EESC info. October 2017/8.
Date: 2017-11-21
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: European Economic and Social Committee, information, serial publication

ISSN 2363-2615

EESC info

European Economic and Social Committee
A bridge between Europe and organised civil society
October 2017 | EN

EDITORIAL
Dear readers,

I was particularly happy to welcome the recently elected president of the Com-
mittee of the Regions, Mr Karl-Heinz Lambertz, to our September plenary session. In 
addition to the fact that our two Committees are a model of cooperation in logistics, 
since we share the same premises and a certain number of administrative services, 
there is one point that we have in common, which is all the more important now 
that the Union is suffering from being too far away from its grass roots and the 
general public. Our two consultative committees represent - vis-à-vis the major 
European institutions - those organisations and institutions which are in direct 
contact with the public in the places they live and work - in their own countries, 
regions and even their towns and municipalities: civil society and local authority 
associations. This is the time to turn to good advantage the wisdom underlying 
the creation of these two institutions in the treaties, for the benefit of the Union 
and each and every European. It is the moment to step up the synergies, both to 
make the major institutions better understand people’s hopes and aspirations and 
to bolster the general public’s involvement in the European venture. The Europe 
of the future must be one which is closer to the people of Europe.

I was also most pleased to welcome Mr Jean-Claude Juncker to the plenary ses-
sion, and should like to thank him in particular, not only for having come once 
again to engage in dialogue with Europe’s civil society, but also for having done 
so straight after his State of the Union speech to the Parliament, which I view as 
proof of a genuine desire to ensure that the European public takes back the debate 
into their own hands and also of a desire to listen to what the public has to say. It 
is a sign he sent out to us, Committee members, of course, but the Commission 
president well knows that, when he speaks, his audience goes far beyond those 
in the meeting room where we are holding our plenary session.

Mr Juncker did not repeat the speech he had already made; he placed emphasis 
on specific points and he listened to what civil society representatives had to say 
on those issues that were particularly important to them. This shows there is real 
hope for the European venture getting back on track in line with its fundamental 
principles. One thing is for certain: the three groups in our Committee - the employ-
ers’ unions, trade unions and other socio-professional and civic associations - will 
stand firmly alongside the Commission whenever it calls on Member States to 
show more cohesion, unity and solidarity and greater effectiveness. The Com-
mittee’s three groups are united in their belief that the Union does have a future; 
they are willing to be involved in shaping this future; and they are ready to put it 
into practice in the field.

Georges Dassis,
EESC President

endangers our livelihood

IN THIS ISSUE
2 Loss of biodiversity 
3 European Energy Union: 
3 EESC Civil Society Prize 

2017 receives more than 
a hundred applications

make it a social win too

DIARY DATES
13 November, Sophia 
Conference on external border 
security

23-24 November 2017, Madrid 
Civil Society Media Seminar - The 
role of EU civil society in a globalised 
world of communications

6-7 December 2017, Brussels 
EESC plenary session

7 December 2017, Brussels 
Civil Society Prize award ceremony

7-8 December 2017, Milan 
Official launch of the European Year 
of Cultural Heritage 2018

More unity, solidarity and competitiveness, 
and no second-class citizens

European Commission President Jean-
Claude Juncker expressed his opti-
mism about Europe at the EESC plenary 
session in September. He mentioned 
the creation of 8 million new jobs, the 
reduction of the budget deficit, more 
than EUR 225 billion in investments as 
part of the Juncker Plan, the launch of 
the European Solidarity Corps and the 
EU’s progress in international trade. 
The Commission President also shared 
some of his concerns with EESC mem-
bers and asked for the Committee’s 
help in addressing them: “The Social Pil-
lar is something which I feel very strongly 
about. I believe Europe must better take 
on board the concerns and the needs 
of those who are working. Otherwise, 
Europe is going to break up into two 
parts - those who are the winners, those 
who benefit, and those who, whether it 
is wrong or right, believe they have been 
forgotten by the EU project.”

