• In a recently approved opinion, the CoR praises the Commission's commitment to present such a plan, in line with requests from the European Economic and Social Committee, the Intergroup on Social Economy of the European Parliament, GECES, various EU governments and European networks committed to the development of the Social Economy as Social Economy Europe.
• Calls on the European Commission to support access to training and lifelong learning for Social Economy workers in areas such as digitization, participatory leadership, resilience and the green transition.
• Currently, the Social Economy represents 2.8 million companies and entities in Europe, employing 13.6 million workers, which represents around 6.3% of the EU's workforce. Likewise, the Social Economy encompasses more than 232 million members of cooperatives, mutuals and similar entities and 82.8 million volunteers.
• The opinion recalls the key role of the Cohesion Funds, and in particular the ERDF and the ESF, in promoting the Social Economy.
Madrid, July 13, 2021.- The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) has approved by majority the adoption of an opinion on the Action Plan for the Social Economy, a plan that is expected to be approved by the European Commission in the last quarter of 2021. Through this opinion, the CDR provides a series of policy recommendations focused on three points - training, dissemination and financing - with a view to the work of this plan that aims to promote the contribution of the Social Economy to local development and regional of Europe .
In this opinion, the CoR praises the Commission's commitment to present such a plan, in line with the requests of the European Economic and Social Committee, the Intergroup on Social Economy of the European Parliament, GECES, different EU governments and committed European networks with the development of the Social Economy as Social Economy Europe.
The Committee considers that the intervention of the European Union to promote the development of the Social Economy is “particularly relevant in the current context” , in which, as a consequence of the economic and social crisis generated by COVID-19, “it is necessary mobilize all the potential of companies and entities of the Social Economy for economic recovery, the promotion of collective entrepreneurship and the creation of quality employment ”.
The opinion also recalls that the diversity of companies and entities , present in all sectors of activity, share a solid identity configured around shared values and characteristics such as the primacy of people and the corporate purpose over capital, democratic governance and the reinvestment of most of the profits to achieve sustainable development objectives of the company or entity or of the collective and general interest.
The territorial anchoring of companies and entities of the Social Economy is another aspect highlighted in the opinion issued by the CDR, stating that they are “companies that never relocate - since they are formed in the territory and are owned by people based in him - and they are strongly committed to the economic and social development of the place where they operate ”.
TRAINING
The European Committee of the Regions notes that, through the Skills Pact, the Commission should support access to training and lifelong learningnent of Social Economy workers in areas such as digitization, participatory leadership, resilience and the green transition, in order to help them enter or remain in the labor market of Social Economy companies.
To achieve this objective, the CDR suggests cooperating with the industrial ecosystem of the Social Economy, in which public administrations, vocational training centers and universities also participate. Thus, the proposals made in this opinion on the European Skills Agenda for sustainable competitiveness, social equity and resilience stand out , with suggestions on the matter from the perspective of local and regional authorities.
DIFFUSION
It also invites the Commission to carry out an investigation on transfers from companies to employees through Social Economy formulas and urges that it be accompanied by an EU platform for the exchange of good practices between Member States, local and regional authorities and Social Economy networks that also address the potential of the Social Economy for industrial entrepreneurship.
In addition, the opinion recognizes the potential of including the Social Economy in the European Platform for Collaboration of Business Groups "to facilitate the construction of alliances and the participation of these companies and entities in strategic value chains."
The European Committee of the Regions highlights the importance of promoting interregional cooperation in the field of Social Economy as a “key instrument to form transnational business groups, take advantage of cross-border synergies and support the internationalization of Social Economy companies and entities in the single market ”.
In this sense, it points out that the Social Economy thematic platform within the framework of the European Platform for Smart Specialization is a “useful” instrument to promote interregional cooperation, which brings together seven European regions and whose experiences and good practices must be taken into account in the future European Social Economy Action Plan.
On the other hand, the CoR invites the Commission to give "greater ambition and coherence" to its initiatives to support the role of local and regional authorities in promoting the Social Economy and recalls that many local and regional administrations already have ambitious strategies and action plans to promote the Social Economy, so "the Commission should determine what they are and integrate them into the preparation of the future European Social Economy Action Plan."
FINANCING
The opinion of the CDR points out the additional difficulties that companies and Social Economy entities face when accessing financing, "in part due to the low visibility and understanding of their business models", which prioritize the collective interest or general to profit maximization, and recalls the key role of the Cohesion Funds, and in particular the ERDF and the ESF, in financing Social Economy projects.
In addition, it shows that the InvestEU program will be of "key" importance for the financing of innovative Social Economy projects through its four lines of action, with special attention to the "SMEs" and "social investment and skills" axes. which includes microfinance and the financing of companies in the Social Economy.
Currently, the Partner Economyl represents 2.8 million companies and entities in Europe, employing 13.6 million workers , representing around 6.3% of the EU workforce. Likewise, the Social Economy encompasses more than 232 million members of cooperatives, mutuals and similar entities and 82.8 million volunteers.
