Over the past four days the EESC has held two Bureau meetings and one plenary session. It has changed or renewed all of its office holders, from the new President, Mario Sepi, down to the Section Presidents. On Wednesday afternoon, after Mario Sepi’s inaugural address, it held an important and intellectually stimulating round table on the theme of ‘globalisation guided by rights and solidarity’. It adopted a number of important opinions, including a major opinion on the CAP Health Check, a timely own-initiative opinion on ‘the ethical and social dimension of European financial institutions’ and a deeply moving and encouraging information report on the European Union’s role in the Northern Ireland peace process. To find out more about all of this, please visit the EESC’s webpages. From my point of view, the most satisfying thing is that it all worked (these were my first Bureau meetings and my first plenary session).
Well done Martin on a succesful week for the EESC. It was great to see you up at the top table. As a member of the EESC I am looking forward to the next two years and think our new President, VPs, SG will provide excellent leadership. We are living in extremely interesting and fluid times. We will need to shine the beacon for participatory democracy in Europe. As is often said Leadership counts even more in a crisis. Keep up the great work and I know you are supported by an outstanding team of professional staff.
Congratulation with your first plenary meeting. Seen from the “theater” seats in the huge Hemicycle, it seemed as if you and the new President Mr Sepi, controlled things well. Sitting up there on the stage, you had a good eye contact to members and staff, and you even changed it to total theater, when you left the stage and looked for and took advice and gave advice to Members and staff, all around the building. I am sure it will be to many more good appearences for you on this center stage of Civil Society live “Theater”. As Jillian van Turnhout also writes about, we all look forward to play our different roles in this serious piece.
Attention with the usage of the word “important”, the more it is used, the less important the issues appear…
That is an important observation, Julien. Thank you!