34 Amendments of Patrizia TOIA related to 2012/2004(INI)
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the Commission’s proposal on increasing access to financing for social enterprises by establishing a regulatory framework for introducing investment instruments at EU level; urges the Commission to put forward a legislative and concrete proposal as quickly as possible taking into account the innovative and social potential of this largely unexplored enterprise; points out that the introduction of new forms of financial support will be preceded by an analysis of current instruments in order to verify their efficiency; firmly believes that the proposal to create a system of European social entrepreneurship funds or European venture capital funds constitutes a chance to develop social enterprises; points out that incentives should be given for solidarity issue bonds and takes the view that initiatives encouraging specific Business Angels to get involved in the field of social business could also be promoted;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Considers that the definition of social enterprise in the Communication on social business initiative is a positive step towards recognising the specific nature of this type of organisation, asks that this description is used in all the EU institutions; insists on the necessity that this description be used in the draft regulation on European funds for social business initiative, and the three key dimensions that distinguish social enterprises, namely social objective/aim, entrepreneurial activity and governance favouring participation are taken into consideration;
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 a (new)
Citation 10 a (new)
- having regard to the Resolution of the European Parliament of 19 February 2009 on Social Economy 1; __________________ 1 P6_TA(2009)0062
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Emphasises that the concept of ‘social business’ is univocally associated with a democratic governance of an enterprise that fully ensures economic democracy, stakeholder involvement and transparency and enterprise change management in line with the principles of the European Union, the OCSE and the United Nations; calls on the European Commission to take these aspects into account when analysing and identifying best practices and replicable models, and in creating a public database of labels and certification applicable to social enterprises in Europe to improve visibility and comparison as well as in its proposals to improve the legal environment;
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 b (new)
Citation 10 b (new)
- having regard to the EECS opinion INT/589 of 26 October 2011,
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 c (new)
Citation 10 c (new)
- having regard to the European Parliament written declaration (P7_DCL(2010)0084) adopted on 10 March 2011,
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Considers it necessary to create conditions under which social enterprises can gain financial independence and engage in commercial business activity; notes that, in many Member States, financial mechanisms and reduced procurements force social enterprises to focus on obtaining grants and funds from governmental institutions, rather than on increasing the quality of their services or products, which would help boost their competitiveness; emphasises the need to broaden access to debt and equity instruments, taking into account the specific way in which social enterprises operate;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Considers that to increase the competitiveness of social enterprises across Europe, it is necessary to encourage the creation of social innovation clusters, which have not only a local added value; considers moreover that social enterprises, through adequate incentives, can be vital for the employment of qualified workers aged over 50 who have left the labour market;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Asks the Commission and the Member States to take necessary action in order to provide equal chances for social enterprises when participating in public procurement;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas social enterprises, employing over 11 million people in the EU and accounting for 10% of all European businesses, that is 2 million businesses, and employing more than 11 million people in the EU, that is 6% of the entire EU workforce, significantly contribute to the European social model12 and generate an innovative social value; 1 2whereas they have great potential for generating and maintaining stable employment, due mainly to the fact that those actrivities, by their very nature, are not likely to be delocalised; Or. fr http://www.eesc.europa.eu/resources/docs/ces1584-2011_ac_en.doc http://www.eesc.europa.eu/resources/docs/ces1584-2011_ac_en.doc
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas different historical developments have led to legal frameworks for social business, including social business, to show significant differences across Member States; whereas this situation does not prevent the Union from adopting European legal frameworks to protect the specific features of social business, in particular the European status of families of the social economy which have not yet suspected them (mutuals, associations and foundations, as well as the necessary review of that of cooperatives;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Underlines the opportunity in the communication to encourage participation of social enterprises in the public procurement market. In this regard, calls on the Commission to take measures to encourage the use of social clauses or of procurements reserved for enterprises that employ disadvantaged persons;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Welcomes the Commission’s commitment to study and consider the possibility of social enterprises using sleeping patents to facilitate their development, and hopes for concrete action in the near future;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the economic and social consequences of the current financial crisis ands well as an ageing population burdenare a heavy burden on health protection and social welfare systems, including statutory and voluntary healthcarsocial insurance schemes;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the Single Market Act12 and the Europe 2020 strategy – which both aim to establish sustainable growth and to develop more and better jobs – are strongly inter- linked and social business cand its innovation potential aim to contribute to them make a major contribution to that through its innovation potential, its capacity to perform Services of General Interest and to provide specific and effective respones to social needs;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the European Commission recognises social economy actors and social enterprises as important drivers of inclusive jobeconomic, social and environmental actors, most notably because they offer huge potential for the creation of jobs and social innovation that require specific support1; 1 COM(2012) 173, Towards a job-rich recovery. innovation, and therefore require specific support1, taking account of their specific features;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas Services of General Interest, especially Social Services of General Interest, are among the shared values of the Union, play a significant role in promoting the social and territorial cohesion of the Union and are therefore key components of a welfare state, and social business can helpis a key actor in delivering these services;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas social business is characterised by the values and principles of democracy, the participation of social actors, workers and users, social objectives or objectives of general interest, and the capacity to reinvest profits into the operation and development of the business, and promotes, in particular, good governance, supports policy reform, by promoting good governance, democratic control by members, solidarity, mutual learning and social innovation;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the Commission Communications ‘Social Business Initiative’ and ‘Towards a job-rich recovery’12 with recommendations to national governments on job creation – 1 2 especially in the fast-growing sector for health and social care (the so-called white sector) and in the green sector – that offer new chances to social business;; Ibid. Ibid.
