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35 Amendments of Sergio GUTIÉRREZ PRIETO related to 2014/2236(INI)

Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Title
on the social economy, social entrepreneurship and social innovation in combating unemployment
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 a (new)
- having regard to the Commission communication on of 6 may 2015 entitled 'A Digital Single Market Strategy for Europe' (COM(2015) 192);
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 b (new)
– having regard to the Commission communication of 20 March 2013 entitled 'Towards Social Investment for Growth and Cohesion – including implementing the European Social Fund 2014-2020' (COM(2013) 83);
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
B. whereas, as a consequence of the economic and financial crisis, levels of poverty and social exclusion have increased sharply, as has long-term unemployment and youth unemployment;
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
D. whereas social economy enterprises are characterised by their democratic governance arrangements, the strong involvement of their members or partners in the management of the enterprise and the high level of transparency in their operations, and respond to the growing public demand for ethical, social and environmentally friendly business behaviour;
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
F. whereas 'social innovation refers to new ideas, whether they be products, services or social organisations' are innovations that are social both as to their ends and their means and in particular those which relate to the development and implementation of new ideas (concerning products, services and models), designed tothat simultaneously meet new social and environmental demands and challenges, such as the ageing populneeds and create new social relationships or collaborations, balancing work and family life, managing diversity, youth unemployment and climate changethereby benefiting society and boosting its capacity to act;
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas social investments are investments in people designed to strengthen their skills and capacities and support them to fully participate in employment and social life; whereas social investments generally refer to policies in the areas of education, childcare, healthcare, training, job-search assistance and rehabilitation;
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
H. whereas education and training must be priority areas in fostering the entrepreneurial spiritculture among our young people;
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Ia. whereas any improvement in the Member States’ economic and financial situation should be accompanied by intensive support for inclusive and sustainable growth and for the creation of high-quality jobs;
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Ia. whereas social dialogue is essential for the functioning of the EU's social market economy and crucial to promote both competitiveness and fairness; whereas social dialogue and the consultation of social partners within the EU's policy- making represents a major social innovation;
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that social economy enterprises are enterprises whose main purpose is to achieve their social objectivegoal, which may be to create jobs for vulnerable groups, provide services for their members, or more generally to create a positive social and environmental impact, over and above maximising profits for their members or partners, and which reinvest their profits in order to achieve those objectives; points out that, despite legal disparities and the different activities carried out by social economy enterprises across the EU, they share a series of common recognisable features;
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
2. Points out that social economy enterprises have a strong local and regional basis, which means that they are more aware of specific needs and able to offer products and community-based services which match those needs, thus improving social and territorial cohesion;
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the increase in the number of conventional enterprises which apply corporate social responsibility strategies as part of their business plans; points out that applying corporate social responsibility strategies is not in itself sufficient as a condition for being considered a social economy enterprise;(Does not affect the English version)
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
4. Believes that social innovation, in particular by aiming at improving the quality of services rather than simply at lowering costs, makes a significant contribution towards laying the foundations for a type of growth which serves a more sustainable, inclusive society generating social cohesion;
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
6. Recognises that the EU is a long way away from achieving the targets set in the Europe 2020 Strategy, particularly those relating to high-quality employment, innovation and poverty reduction, and that the social economy contributes to a sustainable, smart and inclusive economic model in line with the objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy;
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
7. Emphasises that, given its social and inclusive nature, the social economy offers jobs to the most vulnerable groups, contributing to economic growth,groups most often excluded from the open labour market, thereby contributing to solidarity and, social cohesion as well as economic growth;
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Commission and Member States to include social economy enterprises in action plans for employmentthe National Reform Programmes and Country-Specific Recommendations drawn up as part of the European Semester, in order to help the EU to achieve the objectives of its Europe 2020 strategy in the areas of employment, poverty reduction and social integrnovation;
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
9. Calls on Member States to include measures to promote social entrepreneurship and social innovation in their national Youth Guarantee schemesImplementation Plans and in the national Operational Programmes of the Youth Employment Initiative;
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Public procurement
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
10. Points out that social economy enterprises face difficulties in accessing public procurement; calls for action to facilitate their participation in public procurement by providing appropriate advice and simplifying the swift and effective transposition and implementation of Directives 2014/24/EU, 2014/25/EU and 2014/23/EU on Public procedures; calls for bids to be rewarded that offer most economic and social value rather ments and Concessions with a view to reach a higher participation of social economy enterprises withain the lowestendering prioce in public procurement, with social or environmental criteria being included in public procurement contractdures for public contract and to ensure quality services accessible to and affordable for all citizens;
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Urges the Member States to adequately implement the new Public procurement and Concessions directives in order to allow contracting authorities and entities to make full use of the specific provisions on reserved contracts and of the simplified procurement regimes for social services, both at national and local level, in order to foster the role of social economy, social enterprises and social services and promote social inclusion and innovation;
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
