European Economic and Social Committee

PRESS RELEASE No. 85/2005 / 7 July 2005

419th plenary session of the EESC
13 and 14 July 2005

European Parliament, Paul-Henri Spaak Building at 2.30 p.m.

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Extraordinary Debate on Europe

What can the EESC and organised civil society do to bridge the gap between Europe and its citizens?

Thursday, 14 July, 11.30 a.m.

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Douglas Alexander

British Minister of State for Europe

“Priorities of the UK Presidency”

Wednesday, 13 July, 3 p.m.

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Ján Figel’

Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Multilingualism

“Education, training and culture in the knowledge society”

Thursday, 14 July, 10 a.m

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Main opinionsfor adoption:

-REACH - legislation on chemical products (additional opinion)

-Scope and effects of company relocations (own-initiative)

-Coal and steel research (own-initiative)

-Market access to port services

-New social agenda (2006 -2010)

-EU-Russia relations (own-initiative)

Extraordinary Debate on Europe

On 14 July the EESC’s plenary session will hold an extraordinary debate on the current situation in the EU, following on from the French and Dutch referendum results and the failure of the 16-17 June European Council to reach agreement on the 2007-13 financial perspective. The plenary is expected to focus on two basic questions:

  • what should the EESC and organised civil society do?
  • how can the role of the EESC and its members as bridge between Europe and organised civil society be brought to its full potential?

The debate is scheduled for Thursday, 14 July, 11.30 a.m.For more information, see press release n° 77/2005.

The priorities of the UK Presidency - Speech by Mr Douglas Alexander

Douglas Alexander will present the priorities of the UK Presidency Programme to the EESC plenary. His intervention is scheduled for Wednesday, 13 July, 3 p.m. It will be followed by a discussion with the plenary.

Education, training and culture in the knowledge society - Speech by Mr Ján Figel’

The speech by Mr. Figel’ “Education, training and culture in the knowledge society” is scheduled for Thursday, 14 July, 10.00 a.m. It will be followed by a discussion with the plenary. Mr Figel’ has recently visited the EESC’s SOC section (see press release n° 71/2005).

Main opinions for adoption

REACH - legislation on chemical products (additional opinion)

Rapporteur: Mr Braghin (Group I, employers, Italy)

The EESC's earlier opinion on REACH was adopted on 16 June 2004 and provided a firm basis for inter-institutional debate. This supplementary opinion comments on the latest developments on this subject. It focuses primarily on the latest impact assessment studies carried out by the Commission; the registration criteria and tasks as well as the different proposals discussed at the Council of Ministers. In order to make REACH manageable, the Committee proposes that the registration mechanism must specify clearly:

  • the substances covered by the proposed system;
  • its scope;
  • the obligations regarding the flow of information between manufacturers, importers and downstream users of the same substance;
  • the mechanisms and incentives for forming consortia.

The Committee also stresses the need to avoid duplications of tests, not only in the case of experiments on animals, but it warns thatthe proposal onOSOR (One Substance One Registration), might raise questions concerning the responsibility on the part of the individual operators and the conflict between mandatory data sharing and confidentiality. The Committee is in favour of the Maltese/Slovenian proposal on low-volume substances, the Swedish proposal on substances in articles and supports the French proposal (SAFE) to strengthen the Chemicals Agency.

Scope and effects of company relocations (own-initiative)

Rapporteur: Mr Rodriguez García-Caro (Group I, Employers, Spain)

Co-rapporteur:Mr Nusser (CCMI delegate, Germany)

For more information, see press release n° 84/2005.

The Perspectives of European Coal and Steel Research (own-initiative)

Rapporteur: Mr Lagerholm (Group I, Employers, Sweden)

Co-Rapporteur: Mr Gibellieri (CCMI delegate, Italy)

In this own-initiative opinion the CCMI states that the Coal and Steel Research Fund research programme (RFSC) has yielded outstanding results. The programme has proved to be efficient and effective, having significantly integrated the network of experts from the former research programmes.

The opinion recommends maintainingthe same consultative bodies both for the management of the programme and for the evaluation procedure. By capitalising upon its delegates' long experience of coal and steel research, the CCMI could make a valuable contribution towards implementing future research programmes. The opinion supports the establishment of European Technology Platforms. It favours a rapid and wide-ranging integration into the RFSC research programme of enterprises, research centres and universities in the new Member States.

Concerning the steel sector, the opinion identifies the reduction of CO2 emissions and the improvement of energy efficiency as main issues. Concerning the coal sector, the opinion welcomes the new European Energy Priorities, as the latter stress the significance of clean coal technologies for climate and environmental protection.

Market access to port services

Rapporteur: Mr RETUREAU (Group II, Employees, France)

Given the extensive differences in size and type of ports, the draft opinion prefers coherence and sufficient scope for subsidiarity to uniform provisions proposed by too detailed draft Directive. Excessive competition amongst service providers could result in over-investment and waste. Such a framework directive should not in any way affect the rights and obligations of Member States vis-à-vis their legislation on social and labour issues, public health, the environment, security, public order, or services of general interest. The draft regrets the lack of an impact assessment and discussion with social partners.

New social agenda (2006 -2010) (communication)

Rapporteur: Ms Engelen-Kefer (Group II, Employees, Germany)

In its draft opinion, the EESC welcomes the Commission's Communication on the Social Agenda. However, the Committee believes that the communication does not meet the special expectations bound up with the mid-term review of the Lisbon Strategy. Whilst, in the previous Social Agenda, the European Commission was guided by a belief in the role of social policy as a productive factor, this is no longer explicitly the case in the new proposal. The draft criticises that the new Social Agenda sets out fewer concrete measures than did its predecessor.

The Committee expects the strategic framework to be complemented by concrete measures. The new Social Agenda should go hand-in-hand with an action programme covering the next five years and take greater account of the findings and proposals of the High Level Group on the Future of Social Policy in the Enlarged EU.

The contribution of civil society to EU-Russia relations (own-initiative)

Rapporteur: Mr Hamro-Drotz (Group I, Employers, Finland)

Strengthening EU-Russian relations requires solid support from organised civil society, which is aimed at achieving improved cooperation between the EU and Russia. The EESC believes it is important to establish an environment in Russia where the social partners and other organised civil society players can operate independently and participate with confidence in the preparation of social and economic decisions having a bearing on them.

The EESC recommends that:

  • the EU and its member states adopt a coherent policy towards Russia and implement it in a pragmatic fashion;
  • the EU address civil society issues adequately. These include individual responsibility, respect for the rule of law, respect for the individual and property, transparency, integrity, human dignity, equality and freedom of speech, the right to organise and basic workers' rights, sound industrial relations and adequate social protection;
  • cooperation between organised civil society in the EU and Russia be promoted and extended;
  • the EU and Russia promote cross-border mobility by improving Infrastructure and simplifying visa application procedures.

Agenda of the plenary session

For further information please contact:

Christian Weger, EESC Press Office

99 rue Belliard , B-1040 Brussels

Tel.: 02 546 9396/9586; Mobile: 0475 753 202

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The European Economic and Social Committee represents the different social and economic interest groups of organised civil society. Set up by the Treaty of Rome in 1957, it is a consultative EU institution. Its consultative role allows its members, and thus the organisations they represent, to take part in the Community decision-making process. Subsequent to enlargement the Committee has 317 members, who are appointed by the Council of Ministers for a four-year term.