Nieuwe president Europees Economisch en Sociaal Comité ontvouwt plannen (en)
Sustainable green growth, solidarity with the developing world and more civil society involvement at the EU level - these are the three priorities flagged up for his term of office by Staffan Nilsson, the newly elected President of the European Economic and Social Committee, an EU advisory body.
"Sustainability" was the thread running through Mr Nilsson's inaugural speech. The green growth on which the EU's future depends can only be achieved and maintained if it is truly sustainable and embraced by European citizens, said the new president. If Europeans were to take ownership of the green growth strategy for the future, "the EESC has to fully play its role in passing that message to civil society".
On Europe 2020, he made it clear that the strategy's success very much depended on civil society involvement, reminding the plenary assembly that one of the shortcomings of the Lisbon Strategy, forebear of the Europe 2020 Strategy, had been its failure to get everyone on board.
Europe's solidarity with the developing world was another big theme of Mr Nilsson's inaugural speech. Referring to UN figures putting the world's starving at over a billion, he called for a better use of existing tools and measures. "The problem of famine in the world is partly due to the poor distribution of goods," he said, pointing to open economy and trade as a way of tackling inefficiencies.
Last but not least, Mr Nilsson insisted on the need for civil society to play an active role in the EU decision-making process. This would not only make the EU more democratic, but also help "keep the vision of a common Europe alive". Referring to the current political climate, he was forthright in condemning the xenophobic views being put forward by some political groupings in Europe, saying: "It is unacceptable and should be treated as such by all European institutions."
Staffan Nilsson's term of office will run until April 2013. He will be supported in his work by two vice-presidents, Anna Maria Darmanin, a Maltese member now in charge of communication, and Jacek Krawczyk, a Polish national responsible for budgetary affairs at the Committee.
To find out more, go to: http://www.eesc.europa.eu/
For more information, please contact:
Barbara Gessler, EESC Press Unit,
barbara.gessler@eesc.europa.eu