European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)

ALLIANCE is represented on the EESC, a consultative body and the voice of organised civil society in Europe.

Before 2020, Director, Irene Oldfather was the UK representative, nominated by the Scottish Third Sector, for the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) this link will take you away from The Alliance website.

The EESC is a consultative body that gives representatives of Europe’s socio-occupational interest groups and others, a formal platform to express their points of views on EU issues. Its opinions are forwarded to the Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament. It has a key role in the Union’s decision-making process.

Through its commitment to European integration, the EESC contributes to strengthening the democratic legitimacy and effectiveness of the European Union by enabling civil society organisations from the Member States to express their views at European level.

In 2023, the ALLIANCE continued its partnership with the EESC through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding signed by Dr Irene Oldafther and the former EESC President Oliver Röpke visited Scotland.

Since then, in 2025, the ALLIANCE and the EESC led a successful ‘Youth Participation’ campaign for a UK-EU Youth Mobility Scheme and to rejoin the Erasmus+ programme.

You can find more information about the current EESC group 3. 

The Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship (SOC) is one of six specialised sections within the European Economic and Social Committee.

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