Czech Business Today
EESC CORNER: Lessons learnt from the pandemic
At its plenary session which was held on 8th and 9th December 2021, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) adopted the opinion called “Emerging stronger from the pandemic: acting on the early lessons learnt“.
In this opinion, the EESC comments on the European Commission’s evaluation of the measures taken to fight the pandemic and on the ten lessons learnt. It also proposes specific recommendations not only in the field of health protection, but also in crisis management, social and societal aspects, economy and finance, society and technology, international relations and democratic standards, all of which are very important.
The EESC emphasizes that the first and main lesson is that we must work together at European level to find common tools not only for health response but also for emergency management and accompanying the transition to a speedy but inclusive and sustainable recovery.
As a member of the Employers´ Group and the study group working on this opinion, I advocated for the inclusion of the support for investment in education, research and innovation, as well as for enhancing international cooperation, better coordination and preserving the Single Market freedoms. I also appreciate the emphasis on the need to take into account the different structures of economies, the situation of businesses and people and challenges such as notorious labour shortages, supply chain bottlenecks and rapidly rising energy prices.
The EESC points out that the institutions’ initial responses were not always adequate, partly due to a lack of coordination among Member States. At the same time, the EESC acknowledges the enormous efforts made by the various EU institutions, but also by companies that have done everything in their power to protect their staff and operations and that have risen to the challenge of achieving rapid normalisation in terms of employment and the supply of essential products.
Much remains to be done and the experience from this crisis must be used to improve the EU’s response to future crises.
Jana Hartman Radová, EESC Member of Employers´ Group
