At the ECOS commission in the Committee of the Regions on Tuesday, 18 February in Brussels a lively discussion took place on the opinion on the "directive on seafarers" which amends existing EU Labour Law Directives in order to harmonise working conditions of seafarers with those of onshore workers, and a "quality framework for traineeships" which aims to recommend common minimum standards for working conditions for trainees. Both discussions had as their central point the question of whether it would be practically feasible to implement the Commission's recommended high standards or if Member States should decide by themselves, according to current national capacities, whether recommended improvements should be implemented.
The meeting also saw discussion with a representative of the European Commission's Secretariat General about the CoR's forthcoming political declaration on the mid-term review of Europe 2020 strategy. The EA group's coordinator for the ECOS commission, Mr Witold Krochmal proposed a more frequent review of the strategy's implementation and stressed that we need a dynamic strategy and dynamic goals which will successfully anticipate future developments and needs. EA member Mr Anthony Gerard Buchanan remarked that the results of the EU2020's implementation have been quite disappointing so far and, citing a good practice from Scotland, strongly urged for the establishment of territorially differentiated targets which would be previously negotiated with all local stakeholders, in the first place local and regional authorities. Mr Buchanan also emphasised the role of cultural heritage as a significant ingredient in the establishment of creative ecosystems which could foster smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and called for its better mainstreaming in the EU policy framework.
