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European Economic and Social Committee

Brussels, 11 October 2013

PLENARY SESSION
18 and 19 September 2013
SUMMARY OF OPINIONS ADOPTED
This document is available in the official languages on the Committee's website at:

The opinions listed can be consulted online using the Committee's search engine:

CES5110-2013_00_00_TRA_TCD…/…

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Contents:

1.ECONOMIC GOVERNANCE / FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS /TAXATION

2.INTERNAL MARKET / RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

3.ENVIRONMENT / AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES / SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

4.SOCIAL AFFAIRS / EMPLOYMENT / CONSUMERS

5.ENERGY

6.EXTERNAL RELATIONS

The plenary session of 18-19 September 2013 was attended by Jamal Hermes Ghibril, President of the Lebanese Women's Council;EstherFouchier, founder of the Mediterranean Women's Forum (FFM); SalwaKennou Sebei, Chairwoman of the Association of Tunisian Women for Research and Development (AFTURD); Carola Fischbach-Pyttel, general secretary of the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU); and Barbara Helfferich, Director of the European Anti-Poverty Network. In addition, the president of the EESC, Henri Malosse, took stock of the first three months of his mandate during the questions and answers session.

The following opinions were adopted at the session:

  1. ECONOMIC GOVERNANCE / FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS /TAXATION
  • Comparability of fees/payment accounts

Rapporteur:Reine-Claude Mader (Various Interests – FR)

Reference:COM(2013) 266 final – 2013/0139 (COD) - CES5943-2013_00_00_TRA_CR

Key points:

The EESC:

welcomes the Commission's proposal and considers that the adoption of a directive is the most suitable way of implementing measures aiming to give all citizens access to bank account and to improve the comparability of fees and banking mobility;

regrets, however, the restricted scope of some of the measures (e.g. harmonisation of terminology);

welcomes the provisions which aim to improve transparency, as well as the proposals on banking mobility, although believes that the latter should be preceded by an independent study;

considers that a requirement for the provision of a statement of fees should be supplemented by a requirement to inform consumers in advance of the debiting of unusual fees to their account;

favours the establishment of independent comparison web sites and calls for the register of existing sites to enable consumers to have access to information on financial institutions located in all the Member States;

stresses the importance of training staff of payment service providers and the need for financial education;

considers that the real costs should be taken into account in determining whether charges are "reasonable" in cases where owning and operating the account is not free, and stresses the need to limit non-compliance charges;

shares the Commission's view on the need to provide for checks and dissuasive sanctions in the event of non-compliance with the provisions of the directive.

Contact:Dorota Zapatka

(Tel.: 00 32 2 546 90 67 – e-mail:

  • Financial management and decommitment rules for Member States facing serious difficulties

Rapporteur:Rapporteur: Viliam Páleník (Various Interests – SK)

Reference:COM(2013) 301 final – 2013/0156 (COD) – CES5122-2013_00_00_TRA_PAC

Key points:

Under the Commission proposal, lower contributions to projects co-financed under EU cohesion policy would be required from seven Member States that come under the EFSM or the Balance of Payments mechanism.

The EESC, in line with its previous opinions, supports this proposal provided that consistency and efficacy in the use of budgetary resources are preserved.

Contact: Magdalena Carabin-Belarova

(Tel: 00 32 2 546 8303 – email: )

2.INTERNAL MARKET / RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

  • EU space industrial policy

Rapporteur:Joost van Iersel (Employers – NL)

Reference:COM(2013) 108 final – CES5716-2013_00_00_TRA_CR

Key points:

The EESC:

highly welcomes an EU Industrial policy in the Space sector and endorses also the provided budget of EUR 11 billion for Galileo, Copernicus, and R&D in Horizon 2020 for 2014–2020;

believes that pro-active industrial policy is needed in response to large institutional markets around the world which have an increasingly strategic and technological impact;

notes that the European Space Agency will, in addition to performing its traditional role, become a facilitator of space projects under EU rules;

points out that formal arrangements for consultation of industry, especially SMEs, are needed;

believes that the space sector requires a highly skilled workforce employed on appropriate contracts;

fully supports the five objectives set out by the Commission.