11. Welcomes the reform of the Public Procurement Directive, which includes social clauses and criteria in order to promote social inclusion and social innovation, inter alia; urges the Member States to include social clauses and criteria in public procurements and Concessions directives aiming at driving public expenditure and investment towards sustainable growth and employment, social integration and territorial cohesion; calls therefore on the Member States for a proper implementation of the procurement principles in compliance with environmental, social and labour law obligations and on all contracting authorities at national and local level for a wide use of the MEAT (Most Economically Advantageous Tender) based on the life-cycle approach and encompassing qualitative, environmental and social aspects as the main awarding criterion within all tendering and selection procedures;
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Regrets that the Commission Digital Single Market strategy for Europe fails to mention social economy enterprises and their potential contribution to the achievement of the Union's goals; deplores the fact that the Digital Single Market strategy takes in no account the need to ensure a full, equal and unrestricted access for all to new digital technologies, markets and telecommunications, in particular with regard to people with disabilities;
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
14. Welcomes the adoption of the regulation on European social entrepreneurship funds, but criticises the relatively small budget made available, given the role played by the social economy in the European economy as a whole and in fostering social cohesion;
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
15 Highlights the role to be played by the social entrepreneurship axis of the EaSI programme and the remaining structural funds and European programmes in improving their financing; highlights the insufficient budgetary allocation of the EaSI programme in the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF); considers it necessary to ensure and facilitate the access to EaSI programme's funding to the community- based social enterprises and services; with a view to this, calls on the Member States to establish national contact points or one-stop-shops to assist social economy actors in accessing the EU's funding schemes;
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
17. Calls on the Commission to be as flexible as possible with regard toPoints out that State Aid Rules should not constitute an impediment for public funding to social economy enterprises and social services; in this sense, calls on the Commission to be flexible in the application of state aid rules for social economy enterprises, and social services and to help local and regional authorities understand and apply correctly state aid targeted at social economy enterprises and social services;
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
18. Calls for investment in the social economy to be taken into account when assessing European Strategic Investment Fund projecriticises the fact that the regulation establishing the European Fund for Strategic Investments refers to the social economy only in its recitals and, in its Article 5(2), uses the narrower concept of the ‘social sector’ to define the scope of these investments;
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
18. Calls for investment in the social economy and social services to be taken into account when assessing European Strategic Investment Fund projects;
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Criticises the fact that training and placement enterprises, set up on the basis of partnerships between social economy enterprises, are generally prevented from accessing funds intended for SMEs; calls on the Commission to propose a new exception to the legal definition of ‘SME’, similar to those which already apply to public investment corporations, venture capital firms and non-profit-making universities and research centres, so that a training and placement enterprise can be classified as an autonomous enterprise even if another enterprise holds, alone or jointly with other enterprises, more than 25 % of its capital or of the voting rights on its administrative board;
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
19. Calls on Member States to include the entrepreneurial spirit and the principles of the social economy in education and training curricula; social economy enterprises are to be defined by their commitment to upholding the following values: – the primacy of the individual and social goals over the interests of capital; – democratic governance by members; – the conjunction of the interests of its members and users with the general interest; – the safeguarding and application of the principles of solidarity and responsibility; – the reinvestment of surplus funds in long-term development objectives, or in the provision of services of interest to members or services of general interest; – voluntary, open membership; – autonomous management independent of the public authorities.
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
20. Points out that some social economy enterprises are competitive and are at the forefront of their sector, while others require specialised knowledge in order to launch, develop and manage their enterprises; calls on the Member States to develop training programmes targeted at and specifically tailored to entrepreneurs in the social sector with a view to developing basic business management skills and knowledge;
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
21. Calls on Member States to promote lifelong learning amongnd assistance for older workers and the long-term unemployed to help them move into the social economy;
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
25. Calls on Member States to take account ofenhance best practice exchange with regard to adapting national tax systems to favournational support fostering social enterprises and services and social investment;
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Calls on the Commission, in keeping with the Rome Strategy adopted by European representatives of the social economy at the conclusion of the conference organised by the Italian Council Presidency on 17 and 18 November 2014: – the setting-up of a specific unit with the task of promoting the social economy, which can draw on resources commensurate with the importance of the social economy in Europe; Deplores, in that connection, the fact that the Commission seems to be moving towards a decision to merge units in the Directorate-General for the Internal Market to form a larger entity entitled ‘Clusters, social business and social entrepreneurship’, which does not cover all social economy enterprises or reflect the true nature of the social economy in Europe, which mainly consists of cooperatives, mutual societies, foundations, associations and new forms of social enterprise; – work closely with representatives of the sector to prepare a new initiative to promote the social economy which acknowledges its importance in Europe and provides even more support for its development, with a view to maximising the contribution the social economy can make to sustainable, fair development and the creation of high-quality jobs in Europe; – grant legal recognition at EU level to all social economy enterprises (mutual societies and public-interest foundations and associations)by putting forward a proposal for a directive which endows them with a specific legal status and enables them to take full advantage of the benefits offered by the internal market; – simplify the status of cooperatives.
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Calls on the Commission to enhance social dialogue in the social economy in order to facilitate the social innovation, improvement of working conditions and to fully recognise the job-creation potential of the sector;
2015/05/26
Committee: EMPL