Brussels, 16/05/2006 (Agence Europe) - The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) will be meeting for its plenary session on 17-18 May in Brussels under the chairmanship of Anne-Marie Sigmund. The Committee is expected to adopt around thirty opinions, including the own initiative opinion on current affairs themes such as “flexicurity: the Danish example” and the “Reflection period: contribution to the European Council of June 2006”. “The Thursday meetings” will take place on 18 May, attended by Father Dominique Peccoud, Special Advisor for socio-religious affairs at the International Labour Organisation (ILO), and will be discussing the theme of “Decent work: utopia or realistic strategy?”.
In the draft own initiative on the “Reflection period: contribution to the European Council of June 2006”, for which the general rapporteur is Henri Malosse (Employers Group, France), the Committee calls on Heads of State and governments to send out a clear message, at the June Summit, on the future of Europe, and develop ways for getting out of the current impasse. Any solution that aims to escape the current crisis has to preserve the progress and balance attained in the Constitutional Treaty, as well as take into account the fact that the Treaty has so far been ratified by 15 of the 25 Member States. The EESC also formulates a series of recommendations on: better European governance (notably by way of certain elements in the Constitutional Treaty); the political content of the EU and European citizenship; the use of bridging clauses in the Treaty of Nice (allowing for transition from the intergovernmental pillar to the Community pillar) and a credible and coherent European information policy.
The Committee also took the initiative in making a detailed examination of the Danish example, which consists in combining flexibility and security in the workplace, “flexicurity”, a theme already analysed at the informal Social Council in Villach (Austria) last January (EUROPE 9115). The “Flexicurity: the Danish example” own initiative will be presented by its rapporteur Anita Vium (General Activities group, Denmark).
In the draft recommendation on “Public Services - Transport” (rapporteur Stéphane Buffetaut, Employers Group, France, co-rapporteur Erhard Ott, Workers Group, Germany), the Committee illustrates that if the aim of legal security is to be attained, certain points will need clarifying, notably the geographical dimension in public transport activity and specific non-distortion of competition clauses in the event of direct allocation to local government operators. According to the draft recommendation, there should also be a clearer definition of regional and long distance transport.
In the draft opinion on “Revision of the Sustainable Development Strategy” (rapporteur, Lutz Ribbe, General Activities Group, Germany); co-rapporteur Olivier Derruine, Workers Group, Belgium), the Committee criticised the fact that the new revised strategy lacks clear objectives and fails to identify necessary political instruments. The six key actions included in the strategy are appropriate and important, notes the EESC, but it asks why certain policies (which are the direct responsibility of the EU, such as agriculture and fisheries) have not been included. This revised strategy is not really moving forward, according to the Committee, which also believes the process has stalled.
In connection with civil society in the Western Balkans, the EESC is prepared, in its exploratory opinion, to support the development of civil society organisation networks in the region and implement mixed advisory committees with the different countries so that contact with organised civil society is improved. It is calling on the Commission to double its efforts, notably financial, in respect of civil society organisations in the Western Balkans, and ensure better coordination between the different EU bodies and institutions in this area. The rapporteur is Dimitrios Dimitriadis (Employers Group, Greece).
In the draft own initiative opinion of Adrien Bedossa (General Activities Group, France) on “A necessary priority for Africa: the point of view of European civil society”, the Committee identifies two crucial areas where civil society organisations can make a difference: governance, following a clearly set out number of responsibilities, and the fight against AIDS. In both cases, the EESC calls for a permanent mobilisation of the main international actors in development, as well as an access facility to Community funding for African civil society organisations active in this domain.