“We  will  not  leave  you  alone  in  your 
efforts,”  replied  the  EESC  President, 
Georges Dassis. “Whatever option for 
the future of Europe is selected, the EESC 

EESC President Georges Dassis giving EC President Jean-Claude Juncker the reports from the national 
debates on the future of Europe

wants a cohesive and coherent European 
Union, a Union that is able to deliver on 
providing fully-fledged equal opportuni-
ties for all. The EESC is determined to help 
achieve this.” Mr Dassis gave Mr Juncker 
the reports from the national debates 
on The Future of Europe organised by 
the EESC in 27 Member States earlier 
this year.

Jacek  Krawczyk,  President  of  the 
Employers’ Group, welcomed the Com-
mission’s initiatives on the European 
trade agenda and renewed industrial 
strategy.  “Our goal must be the most 
attractive ecosystem for investing, for 
operating and for trading. An ecosystem 

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EESC plenary gives floor to “Ban glyphosate” proponents
A few weeks before the European Com-
mission  vote  on  a  ten  year  renewal 
of the glyphosate licence, the  EESC 
offered a forum for discussion during 
its  plenary  on  Wednesday,  20  Sep-
tember. Two of the European Citizens’ 
Initiative  (ECI)  proponents,  David 
Schwartz from WeMove.eu and Her-
man van Bekkem from Greenpeace, 
were invited to present their goals. The 
ECI “Ban Glyphosate” proposes a ban 
on glyphosate, a reform of the pes-
ticide approval procedure and EU-
wide mandatory reduction targets 
for pesticide use.

Herman van Bekkem (Greenpeace) presenting the European Citizens’ Initiative “Ban glyphosate”

The  proponents  collected  over  1.3 
million signatures in 5 months. They 
believed that the EU’s goal should be 
a pesticide free future.

The  question  of  a  possible  ban  on 
glyphosate has divided public opin-
ion all over Europe, not least because 
of the controversial results of impact 
studies. These diverging views were 
also  reflected  at  a  debate  organ-
ised  earlier  this  year  at  a  meeting 
of the section on Agriculture, Rural 

Development and the Environment 
(NAT) and in the different statements 
of EESC members during the plenary 
debate.

Brendan Burns, the President of the 
EESC’s NAT section, got to the heart 
of the issue: “No one wants unhealthy 
chemicals in our environment or food. 
However, the debate we organized on 
5 April at our section meeting, with ECI 
promoters and an equal number of pro- 
and anti-glyphosate representatives as 
speakers, demonstrated that there is no 
consensus on the environmental and 
health effects of glyphosate.”

www.eesc.europa.eu

EESC-President Georges Dassis con-
cluded: “We are not scientists, but obvi-
ously we have to accept studies, provided 
these are objective studies. People should 
definitely be placed above the interests 
of multinational corporations, and 1.3 
million Europeans cannot be ignored. 
It is the EU’s very duty to respond to its 
citizens in a solution-oriented way based 
on real scientific arguments.” (sma) l

Loss of biodiversity 
endangers our livelihood

Critical minds and sense of 
belonging are key weapons 
against radicalisation

Focusing on social inclusion of young people, 
helping them to develop a sense of identity and 
teaching them how to think critically are among 
the most important elements of successfully pre-
venting youth radicalisation, a hearing held by the 
EESC in September revealed.

However, the hearing The role of civil society 
in the prevention of radicalization of young 
people also showed that society tends to act only 
after something has happened and that there was 
no coordinated, multi-agency approach.

One of the speakers at the hearing was Jessica 
Soors, head of service for de-radicalisation in the 
Belgian city of Vilvoorde, which has the highest 
number of foreign fighters among other cities 
in Europe. Her first advice to local communities 
was to be prepared for tackling radicalisation, 
something her town was not when young citi-
zens started to leave to fight in foreign conflicts.

Ms Soors said work on radicalisation should not 
start with individual casework or law enforcement, 
but with prevention, which should begin in schools.

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competencies  and  should  focus  on  diversity 
and active citizenship. Increasing complexity in 
thinking and developing a critical mind-set from 
a young age were also among the most powerful 
weapons against the lure of radicalisation.

The speakers included representatives from the 
European  Commission,  as  well  as  education 
experts  and  representatives  of  organisations 
involved in formal or non-formal education of 
the young.

Other  speakers  said  schools  should  pay 
more  attention  to  teaching  social  and  civic 

The EESC is preparing an opinion on this topic, 
l
due to be adopted in December. (ll)

Welcome 
to the 
new EESC 
website!

