Article by Antonello Pezzini, Delegate of the EESC Consultative Commission on Industrial Change
Last January, European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton reiterated the need to consolidate an internal defence market to ensure our security. ‘We started with munitions for Ukraine’, he stated. ‘We now need to broaden this approach to include a large-scale European defence industrial programme capable of supporting the expansion of the European industrial base and developing the infrastructure needed to protect contested areas’.
The European Economic and Social Committee has had the opportunity to reiterate, on numerous occasions, the need to support the launch of a European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP) aimed at creating an interoperable and integrated common defence system.
Competitiveness is now back on the political agenda. While this has long been requested from the business community, the need to guarantee the competitiveness of the EU economy, and in particular its industry, is now high on the list of political priorities. The Swedish and Spanish Presidencies of the EU have been tirelessly promoting the concept, urging the whole EU to guarantee competitiveness as the best way to keep and improve society's wealth and to achieve strategic autonomy.
21 September - The Employers' Group of the European Economic and Social Committee strongly voiced its disagreement with the EESC opinion adopted today on a regulation on minimum breaks for occasional passenger transport sector and pushed through a counter-opinion, which is in line with the European Commission proposal and the ongoing work in the European Parliament.
On 18-19 September 2023 the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Summit will take place in New York. It aims to mark the beginning of a new phase of accelerated progress towards achieving the SDGs, with high-level political commitment and guidance on transformative and accelerated actions leading up to 2030.
by Antje Gerstein, member of the EESC Employers' Group
by Stefano Mallia, President of the EESC Employers' Group
As the dust settles on the last State of the Union address by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen before the end of her mandate, one thing is clear: Competitiveness is back on the agenda after years of neglect. The Commission has finally realised that the Europe framed by our founding fathers must answer the new call of history.
6 September 2023 - The Employers' Group of the European Economic and Social Committee urged EU policymakers to put competitiveness at the centre of the EU agenda and deliver an overarching Competitiveness Agenda.
Article by Alena Mastantuono, Vice-President of the EESC Transport, Energy, Infrastructure and the Information Society Section
On 30 November 2022, the European Commission proposed the draft packaging and packaging waste regulation (PPWR), which aims to reduce waste and ensure all packaging is reusable or recyclable by 2030. The review contributes to reaching the objective of the European Green Deal and the new circular economy action plan. While it is right to minimize the amount of packaging waste, the proposal lacks detailed impact on human health and environment. It also provides zero guidance for industry how the 2030 goal should be achieved in a sustainable way.
