The European economic and social committee and the role of the Maltese representatives

Abstract

Established by the treaty of Rome, the European Economic and Social Committee was primarily set-up in order to bring in new expertise to European decision making and therefore was empowered with consultative powers. Europe is currently facing debates about the future of Europe, in this context, the European Economic and Social Committee is expected to contribute, as it is the only European institution that links Europe to the organised civil society. This dissertation highlights clearly the structure and role of the European Economic and Social Committee. In this context, this dissertation will highlight that in simple terms, the European Economic and Social Committee is the organised civil society represented at European level for consultation, representation and information. The Representatives of the various Member States are able to express their views and play an integral part in the process of shaping policy and decisions at Community level. Against this positive scenario, after having examined the exact role of the three Groups, the sections, the study groups, and the bureau, this dissertation will also aim to analyse as to whether the European Economic and Social Committee is really an ineffectual institution with weak powers and an unwieldy disparate membership. In this context the role and influence of the European Economic and Social Committee will be adequately examined. This dissertation aims to highlight clearly the positive impacts as well as the weaknesses and limitations of the European Economic and Social Committee. Other several issues, such as the concern over the appropriate composition and how the Committee can improve its impact will be deeply analysed. After having dealt with the influence of the European Economic and Social Committee, this dissertation will scrutinise the role of the Maltese Representatives in the Committee. A whole chapter will go through and analyse the main findings that resulted from the interviews carried out with the five Maltese Representatives. In their respective Groups, the Maltese Members are ensuring that the Maltese employers, workers' unions, as well as civil society are able to present their concerns at the European level on the various social, occupational, economic and cultural issues. Since Malta has the smallest delegation with only five Members, it would be interesting to examine how are the Maltese Representatives coping, and what are their main achievements. At this point in time of European integration, the European Economic and Social Committee must play an important role and must act as an adequate bridge between Europe and civil society. In order to carry out this task effectively all the Member States' Representatives must continuously work and increase their involvement in order to have a more significant role. This will enable Europe to take more into consociation the economic, social and civil organisations' interests.