Seamus Boland to be elected president of prestigious EU body tomorrow

Long-time community activist and Rahan native, Seamus Boland, will make history tomorrow (Wednesday) when he becomes the first Irish person to serve as president of the prestigious European Economic and Social Committee (EESC).

The EESC is the voice of organised civil society in Europe, representing employers, workers and civil society organisations.

It comprises 329 members nominated by the governments of 27 EU Member States and appointed by the Council of the European Union for a period of five years. EESC members work independently in the interests of all EU citizens.

Seamus Boland, who is a farmer from The Island, Ballycumber in the parish of Rahan, has built up a high profile nationally in his role as CEO of Irish Rural Link, based in Moate, which he had headed up for over two decades. The group isa national network of organisations and individuals campaigning for sustainable rural development in Ireland and Europe.

The Offaly man has been a member of the EESC since 2011, and has held down a number of different roles including the Vice-Presidency of the Diversity Group Europe from 2018 to 2020. He has also chaired various study groups on topics such as minimum wages, migration and sustainable development and was rapporteur for various EESC opinions related to agriculture, rural development, energy, social affairs and Brexit.

He will be formally elected as president of the EESC at a special ceremony in the European Parliament tomorrow morning (Wednesday) during a meeting of the Assembly, after which he will preside over his first meeting of the new Bureau at 4pm.