The EESC issues between 160 and 190 opinions and information reports a year.
It also organises several annual initiatives and events with a focus on civil society and citizens’ participation such as the Civil Society Prize, the Civil Society Days, the Your Europe, Your Say youth plenary and the ECI Day.
Here you can find news and information about the EESC'swork, including its social media accounts, the EESC Info newsletter, photo galleries and videos.
The EESC brings together representatives from all areas of organised civil society, who give their independent advice on EU policies and legislation. The EESC's326 Members are organised into three groups: Employers, Workers and Various Interests.
The EESC has six sections, specialising in concrete topics of relevance to the citizens of the European Union, ranging from social to economic affairs, energy, environment, external relations or the internal market.
The 10th EU-Korea Civil Society Forum (CSF) will take place on 9-10 September 2024 in Seoul. The event will start with a workshop discussing Artificial Intelligence and its impact on the world of work and workers, as well as response to demographic change in terms of low fertility and aging in South Korea.
Climate migration is still seen as internal displacement rather than crossing borders. However, we can predict with some confidence that people arriving to the EU because of climate change or climate-induced disasters could become more and more frequent. How can the EU prepare for or anticipate this phenomenon?
The agenda and all information regarding this plenary session will be available 8 days prior to the event. You will be able to follow the debates by web streaming. Web streaming
The Domestic Advisory Groups (DAGs), set up under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) to advise on the implementation of the agreement, will hold their third meeting on 19 September 2024, in Brussels.
The EU DAG set up under the EU-UK TCA will meet ahead of the DAG-to-DAG meeting and the Civil Society Forum in preparation for these joint events. Exchanges will focus on finalising the joint statement exercise and some anticipation on the discussions and opportunities that CSF will bring.
The European Commission is organising the third Civil Society Forum of the EU-UK trade and cooperation agreement (TCA) on 20 September 2024, at EESC premises, in Brussels.
Participation is open to civil society organisations representing employers' organisations, workers' representatives, NGOs and academics.
The agenda for this third meeting of the CSF includes trade in goods, level playing field, regulatory cooperation, trade in services & energy.
Strengthening the European Semester to support reforms and investment in Member States in order to enhance competitive sustainability and growth
Online event
Brussels
Belgium
With the revision of the EU economic governance framework, which is built around the European Semester, the latter has also been adapted and strengthened in its coordination of the economic, budgetary, employment and social policies of the Member States. From 2024, national medium-term fiscal structural plans will replace the former national reform programmes and stability/convergence programmes. These plans, which have to be submitted by 20 September, should detail the reforms and investment that countries intend to adopt in order to strengthen sustainable growth, and should address the main challenges (digital, green and social) identified in the context of the European Semester (and in particular the country-specific recommendations (CSRs). The EESC sees a number of opportunities in this review and calls in particular for greater transparency in the Semester, for appropriate involvement of organised civil society and for proper monitoring of the implementation of medium-term fiscal structural plans.