22 Amendments of Miriam LEXMANN related to 2021/2179(INI)
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 21 a (new)
Citation 21 a (new)
— having regards to its resolution of 17 February 2022 with recommendations to the Commission on a statute for European cross-border associations and non-profit organisations,
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the social economy encompasses diverse types of private entities, independent of public authorities, as cooperatives, mutual benefit societies, associations (including church-based charities), foundations, social enterprises, and other legal forms reflecting also other sustainable and inclusive business models, all characterised by different operating and organisational principles andbut sharing core features such as the primacy of people as well as social and environmental purpose over profit, the reinvestment of most profits/surpluses, and democratic or participatory governance;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the social economy has played an important role in mitigating and addressing the short- and long-term impacts of COVID-19 on the EU’s social market, society and economy providing health and social services to the most vulnerable groups and has driven and contributed to social and economic resilience thanks to the long- term orientation of the European Pillar business model and the nature of social rights and the targets and activities of the social economy12 ; _________________ 12 OECD (2020), Social economy and the COVID-19 crisis: current and future roles.
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas social economy has the potential to reshape the economy post- COVID through inclusive and sustainable economic models leading to a fairer ecological, economic and social transformation;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on social economy organisations and new reinforced funding and investments are needed;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas social economy enterprises generally have more difficulties in accessing financing than mainstream businesses which was proven also throughout the COVID-19 pandemic; whereas the rules in relation to aid for social economy enterprises´ access to finance should be thus eased;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas the social services sector, part of the social economy, is coping with challenges such as low wages and precarious working conditions which need to be effectively tackled;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Notes that in order to harness the full potential of the social economy, it is crucial to provide targeted support for all actors at all levels and focus not only on new social economy organisations and start-ups but also on well-established actors;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Reiterates that the public authorities should take into account the specific nature and needs of social economy organisations and their users when developing and implementing the appropriate frameworks and measures, which should also consider the diversity of legal forms covered by the social economy;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Urges the Commission and the Member States, as well as regional and local authorities, to mainstream the social economy dimension in relevant policies, programmes and practices on the EU level as well as globally via the EU external actions;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that cooperation at national level between local and regional authorities and social economy organisations is further strengthened, as well as to promote and support cross- border and transnational cooperation;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Reminds the Member States that the Public Procurement Directive (Directive 2014/24/EU) allows contracting authorities to use public procurement to pursue environmental and social objectives, and, in particular, allows for reserved tender procedures for organisations whose main aim is the integration of persons with disabilities or other disadvantaged groups into the workforce; invites public authorities to consider socially and environmentally responsible public procurement as an investment in the socio-economic fabric with a great potential to combine social and competitive objectives; additionally calls on the Member States to recognise and promote also alternative models (e.g. the well-established triangle of social services), based on partnerships, in the funding of quality social services;
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Encourages the Member States to systematically adopt strategies aimed at developing socially responsible public procurement, thus establishing a link across policy areas between the delivery of services and products and the contribution to social objectives; considers that the transposition of the Public Procurement Directive must be coupled with initiatives to increase knowledge about the relationship between public spending and its contribution to achieving the SDGs, and to build capacity among public procurement officers and social economy organisations; encourages public procurement officers to carry out pre- market consultations before drawing up tender documents, with a view to better understanding the existing needs and how social economy organisations could meet them, as well as the diversity, specific nature of various kinds of social economy organisations and their needs;
Amendment 218 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Considers it regrettable that social economy organisations do not feature to the same extent as more conventional businesses in the curricula of mainstream school education and higher education enterprise and business education14 ; in lightcalls therefore ofn this, invie Member States, sector- representative bodies and relevant public authorities, in partnership with the relevant stakeholders, to review and evaluate the curricula and put forward policy recommendations for academic institutions in order to stimulate social economy and social entrepreneurship also while using the European instruments; _________________ 14 Eurofound (2019), Labour market change. Cooperatives and social enterprises: work and employment in selected countries.
Amendment 221 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Calls on the Member States, sector-representative bodies and relevant public authorities to make full use of the relevant EU instruments in order to make social entrepreneurship accessible to everyone who wishes to pursue it as a career, with a special focus on underrepresented groups such as persons with disabilities, women, elderly, youth or socially vulnerable groups; welcomes in this regard the Commission’s initiative to launch a Youth Entrepreneurship Policy Academy in 2022 under the ESF+ to foster youth entrepreneurship, including a specific focus on female and social entrepreneurs; notes however that further, more targeted initiatives to help other underrepresented entrepreneurs should follow;
Amendment 246 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Invites the Commission, on the occasion of the next revision of the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER), to adequately take into account the specific needs of social economy organisations in terms of access to finance and market development, to strengthen the role of State aid in promoting the recruitment of disadvantaged workers, especially in the context of the post-COVID-19 recovery, and to explore different evidence-based options, after consulting relevant stakeholders, to support the development of social economy organisations; in addition invites the Commission to consider also the revision of the existing De minimis Regulation and the services of general economic interest (SGEI) De minimis Regulation with the special focus on the possibility to increase the existing threshold amounts and the cumulation of De minimis aid;
Amendment 254 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Highlights the need to promote possibilities of direct public funding in the form of grants, e.g. via EU funds, as well as private investments in the social economy sector, especially with the increased demands for services provided by social economy organisations during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the post- pandemic recovery;
Amendment 255 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to create appropriate refinancing opportunities enabling social economy organisations to manage the transformation towards climate neutrality and climate-neutral business (e.g. through the financing of ecological investments or the provision of environmental protection officers);
Amendment 260 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Calls on the Commission and the Member states to provide targeted funding opportunities for the projects aimed at fulfilling the upskilling and reskilling needs of social economy employees; Supports furthermore the plan of a new skills partnership with dedicated hubs for networking, knowledge and guidance for the Pact for Skills signatories;
Amendment 285 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Reiterates that in order to achieve the full potential of the Action plan, the Commission and the Member States shall guarantee that the implementation of the Action Plan does not leave anyone behind but ensures full partnership with all social economy stakeholders, including not-for- profit social service providers and civil society at all levels including church- based charities, ensuring clarity and coordination between the actors;
Amendment 305 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Welcomes the announced launch of a new study to collect qualitative and quantitative information on the social economy across all Member States; notes that detailed, standardised, comparable and reliable data on the scale and impact of the social economy need to be generated with a view to facilitating evidence-based policy decisions, future-proofing the development of the social economy and contributing to EU economic and social goals; notes that this study should be regularly updated to enable up-to-date and comparable data in order to improve communication, monitoring and evaluation;
Amendment 309 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Calls on the Commission to set up a permanent and structured dialogue between themselves and all social economy actors to regularly assess the barriers to the development of social economy organisations;