The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is an essential EU policy and any changes need to strongly support the European model of agriculture and family farming. A reshaped CAP must support farm incomes, deal with market volatility and preserve European agricultural production, also in light of any new trade deals. The income inequality both between rural and urban areas and within the agricultural sector itself should be overcome. The future CAP must also deliver on Europe's international ...
The president of the European Parliament (EP) Antonio Tajani joined the EESC plenary session on Thursday 1 June to discuss the EP's priorities and the strengthening of cooperation between the two institutions. The EP's six priorities for this year are very much in line with the concerns of Europe's civil society, according to the EESC. They include: giving a new boost to jobs, growth and investment; addressing the social dimension of the European Union; better protecting the security of EU citizens; reforming and developing migration policy in...
The EU needs a concrete plan to champion culture as a vital element in open, tolerant societies, according to Europe’s leading organised civil society body. The 350-member EESC held a debate with Culture Commissioner Tibor Navracsics and voted through its opinion on the EU’s recent strategy for international cultural relations on Wednesday at its May plenary in Brussels. Culture has an enormous untapped potential for becoming a unifying and mobilising instrument in Europe. At a time when extremism is increasing, when our citizens are questioning their common identity more than ever, declared the rapporteur Luca Jahier, "now is the moment to...
EESC conference highlights the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) great potential for business, environment and citizens
The EU needs to do more. It has to grab the unique chance of implementing the SDGs and transform the challenges into opportunities for businesses and industry, agriculture and food production, helping to fight climate change and becoming a more equal society.
This is the bottom line of a two-day conference on The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: A new frontier of rights and progress for the EU held in Brussels ...
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 ...
European tax rules are not currently prepared for the digital economy. They need to be adapted to reality in order to offer the people of Europe a more prosperous future. This was the main message of the EESC debate on Taxation of the Digital Economy held on 5th May. “The digital economy is no longer just a part of the economy, but is becoming the actual economy itself”, stated the ...
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 ...
The counterfeit goods industry is detrimental to jobs and growth in Europe and deprives governments of billions in tax revenues and threatens health and security of EU workers and citizens. Nevertheless, imports of fake goods have even doubled worldwide within 10 years due to digital trade. Now it is high time for Europe's legal framework to also arrive in the 21st century. The European Commission and the Member States urgently need to adapt their legal frameworks and ensure the necessary controls and market surveillance. Consumers need to be better informed, which is even a specific fundamental consumer right codified in Article 169 TFEU. Both the private and the public sectors need to cooperate in the fight against product piracy.