The  EESC’s  website  was 
relaunched in August 2017. 
It  is  now  fully  responsive, 
i.e.  usable  via  any  com-
puter or mobile device. The 
site’s  language  range  was 
also  reviewed  to  improve 
its  user-friendliness:  the 
website may now be navi-
gated,  and  any  general 
presentations  introducing 
the  activities  and  bodies 
of  the  Committee  may  be 
browsed, in 23 languages. 
The structure and the con-
tent of the pages have been rethought, simplified and updated to provide quicker and easier access 
to the EESC’s work. (kf)

Take a look at http://www.eesc.europa.eu/!

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Long-term developments, on the other hand, can 
be best tackled through general education.

New forms of work – opportunities and 
challenges
One of the focuses of the EESC plenary debate 
in September was new forms of work. In the 
adopted opinion on new forms of work and 
skills  (rapporteur:  Ulrich  Samm,  Employers, 
DE) the EESC points out the emergence of many 
atypical forms such as part-time work, work with 
multiple contractors and “crowdworking”, with 
workers offering their skills on internet platforms 
as networks of highly qualified and specialized 
professionals. All stakeholders should coordinate 
their efforts in order to better deal with the associ-
ated social risks – the provision of social security 
and the avoidance of poverty must be given high 
priority. The EESC acknowledges that automation 
and robots are also having an increasing impact 
on work. While they could have a positive effect 
on the economy in an ageing society, they are 
also affecting jobs: social dialogue on this point 
should take place at an early stage. In the future, 
lifelong learning and professional training will 
be a necessity for everyone; in this context, it 
should be ensured that all workers have access 
to traditional, company-based training schemes. 

In its opinion on the role of social partners and 
civil society organisations in the new forms of 
work (rapporteur: Franca Salis-Madinier, Work-
ers, FR) the EESC emphasizes that at this time of 
far-reaching changes for workers, the key objec-
tives and principles of social dialogue and collec-
tive bargaining still hold true. Their role is not to 
oppose changes but to steer them, in order to 
reap their full benefits, whilst ensuring that fun-
damental workers’ rights are still respected. There 
is a need for participative management, for col-
lective rules to be drawn up, for the adaptation of 
social dialogue and to find innovative responses. 
Digitalisation has a far-reaching impact on work – 
it can provide some workers with opportunities 
for autonomy and a better work-life balance but 
it could also be a health risk if poorly managed. 
Europe already has some good examples on how 
to deal with the requirements and challenges of 
l
the digital age. (sg)

The EESC sounded the alarm amid a summer of 
freak weather events. Several EESC proposals for 
the better protection of nature have been met 
with no reaction so far. “We again call on the Com-
mission and Member States to ensure a swift and 
consistent implementation of the biodiversity strat-
egy, particularly of the Birds and Habitat Directives 
and the Water Directive”, said EESC member Lutz 
Ribbe (Various Interests Group, DE), referring to 
his opinion on EU biodiversity policy.

The EESC calls for a dedicated Natura 2000 
budget and for making biodiversity a cross-
cutting issue

The Natura 2000 network is aimed at preserving 
rare and unique biotopes. Nowadays, nearly all 
Natura 2000 sites have been designated but only 
a few enjoy permanent legal protection and have 
management plans. “This is evidence of incapacity 

or just ignorance on the part of the EU and many 
Member States. We understand that the EU is facing 
many challenges. But we must not forget that 
biodiversity is our livelihood and continued 
plundering of our nature robs us of this liveli-
hood”, warned Mr. Ribbe. Currently Natura 2000 
areas are almost exclusively funded by the Euro-
pean Regional Development Fund and the Euro-
pean Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, 
which often causes a conflict of interest. Therefore 
the EESC calls for an extra Natura 2000 budget.

