Resolutions are a relatively rare instrument for the European Economic and Social Committee. This is because its basic working method is the patient construction of consensus. Nevertheless, there are occasions when the Committee is able and willing to react rapidly. At its February plenary session, for example, the Committee adopted a resolution about the economic and financial crisis and its consequences on the eve of the European Council meeting. This afternoon, by a very large majority and with no votes against, the Committee adopted a resolution against discrimination on the grounds of race or ethnic origin. The resolution begins ‘On 8 February 2012, the Partij voor de Vrijheid (Party for Freedom) launched a website inviting people to express their grievances about people from Eastern and Central Europe working in the Netherlands. In a resolution of 15 March 2012, the European Parliament roundly condemned this denunciation website. As the representative of organised civil society, the European Economic and Social Committee denounces this action and the xenophobia and racism it embodies. The EESC calls on the Dutch people and the Dutch government to take decisive action against this initiative, which can no longer be tolerated.’ The rest of the resolution can be found at the link above.