Contact:Alice Tétu

(Tel.: 00 32 2 546 82 86 – e-mail: )

  • Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions – EU space industrial policy – releasing the potential for economic growth in the space sector (supplementary opinion)

Rapporteur:Rapporteur: Gerd Wolf (Various Interests – DE)

Co-rapporteur: Marcel Philippe (Workers – FR)

Reference:COM(2013) 108 final – CES2861-2013_00_00_TRA_AS

Key points:

Space technology and space science are fertile breeding grounds for new discoveries, innovation, key enabling technologies and services that later feed into the general economy.

Europe needs to retain and extend its independent access to space as well as the other scientific, technological and industrial conditions for an independent space industry.

It is imperative to retain and strengthen the capacity and independence of the European Space Agency (ESA) and of the European space industry.

Under Article 189 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), the EU and the Commission are also involved in exploiting, operating and promoting space travel. Following from this and from Council decisions, there is a need for cooperation and coordination of tasks between the ESA and its member states on the one hand, and the Commission and the EU Member States on the other.

While the CCMI fully supports the technical, scientific, industrial and political aims outlined in the communication of the Commission, future process, division of tasks and competences should, however, be the result of full coordination with the ESA.

Therefore, the objective should be a joint approach between the Commission, the ESA and the Member States on the question of how they can cooperate to continue to secure independent, reliable and cost-efficient access to space for Europe and on how to use the associated opportunities and services, with the help of launch systems developed and manufactured in Europe.

Contact: Adam Plezer

(Tel.: 00 32 2 546 8628 – e-mail: )

  • State of the Innovation Union 2012

Rapporteur:Cveto Stantič (Employers – SI)

Reference:COM(2013) 149 final – CES5717-2013_00_00_TRA_CR

Key points:

The EESC:

welcomes the publication of the report on the state of the Innovation Union, and expects that by the end of 2014 all 34 commitments will have been implemented;

sees no major progress in the global competitiveness of the European Research Area;

notes with particularly deep concern the trend of diminishing R&D expenditure in the majority of Member State budgets for the second year running;

calls on the Commission to draw up a list of measures and areas in which deepening is possible and urgent;

calls on the Member States to increase the use of pre-commercial procurement and share experiences and models of innovation-friendly procurement;

highlights the specific role of social innovation, which could play an important role in tackling the crisis and the other challenges of modern society and calls on the Commission to put in place support for the creation of incubators for innovative social projects.

Contact:Alice Tétu

(Tel.: 00 32 2 546 82 86 – e-mail: )

  • Biocidal products

Rapporteur:Rapporteur: Pedro Narro (Various Interests – ES)

Reference:COM(2013) 288 final – 2013/0150 (COD)

Key points:

The EESC:

regrets that, during the process of adopting the new European legislation on biocidal products, the Commission, the Council and Parliament have not given prior consideration to the distortions that confused and unclear transitional rules could create;

agrees that changes need to be made to the Biocidal Products Regulation before it enters into force, so as to facilitate the transition from Directive 98/8/EC;

welcomes the changes made to the transitional measures concerning treated articles, and the evaluation of existing active substance and biocidal products

calls on the Commission to ensure that the innovative provision on the mandatory sharing of studies on environmental fate and behaviour relating to Annex II of Regulation (EC) No1451/2007, does not distort competition or have a detrimental impact on companies' innovation capacity;

is in favour of dealing with other important matters in the context of this legislative modification, such as access to information, the definition of products of the biocidal products family and the obligation to share data.

Contact:Marie-Laurence Drillon

(Tel.: 00 32 2 546 83 20 – e-mail: )

  • Preparing for a fully converged audiovisual world: growth, creation and values (Green Paper)

Rapporteur: Jorge Pegado Liz (Various Interests – PT)

References:COM(2013) 231 final

CES4163-2013_00_00_TRA_AS

Key points:

The Committee welcomes the Commission initiative to reopen the file on a converged audiovisual policy, with a view to taking the opportunity to broaden access to diversified European content and to launch new public consultation to address particularly this issue's impact on economic growth, employment and innovation at EU level.

