2021/2179(INI) | [ParlTrack]

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Whereas recovery efforts from the COVID-19 pandemic must strive to address long-standing vulnerabilities of our regions and go beyond addressing the health impacts of COVID-19 to tackle the persistent inequalities; Stresses therefore, that the development of the social economy must harness the full potential of social economy enterprises and organisations to ensure a strong economic recovery, support entrepreneurship and to create high-quality jobs in all EU regions;

Amendment 11 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Underlines the importance of the social economy for the provision of health care, including measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, especially when it comes to protecting the most vulnerable members of society; calls for a Commission study of the impact of COVID-19 on the tertiary sector with a view to increasing its resilience and response capacity, particularly in the event of similar crises in future;

Amendment 12 #

Daniel BUDA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Emphasises the role of local and regional authorities in promoting the social economy and reducing social and economic disparities to meet the needs of the community, especially following the adverse impact of COVID-19 on businesses and society as a whole;

Amendment 13 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Believes that the efforts of the social economy should be aligned with the ongoing support for the green and digital transition, and highlights the need to strengthen the role of social economy enterprises in Just Transition Regions;

Amendment 14 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Stresses that it is extremely important to develop the social economy in the area of social services; considers that action in this area should be carried out in two in parallel ways: by developing the capacity of social economy entities to provide such services and by building the market through the creation of tools which enable and encourage local and regional authorities to cooperate with those entities; in this context, the inclusion of social clauses in public contracts carried out by such entities is also of particular importance;

Amendment 15 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)

1c. Considers it necessary to ensure a separate system of dedicated support for the social economy which takes into account the specific characteristics of the sector, as the standard practice is to include the social economy only in systems geared towards traditional business models, which consequently leads to marginalisation of this area and ultimately proves to be ineffective;

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 d (new)

1d. Stresses the importance of ensuring a range of financial support, including both repayable and non- repayable instruments; points out that such flexibility with regard to the available instruments meets the entities' specific needs, which may vary significantly, and thus enables them to develop more effectively;

Amendment 17 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 e (new)

1e. Points out that as well as creating new social economy entities it is also necessary to ensure the conditions for the further development and professionalisation of existing entities; in this context, it is important to strive for the economisation of entities – i.e. to create tools to encourage economic activity by entities that are active predominantly in the social sphere; believes that this approach will make these entities more sustainable and increase their chances of operating smoothly once they are no longer drawing on the public funding programme;

Amendment 18 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Takes note of the Commission’s ~~2. action plan for the social economy and supports~~ action plan for the social economy, supports its proposal of a specific Council Recommendation in 2023 with the primary objective of better adapting policy and legal frameworks to the needs of social economy entities, highlights the need to include the circular economy within this framework and endorses other proposals aiming to improve social economy framework conditions, in particular regarding taxation, public procurement, State aid and access to any kind of public funding, notably to the European Structural and Investment Funds;

Amendment 19 #

Chiara GEMMA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Takes note of the Commission’s action plan for the social economy and supports the proposals to improve social economy framework conditions, in particular regarding taxation, public procurement, State aid and access to any kind of public funding, notably to the European Structural and Investment Funds; considers that provision should be made for specific facilities for SMEs operating in the sector;

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Highlights the vital importance of the approximately 2.8 million social and solidarity-based enterprises in the EU, which employ more than 13.6 million people, and their contribution to cohesion, social care, quality job creation, the circular economy, the fight against poverty and inequality, the reintegration of disadvantaged people, the inclusion of migrants and refugees in society, gender equality, improvements in health and the environment, biodiversity and the fight against climate change; stresses that, during the Covid-19 pandemic, proximity and social economy were amongst the most hit industrial ecosystems; observes that many social economy entities have been and still are at the forefront of the crisis, including by producing facemasks, supporting digital online education, assisting people in need and provided proximity help in local communities;

Amendment 20 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. ~~Takes note of~~Welcomes the Commission’s action plan for the social economy and supports the proposals to improve social economy framework conditions, in particular regarding taxation, public procurement, State aid and access to EU programmes, as well as any kind of public funding, notably to the European Structural and Investment Funds;

Amendment 21 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Notes in particular the key role of European Structural and Investments Funds, including the ESF+ and the ERDF-CF, in financing social economy projects; recalls the specific objectives of the ESF+ in improving access to employment for all jobseekers, in particular young people, as well as through the promotion of self- employment and the social economy; further notes the specific objective PO 4 of the ERDF-CF of supporting a more social and inclusive Europe by enhancing the effectiveness and inclusiveness of labour markets and access to quality employment through developing social infrastructure and promoting social economy;

Amendment 22 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Highlights that during the efforts to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic, many local SMEs, which are the backbone of the social economy, provided essential services in regions where public authorities did not have an optimally functioning social care infrastructure.

