Transcript your europe, your say

European Economic and Social Committee
What is the
European Union (EU)?
• 28 Member States
• 508 million inhabitants
• Candidates for EU membership: Iceland, Turkey,
Serbia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia and Montenegro
What are the EU's main principles?
• Common values: respect for human dignity, freedom,
democracy, equality, rule of law, human rights,
pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice,
solidarity (Art. 2 TEU)
• Aim: to promote peace, the Union's values and the
well-being of its peoples (Art. 3 TEU)
• 4 freedoms: free movement of persons, goods,
services and capital
The key stages in the EU's history
The 1950s – the beginnings
Post-war reconstruction
• 1950: Schuman Declaration on 9 May
• 1951: foundation of the European Coal and
Steel Community (ECSC)
6 Member States: Belgium, France, Germany,
Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands
• 1957: Rome Treaties – birth of the European
Economic Community (EEC) and Euratom
The 1960s - laying the groundwork
• 1960: creation of the European Social Fund
• 1962: launch of the Common Agricultural
Policy (CAP)
• 1968: abolition of customs duties
The 1970s
• 1973: 1st enlargement – Denmark, the United
Kingdom and Ireland join the EEC
Europe now has 9 Member States
• 1979: 1st election by direct universal suffrage of
the European Parliament
The 1980s - consolidation
• Enlargement to Southern European countries:
Greece (1981), Spain and Portugal (1986)
Europe now has 12 Member States
• 1986: Single European Act
• 1990: with German unification, former East
Germany becomes part of the EEC
The 1990s
• 1993: entry into force of the Maastricht Treaty
• 1995: new enlargement – Austria, Finland and
Sweden
Europe now has 15 Member States
First decade of the 21st century:
the Euro and the biggest enlargement
• 1 January 2002: 12 countries introduce the euro
• 2004: enlargement to Central and Eastern
European countries - 10 new Member States join:
Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta,
Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia
Europe now has 25 Member States
• 2007: Bulgaria and Romania join
Europe now has 27 Member States
• 2013: Croatia joins
Europe now has 28 Member States
The first decade of the 21st
century
• Need for institutional reforms
• European Constitution rejected in France
and the Netherlands (2005)
• Adoption of the Lisbon Treaty and its entry
into force on 1 December 2009
What does the EU do for you?
A few examples
• Freedom to live, study and work in any Member
State
• Youth exchange programmes: Comenius,
Leonardo Da Vinci and Erasmus
• A single currency for 18 countries
• Environmental laws to combat global warming
• Equal opportunities
• Lower roaming charges
• And much more ...
The European institutions
The European Parliament
• Co-legislates (with the Council)
• Monitors the budgets and policies of the
European institutions
• Currently 766 members, elected by universal
suffrage (751 members after the 2014
European elections)
• Elections every 5 years
• President: Martin Schulz
The European Council
• Provides the EU with political guidance and defines
the political directions and priorities
• Consists of the Heads of State or Government of
the Member States, together with its President
and the President of the European Commission
• President: Herman Van Rompuy
The Council of the European Union
• Co-legislates with the European Parliament
(amends, adopts or rejects the Commission’s
legislative proposals)
• Consists of ministers from the 28 Member States
chosen according to the agenda
• Rotating presidency: is chaired by a different
Member State every 6 months:
1 January – 30 June 2014: Greece
1 July – 31 December 2014: Italy
The European Commission
• Proposes and implements laws (right of
initiative, "guardian" of the Treaties)
• 28 Commissioners including one president:
José Manuel Barroso
• One commissioner per country, each in
charge of one policy area
Other EU institutions and bodies
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The Court of Justice of the European Union
The European Central Bank
The European Court of Auditors
The European Economic and Social
Committee (EESC)
• The Committee of the Regions
The European Economic and
Social Committee
What is the EESC?
• It is an advisory body set up by the Treaty of
Rome (1957)
• Represents organised civil society
European
Commission
European
Parliament
Council of the European
Union
European Economic and Social Committee
What is organised civil society?
All the groups and organisations that
citizens set up to represent their interests,
to achieve a goal, or to cooperate with likeminded people
What is the role of the EESC?
• Consultative role to the European
Parliament, Council and Commission (+/200 opinions a year)
• Institutional forum for dialogue and
consultation
• Promotion of European values, participatory
democracy and the role of civil society
organisations
A bridge between the EU and organised
civil society
• Brings forward civil society’s interests
• Enables civil society organisations from the
Member States to express their views at
European level
Who are the members of the EESC?
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353 members, appointed for 5 years
1 president, elected every 2 and a half years
President: Henri Malosse (2013-2015)
Represent economic and social interest groups:
employers, workers, NGOs and others
• Work on the basis of consensus
• Have considerable expertise on many subjects
• Hold +/- 9 plenary sessions a year
How does the EESC work?
Drafting of an opinion
Plenary Assembly
GROUP II
Workers
GROUP I
Employers
SECTION
6 sections
GROUP III
Various Interests
Study Group:
Members and experts
SECTION
Your Europe, Your Say!
What you have to do - 7 steps
1. Read and discuss the draft initiatives for
Europe's future
2. Choose a maximum of two options from the
multiple choice list (a, b, c, etc.)
3. Propose additional initiatives in English. The
number of initiatives is limited to two per
school
4. Prepare for Brussels
5. In Brussels: working group meeting
6. Debate and vote
7. Presentation of the vote
1. Read and discuss the draft initiatives
• Mid-January 2014: you will receive the
working document in your own language,
and the instructions in English and French
• This working document will provide the
basis for the debate in Brussels; it
contains a list of 12 actions for Europe's
future
• Discuss the various initiatives in class
2. Choose your initiatives
• Following your classroom debate on the
proposed initiatives, choose a maximum of
two options from the multiple choice list (a, b,
c, etc.)
• Propose additional initiatives (two per school)
in English. You have a limit of 70 characters
per initiative (including spaces)
• All the schools will send their choices to the
EESC
3. Prepare for Brussels
• The list of 14 initiatives selected by all the
schools will be forwarded to you at the
beginning of March
• Prepare to argue, negotiate and debate these
initiatives so that you will be ready for the
working groups in Brussels
4. In Brussels: working group meeting
• The 14 chosen initiatives will be discussed
in the working groups: pooling ideas,
debating between students
5. In Brussels: debate and vote
• At the plenary session, presentation of each
working group's conclusions to the
representatives of the different political
groups of the European Parliament
• Electronic vote
Deadline and contacts
• The deadline for sending us your initiatives
in English (maximum 2) and your choice of
options for each initiative: 14 February 2014
• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.eesc.europa.eu
• Your Europe, Your Say
• @youreurope