welcomes the African Union’s (AU) commitment to democratic values and to promoting democracy as highlighted in the aspirations set out in the AU 2063 Agenda;
believes that the Global Gateway strategy is of great importance for EU-Africa relations, and reaffirms that it will strengthen economic and political ties, ensuring respect for democratic and social principles;
commits to pursue and improve its activities to promote and support African civil society organisations and social partners by facilitating their establishment, organisation and action and by helping boost their institutional capacity, as a contribution to achieving the EU’s goal of making democracy resilient in Africa.
endorses the proposed decision and points out that the ECT protects, inter alia, investments in fossil energy sources, which run counter to the climate objectives, such as those set out in the European Green Deal and the Paris Agreement;
stresses furthermore that the ECT allows foreign investors to challenge any domestic legislation that might harm their profit expectations, as the arbitration system allows investors to challenge national environmental and climate laws;
encourages the Commission, the Member States and the European Parliament to conclude other inter se agreements with third countries which have withdrawn from the ECT, such as the UK, to eliminate the risk of arbitration proceedings due to the ECT's 20-year survival clause;
calls for a new multilateral framework for energy cooperation to be developed that prioritises sustainable and renewable energy sources, ensuring that any future agreement is fully aligned with the objectives of the EU Green Deal.
calls for a new EU maritime strategy reflecting the importance of the sector for the EU economy and the well-being of its citizens. A holistic approach will ensure the sustainable development of the maritime space, foster maritime security and defence capacities, strengthen the blue economy, and promote the active involvement of the social partners and civil society as well as regional and global cooperation.
is convinced that the electricity market should be reformed in such a way that it meets the objective of climate neutrality by 2050, combined with the objectives of security of supply and stable and affordable prices, as well as ensuring the right to energy for the protection of vulnerable groups.
stresses that young people, women, and indigenous and local communities (including migrants and people with disabilities) are the most vulnerable to water stress and have a large untapped potential for contributing to sustainable water management, for turning water into an instrument of peace and stability, and, thus, for contributing to blue diplomacy;
calls on the EU to pay due attention to these groups in its external relations and international cooperation and suggests a lighthouse partnership programme related to water stress for addressing how to empower them in an integrated manner;
notes that access to clean water, education, employment and participation in policymaking are key elements of empowerment;
reaffirms that blue and digital technologies are instrumental for improving water management and access to clean water and sanitation.
believes that EU agriculture, fisheries, and food policies must better address challenges such as pandemics, climate change, and conflicts. Improved crisis tools, fair pricing, and financial support are essential to ensuring food security, strategic autonomy, and fair incomes for producers.
points out the need to prioritize sustainability by restoring soil health, improving water use, rewarding eco-friendly practices, and addressing unfair trading like below-cost pricing. Supporting local and sustainable food chains is equally important.
recommends encouraging young people and women into the sector. Increased budgets, disaster insurance, fair trade practices, and creating a European food council will strengthen resilience and drive innovation.
believes that there has been a market failure in housing. This must be tackled by improving framework conditions like data, coordination, approval procedures and land use planning rules, establishing a fundamental right to housing, providing sufficient funding, implementing the ‘Housing First’ approach for homeless people and focusing more on the needs of young people and sustainability;
recommends that the Commissions assess the necessity, proportionality and consequences of suspending an exemption from the visa requirement;
special attention should be paid to the mobility needs of human rights defenders, especially if the human rights situation deteriorates in the third country concerned;
recommends that, if the suspension mechanism is activated, the EU should offer protection with careful assessments to certain categories of people, such as civil and human rights activists, vulnerable people exposed to exclusion or prosecution in third countries and to students /members of academia who wish to travel for professional reasons.
points out that access to public procurement is crucial for social economy entities and stresses the importance of establishing innovative criteria with real, non-market value;
calls on the Member States and the different levels of government to implement all of the measures and actions in the Recommendation on developing social economy framework conditions in order to help social economy entities access the public procurement market, using proportionate selection criteria, for example, or dividing contracts into lots;
calls for an extensive evaluation and revision of the European public procurement framework in the current legislative term.
calls on the Council to set a date for lifting land border controls between Bulgaria and Romania and the other Schengen Member States as early as 2024. The EESC also calls on all stakeholders to work collaboratively towards this goal, ensuring that the benefits of Schengen membership are extended equally to all EU citizens;
underlines that the Schengen Agreement is essential for the free movement of people, goods, services and capital within the EU, and that the competitiveness of the EU has become a pressing political priority, as underscored by recent reports by Enrico Letta and Mario Draghi;
considers that despite its significant achievements, the European single market remains a work in progress. Any limitations on the freedom of movement within it have an adverse effect on EU competitiveness and economic growth, hampering the full realisation of the social market economy as envisaged in the Treaties.