Amendment 23 #

Stefania ZAMBELLI, Alessandro PANZA, Elena LIZZI, Rosanna CONTE, Matteo ADINOLFI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2 b. Believes in improved access to public and private funding opportunities in order to reduce the current funding gap for social economy enterprises and that tendering procedures by regional and municipal authorities can play an important role in supporting local SMEs involved in social economy.

Amendment 24 #

Chiara GEMMA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Believes that the action plan should aim at strengthening the rights of all workers in the social economy, guaranteeing all labour rights, decent working conditions and fair wages, and social inclusion of the vulnerable, and safeguarding the freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, as recognised in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union; also recalls the importance of public services in supporting the social economy and that the Member States and the EU need to invest in their administrations and public services;

Amendment 25 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Believes that the action plan should aim at strengthening the rights of all workers in the social economy, guaranteeing all labour rights, decent working conditions and fair wages, and safeguarding the freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, where provided for under national law, as recognised in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union; also recalls the importance of public services in supporting the social economy and that the Member States and the EU need to invest in their administrations and public services;

Amendment 26 #

Stefania ZAMBELLI, Alessandro PANZA, Elena LIZZI, Rosanna CONTE, Matteo ADINOLFI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Highlights the importance of the social economy for rural development, and for regions which suffer from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps such as islands, outermost, cross-border and mountain regions, as a catalyst for the development of local resources and in countering depopulation, taking into account the importance of these actors in developing the social economy in rural areas and their links with urban areas, helping to maintain the population and to create greater social cohesion;

Amendment 27 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Considers that a link to NextGenerationEU and the RRP needs to be included in the action plan and that organisations in the social economy need to be involved in the planning and actual implementation, at EU and national level, of national recovery and resilience plans;

Amendment 28 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Calls on the Commission to cooperate with the Member States, regions and municipalities in encouraging and promoting the organisation of training and lifelong learning courses for those working in the social and solidarity-based economy;

Amendment 29 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Underlines the major role that the social economy can play in the digital transition, namely by promoting digital literacy for all ages and in every location, including the most remote; urges the European Commission to encourage proposals for projects in this area, providing increased support for rural and remote areas;

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

Amendment 30 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3 b. Reminds that the social economy is a way to solve urban challenges, including the risk of discrimination, poverty, inequality and social exclusion with a bottom-up approach, calls for funding needs to be directed at a local level, including those of urban areas;

Amendment 31 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)

3 c. Calls on the Commission to ensure that full gender equality is mainstreamed throughout the action plan for the social economy and that specific attention is given to fostering and supporting female- led social economy organisations, especially when it comes to access to funding;

Amendment 32 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)

3 d. Recalls that the gender pay gap in the EU stands at 14.1%, and around 24% of it is related to the overrepresentation of women in relatively low-paying sectors, such as care, health and education; points out the impact of unpaid care work on the gender pay gap, notes that while women often undertake both work and care responsibilities, 80 % of all care provided across the EU is provided by (unpaid) informal carers, 75 % of whom are women; believes that with access to EU funding, social economy organisations can have a leading role in tackling gender equality; asks the Commission to identify a clear role for social economy in the upcoming European care strategy;

Amendment 33 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 e (new)

3 e. Notes the importance of promoting education and training in entrepreneurship through different forms of social economy at all educational levels, from primary to higher education (including both university education and vocational training) as a key driver of economic and social development in Europe;

Amendment 34 #

Stefania ZAMBELLI, Alessandro PANZA, Elena LIZZI, Rosanna CONTE, Matteo ADINOLFI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Believes that the action plan should be accompanied by impact assessment tools ~~and m~~, therefore calls on the Commissioni to~~ring mechanisms and that the~~ strengthen its mechanisms for monitoring and supporting social economy policies, including the collection of sex-disaggregated statistical data; notes that Member States sh~~ould~~all set targets and objectives and organise a consultation process with relevant social economy actors and local and regional authorities, in accordance with the partnership principle;

