The EU should build a more structured partnership with southern Mediterranean countries that formally involves civil society groups and supports smaller businesses, the European Economic and Social Committee has urged.
The EESC set out its position in an opinion adopted at its April plenary session, focusing on how organised civil society and the private sector could strengthen economic cooperation under the EU’s proposed Pact for the Mediterranean, the committee announced on Wednesday.
Ongoing wars and instability were causing human suffering and damaging economies in the region, hindering progress on the Pact, according to the EESC’s opinion.
The committee called on the EU to support a “just peace” under the United Nations and to uphold international law.
“The Pact for the Mediterranean will be successful only if peace and stability are guaranteed,” said Thomas Wagnsonner, an EESC member and rapporteur for the opinion.
He also called for stronger civil society involvement and support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises — smaller firms often grouped under the acronym MSMEs — as well as social entrepreneurs and cooperatives.
Focus on small firms, jobs and updated trade rules
Trade unions, employers’ organisations and other civil society bodies should be formally integrated into the governance, implementation and monitoring of cooperation — rather than being limited to occasional consultations — the EESC said.
Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, social entrepreneurs and cooperatives were described as drivers of growth and employment, but were held back by limited access to finance, complex administrative procedures and weak regulatory environments.
The committee called for reforms including digitalisation, improved connectivity and simpler regulation, and said additional regional financial mechanisms — such as a regional development bank — could be explored.
Existing trade and investment agreements between the EU and several southern Mediterranean countries were described as outdated and in need of modernisation, with updated frameworks incorporating sustainability commitments and civil society monitoring mechanisms.
The opinion also pointed to informal employment as a major challenge, particularly for young people and women, and said education, vocational training and lifelong learning were needed to improve employability and productivity.
Young people and women should be empowered through greater participation in governance structures and entrepreneurship programmes, said EESC member and co-rapporteur Lidija Pavić-Rogošić, who also called for dedicated funding and supportive legal frameworks for “social and solidarity economy” organisations such as cooperatives.
