Europeiska ekonomiska och sociala kommittén
EESK har samarbetat med motsvarigheter i Latinamerika och Karibien sedan 1990-talet. EESK har i flera yttranden fokuserat på förbindelserna med denna region, på regional, subregional och nationell nivå. EESK har bl.a. följande prioriteringar: utveckling av det civila samhällets organisationer, ekonomisk och social utveckling, regional integration och multilateralt samarbete.
På regional nivå anordnar EESK vartannat år möten mellan företrädare för civilsamhällesorganisationer i Europa, Latinamerika och Karibien, som ett av de förberedande evenemangen inför toppmötet mellan EU och Celac.
På subregional och nationell nivå har flera permanenta strukturer inrättats: 2009 inrättade EESK tillsammans med Brasiliens ekonomiska och sociala råd en rundabordskonferens för det civila samhället för att tillhandahålla ett forum för dialog och fortlöpande samarbete mellan företrädare för det civila samhället i Brasilien och EU. Genom associeringsavtalet mellan EU och Chile fick kommittén i uppdrag att med sin motsvarighet i det chilenska civila samhället inrätta en gemensam rådgivande kommitté med uppgift att övervaka avtalet, och denna inrättades slutligen 2016. När det gäller länderna i Andinska gemenskapen deltar EESK i den inhemska rådgivande grupp som övervakar frihandelsavtalet mellan EU och Colombia, Peru och Ecuador. EESK deltar också i den rådgivande kommittén EU–Cariforum, som övervakar det ekonomiska partnerskapsavtalet mellan Cariforum och EU. Permanenta förbindelser har upprättats med EESK:s institutionella motsvarigheter i Mercosur (det rådgivande ekonomiska och sociala forumet) och Centralamerika (den rådgivande kommittén för det centralamerikanska integrationssystemet).
The Consultative Committee (CC) is one of the 5 institutions foreseen in the EU-CARIFORUM Economic Partnership Agreement. The CC is composed of 40 (25 from the CARIFORUM side and 15 from the EU side) standing representatives of organisations of the civil society representing employers' organisations, trade unions, other economic, social and non-governmental organisations, including development and environmental organisations; and the academic community.
The Latin America Follow up Committee of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) held a Hearing on the EU-Mercosur Association Agreement: The views of organized civil society on 13 of November 2019.
The main purpose of the debate was to:
During the meeting, the EU Domestic Advisory Group (EU DAG) and civil society representatives from the Colombia DAG, Peru Domestic Mechanism and Ecuador DAG discussed the implementation of the Trade and Sustainable Development Title of the Trade Agreement, with a particular focus on respect for international labour and environmental standards. They also discussed economic, social, environmental and human rights impacts resulting from the implementation of the Agreement. The participants reflected on how the civil society from the EU, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador can cooperate to promote sustainable development in the context of trade relations and prepare for the next joint meeting.
This year's meetings between the EU and Central America under the Trade and Sustainable Development Title of the Association Agreement included a joint meeting of the DAGs where the representatives of the EU and Central American Advisory Groups exchanged experience in their current operation and discussed proposals for capacity strengthening of the civil society monitoring mechanism, the role of the parties in this context and future cooperation. The joint meeting of the DAGs was followed by a workshop on Trade and Sustainable Development where the participants discussed the content of the chapter and looked for a common understanding of the chapter.
The 15th meeting of the EU Advisory Group for the EU-Central America Association Agreement took place on 29 April 2019 in Brussels. Please click on the programme tab to consult the topics on the agenda.
The 14th meeting of the EU Advisory Group for the EU-Central America Association Agreement took place on 14 January 2019 in Brussels. Please click on the programme tab to consult the topics on the agenda.
During the meeting, the EU Domestic Advisory Group (EU DAG) and civil society representatives from Colombia, Peru and Ecuador discussed implementation of the Trade and Sustainable Development Title of the Trade Agreement, with a particular focus on respect for international labour and environmental standards. They also discussed economic, social, environmental and human rights impacts resulting from the implementation of the Agreement. The participants reflected moreover on how the civil society from the EU, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador can cooperate to promote sustainable development in the context of trade relations and prepare for the next joint meeting. The participants adopted a joint declaration summarising outcomes of their discussion and presented it to the Parties during the Open Session with civil society on 12 December.
On 6 and 7 December 2018, the third meeting of the EU-Chile Civil Society Joint Consultative Committee (JCC), established by the EU-Chile Association Agreement was held in Santiago de Chile. The members discussed topics of interest for both parties, such as investment and cooperation, decent work and informal economy, the Sustainable Development Agenda and proposals to reinforce the role of the Joint Consultative Committee. They adopted a Final Declaration on these four topics.
The JCC is made up of eighteen members, nine from the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and nine from Chilean civil society organisations. It is co-chaired by Josep Puxeu Rocamora, EESC member, and Roberto Zúñiga Belauzarán, Director, National Confederation of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (CONAPYME).
The 10th meeting of the EU Advisory Group for the EU-Colombia, Peru and Ecuador Free Trade Agreement took place on 29 November 2018 in Brussels. Please click on the programme tab to consult the topics on the agenda.
The 13th meeting of the EU Advisory Group for the EU-Central America Association Agreement took place on 4 October 2018 in Brussels. Please click on the programme tab to consult the topics on the agenda.