Amendment 35 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Believes that the action plan should be accompanied by impact assessment tools and ~~monitoring mechanisms and~~ that the Member States should set targets and objectives and organise a consultation process with relevant social economy actors and local and regional authorities, in accordance with the partnership principle;

Amendment 36 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Believes that the action plan should be accompanied by impact assessment tools and monitoring mechanisms and that the Member States should set targets and objectives and organise a consultation process with relevant social economy actors and local and regional authorities, in accordance with the partnership principle; stresses the importance of participatory and democratic principles of the social economy and calls on the Commission and the Member States to strengthen participatory approaches in support programmes and funding opportunities for the social economy;

Amendment 37 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Acknowledges the need to build capacity at local and regional level and tackle the specific needs of cross-border social economy organisations in rural and peripheral areas: welcomes the measures outlined in the Commission Communication on 'A long-term Vision for the EU's Rural Areas' and reiterates the need to address challenges and opportunities by promoting social economy and social enterprises innovation and by helping to pool business resources in rural areas, also in order to support social economy stakeholders in innovation, quality job creation and social inclusion;

Amendment 38 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Welcomes the Commission’s intention to set up a new single EU Social Economy Gateway, urges the Commission to launch a call for proposals for the creation of European social economy contact points at the same time, facilitating access to EU funding for social enterprises, promoting the importance of capacity building and interregional cooperation, as well as enhancing the visibility of projects supported under the Cohesions fund;

Amendment 39 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Calls for the action plan to include a roadshow event to raise general awareness among target audiences involved in the social economy, reaching the most remote areas and including comprehensive information regarding European funding and support, partnership and training opportunities;

Amendment 4 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Highlights the vital importance of the approximately 2.8 million social and solidarity-based enterprises in the EU, which employ more than 13.6 million people, and underlines their contribution to cohesion, social care, quality job creation, the circular economy, the fight against poverty and inequality, the reintegration of disadvantaged people, the inclusion of legal migrants and refugees in our society, gender equality, improvements in health and the steps to be taken for a better environment, biodiversity and the fight against climate change;

Amendment 40 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4 b. Calls on the Member States to encourage the development of regional strategies for the social economy, and allocate financial resources according to locally defined priorities; Urges the Commission to publish detailed guidelines reflecting the diversity of legal forms of the social economy in Europe, that local and regional authorities can follow during the preparation of their strategies;

Amendment 41 #

4b. Recommends to the Commission the annual selection of a European Capital of Social Economy as part of an inclusive and transparent process involving the European Institutions, namely the European Parliament, the Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee;

Amendment 42 #

Stefania ZAMBELLI, Alessandro PANZA, Elena LIZZI, Rosanna CONTE, Matteo ADINOLFI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)

4 c. Notes that many local and regional authorities already have ambitious strategies and action plans to promote the social economy; calls on the Commission to support the sharing of best practices and existing initiatives among local and regional authorities, in order to promote the development of local and regional social economy ecosystems;

Amendment 43 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Calls on the Commission to make a 5. quick and real improvement to the General Block Exemption Regulation in order to increase the de minimis threshold and ease the rules in relation to aid for social enter-prises, access to finance, training and capacity building; ~~defends a real revision of public procurement with the inclusion of social and environmental conditionality.~~

Amendment 44 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Calls on the Commission to make a quick and real improvement to the General Block Exemption Regulation in order to increase the de minimis threshold and ease the rules in relation to aid for social enter -prises, access to finance, training and capacity building; defends a real revision of public procurement with the inclusion of social and environmental conditionality.; and calls on the Commission to further promote socially responsible public procurement among European public authorities as a key tool to increase transparency in public procurement, to fight corruption, to foster competition and participation in public procurement by business actors of different sizes, and to promote socially responsible business practices; further highlights that socially responsible public procurement will play an important role in the implementation of National recovery and resilience plans, urges the Member States to enhance the use of social clauses in their tendering procedures;

Amendment 45 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. ~~Calls on the Commission to make a quick and real improvement to~~Draws attention to the fact that the General Block Exemption Regulation ~~in order~~needs to be improved in such a way as to increase the de minimis threshold and ease the rules in relation to aid for social enter-prises, access to finance, training and capacity building; defends a real revision of public procurement with the inclusion of social and environmental conditionality.