Biodiversity needs to be included in other poli-
cies too, particularly in the agricultural sector 
which causes the highest degrees of pressure on 
terrestrial ecosystems. “We do hope that the mid-
term review of the ‘ecological focus areas’ and the 
upcoming reform of the Common Agriculture Policy 
will also focus on the achievement of the biodiversity 
l
objectives”, said Mr. Ribbe. (sma)

The EESC calls on the Commission to better 
promote the EU’s sugar industry
As beet sugar production quotas end this Octo-
ber, the European sugar industry will find itself 
in a completely new situation. Whether this new 
challenge will turn into a success story largely 
depends on how the EU supports Europe’s beet 
sugar processors and sugar beet farmers.

in negotiations for new free trade agreements. 
“The Commission must treat sugar as sensitive in 
its free trade negotiations by maintaining the EU’s 
duties on sugar.”

Just ahead of the abolition of quotas in sugar beet 
production on 1 October, the EESC adopted an 
own-initiative opinion on Industrial change in 
the EU beet sugar industry. The end of beet 
sugar production quotas will provide the EU’s 
sugar industry with the possibility of unlimited 
sugar exports. “This is an enormous chance for 
Europe’s sugar producers, but in order to fully profit 
from this liberalisation, they need the European 
Commission’s full support”, says EESC member 
José  Manuel  Roche  Ramo  (Various  Interests 
Group, ES), rapporteur for the EESC opinion. In 
the EESC’s view, the EU would be well advised to 
be more cautious regarding trade liberalisation 

Co-rapporteur Estelle Brentnall (CCMI delegate – 
BE) underlined the beet sugar industry’s impor-
tant contribution to job creation and economic 
activity in rural areas and called for the inclusion 
of market tools in the Common Agriculture Policy 
that support continued sugar production in the 
EU Member States.

With an annual output totalling around 17.2 mil-
lion tonnes, the EU is the world’s leading producer 
of beet sugar. Sugar-producing companies pur-
chase around 107 million tonnes of sugar beets 
every year from some 137 000 European growers. 
The EU sugar industry provides 28 000 direct jobs 
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and 150 000 indirect jobs. (sma)

Posted workers: it’s high time 
to revise the directive

EESC President Georges Dassis has co-signed 
a statement with the President of the French 
Economic, Social and Environmental Council, 
Patrick Bernasconi, urging a radical over-
haul  of  EU  legislation  on  the  posting  of 
workers to combat social dumping: the EU 
must always aim at an upward harmonisation, 
and convergence of working and living condi-
tions in the EU, they say, urging Member States 
opposing the reform to drop their resistance. 
The two Presidents call on European legislators 
to ensure the temporary nature of posting and 
on Member States to pool available data to 

combat frauds and unfair competition by busi-
nesses set up for the sole purpose of exploiting 
wage gaps between EU Member States. They 
also ask for practical measures to ensure that 
workers join a social security scheme prior to 
posting and the creation of a European card of 
posted workers to simplify controls and pro-
cedures. They also insist for the directive to be 
made applicable to the transport sector.

To read the statement, please visit: http://www.
eesc.europa.eu/en/news-media/news/posted-
workers-its-high-time-revise-directive (dm/pa) l

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2

 
 
Political leaders in the EU and Latin America 
and the Caribbean should appreciate the 
value of civil society

At  its  September  plenary  session,  the  EESC 
adopted an opinion on The new context for 
EU-CELAC strategic relations and the role 
of  civil  society  (rapporteur:  Mário  Soares, 
Workers, PT). In the opinion, the EESC calls for 
a deeper partnership between the EU and CELAC, 
based on a comprehensive framework agree-
ment to include principles for action in terms of 
political dialogue, cooperation and sustainable 
development. However, for negotiations of any 
kind between the EU and Latin America and the 
Caribbean to be successful, it is essential to have 
a structured form of dialogue with organised civil 
society. In the specific case of free trade agree-
ments, organised civil society should be genuinely 
involved at every stage of the negotiations, their 
implementation and evaluation.

The EESC calls on all political leaders in the EU and 
Latin America and the Caribbean to acknowledge 
and value the participation of civil society. This 
will ensure the involvement of the largest pos-
sible number of citizens in the decision-making 
process. The EESC has repeatedly pointed out 
the lack of broad access to information as one of 
the key problems in the monitoring of EU rela-
tions with CELAC. The lack of transparency also 
prevents civil society from drawing up proposals 
in good time. It is essential to put in place clear 
rules and procedures governing access to and 
dissemination of this information. According to 
the EESC, there should also be sufficient material 
resources to ensure civil society’s involvement in 
the negotiations and in formal and open dialogue 
l
with the authorities. (sg)

Continued from page 1 —
More unity, solidarity and competitiveness, and no second-class citizens

fit for all businesses: in industry or in services, operat-
ing both locally and globally.” He added that work 
needs to continue on strengthening Monetary 
Union and developing its governance, as well as 
on completion of the EU Single Market.

