting of Economic and Social Interest Groups of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of states and EU countries in Brussels on 15-16 May. Trade relations, the new European consensus for development, prevention and reduction of food loss and waste, industrialisation as a development driver, and the future of EU relations with ACP countries were the five main themes of the conference, as outlined in a jointly accepted declaration ...
Georges Dassis, the president of the European Economic and Social Committee, has met with Nizar Baraka, the president of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council of Morocco. At this meeting, Mr Dassis thanked Mr Baraka for his commitment to working with the EESC. The cooperation between the two institutions was put on a formal footing with the first meeting of the joint advisory group on the free trade agreement between the EU and Morocco. During the meeting, the two presidents stressed the importance of the involvement of civil society organisations in the negotiations, in order to ensure that the agreement is as beneficial as possible for both the people of Morocco and EU citizens and that it is a win-win agreement for both sides.
Following recent developments in Turkey, the EESC invited Turkish journalist Can Dündar to its Plenary session on 26th April. The former editor-in-chief of the Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet, currently living in exile, called on the EU to stand beside Turkey and the Turkish people in support of media freedom, human rights, rule of law and democracy. The EESC debate also assessed recent developments in Turkey and discussed EU-Turkey relations ...
EESC calls on Commissioner Malmström to ensure EU industry and jobs are protected from unfair imports.
Georgia has the best track record in freedom of media among the Eastern Partnership countries, but nevertheless sustained efforts are called for in order to raise the standard of journalistic quality, objectivity and ethics, as well as secure their independence and sources of financing. This was one of the main messages of the EU-Georgia Civil Society Platform (CSP)'s second meeting held on 16th February at the EESC. The Platform also made recommendations for the Georgian government to ...
