European Economic and Social Committee
EESC-2014-01948-00-00-TCD (FR/EN) 0/13
Brussels, 15 May 2014
PLENARY SESSIONON 29 AND 30 April 2014
SUMMARY OF OPINIONS ADOPTED
This document is available in the official languages on the Committee's website at:
http://www.eesc.europa.eu/?i=portal.en.summary-plenary-sessions
The opinions listed can be consulted online using the Committee's search engine:
http://www.eesc.europa.eu/?i=portal.en.opinions-search
EESC-2014-01948-00-00-TCD (FR/EN) 0/13
Summary:
1. AGRICULTURE / ENVIRONMENT AND FISHERIES / FOOD 2
2. TRANSPORT / ENERGY 5
3. INTERNAL MARKET 6
4. EMPLOYMENT / SOCIAL AFFAIRS / CONSUMERS 6
5. INDUSTRY 11
______
Highlights of the plenary session on 29 and 30 April included a debate on the situation in Ukraine and a discussion on "preserving cultural diversity in Europe" attended by Mr Costa-Gavras, director and scriptwriter.
The following opinions were adopted at the session:
1. AGRICULTURE / ENVIRONMENT AND FISHERIES/FOOD
· Reduction of pollutant emissions from road vehicles
Rapporteur: Virgilio Ranocchiari (Employers – IT)
Reference: COM(2014) 28 final – 2014/0012 (COD) – CES 1604/2014
Key points:
The EESC:
· has serious doubts about including methane (CH4) as a CO2 equivalent;
· recommends that the review of the limits for tailpipe emissions should be preceded by a detailed and broad-ranging impact assessment;
· notes that with regard to revising the measurement of particulates, the proposal seems to be in contradiction with the conclusions of the UNECE working party;
· welcomes the intention to provide flexibility in terms of emission limits for certain LD vehicles which, once completed, run the risk of falling into the HD category and requiring double type approval;
· supports the Commission's proposal to exclude gas-fuelled vehicles from the measurement of ammonia.
Contact: Daniel Squerzi
(Tel.: 00 32 2 546 85 49 – e-mail: )
· Information provision and promotion measures for agricultural products on the internal market and in third countries amending Council Regulation (EC) No3/2008 of 27 December 2007
Rapporteur: Igor Šarmír (Employers - SK)
References: COM(2013) 812 final -2013/0398 COD
EESC-2014-00010-00-00-AS-TRA
Key points:
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) values the Commission's efforts to simplify and improve the efficiency of the policy for promoting European agri-food products.
The EESC believes that European agricultural products have to contend with increasingly aggressive competition on the EU market from imported products. This is why information and promotion measures for European agricultural products need to be stepped up in the EU, and this is all the more important since most European consumers are unaware of the comparative advantages of these products.
The EESC recommends that food products that have undergone secondary processing (not included in Annex I to the TFEU) should be explicitly included under Article 5 as eligible products and also calls for the express exclusion of fisheries and aquaculture products to be dropped.
The EESC recommends that the eligibility of wine promotion for EU support should not only apply if other food products are included in the same programme, but also if the programme is linked to an agri-tourism project.
The EESC recommends that organisations should submit their applications for EU support to a one-stop-shop at the Commission and that the information concerning each application should be sent to the applicant organisation's Member State of origin before the Commission makes its decision.
Contact: Arturo Iniguez
(Tel.: 00 32 2 546 8768 – email: )
· Landing obligation
Rapporteur: Gabriel Sarró Iparraguirre (Various Interests – ES)
References: COM(2013) 889 final -2013/0436 COD
EESC-2014-00877-00-00-AS-TRA
Key points:
Following the adoption of the new Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), which introduces changes to the landing obligation not only for TACs (Total Allowable Catches) but also for species with minimum conservation reference sizes, the EESC believes that it is crucial to adapt this landing obligation to the legislation in force, which requires fishing operators to discard in certain circumstances.
Nevertheless, it believes that the Commission's proposal is unnecessarily complicated and will generate an undue and disproportionate amount of additional work for fishing operators when it comes to applying the landing obligation. As a result, it advocates opting for more pragmatic, clear, straightforward and flexible rules that genuinely give fishing operators time to adapt during a transitional period, without facing heavy penalties.
The EESC regrets that a prior impact assessment was not carried out in order to study the repercussions of the landing obligation for each fleet.
