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Diversity Europe October 2019 European Economic and Social Committee Diversity Europe Diversity Europe Group’s Conference Boosting EU in Finland competitiveness 3 pillars for sustainable growth © Shutterstock Foreword This issue: Arno METZLER News from the Diversity p. 3 President of the Diversity Europe Group Europe Group EU – UNSOLVED: Debating ‘New Role p. 6 where do we stand? Models for Societies in Europe’ Dear Colleagues, Highlights of the p. 6 September plenary There are challenging times ahead in session Brussels. The Liberal Professions in p. 8 Brexit is still unresolved, the EU acces- the age of digitalisation sion talks with the Western Balkans (Re- and artificial intelligence public of North Macedonia and Albania) have been voted down and there are still Structuring associational p. 8 questions pending regarding potential life at the EU level EU Commissioners. Group III at the WTO’s p. 9 All of this shows that we need clear structures, the best possible prepara- Public Forum tion of discussions and decision-making and no hidden agendas, behind the back games, vanity nor destruction. Partnership through p. 9 social entrepreneurship What we all request and deserve is a clear vision, EU leadership and cour- age. The EESC and we as GRIII in particular, are entitled to make this demand Empowering women p. 9 because during the elections to the European Parliament we engaged our- through international selves and our organisations, in promoting a positive European vision to trade our fellow citizens and compatriots. We do not want to see all of this turned down for short term little games. The future of the p. 10 teaching profession How can we react? The future of the p. 11 I am strongly convinced that we can give good examples and advice, at the European retail sector same time as delivering our proposals and further communicating our posi- tion for a better, sustainable and non-populistic Europe. The upcoming visits Delivering rural well- p. 12 of European politicians to the EESC will give us a good opportunity to ex- being press this in the name of organised civil society. Group III Members p. 12 Yours sincerely working on new Opinions Reflections on the EESC p. 13 Arno METZLER media seminar in Malaga President of the Diversity Europe Group Overview of our p. 14 Members’ work News from the EESC’s p. 16 Categories Meetings with national p. 16 OCTOBER 2019 OCTOBER delegations 2 News from the Diversity Europe Group Overview of the Group III conference in Finland On 16 September 2019, the Diversity Europe Group held a conference in Helsinki entitled: ‘Boosting EU competitiveness - 3 pillars for sustainable growth’. erstock © Shutt The main purpose of the event was to examine ways of increasing EU competitiveness through 3 pillars of sustainable growth: • Bioeconomy and climate neutral Europe • Digitalization • Infrastructure But to what cost for farmers, forest- representatives - came together and actively involved in a genuine civil owners, industry, infrastructure debated openly issues and challenges dialogue, has a pivotal role to play in operators, public and private investors, ahead, as well as possible ways to making the transition possible. The research and technology institutes use the three pillars as leverage for EESC and the Diversity Europe Group in and consumers? EU competitiveness in the context particular, will without doubt continue of the transition to a climate- facilitating dialogue, building bridges Stakeholders from all those different neutral economy. The conference among civil society and towards the backgrounds – including institutional demonstrated that civil society, European Institutions. https://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/agenda/our-events/events/ boosting-eu-competitiveness-3-pillars-growth/presentations Impressions of the event by our Finnish Members Simo TIAINEN (FI) President of the Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners Member of the Diversity Europe Group In my view, the subjects chosen reflected very well the priorities of the Finnish Presidency of the Council of the EU. We were looking at increasing the EU’s competitiveness from the perspective of the three pillars of sustainable growth. Bioeconomy, Panel moderated by Mr Tiainen – Pillar I – Bioeconomy and Climate Neutral Europe digitalisation and infrastructure Salla AHONEN, Vice President, Sustainability, NESTE, Mr Simo TIAINEN, Member of the Diversity are all important themes, not only in Europe Group, Director of the Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners, Juha NOUSIAINEN, Senior Vice President, Carbon-neutral Milkchain, Valio, terms of competitiveness, but also in Mindaugas MACIULEVIČIUS, Vice-president of the Diversity Europe Group DIVERSITY EUROPE 3 Impressions of the event by our Finnish