The aim of the opinion is to draw attention to the impact of the non-Schengen status of Bulgaria and Romania and neighbouring EU-countries on the Single Market, to assess the impact of non-Schengen membership on the competitiveness of these countries and the potential costs/benefits of Schengen for them, and to propose recommendations for policy-makers on how to address the negative effects of non-Schengen on the Single Market.
Adopted on 24/04/2024 - Bureau decision date: 24/10/2023
In this opinion, the EESC underlines that is highly important for the EU Talent Pool to be a practical, reliable, easy to use tool that is attractive for workersandemployers and supports fair and ethical legal labour migration into the EU. It insists that skills and competences of workers from third countries should be assessed and swiftly validated to ensure that their skills are certified and they can obtain their qualifications when necessary.
The Belgian presidency of the Council of the European Union asked the EESC to provide their insights on the rethinking of the internal market in light of the acceleration of the Union’s twin transitions towards a green and digital economy and on crafting a European Industrial Strategy that positions industries as the backbone of Europe's economy.
EESC opinion: Developing a new European strategy for the Internal Market: helping our businesses to meet technological, social, environmental and competition challenges
Milena ANGELOVA (Employers - GR I/Bulgaria), Milena ANGELOVA (Employers - GR I/Bulgaria)
Plenary session number
580
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The opinion looks into the needs and measures to ensure more efficient water consumption in the EU by consumers, taking into account the main environmental issues, knowledge gaps and state of play of related technologies.
EESC opinion: Water efficient consumption and consumer awareness about their water footprint
The EESC emphasises that the designing of proposals for new sources of own revenues should be done in context of the budgetary pressures faced by Member States following the pandemic and the ongoing international tensions. This has become all the more important in the current higher interest rate environment. The EESC also emphasises that the second set of own resources measures should be in line with the proportionality and social fairness principles. An EU-wide tax on digital transactions could be potentially considered to increase own resources in case the agreed rules of the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework are not respected by other major trading partners.
