Local man re-elected as president of European body

Ballycumber man Séamus Boland, who is CEO of Moate-based Irish Rural Link, has been re-elected president of a key European consultative group.

Members of the Civil Society Organisations' Group of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) today re-elected Ballycumber native Séamus Boland as president of the group for another two and a half years, by acclamation.

Séamus Boland will chair the group for his second half-term, from April 2023 to September 2025. Seamus, who is a farmer and represents an organisation for rural and community development at the committee, has chaired the group since October 2020. Mr Boland has been a member of the committee since 2011.

The eradication of poverty and the role of civil society organisations (CSOs) in combatting poverty will remain the overarching priority during his presidency.

"Poverty is heading for an all-time high as a consequence of COVID-19, climate change and the geopolitical turmoil due to the war in Ukraine. It affects all spheres of life and prevents us from achieving a sustainable future for all," says Séamus Boland. "Poverty eradication therefore remains the overriding priority of my presidency and civil society organisations play a pivotal role in combatting poverty. CSOs help voice local concerns, define local needs and find local solutions. This is crucial for attaining the first Sustainable Development Goal, which is to eradicate extreme poverty everywhere."

During his first half-term, the Group decided to change its name. Earlier this year it was unanimously decided to change the group's name from the "Diversity Europe Group" to the "Civil Society Organisations' Group".

"Our new name – Civil Society Organisations' Group – provides our stakeholders with more clarity about the group's composition and mission," said Mr Boland. "The renaming was especially timely, in light of the final report of the Conference on the Future of Europe, which proposes enhancing the institutional role of the committee and empowering it as facilitator and guarantor of participatory democracy."

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 view on EU issues. Its opinions are addressed to the Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament. It thus has a key role to play in the Union's decision-making process.