Committed to European integration, the EESC contributes to strengthening the democratic legitimacy and effectiveness of the European Union by enabling civil society organisations from the Member States to express their views at European level. Employers of Poland are represented by President Andrzej Malinowski and Vicepresident Janusz Pietkiewicz.
This Committee fulfils three key missions:
- helping to ensure that European policies and legislation tie in better with economic, social and civic circumstances on the ground, by assisting the European Parliament, Council and European Commission, making use of EESC members' experience and representativeness, dialogue and efforts to secure consensus serving the general interest;
- promoting the development of a more participatory European Union, which is more in touch with popular opinion, by acting as an institutional forum representing, informing, expressing the views of and securing dialogue with organised civil society;
- promoting the values on which European integration is founded and advancing, in Europe and across the world, the cause of democracy and participatory democracy, as well as the role of civil society organisations.
Workings of the EESC
The EESC is a consultative body that gives representatives of Europe's socio-occupational interest groups and others a formal platform to express their points of view on EU issues. Its opinions are addressed to the Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament. It thus has a key role to play in the Union's decision-making process.
Origins
The ESC was set up by the 1957 Rome Treaties to involve economic and social interest groups in the establishment of the common market and to provide an institutional structure for briefing the European Commission and the Council of Ministers on European Community issues.
The Single European Act (1986), the Maastricht Treaty (1992), the Amsterdam Treaty (1997) and the Treaty of Nice (2000) have reinforced the EESC's role.
Membership
The EESC has 350 members, who are drawn from economic and social interest groups in Europe.
Members are nominated by national governments and appointed by the Council of the European Union for a renewable 5-year term of office. The latest renewal was in October 2015, for the 2015-2020 term of office.
They belong to one of three groups:
- Employers (Group I)
- Workers (Group II)
- Various Interests (Group III)
The members' mandate
The members' task is to issue opinions on matters of European interest to the Council, the Commission and the European Parliament.
Advisory role
Consultation of the EESC by the Commission or the Council is mandatory in certain cases; in others it is optional. The EESC may, however, also adopt opinions on its own initiative. The Single European Act (17.2.1986) and the Maastricht Treaty (7.2.1992) extended the range of issues which must be referred to the Committee. The Amsterdam Treaty further broadened the areas for referral to the Committee, and allowed it to be consulted by the European Parliament. On average, the EESC delivers 170 advisory documents and opinions a year (of which about 15% are issued on its own initiative). All opinions are forwarded to the EU's decision-making bodies and then published in the EU's Official Journal.
Information and integration role
Over the last few years the EESC has stepped up its role in the European Union and has transcended the basic role assigned to it in the Treaties. It acts as a forum for the single market and, with the support of other EU bodies, has hosted a series of events aimed at bringing the EU closer to the people.
