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Who sits on the EESC? Treaty of Rome 1957 Representatives of the various categories of economic and social activity Treaty of Nice 2000 Representatives of the various economic and social components of organised civil society
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Bosnia and Herzegovina’s integration in the regional and European activities of the European Economic and Social Committee
Patrik Zoltvány
Member of the Western Balkans Contact Group
European Economic and Social Committee, Brussels
Institutional position of the EESC
Commission
Who sits on the EESC?
Treaty of Rome 1957 Representatives of the various categories of
economic and social activity Treaty of Nice 2000
Representatives of the various economic and social
components of organised civil society
What is organised civil society?
Organisations representing producers, farmers,
carriers, workers, dealers, craftsmen, professional
occupations, consumers and the general interest
Organised civil society’s role is to act as an intermediary between the public authorities and
citizens
What is the structure of the EESC?
It is an assembly of 344 members
from the 27 Member States of the EU.
Members are appointed for a renewable four-year term.
They are appointed by the Council of Ministers on the
basis of lists drawn up by national governments.
An Assembly divided into three GROUPS
Group I – Employers
Public and private sectors of industry, commerce, finance, etc.
(large companies)
Group II – Employees
National trade union confederations
Group III – Various Interests
Farmers, consumers, the social economy, craftsmen and
SMEs, social and environmental NGOs, the professions…
Decision-making bodies of the EESC
The presidency The bureau The plenary assembly
The EESC’s working bodies
Six sections… Single Market, Production and Consumption Transport, Energy, Infrastructure and the Information
Society Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment Economic and Monetary Union and Economic and Social
Cohesion Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship External Relations
The EESC’s working bodies
…and four more recent bodies
The Consultative Commission on Industrial Change – CCMI
The Single Market Observatory – SMO
The Sustainable Development Observatory – SDO
The Labour Market Observatory - LMO
The members and the various working bodies are assisted by a
secretariat-general.
The activities of the EESC
The role of the Committee is to issue opinions (approx. 150 per year)
1957 Treaty of Rome The Committee may be consulted by the Council or the
European Commission 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam
The Committee may be consulted by the Council, the European Commission or the European Parliament
Mandatory or optional referrals
The activities of the EESC
In addition, the EESC
has the right of initiative
may issue exploratory opinions
takes on the role of facilitator and promoter of civil
dialogue
Working methods
To issue opinions, the sections usually set up “study groups”, each with a rapporteur
A continual quest for a “dynamic compromise”
Constructive debate based on expertise
A vote is taken in the section, and then in the plenary session
The Committee, facilitator of civil dialogue
Regular contact and cooperation with networks of national economic and social councils and with civil society organisations
at the level of the European Union
in Member States and other European countries
in Euromed partnership countries
in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states
in Mercosur states and other Latin American countries
in India, China, etc.
Western Balkans Contact Group
Western Balkans Contact Group…
Started its work in October 2004
Geographical Scope: Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina,
Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
(FYROM), Montenegro and Serbia (including Kosovo
under UNSCR 1244)
the only permanent and specific body of the EESC
dealing with this particular region
The aims of Western Balkans Contact Group
to monitor changes in the political, economic and social situation in the Western Balkan countries and in EU-Balkan relations, more specifically the implementation of the Thessaloniki agenda and the evolution of the Stabilisation and Association Process;
to promote cooperation between the EESC and Western Balkan civil society organisations, as well as national Economic and Social Councils or similar institutions;
to encourage and maximise exchange of best practices between EU civil society organisations and their counterparts in the Western Balkans.
Future Activities of Western Balkans Contact Group
The Western Balkans Civil Society Forum / Spring 2008
Creation of Joint Bodies with Civil Society Organizations
– Stabilisation and Association Agreement is the
precondition
Capacity building of Economic and Social Councils
Collection of information/ in-depth studies on civil
society
Western Balkans Contact Group – inter institutional cooperation
European Commission: DG Enlargement and DG Employment and Social Affairs European Council: Task Force for the Western Balkans European Parliament: Delegation for Relations with the countries of South-East
Europe, Delegation to the EU-Croatia Joint Parliamentary Committee, Delegation to the EU-FYROM Joint Parliamentary Committee
Committee of the Regions: Working Group on the Western Balkans, Working Group on Croatia
International Labour Office Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe (bearing in mind that it will become the new
Regional Cooperation Council by 2008) OSCE (especially its Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights).
The added value of the EESC
a major repository of expertise the search for consensus (“dynamic compromise”)
its role as a channel of communication between civil
society organisations and the European Union’s
institutions
a real impact on the European Union’s legislative process
Its consultative role and its dialogue with civil society
organisations…
…make the EESC one of the most active
protagonists and promoters of…
… PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY.
Dimitris N. Dimitriadis, Greece, Group I
Jillian van Turnhout, Ireland, Group III
Alexander-Michael Graf von Schwerin, Germany, Group II
The president The vice-presidents
Group I, Employers:Henri Malosse (France)
Group II, Employees: Mario Sepi (Italy)
Group III, Various Interests:Staffan Nilsson (Sweden)
The Group presidents
Patrik ZOLTVÁNY, Group I, Western Balkans Contact Group Rue Belliard 99, B-1040 Brussels http://www.eesc.europa.eu
Tel. : +32.2.546.90.11
Fax : +32.2.513.48.93