Amendment 46 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Stresses the need to promote green and socially responsible public procurement by ensuring that public tenders are not awarded purely on the basis of the price, including by strengthening existing directives; welcomes the Action plan’s objectives of reinforcing Commission’s efforts to raise awareness on this matter, to foster the exchange of good practices and train both public procurement officials and social economy entities on how to use public procurements and concessions procedures to achieve social policy objectives.

Amendment 47 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Recommends the expansion of the scope of the European Social Economy Regions network to reinforce new regional and local partnerships in particular to boost digital and green transitions in territories.

Amendment 5 #

Chiara GEMMA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

Amendment 6 #

Daniel BUDA

Amendment 7 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Stresses that it is essential to ensure a strong link between the social economy and the process of social and professional reintegration of vulnerable people in the labour market; in this context, the creation of new jobs in social enterprises, especially for the most disadvantaged in the labour market, should be supported and enabled; is also of the opinion that social reintegration should not be limited to employment- related labour market measures, but should also cover activities that go beyond the sphere of labour market activation;

Amendment 8 #

Stefania ZAMBELLI, Alessandro PANZA, Elena LIZZI, Rosanna CONTE, Matteo ADINOLFI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Welcomes the Commission’s intention of highlighting the potential of the social economy to create jobs and foster social cohesion in the context of the European Semester process and Member State implementation of the Employment Guidelines; notes in this regard that the pivotal contribution of the social economy to the increase of the employment rate and to the reduction of the number of people at risk of poverty and social exclusion may help in implementing the principles of the European Pillar for Social Rights and delivering on its 2021 Action Plan and the 2030 headline targets;

Amendment 9 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Stresses that the territorial and regional dimension is one of the characteristics marking out organisations in the social economy, and associations and foundations in particular, and stresses furthermore the important role they play in implementing the subsidiarity principle; considers it vital therefore that local bodies create an environment in which all the forms of associations and similar bodies able to contribute to the development of the territory concerned can be formed and expand;

source: 719.773

2022/03/09 EMPL 326 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Jordi CAÑAS, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Lucia ĎURIŠ NICHOLSONOVÁ, Radan KANEV, Atidzhe ALIEVA-VELI, Daniela RONDINELLI, Fabio Massimo CASTALDO, Patrizia TOIA, Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE, Sylvie BRUNET, Manuel PIZARRO, Leopoldo LÓPEZ GIL, Michal ŠIMEČKA

Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 a (new)

— having regard to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and in particular Article 27 on work and employment;

Amendment 10 #

Motion for a resolution
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 100 #

Heléne FRITZON, Marianne VIND, Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Aurore LALUCQ, Manuel PIZARRO, Ilan DE BASSO, Marc ANGEL, Klára DOBREV, Agnes JONGERIUS, Gabriele BISCHOFF, Alicia HOMS GINEL, Estrella DURÁ FERRANDIS, Lina GÁLVEZ, Brando BENIFEI, Evelyn REGNER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Considers that EU and national actions to promote the development of the social economy are particularly relevant in the current context in which, due to the economic and social crisis caused by COVID-19, it is essential to harness the full potential of the social economy to ensure economic recovery, to promote social entrepreneurship and to create quality jobs; stresses that social economy entities play an essential role in improving the resilience of the economy and society following the COVID-19 pandemic;

Amendment 101 #

Motion for a resolution
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 102 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Believes that to truly develop the potential of the social economy through the measures laid out in the Action Plan and those subsequently developed by Member States a dedicated budget must be established to implement the Social Economy Action Plan;

Amendment 103 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Welcomes the organisation of the Social economy action plan launch event in December 2021, and calls for further EU-wide outreach activities to raise awareness across Member States and regions where the social economy ecosystem is less developed;

Amendment 104 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. U~~rges~~nderlines that despite being a considerable source of economic growth and job creation, more needs to be done to promote the social economy; urges therefore 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;

Amendment 105 #

Konstantinos ARVANITIS, Leila CHAIBI, José GUSMÃO, Eugenia RODRÍGUEZ PALOP

Motion for a resolution
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, such as those relevant to a green, circular and climate- neutral transition, including financial instruments;

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 107 #

Motion for a resolution
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 108 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Urges the Commission while respecting the principle of Subsidiarity and the Member States, as well as regional and local authorities, to mainstream the social economy dimension in relevant policies, programmes and practices;

