26 Amendments of José GUSMÃO related to 2021/2179(INI)
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the social economy benefits from a well-functioning public sector and quality public services and infrastructures, and should be seen as complementary and not as an alternative to the latter;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas the social economy plays an important role in promoting the cultural heritage of each Member State;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. whereas the social economy plays an important role in promoting democracy and citizen’s social emancipation;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the Commission’s Action Plan for the Social Economy (SEAP), the guiding principles defining the social economy set therein, the political impetus it provides to its development, and the wealth of measures announced therein; Regrets, however, that there is not more emphasis given in the SEAP to the quality of employment and the need to strengthen collective bargaining and social dialogue, especially in social care, which is highlighted as a key potential growth area for the social economy;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Underlines the importance of social economy in tackling social inequalities, in helping young people enter the labour market and start a family if they want to and in promoting gender equality; stresses the role of social economy in promoting inclusion of persons with disabilities and groups at risk of exclusion, such as unemployed persons, migrants/refugees, at-risk youths and young adults, persons battling addiction, former inmates, homeless persons, victims of violence and social discrimination due to their sex/sexual orientation and identity/race/ethnicity/religion; recalls the essential role played by the social economy sector in strengthening the sense of community and achieving social cohesion, and in promoting culture heritage and securing environmental sustainability;
Amendment 106 #
3. Urges the Commission and the Member States, as well as regional and local authorities, to mainstream the social economy dimension, including the principle of solidarity and inclusiveness that underpins social economy, in relevant policies, programmes and practices;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Reiterates its call13 for the ‘think small first’ principle to be set as a guiding principle in the drafting of future legislation and the adoption of policies, so as to make the Union’s ecosystem more competitiveenabling and supportive of micro, small and medium-sized organisations both within and outsideestablishment, sustainability and growth in the framework of the social economy; _________________ 13 In, inter alia, its resolution of 16 December 2020 on a new strategy for European SMEs and that of 24 June 2021 on European regulatory fitness and subsidiarity principle.
Amendment 138 #
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 groupsgroups at risk of social exclusion 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; points out that respect for environmental and social requirements, including collective agreements, is essential and must apply to all public contracts; believes that, in addition to these minimum requirements, public procurement should be used to promote a range of social, employment and environmental objectives, including collective bargaining and social dialogue;
Amendment 153 #
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; points out that public authorities who outsource or delegate public tasks to social economy actors may use other instruments than public procurement;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Encourages Member States to take advantage of social economy sector schemes to implement principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights, in particular the right to housing with a special attention to homeless and vulnerable tenants and owners, in order to avoid eviction and expropriation;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Welcomes existing initiatives in Member States to provide workers interested in the buyout process and cooperatives emerging from workers’ buyouts with legal counselling, financial support, support in the preparation of business plans, data needed for external investors and business support structures; encourages all Member States to implement similar initiatives; encourages all Member States to include this topic in the 2023 Council recommendations in order to further support these initiatives at regional and national level;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Welcomes the announced report on the possible extension of the EU Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance to social objectives; considers that the EU taxonomy needs to cover social factors, without creating an excessively disproportionate burden on businesses, as it can be a driver for investment in the field of theas it can be a driver for investment in the field of the social economy; cautions that increasing private investment may undermine the non-profit nature of social economy; insists that, in any case, such private investment should also be aligned with the non-profit nature of social economy;
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Calls on the Member States to put in place fiscal frameworks that take into account Social Economy Enterprises (SEEs), foundations and associations’ needs, specificities and goals; encourages Member states to explore the introduction of targeted tax benefits for SEEs active in the inclusion of workers at risk of exclusion; stresses that targeted tax benefits must be applied to SEEs that fully respect trade union rights, social dialogue and collective bargaining;
Amendment 188 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to set up capacity-building partnerships and formal agreements with social economy networks and unions in order to provide social economy organisations with advisory services such as tailor-made mentoring and coaching, financing capacity-building, training and education, skilling and upskilling, incubating services and networking for capacity-building as well as legal aid;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Highlights the key role that new technologies can play in developing and scaling up social economy projects and the importance of giving social entrepreneurs priority access to training programmes on digital skills and advanced technologies, both at EU and national level, and calls on the Commission and Member States to align their legal framework with the Commission’s strategies and explore how mainstream businesses, the public sector and social economy organisations can cooperate in that regard; underlines the importance of digital training in enhancing resilience, sustainability and growth of Social Economy Enterprises (SEEs) as well as safeguarding jobs during periods of crisis; Supports the channelling of EU funds towards digital training in order to enhance workers’ employment security and reduce the risk of social dumping;
Amendment 215 #
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 and invites Member States to include Social Economy in the curricula of mainstream school education and higher education enterprise and business education14 ; in light of this, invites the Commission to support familiarisation, education and training programs via EU funding and programs; invites sector- representative bodies and relevant public authorities, in partnership with the relevant stakeholders, including social partners and trade unions, to review and evaluate the curricula and put forward policy recommendations for academic institutions; strongly encourages the Commission to promote and develop, in cooperation with Member States, Social Economy academic curricula; proposes fund allocation for paid apprenticeships, internships and traineeships, as a way of increasing visibility and familiarisation with the Social Economy sector; proposes the cooperation of academic institutions with SEEs in order to make the above measure accessible to persons outside mainstream academic pathways, and attract job seekers in the context of upskilling, reskilling, and lifelong learning and facilitate job transition; _________________ 14 Eurofound (2019), Labour market change. Cooperatives and social enterprises: work and employment in selected countries.
