Brussels, 29/02/2000 (Agence Europe) - The European Economic and Social Committee (ESC) is to hold its second plenary session of the year in Brussels on Wednesday 1 and Thursday 2 March, chaired by Beatrice Rangoni Machiavelli.
This session will be marked by the adoption of five own initiative opinions on the following topical subjects: 1) the Intergovernmental Conference 2000 - the role of the Economic and Social Committee (co-rapporteur: Anne-Marie Sigmund, Austria, various interest group: John Little, United Kingdom, employers' group; Josly Piette, Belgium, workers' group); 2) Employment, economic reform and social cohesion: towards a Europe of innovation and knowledge (co-rapporteurs: Peter Morgan, United Kingdom, employers' group; Ursula Engelen-Kefer, Germany, workers' group): this is the ESC contribution to the Lisbon Summit of 23 and 24 March; 3) Implementing the structured social dialogue in pan-European transport corridors (rapporteur: Graf Alexander-Michael von Schwerin, Germany, workers' group); 4) Hungary on the road to accession (co-rapporteurs: Jose Ignacio Gafo Fernandez, Spain, employers' group; Susanne Florio, Italy, workers' group); 5) initial assessment of first months of the single currency (rapporteur: Mario Sepi, Italy, workers' group).
In addition, as usual, the Committee will vote on several legislative proposals or communications from the Commission in the fields of the environment and consumer health (civil liability for defective products; limiting the placing on the market of certain hazardous substances - phthalates; labeling of beef), legal (recognition of decisions in civil and commercial matters), social (modernisation of social protection), and agriculture (trade scheme applicable to certain goods resulting from the processing of agricultural products), and the social economy. It will also have to adopt, without debate, an additional opinion relating to maritime consortia (rapporteur: Anna Bredima Savopoulou, Greece, employers' group).