Amendment 109 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Urges the ~~Commission and the~~ Member States, as well as regional and local authorities, to ~~mainstream~~consider the social economy dimension in relevant policies, programmes and practices in accordance with national law and practice;

Amendment 11 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 a (new)

— having regard to the European Economic and Social Committee’s opinion on "The role of social economy in the creation of jobs and in the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights" of 27 April 2021,

Amendment 110 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Urges the Commission and the Member States, as well as regional and local authorities, to ~~mainstream~~promote the social economy dimension in relevant policies, programmes and practices;

Amendment 111 #

Motion for a resolution
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, always provided that the special features of the area demonstrate that the effects are clearly beneficial for society;

Amendment 112 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Notes that it is estimated that at least EUR 2.5 billion have been mobilized from the EU budget to support the social economy in the 2014-2020 programming period; welcomes the Commission’s ambition to increase the financing of social economy for the actual MFF; encourages member states to step up their efforts in absorbing the funds that are made available to them for the social economy field;

Amendment 113 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Believes that to truly develop the potential of the social economy through the measures laid out in the Action Plan and those subsequently developed by Member States, a dedicated budget must be established to implement the Social Economy Action Plan that is directly accessible by both national and regional administrations and by social economy entities;

Amendment 114 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Welcomes the proposal for a Council Recommendation on developing social economy framework conditions in 2023. Believes that such a recommendation could be instrument for the further improvement of the regulatory and financial framework condition needed for an inclusive and active social economy sector in all Member States;

Amendment 115 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Calls on the Commission to use the country reports and the country- specific recommendations in the Semester process to monitor the development of the social economy in Europe and calls on the Commission to make its initiatives more ambitious and coherent and where possible propose legal measures;

Amendment 116 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3b. Encourages the Commission to consider using the country reports and the country-specific recommendations in the Semester process to monitor the development on the social economy in Europe;

Amendment 117 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 c (new)

3c. Calls on the Commission to support the sharing of best practices and existing initiatives among local and regional authorities through a network of local and regional authorities to promote social economy;

Amendment 118 #

Cindy FRANSSEN, Dennis RADTKE, Loucas FOURLAS, Stelios KYMPOUROPOULOS

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 competitive and supportive of micro, small and medium-sized organisations both within and outside 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.deleted

Amendment 119 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Reiterates its call13 for~~Stresses the need to keep the ‘think small first’ principle ~~to be set as a guiding principle in t~~in mind when drafting ~~of future~~ legislation and ~~the adoption of policies, so as to make the Union’s ecosystem more competitive and~~policies, without weakening environmental and consumer protection, workers’ rights as well as health and safety provisions, and to better support~~ive of~~ micro, small and medium-sized ~~organisation~~enterprises both within and outside 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.~~ in applying existing rules and regulations;

Amendment 12 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 a (new)

— having regard to the European Economic and Social Committee' opinion of 22 September 2016 on 'The External Dimension of the Social Economy';

Amendment 120 #

Motion for a resolution
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 competitive and supportive of micro, small and medium-sized organisations both within and outside the social economy and hereby including strong workers’ rights and stimulating the process of collective bargaining; _________________ 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 121 #

Motion for a resolution
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 competitive and supportive of micro, small and medium-sized organisations both within and outside the social economy and ensure that its role is strengthened to support the development of 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 122 #

Konstantinos ARVANITIS, Leila CHAIBI, José GUSMÃO, Eugenia RODRÍGUEZ PALOP

Motion for a resolution
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 ~~competitive~~enabling and supportive of micro, small and medium-sized organisations ~~both within and outside~~establishment, 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 123 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Reiterates its call13a 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 competitive and the regulatory frameworks more supportive of micro, small and medium-sized organisations both within and outside the social economy; _________________ 131a 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 124 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Reiterates its call 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 competitive and supportive of micro, small and medium-sized organisations both within and outside the social economy~~13; _________________ 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.~~, always provided that the European Union acts in compliance with the principle of subsidiarity, national sovereignty and the laws of Member States;

Amendment 125 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Welcomes the proposal for a Council Recommendation on developing social economy framework conditions in 2023 and while recognising diversity in the social economy sector across the EU as one major wealth of the sector, such a recommendation could be instrumental for the further development and improvement of regulatory and financial framework conditions needed for a healthy and active social economy sector in all Member States; the Recommendation should refer to the social economy's diversity, in terms of types of organisations, enterprises and sectors, and should address all its forms;