The EESC regrets, however, that the Commission has not seized this opportunity to put forward more tangible and structured proposals on the matter.

The Committee recognises the many positive aspects of both the strategy for innovation and technological convergence of audiovisual services with the Internet, but it believes that at European level the right conditions should be created for traditional media to continue to provide their important public interest service, with a view to supporting linguistic and cultural diversity and safeguarding pluralism of information.

Finally, the EESC believes that the central aims of the European debate on audiovisual convergence should be to promote European cultures and to safeguard the public interest and fundamental rights, specifically the protection of minors and other vulnerable people.

Contact:Luca-Venerando Giuffrida

(Tel.: 00 32 2 546 9212 – email: )

  • Better regulation: implementing acts and delegated acts

Rapporteur:Jorge Pegado Liz (Various Interests – PT)

Reference:Information report – CES

Key points:

The aim of the information report is to highlight the realities of the delegated legislative procedure introduced by the Lisbon Treaty.

The delegation procedure must allow the legislator to focus on the essential. This is welcome, as long as the powers delegated to the Commission are properly managed and implemented in a transparent fashion.

After analysis, there are still doubts as to the simplicity of the procedure, how the European public really perceives what is at stake here, the "correct" usage of this procedure and the effectiveness of the control mechanisms.

As a consequence, it is proposed to draw up an own-initiative opinion where the EESC can express its position on this issue, based on the observations and conclusions arrived at in this report, with a view to a possible proposal for improving the EU's legislative procedure.

Contact:Jean-Pierre Faure

(Tel.: 00 32 2 546 96 15 – e-mail: )

  • eCall

Rapporteur-general:Thomas McDonogh (Employers – IE)

References:COM(2013) 315 final – 2013/0166 (COD)

COM(2013) 316 final – 2013/0165 (COD) - CES5038-2013_00_00_TRA_AC

Key points:

The EESC:

endorses the Commission's ambitious goal of reducing the number of road fatalities to half of 2010 levels during the period 2011 to 2020.

welcomes the proposed Decision and Regulation to ensure that from October 2015 all new models of passenger cars and light duty vehicles would be fitted with 112 eCall.

while appreciating the possible financial cost on automotive manufacturers, calls on manufacturers to also install eCall technology as soon as possible on existing types of vehicles to be manufactured after October 2015.

urges manufacturers and Member States to extend the eCall system to powered two wheelers as soon as possible.

believes that a European road safety agency should be set up to help harmonise and drive the implementation of road safety across the EU, including the implementation of eCall.

Contact:Roxana Maliti

(Tel.: 00 32 2 546 87 49 – e-mail: )

3.ENVIRONMENT / AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES / SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

  • Establishing Sustainable Development Goals – European civil society's contribution to the EU position (exploratory opinion requested by the Commission)

Rapporteur: An Le Nouail Marlière (Workers - FR)

References:CES955-2013_00_00_TRA_AS

Key points:

The EESC has been very active in promoting civil society dialogue prior, during and after the UN Conference on Sustainable Development which took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 2012 (Rio+20). This engagement has been very much appreciated by the other institutions. As a follow-up to these activities, and in view to make the Rio+20 follow-up at EU level as inclusive as possible, the European Commission has requested an exploratory opinion of the EESC on several important aspects relating to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In its opinion the EESC advocates for an ex ante economic, social and environmental impact assessment, both for the phase of defining the sustainable development goals, and during the global negotiation of universally applicable goals.

The Committee supports the EU's commitment to adhering to the plan to implement its 2020 strategy by means of the European semester, seizing the opportunity to make it meaningful by proposing a "decompartmentalised" social, economic and environmental strategy, as well as through the EU strategy for integrated sustainable development.

