The EESC presents its contribution to Commission's 2015 work programme and welcomes Martin Schulz, EP President

Met dank overgenomen van Europees Economisch en Sociaal Comité (EESC) i, gepubliceerd op dinsdag 9 december 2014.

On Wednesday 10 December at 4.15 pm, EESC President Henri Malosse will present the Committee's contribution to the European Commission's 2015 work programme. In this connection, at 4.30 pm, Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, will address the EESC plenary and present the political priorities of the European Parliament and its future cooperation with the EESC.

On Thursday 11 December at 10.45 am, the Europe 2020 Steering Committee President, Mr Stefano Palmieri will present the report on civil society's contribution to the Europe 2020 mid-term review.

Please register here to attend: press@eesc.europa.eu

EESC Plenary Session - 10 and 11 December 2014

Charlemagne building (European Commission), De Gasperi room (3rd floor), Brussels

Watch the plenary session here - The full agenda is available here

Opinions to be discussed and put to the vote during the plenary session:

  • - 
    Civil society in Russia (Rapporteur: Mall Hellam) More.

It has never been more important to build up mutual trust and ensure that Russian and EU civil society can interact freely. The EESC and independent Russian civil society organisations should seek out new areas for dialogue and develop existing ones, especially on human rights.

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    Regulatory Fitness and Performance Programme (REFIT) (Rapporteur: Denis Meynent) More.

At the request of the European Commission, the EESC will vote on an opinion which calls for the REFIT Programme to be ambitious, simple and transparent. In view of the latest impact assessments, the Committee stresses the need for an integrated and balanced analysis of the economic, social and environmental aspects of this programme. Smart regulation must take the social dimension of the internal market into account. The EESC will actively encourage involvement of the social partners and civil society in this context.

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    Completing EMU - The role of taxation policy (Rapporteur: Carlos Trias Pintó, Co-rapporteur: Petru Sorin Dandea) More.

This own initiative opinion develops arguments and proposals regarding the specific role of taxation policy in completing Economic and Monetary Union. The EESC calls concrete proposals to be drawn up, notably to explore the potential of greater coordination in monetary union to make tax systems more effective. Better tax coordination in EMU may contribute to growth and employment creation by, for example, facilitating the process of shifting taxes from labour towards less growth-harmful tax bases. The opinion also looks to the extent of economic policy coordination in the context of the European Semester in order to achieve the desired results.

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    European film in the digital era (Rapporteur: Anna Maria Darmanin) More.

The EESC welcomes the Commission Communication on "European film in the digital era - Bridging cultural diversity and competitiveness". However, the Committee emphasises that a balance needs to be struck between the audio-visual sector's value in a business and commercial sense and its value to Europe from a cultural heritage perspective. Financing is an area that needs to be examined; competitiveness must be sought, but not at the cost of the cultural dimension of film in Europe. The EESC also stresses that, although it is fast-changing and may be perceived as a challenge for the sector, the digital world offers a multitude of opportunities for the film industry.

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    The circular economy in the EU: A zero waste programme for Europe (Rapporteur: An Le Nouail Marlière) More.

The Committee welcomes the Commission's proposals to accelerate the economy's transition to a more circular one. The Commission should keep up its legislative proposals for putting an end to landfill with recyclable waste and for increasing recycling targets. However, the proposed steps are not inclusive enough, focusing too much on waste policies while ignoring the huge potential of steps to improve the entire lifespan of products.

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    The circular economy: job creation and the Green Action Plan for SMEs (Rapporteur: Antonello Pezzini) More.

A circular economy in Europe could give a major boost to the EU's systemic competitiveness. It could be a driver for growth and generator of new green jobs and skills, provided it is based on a shared European strategic vision, involving governments, employers and employees, consumers and regulatory authorities. In a first phase, well-defined areas for facilitating innovation - smart cities, free port areas, local clusters, green deal - should be selected as pilot schemes for the transition to a circular economy.

For more information, please contact:

EESC Press Unit

E-mail: press@eesc.europa.eu

Siana Glouharova - Tel: + 32 2 546 9276 / +32 473 53 40 02