Public hearings at the Greek Parliament with the EESC President and Group Presidents

On 13 Novebmer 2013, the EESC intervened at public hearings at the Greek Parliament as part of the preparations for the Greek presidency of the European Union in January 2014. The hearings focused, among other topics, on the problem of youth unemployment.

The Committee was represented by its president, Henri Malosse, the president of the EESC Workers’ Group, George Dassis, the president of the EESC Various Interests' Group, Luca Jahier and a Vice-President of the EESC Employers’ Group, Anna Bredima. Also present were the acting Secretary general, Nicolas Alexopoulos, and Vladimíra Drbalova, member of the Employers' Group.

According to the EESC's representatives, "The Greek presidency of the EU is an unique opportunity for Europe!" For the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), the second assembly of the European Union, this presidency could have a major impact in order to make Europe more concrete for its citizens, which comes a few months before the European elections. Today, at the Greek parliament, the EESC underlined the lessons which Greece has learnt from the way the crisis has been handled and the necessity to not neglect the voice of the European population.

The presidents expressed their conviction that Europe needs to put the European citizen in the centre of its attention. They reminded, at the Greek Parliament, that citizens were disappointed by the fact that the EU has proven its inability to protect them from the crisis. "The EESC spoke with the Greek democratic representation on the ways and means to make EU projects human and friendly. We call for immediate actions to boost growth and jobs, such as doubling the Youth Guarantee or supporting apprenticeship. In the medium term, we propose a convergence of social and fiscal policies on the EU with re-indistrialisation as a target", said Henri Malosse.

The EESC also underlined the importance of concrete solutions in the fight against youth unemployment. On this issue, the EESC has made a series of proposals to increase results on this field. For example, they propose the development of apprenticeships or the reinforcement of the Youth Guarantee scheme in order to avoid an idle political announcement.

The EESC finally declared its desire to be an active partner of the Greek presidency of the EU, in the ongoing effort of finding viable solutions in response to European citizens' expectations.

Σχετικός Σύνδεσμος:
www.eesc.europa.eu