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.
In this opinion, the EESC is calling for additional measures both at EU and national level, to better protect informal carers and recognise their important contribution to society. These measures include setting up a Platform for the exchange of best practices, the provision of high-quality, accessible community-based services to alleviate their charge, respite services and flexible working conditions to avoid that they have to quit their job to attend their family members.
In order to improve the fight against drug trafficking and organised crime in the EU, the EESC recommends that Member States provide their customs administrations and police forces with adequate human and technical resources, decent pay, working conditions and continued training. The opinion highlights that trade unions representing police and customs officials should be involved to better identify human resources and equipment needs. The EESC advocates better cross-border law enforcement coordination between police and customs authorities, and better cooperation between law enforcement and judicial authorities as well as fiscal authorities in order to combat organised crime as effectively as possible. The opinion also underlines that combating the abuse of drugs necessitates a differentiated, whole-of-society approach, remarking that drug use should be tackled more by means of preventive and accompanying measures and less through repression.
Download — EESC opinion: Roadmap on anti-drug trafficking
Vulnerable groups pay a proportionally higher price of the consequences of climate change although they contribute less to it. In this opinion, the EESC calls for the development of a comprehensive EU political and social strategy to be able to respond proactively to climate emergency, stressing on the social aspects of the just transition. To do so, the EESC recommends, among other measures, the EU Social Climate Fund and the EU Climate Adjustment Fund be supplemented with additional instruments.
Download — EESC opinion: The climate crisis and its effect on vulnerable groups
The Toy Safety Directive sets out the safety requirements that toys must meet before they can be marketed in the EU. This initiative aims to protect children better against risks in toys, particularly from chemicals. It builds on work such as the chemicals strategy for sustainability, and on an evaluation of the current toy safety rules completed in 2020. At the same time, it aims to strengthen the Single Market for toys.
Download — EESC opinion: Revision of the toy safety directive