European Economic and
Social Committee

Agenda Item 1: Implementation of EU Macro-Regional Strategies

Agenda Item 2: Sustaining a Coherent Urban-Rural Development Strategy

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Under-Secretary-General: Eylül Temizkan

Academic Assistant: Eda Salik

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Introduction to the European Economic and Social Committee

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is one of the main advisory bodies of the European Union and was established in 1958. In order to make the civil society’s voice heard and integrate non-governmental stakeholders into the decision-making process of the EU, the EESC functions as a platform wherein groups of employers, workers, and civil society organisations are represented. The opinions of published by the EESC are a result of these interest groups’ joint work and have the legal basis for influencing the legislative actions of the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, and the European Parliament.

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Introduction to the Agenda Items 

In line with the maxim “building a Europe closer to its citizens”, the EU places special emphasis on developing territorial cohesion from every prong, especially in relation to maintaining a multi-layered approach toward building a sustainable planet. Social, cultural, economic, and ecological continuity of today’s societies is very much interrelated with our perspective towards the integrity of humans with each other and with the natural environment. Thus, the careful examination of problems and understanding the fact that no silver bullets exist are vitally important. In line with the approach mentioned above, the EESC will examine two major issues in the 20th annual session of EUROsimA. Sustaining a Coherent Urban-Rural Development Strategy and Implementation of EU Macro-Regional Strategies stand as two sui generis agendas to be discussed in the EESC. The urban-rural linkage tells us so much about the humanistic and public aspects of the developmental strategies of the EU, especially regarding daily lives in human settlements. Macro-regional policies pursue a parallel trajectory in a larger scale through defining policies that provide several opportunities for handling the common problems of the countries located in the same region. Every step taken for the purpose of achieving improvements with respect to the agenda items bears a unique value. Let us not forget that a good idea only works if we get it right.