Nicoletta Merlo is the National Head of Youth Policies for CISL, a prominent Italian trade union confederation, and a member of the bureau of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) Youth Committee. Since October 2020, she has been an engaged member of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), where she actively works on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), food sustainability, environmental protection, the circular economy, the UN SDGs, and climate change within the NAT Section. Additionally, as the Vice-President of the newly created EESC Youth Group, Nicoletta coordinates youth-centric initiatives and serves as the Rapporteur for the EESC Opinion on the role of youth in rural development., and actively advocating for the generational perspective in the Committee's discussions and initiatives.