Enlargement countries

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The EESC is actively engaged in the enlargement process of the EU and has developed a dual approach - regional and bilateral - for its relations with civil society organisations (CSOs) in the enlargement countries.

As far as the regional approach is concerned, the Western Balkans Follow-up Committee – a permanent internal body of the EESC – is the main instrument for coordinating the EESC's activities in this region. The Western Balkans Civil Society Forum, organised every two years, is part of the work of the Follow-up Committee.

The EESC also works bilaterally with countries of the Western Balkans and Türkyie. On the basis of association agreements between these countries and the EU, in order to involve CSOs in the pre-accession and accession processes, the EESC has created three joint bodies with civil society representatives – with Türkyie, Montenegro and Serbia. Each body is composed of an equal number of members from the EESC and the partner country and meets twice a year.

The EESC keeps up regular contacts and organises joint activities with the CSOs of enlargement countries with whom no joint body of civil society representatives has yet been established.

The work of the joint bodies is complemented by the preparation of EESC opinions on the pre-accession and accession processes of individual countries, as well as on topics of regional interest.

  • Adopted on 22/01/2025 - Bureau decision date: 18/01/2024
    Reference
    SOC/797-EESC-2024
    Workers - GR II
    France
    Civil Society Organisations - GR III
    Germany
    Plenary session number
    593
    -

    The EESC denounces the deterioration of human rights, the rule of law, and democracy, and calls for further improvements of the Commission's Annual Rule of Law Reports.  Among others, it recommends that the Commission ensures meaningful involvement of civil society in both the preparation and follow-up stages of the report at the national level, and expands the Report’s section on CSOs. The Commission's assessment should be based on objective benchmarks and transparent dialogue with CSOs and the Commission needs to develop more precise and measurable country-specific recommendations with clear benchmarks, indicators and deadlines.

    Download — EESC opinion: Evaluation of the European Commission's annual reports on the rule of law in the European Union
    • soc/797 _Record of proceedings
  • Adopted on 04/12/2024 - Bureau decision date: 15/02/2024
    Reference
    TEN/836-EESC-2024
    Workers - GR II
    Austria
    Plenary session number
    592
    -
    Download — EESC opinion: Labour and skills shortages in transport, energy, infrastructure and the digital sector
    • TEN/836 _Record of proceedings
  • Adopted on 04/12/2024 - Bureau decision date: 18/01/2024
    Reference
    REX/585-EESC-2024
    Employers - GR I
    Bulgaria
    Civil Society Organisations - GR III
    Greece
    Plenary session number
    592
    -

    This subject of this own-initiative opinion is multidimensional, requiring from the opinion to address a wide spectrum of subtopics, while having a clear and logical thread.

    Download — EESC opinion: Water Politics: Empowering Youth, Women, and Indigenous and Local Communities
    • REX/585 _Record of proceedings
  • Adopted on 04/12/2024 - Bureau decision date: 18/01/2024
    Reference
    INT/1058-EESC-2024-02187-00-00-AC-TRA
    Civil Society Organisations - GR III
    Bulgaria
    Plenary session number
    592
    -

    The opinion aims to examine the economic development of candidate countries and the potential effects of enlargement on the EU Single Market. This opinion is part of a pilot project involving Enlargement Candidate Members in the preparatory work.

    Download — EESC opinion: Potential challenges for the European single market arising from the future enlargement of the Union
    • INT/1058 _Record of proceedings
  • Adopted on 23/10/2024 - Bureau decision date: 18/01/2024
    Reference
    NAT/928-EESC-2024
    Civil Society Organisations - GR III
    Ireland
    Plenary session number
    591
    -

    In this opinion, the EESC stresses that the alignment of the circular economy and bioeconomy is crucial for sustainable development and calls for a strong, interlinked strategy to foster innovation, support rural jobs, and ensure the EU stays competitive within planetary boundaries.

    Download — EESC opinion: Aligning the circular economy and the bioeconomy at the EU and national level
    • Record of proceedings NAT/928
  • Adopted on 23/10/2024 - Bureau decision date: 18/01/2024
    Reference
    ECO/645-EESC-2024
    Civil Society Organisations - GR III
    Slovakia
    Plenary session number
    591
    -

    Climate change is an existential threat for the European economy. Therefore, a comprehensive approach is needed. In this context, based on the empirical and data analyses related to the impact of climate change on the real economy, macroeconomic and financial stability is essential. As things currently stand, intensified natural disasters will lead to unprecedented costs that will have an unpredictable impact on public finance.

    The European economy is currently on a downward trend. This will lead to lower revenue and, at the same time, higher demand for spending – mainly related to the costs of climate change, higher borrowing costs and negative trends in demographic development.

    Download — EESC opinion: Climate change and its impact on the economy
    • Record of proceedings ECO/645
  • Adopted on 23/10/2024 - Bureau decision date: 18/01/2024
    Reference
    CCMI/230-EESC-2024
    Civil Society Organisations - GR III
    Italy
    (Belgium
    Plenary session number
    591
    -

    This own-initiative opinion stems from the European Commission call for an "Industry 5.0" based on: human centricity, sustainability and resilience. Industry 5.0 aims thus at broadening the previous concept of Industry 4.0, providing a transformative vision for a sustainable, human-centric and resilient European industry. This opinion will reflect on how to concretely implement the concept of Industry 5.0.

    This opinion is part of the EESC pilot "Enlargement Candidate Members (ECM)" where representatives from Turkey will take part in the study groups an in the Section meeting. The Turkish representatives are: Özgür Burak Akkol (Turkish Confederation of Employer Associations (TİSK), for Group I), Cavit Demiral (Confederation of Turkish Real Trade for Group II) and Ayşe Yürekli (Women Entrepreneurs Association of Türkiye, for Group III). 

    Download — EESC opinion: Industry 5.0 – how to make it happen
    • Record of proceedings CCMI/230
  • Adopted on 18/09/2024 - Bureau decision date: 18/01/2024
    Reference
    SOC/795-EESC-2024
    Civil Society Organisations - GR III
    Latvia
    Plenary session number
    590
    -

    The EESC underlines that youth participation mechanisms need to be transparent and that the interests and concerns of young people need to be considered at each stage of the policy-making cycle. It proposes that guidelines are set up to support the monitoring and dissemination of the EUYD (EU Youth Dialogue) outcomes and impact and that an online repository be set up where collected documents would be made available. It calls on the Commission and the Member States to support long-term, sustainable and well-functioning management of the EUYD, including the establishment of institutional memory and capacity building processes.

    Download — EESC opinion: Strengthening the EU Youth Dialogue follow-up via monitoring and transparency guidelines
    • Record of proceedings
  • Adopted on 10/07/2024 - Bureau decision date: 13/02/2024
    Reference
    REX/590-EESC-2024-REX/590 Screening of foreign investments in the Union
    Workers - GR II
    Spain
    Plenary session number
    589
    -
    Download — EESC opinion: Screening of foreign investments in the Union
    • REX/590 Record of the proceedings