The position document can be read in full here.
Context
On May 29, 2024, more than 40 civil society organizations in Romania with expertise in the fields of climate, energy, agriculture and biodiversity participated in a round table co-organized by the Center for the Study of Democracy, the Romanian Center for European Policies, Bankwatch Romania and the Natura 2000 Coalition Federation, under the auspices of the European Economic and Social Committee (CES), entitled ‘The future of the European Green Deal, between ecological balance and social equity’. This approach has been part of the series of more than 100 events hosted by EESC members in the Member States of the European Union, to increase the interest of European citizens in defending European values and democracy on our continent and to promote an open, transparent and substantial dialogue between civil society and representatives of European institutions. The event was also attended by five candidates for the European Parliament elections, representing the entire spectrum of European political parties.
The host organizations will integrate the perspectives discussed during the event in their advocacy activities, and the EESC will use them in the preparation of new reports and opinions on the European legislative framework.
Brief perspective of the European Economic and Social Committee on the European Green Deal
In the face of multiple and interconnected crises – climate, biodiversity, conflicts, inflation – we need a paradigm shift: a reinvention of the European economy towards one of well-being, fair and green, aligned with planetary boundaries and in line with Agenda 2030. The EESC believes that the transition from the economic system in which the main engine was growth to that in which sustainability prevails is imperative, which is why it proposes a series of indicators to measure economic and social progress beyond GDP;
There will be no green pact without a social pact (‘There Will Be No Green Deal Without a Social Deal’) – The Just Transition Fund does not solve the structural problem of the equity of the transition process. Thus, the EESC promotes the need for a European directive directive and a European Commissioner dedicated to the subject;
The downward adjustment of the Green Pact targets is not a sustainable solution to the grievances of different segments of European society. Instead, the policies behind the targets must be adjusted and, concretely, how they can work and why their current design is not an optimal one. For example, in the field of agriculture, the real problem is that European farmers do not receive a fair price for their production and until the subject of global value chains and trade agreements that harm the competitiveness of European agriculture, abandoning the greening targets of the common agricultural policy until it is addressed It will not improve the situation of European farmers.
