Update, 13 October 2025: 15 members from Kosovo have joined the EESC’s Enlargement Candidate Members’ Initiative. The pool of civil society representatives from candidate and potential candidate countries now includes 162 members.
Brussels – First conceived by the President of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), Oliver Röpke, in his political manifesto Stand up for democracy. Speak up for Europe for the 2023–2025 term, then proposed in September 2023 and officially launched in February 2024, the Enlargement Candidate Members’ Initiative is the first project aimed at involving representatives of civil society organisations from candidate countries in the decision-making process of an EU institution.
The pool of civil society representatives includes 147 members from the nine officially recognised candidate countries: 15 each from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, North Macedonia, and Serbia; 16 from Türkiye; 18 from Albania; and 23 from Ukraine. At present, Kosovo is not included, as the initiative adheres strictly to the candidate status criteria granted by the Council on the Commission’s recommendation.
The title of Enlargement Candidate Member (ECM) is honorary and does not confer the status of full EESC membership. ECMs are not assigned roles such as president of a study group or rapporteur/co-rapporteur, do not have voting rights, and cannot table amendments. At the same time, they participate fully in the drafting process of selected EESC opinions, providing input and comments, and taking part in group meetings and plenary sessions.
During the pilot phase in 2024 and regular work in 2025, the ECMs contributed to 21 EESC opinions particularly focused on EU enlargement, covering a wide range of strategic areas, including European defence, cohesion policy, the single market, and the agri-food sector. The initiative aims to foster closer ties with candidate countries and facilitate their gradual integration into the European Union.
What is the EESC
Founded in 1957 with the Treaties of Rome, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is an advisory body representing several civil society interest groups: employers’ associations, industry, chambers of commerce, SMEs, trade unions, consumers, farmers, liberal professions, disability campaigners, academia, women’s rights groups, environmentalists, youth, and human rights organisations.
The EESC is composed of 329 members, appointed by national governments and designated by the Council for a five-year renewable term. It is led by a president and two vice-presidents, who are renewed every two and a half years during the mid-term review. Members belong to three groups, each with its own president: the Employers’ Group, the Workers’ Group, and the Civil Society Organisations’ Group.
The EESC can issue opinions on its own initiative or be consulted on EU legislative proposals by the Commission, Parliament, and Council. Its members work independently of their respective governments and adopt their opinions by simple majority, both within their groups and in plenary session. The three main tasks are: ensuring that EU legislation is appropriate to economic and social conditions; promoting and ensuring dialogue with all civil society interest groups; and promoting the values of European integration.
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