A European Action Plan for the Social Economy
<h5 How it started
In 2018, Social Economy Europe elaborated a policy proposal for a European public policy covering the whole social economy.
We believe that a European Action Plan for the social economy, with a proposed duration of 5 years (2021-2026), can be a key tool to systematically incorporate the social economy into the different socio-economic policies of the European Union, as well as into its actions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Euopean Commission has announced a European Action Plan for the Social Economy which is being prepared now and will be launched in autumn 2021!
<h5 Our proposal for a social economy action plan
OBJECTIVE ONE
OBJECTIVE TWO
OBJECTIVE THREE
In line with these three objectives, this policy proposal includes 20 policy measures and 64 actions structured in seven pillars:
- Boost the visibility of social economy enterprises and organisations
- Support them to generate social and technological innovations
- Improve their access to finance and EU funding
- Remove the legal obstacles impeding their ability to grow and operate in the Single Market on an equal footing with other types of companies
- Inspire public authorities from the EU and its neighbouring countries to promote the growth of the social economy as a driver of economic and social progress for all
<h5 Why do we need an EU Action Plan for the social economy?
<h5 Background to the European Action Plan on the Social Economy
In our Memorandum for the 2014 European Elections, we called on EU Institutions to define a European Action Plan for the social economy.
We proposed to work together with the EU institutions to define this public policy for the development of the social economy sector, to promote social economy and social economy enterprises and to streamline EU policies to provide clarity for the social economy sector.
The rationale was that an Action Plan would enable social economy actors to actively participate in the development of EU policies with impact on job creation, entrepreneurship, social cohesion, territorial development, social inclusion and business development.
Since 2015, the Social Economy Intergroup and several Member States actively supported this proposal of European Action Plan for the Social Economy, in October 2016 the GECES report ‘Social Enterprises and the Social Economy’ going forward also argued for it.
In 2017, thanks to the support of 39 MEPs from different European political groups, a debate on the proposal for a European Action Plan for the Social Economy was held at the plenary of the European Parliament. Nine MEPs intervened, as well as Vera Jourova, Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality represented the European Commission.
On 24th October 2017, the bureau of the European Parliament’s Social Economy Intergroup – formed by MEPs Jens Nilsson (S&D, SE), Ramón Luis Valcárcel (EPP, ES), Marie-Christine Vergiat (GUE/NGL, FR), Sven Giegold (GREENS/EFA, DE) Sofía Ribeiro (EPP, PT) and Elena Gentile (S&D, IT) – met European Commission Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investments and Competitiveness, Jyrki Katainen, and Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility, Mariane Thyssen.
Social Economy Europe also participated in the meeting through SEE President, Juan Antonio Pedreño, and SEE Director Víctor Meseguer as the secretariat of the Social Economy Intergroup.
During the meeting, Social Economy Europe was invited by Jens Nilsson MEP, Co-President of the Intergroup to produce a document on the future of the EU policies for the social economy to be delivered to Vice-President Jyrki Katainen and Commissioners Thyssen and Bieńkowska in the beginning of 2018.
As a reply to this request, in 2018 SEE presented its policy paper on The Future of EU policies for the Social Economy: towards a European Action Plan that defines a series of axes and actions that may serve as a basis for elaborating a European Action Plan for the social economy.
The proposals are the result of a consultation process in which Social Economy Europe members actively participated. They also take into account the important work that has been carried out by all EU institutions, particularly by the European Commission, in recent years to support the development of the social economy.
