Judging by recent events, migration can be unpredictable and unprecedented, with EU policy being anticipatory and yet reactive. This paper highlights recent EU policy and developments, and the EESC's position in response to them.
The European Commission has published a proposal for a new regulatory framework for batteries and waste batteries, aiming to establish minimum sustainability requirements for all batteries placed on the EU internal market. The EESC supports the proposed measures, however, it calls for more precise and workable governance instruments to implement the new regulation, with the involvement of all stakeholders.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the Consultative Commission on Industrial Change (CCMI) believe that the present and future of critical raw materials resilience is of essential concern to EU's organised civil society. For this reason, and because the Commission's Action Plan represents a step forward by providing a clear roadmap with initiatives and actions to be taken at EU level, overall the EESC recommends that the European Parliament and the Council support this approach.
This factsheet provides an overview of the work carried out by the EESC over the past few years to promote the rights of persons with disabilities, particularly in the areas of employment, accessibility, multiple discrimination and the full exercise of the right to vote in European elections - a fight the EESC is now preparing to take to the next level to achieve meaningful change before the next European elections.
In 2005 the Commission adopted the "Monti-Kroes package", updated in 2011 (the "Almunia package"), with key rules for services of general economic interest (SGEI) funding. The Commission declared its intention to carry out a review of this set of rules five years after their entry into force.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) adopted an own initiative opinion in order to contribute to the upcoming Commission review by taking a detailed look at experience with implementing the SGEI package.
The Energy Union is one of the ten priority work areas of the European Commission under the Presidency of Jean-Claude Juncker. The Energy Union strategy was launched in February 2015. The EESC has followed the Energy Union process closely. The Committee has produced as many as 22 opinions directly in response to the Energy Union initiative, ranging from general ones concerning the Energy Union construct to sectoral ones covering policy proposals in each of the five pillars.
The new United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted on the UN world summit on 25 – 27 September, sets out an unprecedented broad action plan for people, planet and prosperity. An ambitious strategy and the installation of effective governance mechanisms will be key for a proper implementation of the SDGs in Europe.
Since its adoption in May 1992, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has been ratified by 195 countries. These states meet once a year at the Conference of Parties (COP), also known as the UN climate summits. After over two decades of negotiations however – during which global emissions have increased by almost 50% – there is growing consensus that tougher action is needed to cut emissions and cap global temperature increases accordingly.
The EESC and the European Commission agree that successful implementation of the EU Energy Union – together with achieving concrete results at the crucial Climate Agreement talks in Paris at the end of 2015 – will depend very much on putting in place a reliable and transparent governance system.
This will help to ensure that the EU meets its targets.
The European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) “Water and sanitation are a human right! Water is a public good, not a commodity!“ was the first successful ECI, achieving over 1.6 million validated signatures from across 13 Member States. The Initiative called upon the Commission to “implement the human right to water and sanitation in European law“.
