The Grassroots View European Economic and Social Committee

Welcome to the Grassroots View, the podcast of the European Economic and Social Committee. In this episode, we deep dive into the upcoming COP 28 in Dubai, where the world converges to address the pressing issue of climate change. Joining us are insightful voices: climate journalist Anna Gumbau, EESC Youth Delegate Diandra Ní Bhuachalla, Sustainable Public Affairs founder and CEO Willem Vriesendorp, and Jule Könneke from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.

We start with Anna Gumbau's perspective on the controversial choice of Dubai as the venue, diving into the challenges journalists face in covering such critical events. Diandra Na Bhuachalla sheds light on the urgency of youth voices in climate debates and shares hopes for a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty. Willem Vriesendorp emphasizes the need for businesses to lead in sustainability, while Jule Könneke explores the security dimensions of climate policy and the role of civil society.

In this episode of the Grassroots View, the podcast from the European Economic and Social Committee, we dive deep into the Green Deal Industrial Plan, a crucial aspect of the EU's path to a net-zero carbon future. We explore the challenges of decarbonizing energy-hungry industries, Europe's competition with the United States, the importance of securing critical raw materials, and the delicate balance between economic priorities and environmental values.

Join our panel of experts: Emanuele Bonini, a Brussels-based journalist for EU News and La Stampa, Sandra Parthie, chair of the Internal Market section at the European Economic and Social Committee, and David Kleimann, a visiting fellow at the think-tank Bruegel. They share insights into the implications of the Green Deal Industrial Plan, Europe's response to global challenges, and the possibility of a European Sovereignty Fund.

Join us to talk about the pressing challenges posed by scarce water resources, pollution, aging infrastructure, climate change, as well as a fragmented approach to water policies at EU level. In this episode of The Grassroots View we've invited POLITICO's sustainability reporter Antonia Zimmerman, award-winning documentary filmmaker Ewa Ewart, Thessaly University Professor and Vice-President at Water Europe Chrysi Laspidou, and EESC's Consultative Commission on Industrial Change President Pietro de Lotto.

Digital innovation has the power to transform our industries, our societies, our lives. It can also be a threat if not properly regulated. In this edition of The Grassroots View we take stock of the state of digital transformation in Europe.

Where does the EU stand compared to the rest of the world? What are the challenges and opportunities ahead? How can Europe secure and hold a competitive position, while safeguarding the rights and welfare of its citizens?

We’ll be exploring the issues and looking for answers with Tanya O'Carroll, expert on Technology & Human Rights. With Jennifer Baker, Brussels-based journalist specializing in technology, politics and digital legislation. And with Gonçalo Lobo Xavier, EESC employers’ group member representing the Portuguese Business Confederation, Franca Salis-Madinier, EESC Vice president of the workers group and of the Digital Transition and Single Market Observatory, and Giuseppe Guerini, EESC civil society group member and President of the European confederation of industrial and service cooperatives.

In this edition of The Grassroots View we explore the continuing migration crisis in Europe. The recent stand-off between Italy and France, both refusing to allow the Ocean Viking to dock to transfer informal migrants it had rescued off the coast of Libya to land, has highlighted the issue. So where is European migration policy actually right now? What has become of the call, heard often since the big Syrian refugee crisis of 2015, for European solidarity? How can it come to this, that vulnerable migrants are caught in a legal no man’s land?

We’ll be exploring the issues and looking for answers with José Antonio Moreno Díaz, member of the European Economic and Social Committee’s Workers’ Group. With Louise Guillaumat, Deputy Operations Manager of SOS Méditerranée, the NGO that operates the Ocean Viking. And with Tomas Miglierina, Brussels-based correspondent for the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, with specialist knowledge of migration.

In this edition of The Grassroots View we look at gender equality. Women make up slightly more than half the population of Europe and there’s no doubt that, in the years since the Union was founded, their position in society relative to men has been transformed. But what is the state of gender equality in the EU now? What challenges remain and, in particular, what role can gender equality play in Europe's road to economic recovery?

Joining us to provide their perspectives are Chiara Corazza, who sits on the G7's Gender Equality Advisory Council and is Private Sector Representative for France within the G20 EMPOWER Alliance, Maria Nikolopoulou, President of the Ad Hoc Equality Group at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), Agata Araszkiewicz, one of the leaders of the feminist group "Elles sans Frontières", and Loubna Azghoud a gender equality expert with a particular interest in the digital economy.