This opinion will examine how to support the competitiveness of European automotive manufacturers and the overall enabling conditions, including targeted financing, regulatory simplification, ensuring the availability of skilled workforce and how to improve its supply chain resilience. It will also examine how to make electric vehicle battery cells and components production in the EU cost-competitive in the short term. Finally, it will look at autonomous driving technologies and the regulatory framework for autonomous vehicles.
V pripravi (updated on 10/04/2025) - Bureau decision date: 27/02/2025
Europe’s energy system is increasingly unbalanced due to intermittent renewable sources like wind and solar, often relying on fossil fuels for stability. Achieving balance is key for energy reliability, climate goals, economic growth, and technological innovation. This opinion explores how Member States can integrate renewables while ensuring system stability and advancing decarbonisation, focusing on managing intermittent energy effectively.
V pripravi (updated on 10/04/2025) - Bureau decision date: 05/12/2024
This opinion aims to support the creation of a forward-looking social action plan by evaluating the progress and challenges of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR). It focuses on aiding those most impacted by demographic and labour market changes, strengthening employment standards, and enhancing social safety nets. Despite achievements during 2019-2024, gaps remain, and progress towards action plan targets is insufficient. To this end, the opinion will propose policy recommendations and initiatives to inform the European Commission’s upcoming Action Plan for EPSR implementation with a view to increasing upward social convergence.
EESC opinion NAT/946 Phasing out fossil fuel subsidies while ensuring European competitiveness, mitigating the cost-of-living crisis, and promoting a just transition. Foreseen adoption at the EESC Plenary: 29-30 April 2025.
Download — Mnenje strokovne skupine EESO: Phasing out fossil fuel subsidies while ensuring European competitiveness, mitigating the cost-of-living crisis, and promoting a just transition
This own-initiative opinion constitutes the contribution of the ECO section to the 2025 EESC transversal own-initiative opinion package on the cost-of-living crisis, looking at specific economic policy measures that can help make the European economy future-proof.
V pripravi (updated on 10/04/2025) - Bureau decision date: 23/01/2025
This opinion intends to discuss the relationship between water resilience, digitalisation and the green transition. It aims to propose recommendations to address the different challenges involving water, digitalisation and decarbonisation from an industrial perspective.
V pripravi (updated on 10/04/2025) - Bureau decision date: 05/12/2024
The European Union’s ambitious climate targets have significantly impacted resource and energy-intensive industries (REIIs), which are crucial to the EU economy. These industries face rising costs due to high energy prices, carbon pricing, and regulatory changes. This opinion reflects on the optimal solutions to maintain the competitiveness of EU industry in face if the rising energy prices and the costs required to support the transition towards a low-carbon economy. The EU Youth Test at the EESC was applied to this opinion.
V pripravi (updated on 10/04/2025) - Bureau decision date: 24/10/2024
The rule of law is one of the common values on which the European Union is founded. European Commission’s rule of law mechanism has so far only examined compliance with the rule of law in the member states in only four areas, but unfortunately not as a prerequisite for economic activity or as a location factor. The own-initiative opinion on the economic dimension of the Rule of Law would look for examples of protectionism and the implementation of discriminatory measures against foreign investors in some member states as non-compliance and circumvention of European regulations lead to enormous distortions of competition for companies operating in the internal market. The own-initiative opinion would also seek to include a chapter on the economic dimension of fundamental rights in the European Commissions’ Rule of law report.
V pripravi (updated on 10/04/2025) - Bureau decision date: 25/02/2025
Dominika BIEGON (Workers - GR II/Germany), Antonio GARCÍA DEL RIEGO (Employers - GR I/Spain), Giuseppe GUERINI (Civil Society Organisations - GR III/Italy)
Plenary session number
596
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The European Parliament has requested the EESC to draft an opinion on sustaining and financing investments. More specifically, on the expectations, concerns, and needs of civil society. We will deliver our views and policy recommendations on the further integration of EU capital markets, the Banking Union, and on public support to boost private investment.
This opinion is in the context of the own-initiative procedure of the European Parliament on Facilitating the financing of investments and reforms to boost European competitiveness and creating a Capital Markets Union (Draghi Report).
V pripravi (updated on 10/04/2025) - Bureau decision date: 25/03/2025
The opinion focuses on the legislative proposal for the establishment of a single digital declaration portal for companies providing services and temporarily sending workers to another Member State, known as ‘posted workers'.
Download — Mnenje strokovne skupine EESO: Internal Market Information System for the declaration of posting of workers