It urges the Member States and the EU institutions to, in particular:

actively continue their efforts on development partnership by means of the EU's Agenda for Change and external development-aid and cooperation policy;

bolster and stabilise the European social model in order to secure a solid foundation and competitiveness;

make every effort to develop a green economy that is resource-efficient;

require both European and non-European companies with a presence in their territory to add an effective green strand to their CSR and encourage and support the development of SMEs and enterprises in the social and solidarity-based economy;

redirect the tasks of banks and channel savings into industry and the "real economy";

The Committee encourages the EU to:

pursue the path of curbing financial speculation and fostering longer-term investment;

combat informal, undeclared, and improperly declared work within Europe, and outside Europe;

also combat, in all their forms, the undercutting of international labour standards and the devaluing of the work and dignity of certain workers.

Contact:Andreas Versmann

(Tel.: + 32 (0)2 546 8479 – e-mail: )

  • European Plastic Waste Strategy (Green Paper)

Rapporteur:Josef Zbořil (Employers – CZ)

References:COM(2013) 123 final - CES2634-2013_00_00_TRA_AS

Plastic waste in the environment is a grave global problem. When it comes to marine pollution, plastic waste accounts for a large majority of visible and invisible pollutants. This problem is aggravated by the degradation of plastic materials causing them to become invisible and to enter the food-chain. It is vital to improve the accuracy of analyses of waste streams that contain plastics, including analysis of how this waste enters the marine environment. The Green Paper on a European plastic waste strategy provides a breadth of statistics and references. The EESC recommends that this data be categorised and analysed in order to make it easier to use for drawing conclusions on the appropriate treatment of plastic waste streams.

The Committee understands that the three key pieces of EU legislation related to plastic waste (the Waste Framework Directive, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive and the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive) have not been properly enforced throughout the EU. The EESC therefore advocates improving their enforcement and updating them as necessary to close loopholes.

In line with the waste hierarchy, efforts should be made to ensure that less plastic waste is generated in the first place. Some uses of plastics could be restricted if there are more environmentally friendly alternatives. The violation of existing rules in terms of mismanaged landfilling should not be tolerated. The Committee also notes that a prerequisite for successful recycling is the identification and separation of waste streams both at source and once collected. As concerns waste that has already entered the environment, the EU might propose an international initiative to organise the clearing up of the worst accumulations of floating plastic waste in the oceans. It should also consider using development assistance programmes to promote more sustainable waste management practices in developing countries.

Civil society plays a crucial role in boosting thorough implementation and behavioural change.

Numerous stakeholders have been involved in the EU debate on plastic waste. Their knowledge and expertise are a good basis for rapid progress towards phasing out plastic waste from landfilling.

Contact:Rayka Hauser

(Tel.: 00 32 2 546 8678 – email: )

  • Framework for maritime spatial planning and integrated coastal management

Rapporteur:Stéphane Buffetaut (Employers - FR)

References:COM(2013) 133 final -2013/0074 COD

CES3176-2013_00_00_TRA_AS

Key points:

Coastal management and maritime spatial planning policies are particularly important for the EU, since 50% of the EU's population lives in coastal areas. The EESC therefore welcomes the Commission's initiative to establish administrative cooperation both within Member States and between them, with the full involvement of civil society representatives. Given that many marine environmental problems are caused by land-based pollution, it makes sense for maritime planning to go hand-in-hand with coordinated or even integrated terrestrial planning of coastal areas.

The EESC stresses the need for a participatory approach involving not only national authorities but also local and regional authorities and socio-economic stakeholders. Rules and the logic behind them must be agreed and understood, and goals and actions must be transparent. The group dynamic must begin with a shared view of the current situation, based on conditions in the local area and expected developments in local activities. Priorities should be set for activities in maritime and coastal areas. Such priorities cannot be pre-defined as they will inevitably vary from one situation to another, given geographical, environmental, human and economic differences. It is imperative to strike the right balance between legitimate interests and what is necessary for the common good.