The EESC urges the co-legislator to give consideration to its comments regarding the new definitions, catch composition, the recording of catches, the new control obligations, fishing authorisations, margins of tolerance, closed-circuit television (CCTV) monitoring and penalties.
Contact: Arturo Iniguez
(Tel.: 00 32 2 546 8768 – email: )
· Cloning of animals of the bovine, porcine, ovine, caprine and equine species kept and reproduced for farming purposes
· Food from animal clones
· Novel foods
Rapporteur: José María Espuny Moyano (Employers-ES)
References: COM(2013) 892 final -2013/0433 COD
COM(2013) 893 final -2013/0434 APP
COM(2013) 894 final -2013/0435 COD
EESC-2014-00933-00-00-AS-TRA
Key points:
The EESC supports the temporary suspension of the marketing of food from animal clones in the EU to complement the temporary ban on the technique of animal cloning.
The EESC stresses that, given that animal cloning is permitted in certain non-EU countries, the Member States must adopt all appropriate measures to prevent foods obtained in third countries from animal clones being imported into the EU.
The EESC is concerned at the lack of adequate systems for detecting the existence of meat and milk from cloned animals in food imported from third countries; in this connection it demands that the full traceability requirement be extended to imports, as this is the only reliable guarantee of an animal's origin and an indispensable tool for managing health risks.
Contact: Arturo Iniguez
(Tel.: 00 32 2 546 8768 – email: )
2. TRANSPORT / ENERGY
· Building the Transport Core Network: Core Network Corridors and Connecting Europe Facility (communication)
Rapporteur: Pierre Jean Coulon (Workers - FR)
Co-rapporteur: Stefan Back (Employers - SE)
References: COM(2013) 940 final
EESC-2014-00113-00-00-AS-TRA
Key points:
The EESC welcomes the Communication as a significant and helpful support for the implementation of the Core Network Corridors and the predefined projects in them. The EESC appreciates the Communications’ focus on the governance system and the support it provides for the development of the work plans for the Core Network Corridors.
The EESC underscores the importance of harmonious and efficient interaction between the Coordinators, the Corridor Fora with their working groups and, in particular public and private stakeholders at different levels, including civil society. The importance of a clear and transparent governance system is also highlighted.
The EESC takes note that ensuring clear and coherent coordination will be an extremely demanding task, bearing in mind the geographical scope of the Core Network Corridors and the need to coordinate with other initiatives, such as the Rail Freight Corridors, the NAIADES II, the Motorways of the Sea and the ERTMS rail traffic management system.
The EESC considers that the governance system has fundamental flaws due to decision making relying excessively on Member States' consent and the lack of a strong legal enforcement framework. As a result, the EU co-financing is particularly important, as it can be used as an incentive to sign and deliver construction projects on time.
Likewise the EESC is concerned by the slight budgetary resources available at EU level and the slow pace and unclear prospects under which alternative financing mechanisms such as project bonds and private public partnerships seem to be developing.
Contact: Andrei Popescu
(Tel.: 00 32 2 546 9186 – email: )
3. INTERNAL MARKET
· For a European Industrial Renaissance
Rapporteur: Ms Sirkeinen (Employers – FI)
Reference: COM(2014) 14 final – CES 746/2014
Key points:
The EESC welcomes the communication and concludes that:
· the challenges facing European industries are not abating, and without a competitive industrial base, Europe will not secure growth and more jobs;
· the EESC expected a stronger set of proposals for EU industrial policy it reveals much unfinished work and underlines the need for implementation at EU and MS levels.
In its opinion the EESC particularly recommends to pay more attention to the role of the services and corresponding policies, in particular knowledge based services, to take measures to reduce energy prices and to encourage innovation, EU competition and state aid policies.
Contact: Claudia Drewes-Wran
(Tel.: 00 32 2 546 80 67 – e-mail: )
4. EMPLOYMENT / SOCIAL AFFAIRS / CONSUMERS
· Consumer protection and over-indebtedness
Rapporteur: Reine-Claude Mader (Various Interests – FR)
Reference: exploratory opinion - CES 791/2014
Key points:
The EESC:
· is extremely concerned about the problem of over-indebtedness and reiterates the need for measures to be adopted at European level;
· calls for a common definition of the concept of over-indebtedness to be adopted;
· stresses that education, prevention and appropriate procedures for reintegrating over-indebted people into normal economic life are needed to properly address over-indebtedness;
· advocates information campaigns involving all stakeholders in order to ensure pooling of complementary expertise;
· emphasizes the essential role played by consumer and family associations in disseminating information and providing assistance to people who would like it;
· believes that an appropriate, uniform procedure for preventing and dealing with situations of over-indebtedness must be put in place in all the Member States;
· stresses also the importance it attaches to banking inclusion, which must be safeguarded for people in a situation of over-indebtedness in order to avoid any social exclusion;
· reminds that combating over-indebtedness requires a European framework for usury;
· reiterates its support for the concept of "responsible credit", which requires distributors and underwriters to use fair, ethical practices.