Members the transition to a carbon neutral economy. The European Commission wants the EU to be climate-neutral by 2050, a target that the EESC is of course fully supporting. It is hoped that all Member States will be able to agree on this goal in the very near future. In Finland, the government has set itself the goal of a carbon-neutral economy by 2035. The bioeconomy was a special theme for me personally and I moderated the panel on this topic. Agriculture, waters and in Finland forests in particular, play a central role in the bioeconomy. Panel moderated by Mr Moisio – Pillar III – Infrastructure Farmers and forest owners are real Anna-Kaisa ITKONEN, Spokesperson for climate action and energy, European Commission players in the bioeconomy. Achieving Pasi MOISIO, Member of the Diversity Europe Group, Sabina LINDSTRÖM, Director-General of the Networks Department, Ministry of Transport and Communications, Jorma MÄNTYNEN, Director of the WSP Finland Ltd a carbon-neutral economy requires us Business and Logistics Unit to find alternatives to fossil fuels and other products in the fossil economy. Sustainably produced biomass plays Pirkko RAUNEMAA (FI) management. Now all Members, an important role in a climate-neutral Representative of the Council of Home even the city-dwellers, know that economy. In an emission-neutral Economics and Consumer Associations mechanical forest harvesting causes economy, biomass consumption is (KKN) damage to lower vegetation and much higher than at present. Member of the Diversity Europe Group that it takes years for the forest to recover and for the under flora to I am pleased that we were able to ‘Finland lives on wood’, so they say grow again! I think that the visits to secure high-level speakers at our in my country. So it was important the forest in South Finland and to the seminar. The discussions were topical to show colleagues from the other Knehtilä Farm, perfectly illustrated and interesting and the cooperation Member States what happens in the everyday challenges facing forest with the Finnish government and wood harvesting and to explain forest owners and farmers. parliament worked well! I am also grateful to have had the opportunity to present the story of the rise of women’s political, social and economic rights in Finland. The secret behind it was the political decision, as early as the mid-19th century, to allow girls to go to school, even in the distant countryside. I was proud to be able to tell this story, which I hope will inspire many others. OCTOBER 2019 OCTOBER 4 Finnish Women: Pioneers in Political, Following up on Economic and Social Equality our event with Finnish MEP During the dinner in the evening of 16 September, our Finnish Member Ms Raunemaa took the initiative to inform Members on the early evolution of the suffragette movement in Finland, which has progressively led to remarkable levels of gender equality in contemporary Finland. As early as 1906, Finnish women became the first in Europe to be granted the right to vote and in 1907, the 19 female Finnish MPs were the first in the world to be elected to parliament. Today, the country stands fourth in the rankings of the 2018 ‘Global Gender Gap Index on Women’s Rights’ of the World Economic Forum. Moreover, women represent 32% of students Arno METZLER (President of the Diversity Europe studying mathematics and computer Group – GRIII – EESC) with MEP Elsi KATAINEN science and constitute 51% of the active workforce. These high levels Following on from the Group III of equality are maintained by the event in Finland, on 3 October ‘2016-19 Government Action Plan for Mr Metzler met with Finnish MEP Gender Equality’, which covers thirty Elsi Katainen at the European measures concerning working life, Parliament. equal pay, economic decision-making, reconciliation of work and family, They exchanged views on the bio- parenthood, education, men’s health economy, forestry management, and wellbeing, etc. jobs in rural areas and the way for- ward to the Green New Deal. However, as Ms Raunemaa highlighted countryside and in the cities in 1863 during her presentation, the reason and 1872 respectively. The relatively Moreover, it was also an opportu- for positive attitudes towards political, early access of girls to grammar nity for Mr Metzler to present the economic and social equality for schools and universities in Finland, study commissioned by our Group women may have their origins in also directly contributed to positive on populism outside metropolises. the historical specificities of the attitudes towards gender equality, country. As one of the provinces of in the economic, social and political Read the study: the Kingdom of Sweden for 600 years, spheres. https://www.eesc.europa.eu/ Finnish tax-paying women who were en/our-work/publications-
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