European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)

KEY POINTS

• The rules of procedure codify the EESC’s internal operational rules and complement the foundational rules set out in the Treaty on European Union and the TFEU.
• The rules of procedure include a code of conduct for members covering:
  • ethical standards;
  • financial transparency;
  • non-discrimination;
  • equal opportunities;
  • dignity in the workplace;
  • sanctions for breaching the code.
• The code of conduct also establishes an ethical committee.

Members

• The EESC includes the following three groups.
  • Employers’ organisations. Members from private and public sectors of industry, small businesses, chambers of commerce, wholesale and retail trade, banking and insurance, transport and agriculture (Group I).
  • Employees. Members from national trade union organisations, both at the level of confederations and of sectoral federations (Group II).
  • Civil society organisations. For example, farmer and consumer organisations, small businesses, the crafts sector and liberal professions and non-governmental organisations in the field of social and environmental protection (Group III).

• Members do not need to belong to any of the three groups. Members not belonging to a group have the same rights and obligations as those belonging to a group. New rules have been introduced regarding the participation of non-attached members in study groups, their appointment as rapporteurs and their participation in plenary sessions.
• EESC members are proposed by the governments of the EU Member States and are appointed by the Council for 5 years. Decision (EU) 2019/853 sets the current number of members at 329 following the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU. Article 301 TFEU provides for a maximum of 350 members. The current breakdown of members by country is as follows:
  • 24 for Germany, France and Italy;
  • 21 for Spain and Poland;
  • 15 for Romania;
  • 12 for Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Greece, Hungary, Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Sweden;
  • nine for Denmark, Ireland, Croatia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Finland;
  • seven for Estonia, Latvia and Slovenia;
  • six for Cyprus and Luxembourg;
  • five for Malta.
• The three groups elect their presidents and vice-presidents for a term of 2.5 years. They participate in the preparation, organisation and coordination of the EESC’s business.
• The 2022 edition of the rules introduces a new majority threshold for the adoption of the motion of no confidence, which is now two thirds of the votes cast.

The EESC’s role in the legislative procedure

• The EESC produces opinions at the request of the Parliament, the Council or the Commission.
• It also prepares evaluations of EU policies or legal instruments already being implemented, which may take the form of opinions or evaluation reports.
• It may also deliver opinions on its own initiative, exploratory opinions at the request of the EU institutions or the Presidency of the Council of the European Union and information reports or resolutions on any questions relating to the tasks assigned to the EU.

Organisation

The EESC consists of the following bodies.

• The EESC plenary assembly of all members, which meets in nine sessions each year.
• The presidency, comprising the president and the two vice-presidents.
• The president, who:
  • directs the work of the EESC;
  • represents the EESC in its external relations;
  • reports to the EESC on action and measures taken on its behalf;
  • presents a work programme at the start of the term of office and reviews achievements at the end of the term.
• Two vice-presidents, respectively in charge of budget and communication.
• The enlarged presidency, comprising the president, the two vice-presidents and three group presidents, which:
  • prepares the work of the bureau and the assembly;
  • facilitates the necessary decisions in cases of urgency or extraordinary circumstances.
• The bureau, which has political responsibility for the general management of the EESC and consists of:
  • the president and the two vice-presidents;
  • the three group presidents;
  • the six section presidents;
  • a variable number of members, which cannot exceed the number of Member States.
• The 2022 edition of the rules details the procedures for the election of bureau members.
• The legislative sections, whose task it is to draw up opinions or information reports on questions referred to them. There are six sections:
  • economic and monetary union and economic and social cohesion;
  • single market, production and consumption;
  • transport, energy, infrastructure and the information society;
  • employment, social affairs and citizenship;
  • agriculture, rural development and the environment;
  • external relations.

The EESC may also set up consultative commissions comprising EESC members and delegates from areas of civil society that the EESC wishes to involve in its work. The Consultative Commission on Industrial Change examines changes in industry across a wide range of sectors. It is a distinct body within the EESC and has a remit extended to all sectors of industry in both manufacturing and services. The disparity between the status of the EESC legislative sections and the commission has been addressed in the 2022 rules of procedure, providing more transparency on their roles and objectives.

The EESC also has:

• three observatories on:
  • the digital transition and the single market,
  • the labour market,
  • sustainable development;
• two ad hoc groups on:
  • the European semester,
  • fundamental rights and the rule of law;
• a liaison group, whose task is to interact with European civil society organisations and networks not represented in the EESC assembly and to monitor joint initiatives.

The EESC is supported by a permanent secretariat, led by a secretary-general who is appointed by the bureau. The EESC shares some of its services (translation, IT, logistics) with the European Committee of the Regions.