Gabriele  Bischoff,  President  of  the  Workers’ 
Group, shared Mr Juncker’s concerns about the 
growing divide in Europe: “We welcome very much 
your emphasis on unity and are deeply concerned 
about the divisions in Europe. There will be no Future 
of Europe if there is no strong social dimension and 
solidarity. For this we need a concrete social agenda 
with the adoption of a roadmap for the implemen-
tation of a European Pillar of Social Rights.” She 
pointed out that there could be no second-class 

workers in the EU and underlined the need to 
revise the Posting of Workers Directive.

Luca Jahier, President of the Various Interests 
Group, thanked the Commission President for tak-
ing on the very ambitious task of reinvigorating 
the EU project and promoting a common vision of 
Europe. “The EU is a community of values and today 
we need a more ambitious and a more democratic 
EU that looks beyond Brexit. So let’s jointly push for 
a citizens’ convention in 2018. Let’s put culture and 
sustainable development at the heart of EU priorities 
and policies.” He also underlined that 2018, as the 
European Year of Cultural Heritage, is an oppor-
tunity to mobilise positive forces for the future of 
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Europe. (sg)

European Energy Union: 
make it a social win too

Concerns over the social costs of the energy 
transition ran through all panel discussions 
at the European Energy Dialogue, organised 
by the EESC in Brussels on 7 September. The 
event focused on the European Commission’s 
proposed Clean Energy for All Europeans 
package as seen by a wide spectrum of civil 
society stakeholders debating with European 
institutions and market players.

Hailed by all players as a very positive set of meas-
ures bringing together for the first time energy 
and climate action into a coherent programme, 
the Clean Energy package nonetheless gave rise 
to some serious concerns as regards the social 
dimension, especially the way it deals with the 
burning issue of energy poverty.

Is it realistic, asked civil society stakeholders, to 
expect people living from pay check to pay check 
to invest in solar panels, photovoltaic equipment, 
or energy efficient appliances when they have to 
choose between buying food and heating their 
homes? They should not be forced into making 
investments that they cannot, or are not ready to, 
make, nor should they be expected to subsidise 
the investments made by the more affluent. Social 
tariffs should not be banned, but may need to be 
considered as necessary in order to protect vulner-
able consumers, said civil society stakeholders.

Pierre Jean Coulon, President of the Section for 
Transport, Energy, Infrastructure and the Information 
Society (TEN) with Georges Dassis, EESC President

Concerns were also voiced about the job implica-
tions of the energy transition, and the need to 
shield regions that rely on the production of fos-
sil fuel such as coal and shale from the adverse 
consequences of the transition.

As the bulk of funds would have to come from 
private capital, all agreed that a stable investment 
environment to encourage long-term engagement 
was of paramount importance. The lack of fiscal 
incentives was underlined as the missing element 
in the Energy Union. Price incentives were pointed 
to as the most effective tool to raise awareness and 
get people to be creative in a drive to avoid costs 
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and reduce energy consumption. (dm)

EESC member Thierry Libaert shows ways 
out of planned obsolescence

EESC member Thierry Libaert (Various Inter-
ests  Group,  FR)  has  just  published  a  book 
on  planned  obsolescence  entitled  Dépro-
grammer l’obsolescence (Deprogramming 
Planned Obsolescence). Consumers, says the 
book, often have the feeling that they have no 
control on product lifetimes, and that they are 
trapped in a throw-away consumerist system. 
Mr Libaert shows how planned obsolescence 
can be combated at national, European and 
international level through reorienting public 
expenditure, extending product guarantees 
and lifespan-labelling on products. Fighting 
planned obsolescence is, above all, says Mr 
Libaert, a matter of political will and a radical 
change of mentality. There is nothing inevitable 
about it.

