• After more than 11 years without meeting, and responding to a historic claim by CEPES, the collegiate body, of an advisory and consultative nature, integrated into the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy, held its constitution act this Friday.
• During the closing of the act, the Vice President of the Government and Minister of Labor and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, announced three legislative modifications referring to the social economy, cooperatives and insertion companies, in which the Council will exercise its advisory function.
• The capital status of Santiago de Compostela was also announced as the capital of the Social Economy 2022.
Madrid, February 21, 2022.- The Spanish Business Confederation of the Social Economy (CEPES) expresses its satisfaction with the reactivation of the State Council for the Promotion of the Social Economy, which was established last Friday in response to a historic demand for CEPES, after more than eleven years without meeting.
The body, of an advisory and consultative nature, and integrated into the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy, held this Friday its act of constitution at the ministerial headquarters, an act in which CEPES participated with 18 representatives, a delegation that was led by its president Juan Antonio Pedreño, as well as heads of different ministries and public administrations with competences in the social economy and members of trade union organizations and experts in the sector.
The Council is a key channel of dialogue with the Government, one of the most important that the social economy has, as it allows focusing on issues of maximum interest to the sector. This first meeting has therefore laid the foundations for collaboration, coordination and dialogue between the social economy and the General State Administration through a meeting in which we have seen a great predisposition to ensure the promotion of this business model” Pedreño pointed out.
Pedreño makes a positive assessment of this Council “because it has served to make very relevant agreements for the development and strengthening of the social economy at a state, regional and international level. It has made it possible to set an ambitious roadmap that goes through the imminent PERTE of the social economy and care economy, for the reform of essential regulations for this business model, for the approval of the new Spanish social economy strategy 2021-2023, for designing an agenda for the next Spanish presidency of the EU in the second half of 2023 and for continuing to lead the development of the European Social Economy Action Plan at European level.”
For her part, the Second Vice President of the Government and Minister of Labor and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, who closed the event, highlighted the work and resilience that social economy entities have shown: “we have known your strength, your social impact and efficiency In difficult times. We have seen how social economy entities grew even during the pandemic.”
Also present at the closing ceremony were the Secretary of State for Employment and President of the recently constituted State Council, Joaquín Pérez Rey, and the General Director of Self-Employment, Social Economy and Corporate Social Responsibility, Maravillas Espín .
CHALLENGES TO ADDRESS
The composition and functioning of the Council for the Promotion of the Social Economy allows the sector to collaborate in the preparation of projects on legal or regulatory provisions that affect the entities of the esocial economy, carry out studies and reports and address issues that affect the sector, as well as ensure the promotion of the principles of the social economy, among other functions.
Thus, Díaz detailed a series of actions that the Ministry has ahead to promote the social economy. Specifically, he made reference to the commitment that Spain acquired last Thursday in the signing of an agreement with 23 other EU countries to support this business model: "we have committed ourselves as a country to being at the forefront," he assured. Likewise, he pointed out that the social economy will have an important role in the next EU Presidency that Spain assumes in the second half of 2023.
During the meeting, the president of the employers' association of the social economy "stressed the need to address the reform of the taxation of cooperatives, the law of which dates back to 1990, as well as the State Law on Cooperatives itself. For this reason, the creation of a legislative working group and another on taxation to deal with all the reforms proposed at the meeting".
During the closing ceremony, Yolanda Díaz promised the sector to work on three legislative amendments: the Social Economy Law, the cooperative legislation and the insertion companies law, in which the Council will exercise its advisory function.
The Council will also advise the Government in the preparation of future measures to be adopted such as the new Spanish Strategy for the Social Economy, the legislative modifications referring to cooperatives and insertion companies or the promotion of the capital status of the Social Economy, " key issues in which the Government needs the support, ideas and creativity of all the key agents of this Council”, as Díaz pointed out.
The Minister of Labor highlighted the challenges to be addressed, which "will be decisive for the social economy": digitization, the use of data, the improvement of training, visibility, internationalization, the improvement of financing or measurement of social impact . “The solidity and competitiveness of the social economy ecosystem in the coming years will depend on the collective response that we give precisely to these challenges”, he pointed out.
On the other hand, Díaz pointed out that within the framework of Component 23, an ambitious Comprehensive Plan to Promote the Social Economy has been opted for, integrated into the PERTE of the Social Economy and care.
The reactivation of this collaborative body comes at a time of intense activity for this business model also at an international level, coinciding with the strong involvement of community institutions with the social economy. Thus, the Social Economy Intergroup of the European Parliament placed the first European Action Plan for the Social Economy as a pillar of social and economic reconstruction after the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. This plan, commissioned by the European Commission, was approved last December and aims to place this business model in a prominent place on the community agenda.
SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, CAPITAL OF THE SOCIAL ECONOMY 2022
Likewise, the minister announced the capital status of the Social Economy 2022, which falls this year in Santiago de Compostela, noting that "it will be an enormous opportunity to make the Spanish social economy visible and its active role in providing innovative and sustainable solutions to the demographic challenge ”.
The vice president also announced that an international event will be held in Madrid on March 17, jointly organized by CEPES, to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Law 5/2011 on the Social Economy.
