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EESC
INFO
March 2006 / THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE — A BRIDGE BETWEEN EUROPE AND ORGANISED CIVIL SOCIETY WWW.ESC.EU.INT
EU. The crisis of confidence that prevails in the large equality of opportunity, support for families, educa-
euro-area economies can similarly only be overcome tion, research and innovation are key to the knowl-
by adhering to the fundamental principles of sustain- edge-based society. The framework and the incentives
ability in finance and social policy. for creating an innovation-friendly environment must
therefore be improved further. In general terms, the
The Committee also supports the Commission’s call Committee also emphasises that promoting entrepre-
Growth and jobs — working together for Europe’s future. for social security systems to be modernised so as to neurship deserves particular attention.
(Continued from page 1 — Interview with Ms Margot Wallström) used, I mean in particular the ‘open space’ method and
political discussion beyond the European level and the stakeholders’ forum format.’
ensure that we genuinely involve the different stake- The Commission has been at pains to insist that, in
holders and the citizens.’ the communication domain, the role of the European
Acknowledging the EESC’s consistent calls for orga- Union’s institutions can only be complementary to
nised civil society to be much more fully involved in that of the Member States. So what, asked EESC Info,
the EU’s legislative and policy-making processes, Ms should the institutions do if the Member States did
Wallström expressed ‘absolute conviction’ that the not play their role? ‘We nevertheless have to mobilise
White Paper would help in that regard. Consultation civil society and the different stakeholders,’ replied Ms
with civil society organisations was, for example, one Wallström. ‘We must still play our part. We must en-
of the starting points in the Commission’s insistence gage across the board with those whose interests are
on minimum standards for consultation. It was not, affected by what we do — for example, on passenger
she insisted, simply a matter of better consultation, rights, on environmental and trade issues. Organised
The outcomes of the EESC’s Stakeholders’ Forum influenced the
but also demonstrating that the views expressed have White Paper on a European communication policy. civil society is naturally important in this context.’
been taken into account. This emphasis on connecti- A common theme in the EESC’s extraordinary plenary
The White Paper places heavy emphasis on coopera-
vity, on improving the dialogue with civil society, was debates on ‘bridging the gap’ had been the need to
tion and partnership between the EU’s institutions.
a major plank of the White Paper. take a longer-term view, in particular by introducing
The EESC’s recent opinions on the reflection period
Ms Wallström described the envisaged follow-up to and on ‘Plan D’ delivered the same message. Here, notions of governance and enhancing civic educa-
the White Paper consultation process. ‘Once the six- Ms Wallström applauded the ‘excellent cooperation’ tion in our schools, so that tomorrow’s European
month consultation period is over, we will orga- between the EESC and the Commission. ‘We’ve had citizens would be better equipped to understand
nise working groups on the five themes set out in the very good exchanges of views on important propo- what the European Union was doing for them and
White Paper, and the intention is for them to come up sals. In our new framework agreement, in our protocol why. However, the White Paper acknowledged that
with very concrete proposals. I don’t know yet what for cooperation, we have said that it is important that the Member States alone were responsible for the
nature these will take, but I don’t anticipate that there we identify and maybe focus more on what is really content of teaching. So what, asked EESC Info, could
will be a lot of purely legislative proposals,’ she conti- important for the EESC and for the Commission and realistically be done? ‘Of course,’ replied Ms Wallström,
nued. It was a matter of ‘putting flesh on the bones’. thus make sure that we concentrate on the most ‘the Member States are absolutely free to do as they
These proposals would then be put to the Parliament important issues. I also think that we can get a lot of wish but can they seriously decide not to talk about
and the Council, and also to the stakeholders. help from some of the working methods the EESC has (Continued on page 3)
EESC INFO / March 2006 /
© European Commission
overcome barriers and increase tolerance. One of the
most important comments taken up by the European
Parliament and the Council, and backed by the EESC,
was the voluntary nature of the adoption of the
European Charter for Mobility, which will not result
in any financial commitments for the Member States.
