WG: Student plenary session in full swing
Christian Jagaciak
Von: PressEESC <pr...@eesc.europa.eu>
Gesendet: Freitag, den 16. April 2010, 15:51:03 Uhr
Betreff: Student plenary session in full swing
16 April 2010
Student plenary session in full swing
Defying Iceland 's volcanic ash enveloping Europe and the resulting flight cancellations and delays, 19 out of 27 student delegations arrived in Brussels to take part in a special plenary session of the European Economic and Social Committee. Divided into three groups which reflect the composition of the Committee, namely business, trade unions and various interests, they are presently thrashing out amendments of an opinion on alcohol-related harm, which will be debated at the plenary session late this afternoon.
"European political process needs more input from young people. This is why you are here", said EESC President Mario Sepi in his welcome address. Echoing his view, Irini Pari, EESc Vice-President added that "by inviting students to Brussels we wanted to share our passion for Europe and show you that Europe is not just about politicking". Georgios Dassis, Employees Group President wished that this event "would teach students about negotiating that is a way to live in peace in prosperity". "You already have the responsibility for the Europe of tomorrow. Yes, Europe is yours, so look after it!", added Martin Westlake, EESC' Secretary general.
Students have the challenge of agreeing the text of an opinion on alcohol-related harm. Prior to today's event, they have submitted over 70 amendments to the draft opinion, which they are currently discussing in working groups.
The meeting of the business group, presided over by Irini Pari wearing a blue cap, witnessed opposition to undue restriction on alcohol sales and the calls for businesses to take care of employees with alcohol problems. "However, if support offered by the employer does not help an employee overcome the problem, adequate measures, including firing an employee, need to be taken", said one of participants.
Students sitting in a trade union group called for responsible alcohol advertising, which, as one of the delegates put it, "should definitely be banned from all media outlets potentially aimed at youth". They insisted on the need to advertise a healthy lifestyle among young people and floated the idea of businesses helping employees and their families achieving and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
The Various Interest's Group, which in the EESC brings together farmers, NGOs, consumers' associations and the like, mulled over the pan-European harmonisation of the minimum age for the purchase of alcohol. "We should not have a fixed legal drinking age. It should vary according to alcohol content of beverages so that one could gradually acquire a culture of drinking", stated one of the students.
Once the groups agree on their positions, they will all meet at the plenary session in order to reach a consensus on the final text of the opinion. The plenary meeting is expected to last long into the evening.
The students will be in Brussels until tomorrow and their itinerary will also include a visit to the European Parliament and a tour of the city. Participating schools were selected at random from almost a thousand applications.
Other language versions of this press release will be soon available on our Internet website:
http://eesc.europa.eu/activities/press/cp/index_en.asp
Kind regards,
Isolde Juchem
Press Service, EESC
To unsubscribe from our mailing list, reply to this message and change the subject line to 'Unsubscribe'.
Les informations contenues dans ce message et/ou ses annexes sont réservées à l'attention et à l'utilisation de leur destinataire et peuvent être confidentielles.
Si vous n'êtes pas destinataire de ce message, vous êtes informé que vous l'avez reçu par erreur et que toute utilisation en est interdite.
Dans ce cas, vous êtes prié de le détruire et d'en informer l'émetteur.
The information in this message and/or attachments is intended solely for the attention and use of the intended recipient and may be confidential.
If you are not the intended recipient of this message, you are hereby notified that you have received it in error and that any use of it is prohibited.
In such a case, please delete this message and kindly notify the sender accordingly.
********************************************************************************************************
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Sie sind Spam leid? Yahoo! Mail verfügt über einen herausragenden Schutz gegen Massenmails.
http://mail.yahoo.com