The Euromed summit of Economic and Social Councils and Similar Institutions took place last week in Athens. The Summit was organized by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) together with the Greek government and it was focused on 4 major themes: Civil society participation in implementing the European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plans; Competitiveness and social cohesion as factors in building an integrated Euro-Mediterranean area; State of play concerning the establishment of permanent structures of dialogue/National ESCs in three southern partner countries: competitivity, the role of women in society (a priority for EESC in 2008). The Final Declaration, which will be presented to November’s Euromed Foreign Ministers Conference, calls for strengthening corporate social responsibility and increasing social cohesion for the promotion of a social dialogue at Euro-Mediterranean level. In particular, delegates appealed to the EU and to Euromed governments to concretize “the priority of reducing disequalities through quality education and vocational training”.