Contact: Dorota Zapatka
(Tel.: 00 32 2 546 90 67 – e-mail:
· Measures supporting integration of young EU citizens
Rapporteur: Renate Heinisch (Various Interests – DE)
Reference: Own initiative opinion EESC-2013-06218-00-00-AS-TRA
Key points:
The EESC believes that greater attention should be paid to the specific needs and difficulties relating to the social integration and involvement of young EU citizens who have taken up employment in another Member State and who are staying in the host country on more than a temporary basis.
The European Commission is urged to support the Member States in their efforts to create more effective integration policies for this group of young EU migrants, by increasing exchanges of experience and dialogue. The EESC therefore calls for programmes funded under the Your First Eures Job scheme to be reinforced.
The Commission should facilitate the exchange of good practices and document successful concepts and practices aimed at supporting these young labour migrants in their efforts to integrate into society. In particular, the importance of intercultural and intergenerational strategies and projects as part of host country "welcome culture" initiatives could be recognised and emphasised.
The Commission should make available this collection of tried-and-tested concepts and projects to the Member States, recommending that they be emulated in a creative way, and support those strategies and practices through the EU's existing programmes, platforms, funds and initiatives.
The EESC believes that the European Commission should focus on involving young people in an appropriate way - through their civil society organisations - in important planning and decision-making processes on this subject.
Contact: Barbara Walentynowicz
(Tel.: 00 32 2 546 9897 – e-mail: )
· Disenfranchisement
Rapporteur: Andris Gobiņš (Various Interests – LV)
Reference: COM(2014) 33 final EESC-2014-01449-00-00-AC-TRA
Key points:
The rules concerning voting rights in national elections are clearly a national – and not European – competence. The EU does not and must not put this important principle into question. Seen from the citizens’ point of view, however, progress is needed on the matter. Citizens should still be entitled to exercise those fundamental rights which all Member States have acceded to in the EU Treaties, without being disenfranchised by national legislation for doing so.
The Committee strongly supports the Commission recommendation. However, the Committee would have appreciated the inclusion of a general request to all Member States to ensure that voting is as straight-forward for citizens living abroad as for citizens living in the home country.
The Committee underlines the importance of providing expats with clear information about their rights and how these rights can be exercised and urges the competent national authorities to make the procedures for registration and voting as simple and transparent as possible.
The Committee stresses that disenfranchisement in national elections is only one example of the encroachment on citizenship rights that citizens experience when living abroad in the EU. The Committee urges the Commission to map all such encroachments in order to provide a full overview of the current state of play in Europe, whilst paying special attention to opportunities for active citizenship and participation in "day-to-day" decision making.
Contact: Torben Bach Nielsen
(Tel.: 00 32 2 546 9619 – e-mail: )
· Employability of young people (own initiative opinion)
Rapporteur: Dimitru Fornea (Workers - RO)
Co-rapporteur: Tommaso Grimaldi (Various Interests - IT)
Reference: Own-initiative opinion EESC-2013-05662-00-00-AC
Key points:
The EESC stresses that a real growth strategy at EU and national level is needed to support the creation of better and more stable jobs for young people. The EESC considers that Member States should make every effort to ensure that the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) and the Youth Guarantee (YG) are fully operational without delay. The EESC strongly recommends that the concrete action plans already adopted by MSs to tackle youth unemployment and youth employability be submitted for regular evaluation, with civil society involvement. Member States should foresee and create tools and conditions in order to help people to update, improve and evaluate their employability level. An improved partnership between enterprises and education institutions is strongly recommended. Member States should provide incentives to those universities and R&D units that offer degree courses in line with globalised market needs. Decent working conditions, salaries and pensions are necessary to make Education an attractive career option. The EESC welcomes the Erasmus + programme, and the agreement on the recognition of professional qualifications. The EESC welcomes the Framework of Actions on Youth Employment agreed by the social partners in June 2013. Concrete national and local measures should continue to be developed to offer a lifelong learning accessible to all.