Mr Libaert has spearheaded the EESC’s pio-
neering work on planned obsolescence, which 
inspired the recent European Parliament reso-
lution on this issue.

For more information please see: http://www.
tlibaert.info/books/ouvrages-de-thierry-
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libaert/ (dm)

EESC first institution to have adopted 
a position on CCCTB
The EU wants to combat aggressive tax planning 
and contribute to growth, competitiveness and 
fairness  in  the  Single  Market.  The  relaunched 
European Commission proposals on a Common 
Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB) are 
aimed at addressing this objective. The EESC has 
been the first institution to adopt a position on 
these proposals.

consensus, allowing for the sensitive nature of 
the issues as regards subsidiarity and state sov-
ereignty. It urges the parties concerned to pursue 
speedy completion of the proposed stages. The 
EESC also draws attention to the need to address 
the challenges of the digital economy and pro-
poses to consider including intellectual property 
in the apportionment formula. It believes that the 
sales by destination key may need changes to 
ensure equitable implementation and suggests 
undertaking a detailed impact assessment of 
a CCCTB.

In its opinion on the CCCTB (rapporteur: Michael 
McLoughlin, Various Interests, IE), the Commit-
tee endorses the aims of the proposals as well as 
the creation of a single set of rules to calculate 
companies’ taxable EU profits and the attribution 
of income to the place where the value is created. 
It believes that a CCCTB could generate benefits 
for all, if it delivers simplicity and certainty of 
corporate taxation and reduces tax barriers and 
complexity.

Nevertheless,  the  EESC  recommends  making 
the  greatest  of  efforts  to  seek  the  CCCTB  by 

In a separate opinion - on a favourable tax 
system  for  fair  competition  and  growth 
(rapporteur:  Petru  Sorin  Dandea,  Workers, 
RO) - the EESC asks Member States to step up 
efforts for combating aggressive tax planning 
and tax avoidance. It recommends carrying out 
tax reforms and avoiding the use of tax rulings 
that are not justified by the economic substance 
l
of the transactions. (jk)

Over 100 bids entered for 
EESC 2017 Civil Society Prize

This year, the Civil Society Prize has received 111 
applications from all over the European Union.

The prize will reward “innovative projects pro-
moting quality employment and entrepre-
neurship for the future of work”, honouring 
initiatives which seek to create sustainable jobs 
and encourage entrepreneurship, in particular 
for underrepresented and disadvantaged popu-
lation groups.

The Civil Society Prize, now in its ninth year, 
shines a spotlight on a different key aspect of 
the EESC’s work each year. One of the EESC’s 
main concerns over the past year has been the 
European employment strategy and how to com-
bat the most worrying forms of unemployment, 

such as youth and long-term unemployment, 
and promote the integration of newcomers 
on the labour market.

The overall objective of the prize is to reward the 
contribution of civil society organisations and/or 
individuals that have made a significant contribu-
tion to promoting European integration.

The EESC will now begin the task of evaluating the 
applications, with a view to announcing the win-
ners on 7 December 2017, at its plenary session.

Further details about the Civil Society Prize are 
available online at

http://bit.ly/2yKlZRY (mr)

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3

Advantages of Digital society
by the EESC’s Employers’ Group

On 25 October, as part of the Esto-
nian Presidency of the Council of 
the EU, the EESC Employers’ Group 
is organising a conference in Tallinn 
on the advantages of digital society.

Digital innovation and technology 
are changing today’s society by giv-
ing new opportunities to businesses, 
governments and citizens in a wide 
range of sectors, including industry, 

health, social media, e-services, data 
and many more. The digital world 
moves fast. Is the EU single market 
ready for the digital era? Europeans 
need to think about how the EU can 
take advantage of the digital revolu-
tion in order to remain competitive 
and  create  more  jobs.  Estonia,  as 
a leader in ICT and digital services, 
is the perfect location to raise these 
questions.

