The Portuguese government has announced its intention to withdraw from CASES – Cooperativa António Sérgio para a Economia Social, following a Council of Ministers Resolution adopted on 28 November 2025 in the context of a broader ministerial reform.
CASES was designed as a partnership between the State and representative organisations of the sector. Its mandate is to support cooperatives and the wider social economy through a range of structural functions.
Therefore, this decision would lead to the disappearance of a key player that promotes and accredits the social economy in Portugal, putting at risk more than 15 years of accumulated expertise in cooperative development and social economy policy.
In light of this situation, Juan Antonio Pedreño, President of Social Economy Europe, sent a letter to the Portuguese Minister for Labour, Solidarity and Social Security, Maria do Rosário Palma Ramalho, requesting a meeting to discuss ways to reverse the situation:
Your Excellency, Minister for Labour, Solidarity and Social Security,
I am writing to you in my capacity as President of Social Economy Europe, the representative organisation of more than 4.3 million Social Economy enterprises in Europe and the 11.5 million jobs they generate, to express my interest in holding a meeting with you to personally convey the commitment and willingness of Social Economy Europe to preserve and strengthen the role of the António Sérgio Cooperative for the Social Economy (CASES), as a key reference body for the development of the Social Economy in Portugal and also at European level.
Social Economy Europe brings together more than 30 member organisations representing the main Social Economy organisations in numerous Member States (Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden), as well as major European organisations representing worker cooperatives, mutual societies, associations, foundations, work integration social enterprises, ethical banks and microfinance institutions, together with organisations promoting and developing the Social Economy, such as CASES, REVES or DIESIS. Through this associative network, Social Economy Europe covers the whole of the European territory and acts as the recognised interlocutor of the Social Economy vis-à-vis the institutions of the European Union, in particular with Commissioner Roxana Mînzatu, in her capacity as the member of the European Commission responsible for Social Economy policies, and with the European Parliament, where it acts as the secretariat of the Social Economy and Services of General Interest Intergroup.
My request for a meeting follows my becoming aware of the decision taken by your Ministry to withdraw its participation in CASES, with the consequent transfer of competences to the Direção-Geral da Segurança Social, at a time when the Social Economy is acquiring growing relevance on the European agenda.
As President of Social Economy Europe, and on behalf of all its members, I wish to highlight the essential contribution of CASES to shaping a favourable ecosystem for the Social Economy in Portugal, based on institutional coordination, structured dialogue and the active participation of the Ministry you lead alongside the representative organisations of the sector. This governance model has become established as a benchmark experience in the design and implementation of effective and successful public policies for the Social Economy.
I have been a direct witness to the value of the work carried out by CASES and its team of professionals in promoting high-impact policies, programmes and frameworks for cooperation. Both in my role as President of Social Economy Europe and as President of the Spanish Business Confederation of the Social Economy (CEPES), I have worked directly with CASES for decades in shaping a favourable environment for the Social Economy in Portugal. Its institutional and human capital constitute a strategic asset of particular relevance in the current European context, marked by the commitment of Member State governments to the measures set out in the 2023 Council Recommendation of the European Union on developing framework conditions for the social economy, as well as the European Action Plan for the Social Economy adopted by the European Commission in 2021.
The role of CASES has also been decisive in key milestones such as the adoption of the Framework Law on the Social Economy in 2013, one of the first of its kind in Europe and worldwide, or the preparation of the Satellite Accounts of the Social Economy, also among the first in the European Union. These advances, among many others, have placed Portugal at the forefront of a more inclusive, sustainable and cohesive model of economic and social development, in which the Social Economy plays a central role.
For these reasons, it would be a pleasure to have the opportunity to meet with you in Lisbon at a time that you consider most convenient, with the aim of preserving and strengthening the strategic role of CASES, as a member of Social Economy Europe and as an essential actor in positioning Portugal within the European Social Economy sphere.