Amendment 126 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Acknowledges the great potential that the social economy could have in the employment of young people, who tend to be more attracted to projects that give back to the community than the older generation; notes that youth unemployment is still a pressing issue of the European Union and believes that a higher number of social economy enterprises would lead to a better integration of youth in the labour market; encourages member states to make full use of the funds available under the reinforced Youth Guarantee to achieve these objectives;

Amendment 127 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Underlines the importance of social economy entities as strategic partners in implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights and in building a European Union where the main function of the economy is to serve the people; calls in this respect on the Member States to raise their ambitions in implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights;

Amendment 128 #

Motion for a resolution
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 129 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Notes that ensuring quality jobs requires, amongst other things, good management practices, governance and internal decision-making structures and processes as well as good management skills; underlines that the range of management skills needed in the social economy sector is wider and more complex than in mainstream businesses; calls on the Commission and the Member States to support the development of management skills within the social economy through relevant education and training institutions;

Amendment 13 #

Heléne FRITZON, Marianne VIND, Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elisabetta GUALMINI

Motion for a resolution
Citation 22 b (new)

— having regard to the European Economic and Social Committee’s opinion of 23 December 2009 on the ‘Diverse forms of enterprise’ (2009/C 318/05)

Amendment 130 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 c (new)

4c. Stresses the need to support training and life-long learning of workers in areas such as digitalisation, including media literacy, participatory leadership, resilience and the green transition, in order to support them to enter or remain in the labour market of the social economy; welcomes the commitment of the Commission in the SEAP to skills partnerships for the social economy, in the context of the Skills Agenda and the updated European Industrial Strategy;

Amendment 131 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 d (new)

4d. Highlights that acting in the general interest, social economy entities create jobs, provide socially innovative services and goods, facilitate social inclusions and promote a more sustainable and locally anchored economy; underlines that when the role of the social economy in creating and maintaining employment involves disadvantaged workers and disadvantaged regions, appropriate support is needed to give proper recognition to these entities;

Amendment 132 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 e (new)

4e. Acknowledges the important role played by social economy entities in providing social services, ensuring continuity of employment and offering job opportunities with high democratic values and the inclusion of disadvantaged groups in society and the world of work; underlines in this context their valuable contribution to achieving upward social convergence as well as social and economic inclusion;

Amendment 133 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 f (new)

4f. Stresses the fundamental and important role of public services in supplying and supporting the social economy; calls on the Commission and the Member States to invest in staff, digitalisation and social dialogue; emphasises that an approach focusing on promoting the social economy without also enhancing the enabling of public services would be incorrect and ineffective;

Amendment 134 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 g (new)

4g. Regrets the lack of references in the SEAP to the importance of workers’ rights and collective bargaining; stresses that all workers in the social economy deserve decent working and employment conditions, ideally based on collective agreements; highlights in this context that social economy entities, however organised, must ensure the respect of trade union rights, social dialogue and collective bargaining; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that no public funding should go to employers, including in the social economy, that do not recognise trade unions and engage in collective bargaining;

Amendment 135 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 h (new)

4 h. Recalls that direct employment initiatives already exist or have existed in Europe, such as "Zero long term unemployment territories" in France, and are often part of the social economy; invites the Commission to list and map those initiatives in order to have a better understanding of their functioning and efficiency and to share best practices among Member States;

Amendment 136 #

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 1

Creating an enabling environment ~~for the~~to cover social ~~economy~~needs

Amendment 137 #

Konstantinos ARVANITIS, Leila CHAIBI, José GUSMÃO, Eugenia RODRÍGUEZ PALOP

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Reminds the Member States that 5. 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 in~~tegrat~~clusion of persons with disabilities or other disadvantaged groups, including minorities, into the workforce; invites public authorities to ~~consider~~recognize socially and environmentally responsible public procurement as an investment in the socio- economic fabric with a great potential to combine social and competitive objectives; Calls on the Member States to ensure that public money in the form of public procurement contracts should be made conditional on their compliance with the applicable working and employment conditions and/or employer obligations resulting from the relevant collective agreements; calls on the Member States to make respect for fundamental labour rights a mandatory exclusion criteria in public tenders; calls on the Member States to use public procurement to promote democracy at work;

Amendment 138 #

Motion for a resolution
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~~groups 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 139 #

