Latest news

Ten years of the Spanish Social Economy Law!

In 2011 Spain was the first EU Member State to adopt a Social Economy framework law with consensus of all political groups.

The Social Economy celebrated on the 17^th of March in Madrid the tenth anniversary of the approval of the Spanish Law on Social Economy, Law 5/2011, in an event organised by Spanish Social Economy Confederation CEPES and the Ministry of Labour and Social Economy. The text, unanimously supported by the Spanish Parliament, marked a turning point, boosting the visibility of all Social Economy enterprises and organisations, as well as their political and legal recognition. Even though the law marked its tenth-anniversary last year, the pandemic has delayed the celabration of the anniversary to 2022, when the law turns eleven years.

The Spanish Social Economy Law contributed to an unprecedented boost and promotion of the Social Economy in Spain. The Social Economy represents 10% of GDP in Spain, with 43.000 enterprises and organisations of all sizes present in all economic sectors, and 2.3 million jobs.

During these ten years, Spain has achieved important milestones thanks to the Social Economy Law, such as the approval of the first Social Economy Promotion Plan in 2015; the Spanish Social Economy Strategy 2017-2020; the creation, for the first time, of a Ministry that includes Social Economy in its name –the Ministry of Labour and Social Economy-; and the priority given to the Social Economy in the Spanish Structural Funds, such as the ESF Operational Programme for Social Economy and Social Inclusion.

In his speech, Juan Antonio Pedreño, President of Social Economy Europe and CEPES, highlighted the pioneering role of Spain in the approval of a specific framework for the Social Economy.

During the last eleven years we have worked together on a dream: boosting an economy that works for people and the planet. Working together social economy actors, public authorities, researchers...we have achieved so much: a social economy law in Spain, followed by legislation in Portugal, France and Belgium, and even a European Action Plan for the Social Economy. It has not been an easy period, we have experienced two economic crisis, a pandemic, and now war in Ukraine, but the social economy has showed resilience, and its ability to provide innovative solutions to societal and evironmental challenges. I am convinced that the best times for the social economy are ahead of us: a travel from the margins, to a new and fairer mainstream

Juan Antonio Pedreño

President of SEE

Spanish second Vice-President and Minister for Labour and Social Economy stressed:

I am proud of the message that we are sending today, a message of unity and dialogue, showing how much we can achieve by working together. This is why I want to thank my four predecessors as Ministers of Labour, as well as my team, and particularly Joaquin Pérez Rey and Maravillas Espín. I would also like to announce that the Social Economy will be among the key priorities of the Spanish Presidency of the Council in the second semester of 2023, and that very soon we will present an Investment Plan into the Social Economy and Caring Economy financed by the Next Generation EU.

Yolanda Díaz

Second Vice-President of the Spanish Government

The anniversary also mobilised high-level representatives of other EU Member States and from the European Commission:

Ana Mendes Godinho, Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security of Portugal, who intervened in the event, pledged on behalf of the Portuguese government to work on the construction of an Iberian Social Economy Action Plan “to bet together on this business model that transforms societies and makes a difference”.

Andrea Orlando, Minister of Labor and Social Policies of Italy (that chairs in 2022 the Monitoring Committee of Luxembourg Declaration) took also the floor and claimed that “the social economy puts the person at the center of the democratic model of social justice, and, therefore, of peace” and recalled the importance of including the social economy in public procurement and access to finance.

Through videoconference, the Secretary of State for Social and Solidarity Economy of France, Olivia Grégoire highlighted the role of Spain as “an example in terms of public policies to boost the social economy in Europe” and focused on the need to define a solid legal framework in the different European countries to be able to promote this business model generating synergies in Europe.

European Commissioner Nicholas Schmit, whose online presence was confirmed, could not join due to a delay in the event.

The tenth anniversary of the Social Economy Spanish Law will be soon followed by the commemoration of ten years of a Social Economy Law in Portugal in 2023, and in France in 2024. Those celebrations will highlight the milestones achieved for its Social Economy ecosystem the last decade.