EESC contributed to success of European Year for Development

The EESC did not merely come up with the idea of the European Year for Development (EYD) 2015, it has also contributed to its success. Several initiatives designed to reach a wider audience - business groups, trade unions, NGOs - were organized throughout the year to explore how to streamline and coordinate this policy more efficiently and effectively.

The EESC’S External Relations section worked closely with countries to help achieve the Development Goals. Most notably it organized the 14th Regional Seminar of ACP-EU Economic and Social Interest Groups, which strongly advocated a convergence framework for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) centered on poverty eradication and climate change mitigation.

At the EU-Africa ECOSOC network meeting, the EESC insisted that the Emergency Trust Fund for Africa offered by the EU at the Valetta Summit should be managed transparently and that it should be based on, and monitored in relation to, the Sustainable Development Goals, as part of a genuine partnership between the countries.

As 2015 drew to a close, the EESC Communication department organised the Civil Society Media Seminar on 26-27 November in Luxembourg, focusing on the challenges of communicating about development policy. More here: http://www.eesc.europa.eu/?i=portal.en.events-and-activities-media-seminar-2015