Working for a better future
Digitalisation and 
innovation: opportunities 
and challenges

The  aim  of  this  event  is  to  look  at 
and discuss the opportunities arising 
from  the  digital  society  -  especially 
the digital single market - as well as 
the development of digital public ser-
vices, which is a priority topic during 
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the Estonian Presidency. (lj)

and fully exploit its potential in both 
directions: fair working conditions and 
investment for a digital future. Several 
speakers stressed the need for a just 
transition to the digital age and that 
the impact on the labour market and 
standards, as well as on the economy 
and on the tax and social security sys-
tems must be carefully assessed. The 
flexibility gains offered by a digital-
ised working environment should not 
impair social standards and working 
conditions, and therefore the challenge 
is to encourage innovation and creativ-
ity and deliver positive outcomes for 
a sustainable and competitive social 
l
market economy. (mg)

Group, and a speech by Eiki Nestor, 
Speaker of the national Parliament, who 
presented the EU semester of the Esto-
nian Presidency, members had a closer 
look at the Digital Agenda 2020 for Esto-
nia, which in many circles is considered 
an  excellent  example  of  promoting 
digital development in the economy 
and society.

During the afternoon session, mem-
bers discussed the opportunities and 
challenges digitalisation and innova-
tion present for workers and the labour 
market, with speakers from the Trade 
Union  Advisory  Council  (TUAC),  the 
industriALL European Trade Union, the 
Estonia Information Systems Author-
ity  and  the  European  Trade  Union 
Confederation (ETUC). As was demon-
strated in the debate, building a digital 
society affects every facet of our lives, 
especially working conditions, wages 
and social protection systems. It was 
generally recognised that Europe must 
keep pace with technological progress 

is that the social economy has emerged 
from the economic and financial crisis 
largely unscathed. Today, it provides 
paid employment to 6.3% of the work-
ing population in the EU–28, compared 
to 6.5% in 2012.

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Moreover,  it  is  an  opportunity  to 
remind  ourselves  what  the  social 
economy brings to our society today. 
Based on a different model from capital 
enterprises, the social economy holds 
an  important  place,  working  with 
and alongside the market economy. 
By ensuring that economic efficiency 
serves social needs, the social economy 
creates  genuine  interdependence 
between economic and social issues 
rather than making one subordinate 
to the other.

Finally, the social economy illustrates 
and defends the values on which the 
EU was built (Article 3 TEU). It is both 
an opportunity and a vehicle for citi-
zen participation, responsibility and 
ownership of our sustainable future. 
Moreover, it constitutes a far-reaching 

Recent Evolutions  
of the Social Economy  
in the European Union 

STUDY

European Economic and Social Committee

instrument to enable the EU to move 
closer  to  its  commitments  under 
the UN 2030 Agenda on Sustainable 
Development.

Link  to  the  study: http://www.eesc.
europa.eu/en/our-work/publications-
other-work/publications/recent-evo-
lutions-social-economy-study (cl) l

by the EESC’s Workers’ Group

How to make digitalisation a success? 
What should be done to make sure dig-
ital innovation creates decent jobs and 
improves working conditions? Those 
were  the  questions  that  the  Work-
ers’ Group had on the agenda for its 
meeting in Tallinn on 6 October, which 
was dedicated to digitalisation and its 
implications for working people.

The setup could not have been cho-
sen more appropriately, as Estonia is 
considered to be the EU country most 
advanced in digitalisation and very 
open to ICT innovation, keen to put 
new ideas into practice very rapidly.

After a welcome address by Gabriele 
Bischoff,  President  of  the  Workers’ 

For the third time, following its 2008 
and  2012  studies,  the  EESC  has  pub-
lished a study on Recent evolutions of 
the social economy in the European 
Union, commissioned at the initiative of 
the Social Economy Category, which is 
managed by the Various Interests Group.

This  study,  which  was  entrusted  to 
the International Centre of Research 
and Information on the Public, Social 
and  Cooperative  Economy  (CIRIEC), 
has not simply updated its predeces-
sors,  it  also  focuses  on  three  areas: 
the social economy and emerging 
concepts/movements, public poli-
cies in the broader meaning of the 
term framed in recent years at EU 
level and in the Member States to 
improve  the  social  economy  sec-
tor and, lastly, the size of the social 
economy in each EU Member State.

