30 Amendments of Elena GENTILE related to 2014/2236(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Title
Title
on the social economy, social entrepreneurship and social innovation in combating unemployment
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 a (new)
Citation 3 a (new)
– having regard to its resolution of 2 July 2013 on the contribution of cooperatives to overcoming the crisis (2012/2321 (INI) P7_TA(2013)0301;
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 a (new)
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);
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 b (new)
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);
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas social economy enterprises are moreoffer flexible and innovative, offer favourable working conditions and are better atcapable of adapting to economic and social circumstances;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
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;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
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;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
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;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the lack of recognition that frequently faces social economy enterprises makes it even more difficult for them to access both public and private financing; whereas social economy enterprises are chiefly SMEs and micro- enterpristhe EU structural funds and programmes should make a positive contribution to financing social economy enterprises, which, while most of them are SMEs, include companies of many different types (cooperatives, mutual organisations, foundations, associations and new forms of social enterprise) and different sizes;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
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;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that social economy enterprises are enterprises whose main purpose is to achieve means an undertaking, regardless of its legal form, which: (a) in accordance with its Articles of Association, Statutes or with any otheir social objective, which may be to create jobs for vulnerable groups,legal document by which it is established, has as its primary objective the achievement of measurable, positive social impacts rather than generating profit for its owners, members and shareholders, and which: (i) provides 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; goods which generate a social return and/or (ii) employs a method of production of goods or services that embodies its social objective; (b) uses its profits first and foremost to achieve its primary objective and has predefined procedures and rules covering any distribution of profits to shareholders and owners that ensure that such distribution does not undermine the primary objective; and (c) is managed in an entrepreneurial, accountable and transparent way, in particular by involving workers, customers and stakeholders affected by its business activities1 a; __________________ 1a [Justification: this definition makes reference to art 2(1) of the Regulation (EU) No 1296/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on a European Union Programme for Employment and Social Innovation ('EaSI')]
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
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;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
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;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
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;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Commission and Member States to include social economy enterprises and social services in action plans for employment and social integration with a view to unlock and exploit at the fullest the job-creation potential in the sector;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
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;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Public procurement
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
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;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
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;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
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;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
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 and contracts earmarked to foster the employment of disadvantaged persons and persons with a disability; urges the Member States to include social clauses and criteria, when transposing the directive, to take advantage of the scope it offers to include social criteria, social clauses and reserved contracts in public procurement procedures;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
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;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
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;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
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;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
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;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
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;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Calls on Member States to promote lifelong learning among older workers and the long-term unemployed via social economy enterprises as well to help them move into the social economylabour market;
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
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.
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
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;