The EESC issues between 160 and 190 opinions and information reports a year.
It also organises several annual initiatives and events with a focus on civil society and citizens’ participation such as the Civil Society Prize, the Civil Society Days, the Your Europe, Your Say youth plenary and the ECI Day.
Here you can find news and information about the EESC'swork, including its social media accounts, the EESC Info newsletter, photo galleries and videos.
The EESC brings together representatives from all areas of organised civil society, who give their independent advice on EU policies and legislation. The EESC's326 Members are organised into three groups: Employers, Workers and Various Interests.
The EESC has six sections, specialising in concrete topics of relevance to the citizens of the European Union, ranging from social to economic affairs, energy, environment, external relations or the internal market.
The EESC shares the Commission's view on the strategic importance of payments and that further work is needed to enable payment transactions within the single market using new home-grown, pan-European payment solutions. It also supports the view that the Commission should act as a political catalyst, whilst it is the private sector that should design the innovative digital payment solutions. The EESC believes that relevant market players should be subject to appropriate legislation, supervision and oversight, ensuring a level playing field among those offering the same services and activities.
EESC opinion: Retail payments for the EU (Communication)
The EESC calls on the authorities at all levels to engage in close cooperation with all the stakeholders with a view to drawing up a specific action plan on the future of European retail in the 21st century.
The opinion aims to present a detailed analysis of the current state of commercial relations between food suppliers and the large retail sector, it also intends to put forward arguments demonstrating that the traditional concept of contractual freedom sometimes invoked by those opposing the regulation of commercial relations is, in practice, largely obsolete.
Échanger les bonnes pratiques, garantir un financement suffisant et réduire au minimum les formalités administratives: des solutions nécessaires pour revitaliser et moderniser les petits détaillants, qui ont été débattues lors de la réunion de la catégorie «PME, artisanat et entreprises familiales» du CESE. Le 26 février dernier, des associations professionnelles et une représentante de la direction générale du marché intérieur, de l’industrie, de l’entrepreneuriat et des PME de la Commission européenne se sont entretenues avec des membres de ladite catégorie. L’objectif de la discussion était d’examiner les résultats de l’étude sur «L’avenir de la vente au détail dans les centres-villes», ainsi que les priorités des PME européennes de vente au détail.
The European Economic and Social Committee is organizing a hearing as part of its follow-up work on its opinion on ''A European retail sector fit for the 21st century'', which was adopted in December 2018. The event will take place on 27 June 2019. It is part of a series of follow-up hearings to be held in several EU Member States.
The main objective of the hearing will be to discuss the effectiveness and efficiency of EU retail policies and to collect valuable input and feedback from Polish stakeholders on the issue in order to find ways to improve these policies. Particular emphasis will be placed on the recommendations presented in the EESC opinion with a view to their implementation at national level.
The European Economic and Social Committee is organizing a hearing as part of its follow-up work on its opinion on ''A European retail sector fit for the 21st century'', which was adopted in December 2018.
The event will take place on 26 September 2019 in Brussels. It is part of a series of follow-up hearings to be held in several EU Member States.
The main objective of the hearing will be to discuss the effectiveness and efficiency of EU retail policies and to collect valuable input and feedback from Belgian stakeholders on the issue in order to find ways to improve these policies. Particular emphasis will be placed on the recommendations presented in the EESC opinion with a view to their implementation at national level.