Concretely,  the  study  enables  us  to 
measure progress by providing reliable 
and comparable data. What is evident 

Recent evolutions of the social economy in the EU
by the EESC’s Various Interests Group

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The best of Estonian Wilderness to be seen  
at the EESC

7 November – 8 December 2017

On a proposal from the Estonian EESC 
members, the Committee is organis-
ing  the  second  and  last  exhibition 
during the Estonian EU Presidency 
entitled  Estonian  Wilderness.  In 
this photo exhibition you will meet 
the  best  of  Estonian  wilderness: 
landscapes, flowers, birds and large 
mammals.  Estonia  offers  a  lot  to 
nature lovers, with a landscape that 
is as diverse as the plants and animals. 
Deserted beaches, deep forests, pic-
turesque lakes and rivers, and myste-
rious swamps contain a hidden and 
vibrant life of birds, seals and bears. 
l
(jp)

“Ever closer Union” - The legacy of the Treaties of 
Rome for today’s Europe - 1957-2017

18 October – 3 November 2017

To mark the 60th anniversary of this 
momentous  event,  the  Historical 
Archives of the European Union have 
organised an exhibition on the Trea-
ties and their legacy.

This exhibition is the fruit of a partner-
ship between the Historical Archives 
of the European Union and the Coun-
cil of the European Union, the Euro-
pean Parliament and the European 
Commission,  with  contributions 
from the European Investment Bank, 
the Italian Presidency of the Council 
of  Ministers,  the  Italian  Ministry  of 
Foreign Affairs and the Italian press 
agency ANSA.

The  exhibition  also  highlights  the 
roots  of  the  Treaties  in  the  social, 
cultural and economic phenomena 
that affected Europe after World War 
II, and traces the long-term impact of 
the European integration process on 
our citizens’ everyday lives. (jp)

EESC Info goes digital 

A new online version of the EESC’s 
newsletter  is  to  be  launched  in 
December 2017. The first issue will 
be available in English, French and 
German, while all the other linguis-
tic versions will be distributed in the 
traditional pdf format. As of January 
2018, only the new version will be 
published in all languages.

The new, fully digital version will have 
an HTML format and will be sent out 
to readers by email. It will be usable 
on various devices, including mobile 
phones and tablets, and searchable 

More information: http://www.eesc.
europa.eu/en/agenda/our-events/
l
events/ever-closer-union

in 23 EU languages. Readers will be 
able to share articles on social media, 
comment on them and share their 
comments. Print-on-demand will also 
be available. Subscribers to the cur-
rent print version who are interested 
in receiving the new web-first news-
letter are kindly invited to write to 
eescinfo@eesc.europa.eu, specify-
ing which language version they wish 
l
to receive. (dm)

Editor:
Eleonora Di Nicolantonio (editor-in-chief)
Daniela Marangoni (dm)

Coordination:
Agata Berdys (ab)

EESC info in 23 languages: http://www.eesc.europa.eu/activities/press/eescinfo/index_en.asp

October 2017 / 8  

Contributors to this issue:
Chloé Lahousse (cl)
Daniela Marangoni (dm)
Jasmin Kloetzing (jk)
Jonna Pedersen (jp)
Karin Füssl (kf)
Laura Lui (ll)
Leszek Jarosz (lj)
Margarita Gavanas (mg)
Margarida Reis (mr)
Pavlos Avramopoulos (pa)
Siana Glouharova (sg)
Silvia M. Aumair (sma)

Edition closed on 2 October 2017

Address:
European Economic and Social Committee
Jacques Delors Building, 99 Rue Belliard, B-1040 
Brussels, Belgium
Tel. (+32 2) 546.94.76
Fax (+32 2) 546.97.64
Email: eescinfo@eesc.europa.eu
Internet: http://www.eesc.europa.eu/

EESC info is published nine times a year during EESC plenary sessions.
Printed versions of EESC info in German, English and French are available free-of-charge from the 
European Economic and Social Committee Press Office.
EESC info is also available in 23 languages in PDF format on the Committee’s web site:
URL: http://www.eesc.europa.eu/?i=portal.en.eesc-info
EESC info is not an official record of the EESC’s proceedings; for this, please refer to the Official Journal of 
the European Union or to the Committee’s other publications.
Reproduction permitted if EESC info is mentioned as the source and a copy is sent to the editor.
Print run: 6500 copies.
Next issue: December 2017
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