EESC Initiative to Integrate EU Candidate Countries

In his political Manifesto, the EESC President Oliver Röpke committed to opening the doors of the EESC to the candidate countries. In September 2023, the EESC took a landmark decision to involve representatives from the EU candidate countries’ civil society in its advisory work. The representatives, called “Enlargement Candidate Members (ECMs)”, were selected in February 2024 and will now work alongside the EESC Members on key EU policies throughout the year. The aim of the ECM initiative is to foster closer ties with candidate countries and facilitate their gradual integration into the European Union.