Mr Czajkowski, rapporteur for the opinion on transnational mobi- Establishing a date for the introduction of the prin- Access to apprenticeship systems for young people across the EU.
lity in the EU. ciples of the charter was one of the important areas in our opinion. We suggested, for example, that par-
You are the rapporteur for the opinion on transnation- focused on by the EESC. In our opinion, this should ticipants fill in a questionnaire, to provide information
al mobility for education and training purposes, which promote greater awareness of the issues raised in at national level about the results achieved by those
was adopted at the February plenary session. Could the charter so that they can be introduced as soon as taking part.
you explain why the EESC tackled this opinion? possible.
The EESC’s opinion on transnational mobility for edu- The European Charter for Mobility is currently applied
What recommendations in the area of transnational by only some of the Member States. What is the
cation and training purposes was drawn up follow-
mobility are included in the EESC’s opinion? Committee’s opinion regarding its adoption by all
ing a referral from the European Parliament and the
Council. It was drafted in a relatively short space The first, and certainly the most important recom- Member States?
of time, which complicated matters as, in my opin- mendation is the removal of barriers for young peo- Naturally, the EESC supports this initiative and encour-
ion, some basic research among the beneficiaries of ple; this does not mean legal barriers but linguistic ages all Member States to sign the charter. Obviously,
international exchange programmes ought to have and cultural barriers, which should be tackled at this involves taking responsibility for its implemen-
been carried out first. Given the increase in the pro- national level. Young people who have taken part in tation; however, bearing in mind the need for the
gramme’s budget, the Commission wanted to be mobility programmes for educational purposes are sustainable development and competitiveness of the
certain that the funds would be used appropriately generally very pleased with their results, although European economy in the global context, the remain-
and bring mutual benefits to all recipients, from the worrying situations do also occur, which is why we ing countries should waste no more time thinking
acquisition of work and life experience to the effective have tried to take all the various aspects into account about whether to sign it.
EESC Info available in all official EU languages (Continued from page 2 — Interview with Ms Margot Wallström)
something that actually affects all of their citizens? Is it
Since November 2005, EESC Info has been available in 20 languages (in PDF format) on the EESC’s website realistic that nothing should be said about the United
(http://www.esc.eu.int/press/eescinfo/index_en.asp). It is published nine times a year. Nations or the European Union in the hope that they’ll
go away? This is of course silly. I think citizens all over
Europe have the right to know and in particular have
the right, through their education, to knowledge
about the European Union and its institutions.’
The White Paper argued that Europe should be given
a human face. But, asked EESC Info, given the com-
plexity and technocratic nature of the EU, was that
possible? Might organised civil society have a particu-
lar role to play in that context?
‘We have to provide a human face,’ argued Ms
Wallström. ‘We need it. But it requires leadership, at
all levels. It requires, of course, that we who work
with and for the European institutions — including
the EESC — should be accessible, should be there,
should be able to take the debate to the people, to
both listen and explain.’ That, she concluded, was the
fundamental challenge of communication facing us
all.
EESC INFO / March 2006 / The participants also stressed the need to promote
the involvement of organised civil society as a gen-
Editor • Mr Karel Govaert EESC Info can be obtained free of charge and in electronic uine partner in the implementation and monitoring
format from the European Economic and Social Committee’s
Assistant editors • Mr Christian Weger of the action plan, in close cooperation with the
press service. It is available in 20 languages. Nine issues are
• Ms Agata Berdys • Ms Agnieszka Nyka published every year during EESC plenary sessions. Commission and the Ukrainian government. They
• Ms Sabine Pierrel • Ms Tessa Delville-Kordy called for binding institutional arrangements for
Address • European Economic and Social Committee EESC Info is not an official record of the EESC’s proceedings; cooperation by creating, for instance, an Economic
Rue Belliard 99, B-1040 Brussels for this, please refer to the Official Journal of the European and Social Monitoring Committee, cooperating
Tel. (32-2) 546 93 96 or 546 95 86 Union or to the EESC’s other publications. with the Joint Parliamentary Committee and mak-
QE-AA-06-003-EN-C