European Economic and Social Committee
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“Review – renew – reset”
It was the motto of the 2015 annual ECI Day, organised by the EESC together with ECAS – member of the Liaison Group - and other partner organisations actively involved in the development of the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI).
The event took place at a critical moment, with the new European Commission and European Parliament in place following the recent elections, and on the eve of the planned review of the ECI Regulation.
Restart or kick-start?
After the Christmas and New Year break, political life came back to Brussels and we all thought we could get gently back into the swing again. The terrorist attacks in Paris against Charlie Hebdo and the Jewish supermarket were crimes that reflected many of our society's ailments. The perpetrators of those crimes were losers in our system and found their new ideological home in a radical interpretation of Islam. On the other hand, the huge mobilisation of civil society – including the commemoration in the EESC – showed that there is still a majority with a democratic consensus.
The new Commission and the newly elected EP have left their starting blocks. After all the promises, "musts" and "shoulds", we are now entering a phase of real policy-making. European CSO networks – through the Liaison Group – have contributed heavily to the EESC's work on Europe 2020, the Commission’s work programme and the various initiatives undertaken by the sections, in a spirit of complementarity and with the firm belief that the common goal is to promote genuine civil dialogue as stipulated in Article 11 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU).
The Liaison Group held its meeting on 5 November 2014 with both sets of members present: the EESC members and the CSO members. Together with the other co-chair of the LG, EESC President Henri Malosse, we had agreed to hold new meetings only when there was sufficient food for thought and debate.
The Liaison Group was created by the EESC in 2004 in order to forge links and cooperate more closely with European organisations and civil society networks.
Ten years later, the Group was ready for a new boost to better fulfil its role, a point underlined by the EESC Bureau in its reflection on the future of the EESC...
For nearly 10 years, European civil society organisations have been contributing to the work of the EESC through the Liaison Group and directly with EESC groups, sections and members, in consultations, hearings and events. As the Liaison Group is the only institutional link which we, European civil society organisations, have with the European institutions, it is of particular importance to us. ...
Le cœur de l’Europe bat toujours!
Renaissance ou commémoration, telle était la question du 60e anniversaire des traités de Rome, et une fois de plus, c’est la société civile qui a rappelé les promesses...
