Staffan Nilsson

In his opening remarks, President Staffan Nilsson made a hard-hitting statement about the situation in Libya. And then, after Barroso’s departure the plenary session debated and adopted a declaration on the situation in the southern Mediterranenan countries. The Committee calls strongly for peaceful and democratic transitions with the full involvement of employers’ and workers’ associations and all other organisations representative of civil society, underlining the need for constructive and fruitful dialogue between such organisations and the political authorities guiding the transition process. The Committee itself stands ready to help all political efforts to ensure peaceful change through capacity building , support for consensus building and the establishment of structured and representative civil dialogue. The Committee regrets the lack of coordination between the EU’s institutions and the member states in addressing the situation and urges better coordination, including support for civil society as a strategic component of the new overall approach.