The written conclusions and recommendations of the conference will feed into an EESC resolution with policy recommendations to the new European Parliament and European Commission, to be adopted in July.
The conference will explore how the EU as a whole and Member States individually can work towards effective sustainable civil dialogue and participatory democracy.
Civil Society Organisations active on fundamental rights, the rule of law, and democracy are confronted with increasing difficulties, from regulatory challenges to financial constraints and concerted attacks on their work and credibility. At the hearing, the EESC intends to engage with CSOs and other relevant stakeholders to identify the main issues they face and propose ways of improving support. The hearing will feed into the opinion, which will have a particular focus on EU funding.
A Social Progress Protocol giving priority to workers’, and social rights over economic freedoms was first proposed by the European Trade Union Confederation in 2008.
This proposal was endorsed in the conclusions of the Conference on the Future of Europe calling for an inclusion of such a protocol in the Treaties, and also the European Parliament approved a resolution, in June 2022, calling for the incorporation of social progress in Article 9 TFEU linked to a Social Progress Protocol.
The upcoming Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU has asked the EESC for its position on such a protocol, so come shape the advice the EESC will give on a Social Progress Protocol!
As part of its work to prepare an opinion on "Mechanisms of social imbalance", the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is organising a hybrid public hearing on 3 February 2022 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The discussion will focus on how to best develop a specific mechanism for detecting and monitoring social imbalances in the EU.
To prepare its opinion on "Strengthening the role and independence of equality bodies", the European Economic and Social Committee is organising a hybrid public hearing.
Equality bodies combat discrimination at the national level through prevention and assistance to victims. However, their tasks and resources vary significantly across EU countries, resulting in different levels of effectiveness.
The hearing will address how to improve the powers of equality bodies to better fight discrimination, by gathering inputs from institutions, social partners and other civil society organisations.
Exhibition hosted at the EESC under the initiative of the President of the EESC Workers' Group, Oliver Röpke, in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation and Alliance 8.7.
Economic, Social and Environmental Council, 9, place d'Iéna
Paris
France
The Workers' Group is organising a conference in Paris, at the Economic, Social and Environmental Council, focusing on the issues of persistent discrimination in Europe and how to tackle it and the challenges and opportunities of participatory democracy for the EESC.