Amendment 225 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Calls on Member states to support, through financial incentives, SEEs active in the promotion of national, regional and local cultural heritage; encourages the establishment of a European Platform to promote communication and exchange of best practices between SEEs;
Amendment 232 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
Amendment 245 #
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 adequatelwiden the scope of the GBER to State aid to support the transition to a social economy takeing 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 social economy stakeholders, to support the development, resilience and sustainability of social economy organisations; rejects, however, the development of a parallel labour market exclusively for specific groups of workers and insists that all employers in both the public and the private sector have a responsibility to ensure inclusive work places; recalls that employers, in both public and private sectors, should respect national law an regulations regarding hiring of people at risk of exclusion;
Amendment 258 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Notes the misuse and exclusion of social economy actors from funding in Member States in the past; calls on the Commission to facilitate SEEs’ access to European and Member states public funds, lending or subsidies, notably by developing a dedicated framework; calls on the Commission to implement a regulatory body and support mechanism to monitor and steer the implementation of the funding tools provided for the social economy ecosystem in the Member States;
Amendment 263 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Paragraph 14 b (new)
14b. Regrets that social economy organisations are not recognized to the same extent as conventional businesses in their role as digital and social innovators in Member States; calls on the Commission to take into account that social innovation is part of the social economy ecosystem’s core and to accompany Member States to create a legal and institutional framework in order to support the relevant social economy stakeholders;
Amendment 271 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Strongly welcomes the proposal of a Council recommendation on social economy framework conditions to be approved in 2023; believes that it should serve as a compass to strengthen the social economy legal and policy frameworks, especially in Member States where the social economy ecosystem is less developed, and should clearly highlight the support instruments made available by the EU and provide guidance in relation to specific policies such as public procurement, employment and social policies, taxation, education, skills and training and the importance of linking the circular economy and the social economy agendas, the renewable energy strategies and the social economy agendas; points out that stronger legal frameworks are needed to define and protect the non- profit and solidary nature of social economy organisations and SEEs and their accountability;
Amendment 280 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Considers it regrettable that Parliament’s past calls on the Commission to submit proposals allowing mutual societies, associations and foundations to act on a European and cross-border scale did not lead to any legislative changes, thus undermining the European social model and hindering the completion of the single market; suggests, in view of the window of opportunity opened by the SEAP, as well as the activities of the Monitoring Committee of the Luxembourg Declaration, which comprises a majority of Member States, that enhanced cooperation, within a reasonable timeframe and with sufficient incentives, be explored as a tool to overcome the aforementioned decades- long deadlocks;
Amendment 289 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Notes that the full potential of the social economy sector for addressing socio-economic challenges requires a clear identification of social priorities by public authoritiescan be best realised within a holistic and clear policy framework that aims to reduce inequalities and promote social cohesion and democracy; highlights that social economy projects do generally require a close partnership with public entities, and calls therefore on the Commission and Member States to develop, within the macro- economic governance framework provided at EU level, a social investment strategy where social priorities are clearly identified and which can provide a framework for cooperation between public authorities and social economy organisations;
Amendment 299 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Underlines the need to develop a common and pan-European standard for Social Economy product labelling; recalls that such European certification, including - but not limited to - food products, will ensure the recognition of social footprints as well as SEEs’ economic sustainability which in turn will ensure higher quality employment positions in SEEs;
Amendment 317 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls on the Member States to designate social economy coordinators with the participation of legally recognized social economy unions and to set up local social economy contact points with a view to facilitating access to funding, including EU funding;