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Stresses that the recognition of social business at European level should not be limited to including social objectives in some commercial businesses, but should take account of the specific features of each category of social enterprises, especially those of the social economy; to this end, stresses the need to adopt and apply tools, including financing tools, to enable these businesses to carry out their activities in accordance with their own goals and objectives and to establish solidarity among themselves; stresses, furthermore, that better knowledge of social enterprises and a qualitative, multi- party and independent assessment of their activities would make it possible to highlight their benefits to society as a whole and to understand how social cohesion can be a source of economic and social wealth, while it is all too often simply considered to be a cost;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. States that social business is part of the eco-socialan essential component of the European economy and markes an important economy and the European Single Market and has showed high resilience against thtribution to the functioning of the European economy through its innovative responses and to the social and territorial cohesion of the Union and of its Member States, and has showed high resilience against the crises through its capacity to provide innovative responses to current economic and social problems while having suffered the consequences of the spending cuts of these crises;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 – point A
Paragraph 3 – point A
A. Social business: social enterprises and the whole sector of the European social market economy, which is offering social or general interest products or services or fulfils social objectives through itstheir activities;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. States that social welfare enterprises or organisations should not be exposed to unregulated competition, which may be the result if profit-oriented enterprises focus on lucrative areas, which are mostly urban, so that oAsk the Commission to develop a regulatory framework to promote the diverse organisation of social enterprises and to respond to the nature and specific features of their areas, which are mostly rural –where logistic hinders incur higher costs – become more and more reliant on so-called ‘services foctivities, especially through the adoption of ad hoc aid and financial support arrangements to enable them to carry out their activities and to develop under pgoor people’d conditions;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Supports initiatives on a European level to extend and strengthen the already advanced association sector in various Member States; asks the Commission to resume its work towards a legislative proposal on establishing European statutes for associations in accordance with the written declaration of the European Parliament No P7_DCL(2010)0084 adopted on 10 March 2011;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. SupportAsks the Commission’s intention to commission to carry out a study on the situation of mutual societies in all Member States and, in so doing, to take account of the study carried out by the European Parliament; calls on the Commission to carry out this work in close cooperation with representatives of mutual societies in the European Union;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Welcomes the adoption of a revised package of EU state-aid rules concerning social and local services of general interest; stresses, however, that these measures represent only a necessary but insufficient first step in order to offer national and local authorities as well as actors in the sector adequate legal security and to take into account the specific features of the public services, the role of which, in terms of social and territorial cohesion, is more essential than ever;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 – indent 1
Paragraph 16 – indent 1
- models and principles for employethe participation of employees, users and, more broadly, all stakeholders;
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 – indent 2
Paragraph 16 – indent 2
- while profit-making in gs can be made by social enteral is allowed and even supportedprises, including those of the social economy, profits, operating surpluses, funds and reserves are primarily to be reinvested in quality, innovation and the development of activities aimed at meeting needs, including social and general interest needs, and not at simply remunerating the capital;
Amendment 188 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Determines that social enterprises are mainly engaged in social, health, care and home services, assisted living, education and training, repair of goods, environmental and resource efficiency, art, culture, research and innovation, tourism, crafts, etc., and that they therefore meet a large number of needs and contribute significantly to the Union’s objectives of social and territorial cohesion; stresses, at the same time, that the objectives of social enterprises are primarily to meet social or general interest needs but also to respond to the increasing demands of citizens for ethical conduct and greater respect for human beings, the environment, nature, social standards and solidarity, both local and global, and therefore to satisfy the needs of all citizens and not just vulnerable people, even though a great deal of attention is often paid to the integration of these groups;
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Declares that, even if social enterprises do notmainly offer social products and services, their entrepreneurial objective will include e.g. the inclusion and work integration of vulnerable groupsis not aimed exclusively at vulnerable groups and their work integration, the provision of socio- pedagogic assistance or the (re)integration of persons with disabilities through training or sheltered workshops;
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Clarifies that while the notion of corporate social responsibility (CSR) should be distinguished from that of social business, some commercial businesses with significant CSR activities can have a strong interaction with social businesespecially because the recognition of social business cannot be limited to the inclusion of a few social objectives in some commercial enterprises;
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Believes that the ‘EU Programme for Social Change and Innovation for 2014- 2020’, with its Microfinance and Social Entrepreneurship axis, willcould play a very important role in the effort to guarantee, among other things, better access to micro-credits; believes that the proposal to create a European social business fund system or a European venture capital fund system is an opportunity to recognise and develop social business; asks the European Commission, the Council and the Member States to take account of current initiatives in Member States and at local level to develop innovative financial instruments taking account of the particularities of the special statutes, operational and organisational methods and activities of social enterprises, especially those of the social economy; in this regard, asks the European Commission, the Council and the Member States to pay particular attention to the development of hybrid capital structures corresponding to the ways in which social enterprises are financed, including the development of different types of public social investment and the initiatives of cooperative banks, ethics, etc.;
Amendment 254 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to institute a ‘social label’ to be awarded to social enterprises, to ensure better access to public procurement; stresses that reforming EU public procurement rules is a good opportunity to improve compliance with social standards, to ensure, as a minimum, that social enterprises participate equally in public procurement, and to strengthen the more systematic implementation of social and environmental criteria in the award of public contracts and concessions, especially to social enterprises including those of the public economy;