Motion for a resolution
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~~calls on 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;~~ socio-economic investment which combines social and economic objectives; calls on the Commission to further promote socially responsible public procurement as a key tool to achieve employment and to promote socially responsible business practices; stresses that all public funding, including through public procurement contracts, should be subject to social and environmental conditionality;

Amendment 14 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the social economy encompasses diverse types of private entities, independent of public authorities, as cooperatives, mutual benefit societies, associations ~~(including charities), foundations, social enterprises, and other legal forms, all characterised by different operating and organisational principles and feature~~, foundations and other legal forms, depending on each EU Member State; notes that this diversity of enterprises and organisations, which operate in all areas of activity, share a strong identity based on shared values and characteristics such as the primacy of ~~people as well as~~inclusivity and the social purpose over ~~profit, the reinvestment of most profits/surpluses, and democratic or participatory governance~~capital, gender equality, local and regional responsibility, sensitivity for climate and environmental challenges, inclusion and democratic governance and the reinvestment, hence the limited distribution of profits and assets among members or shareholders, of most of the profits to achieve the sustainable development objectives of the enterprise or organisation, or in the collective and general interest;

Amendment 140 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

Amendment 141 #

Cindy FRANSSEN, Loucas FOURLAS, Stelios KYMPOUROPOULOS, Dennis RADTKE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

Amendment 142 #

Ádám KÓSA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

Amendment 143 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

Amendment 144 #

Jordi CAÑAS, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Lucia ĎURIŠ NICHOLSONOVÁ, Daniela RONDINELLI, Fabio Massimo CASTALDO, Patrizia TOIA, Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE, Sylvie BRUNET, Manuel PIZARRO, Leopoldo LÓPEZ GIL, Michal ŠIMEČKA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

Amendment 145 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

Amendment 146 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

Amendment 147 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Notes that social economy entities face additional obstacles to operating transnationally in the Single Market compared to other SMEs and calls to resolve this fundamental deficiency. These difficulties stem from the lack of comprehensive legal frameworks covering all legal forms within the social economy;

Amendment 148 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5b. Calls on the European Commission to implement the European Parliament’s resolution on a Statute for social and solidarity-based enterprises, particularly as regards the creation of a certificate or label for social economy entities in order to give more visibility to social economy and foster a coherent legal framework;

Amendment 149 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Encourages the Member States to ~~systematical~~urgently adopt strategies aimed at developing socially responsible public procurement~~, thus~~ which should guide all procurement of services or goods; Calls on the Commission to explicitly recognise alternatives to public procurement which focus more on partnerships and cooperation and less on buyer-supplier logics in the funding of quality social services, 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 consult~~consultations, including with Social Economy Organisations, before drawing up tender documents, with a view to better understanding the existing needs and how social economy organisations could meet them; calls on public procurement officers not to award contracts based on the lowest price but on respect for social standards, working and employment conditions and respect for collective agreements;

Amendment 15 #

Motion for a resolution
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 ~~and~~but 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 150 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Encourages the Member States to ~~systematically~~ adopt strategies aimed at developing and realising socially responsible public procurement~~, thus~~ – which should guide all procurement of services or goods; calls on the Commission to explicitly recognise alternatives to public procurement which focus more on partnerships and cooperation and less on buyer-supplier logics in the funding of quality social services, 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, including with social economy organisations, before drawing up tender documents, with a view to better understanding the existing needs and how social economy organisations could meet them; calls on procurers not to award contracts based solely on price but on best value, incorporating quality criteria;

Amendment 151 #

Motion for a resolution
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; encourages member states to develop systems that take into account not only the price, but also the social benefits of a project or an enterprise when organising public tenders, with a view of developing a stronger ecosystem of socially responsible public procurement;

Amendment 152 #

Konstantinos ARVANITIS, Leila CHAIBI, José GUSMÃO, Eugenia RODRÍGUEZ PALOP

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

Amendment 153 #

Motion for a resolution
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 154 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

Amendment 155 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Encourages the Member States to systematically adopt strategies aimed at developing socially responsible public procurement, aimed at increasing transparency in the process and tackling corruption, 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;

Amendment 156 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

Amendment 157 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Encourages the Member States to ~~systematically adopt strategie~~adopt options 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~~ and to build capacity, while respecting the fre~~lationship between public spending and its contribution to achieving the SDGs, and to build capa~~e market society, 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~~participate;

Amendment 158 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Encourages Members States to promote social impact, and request of beneficiaries of public funding to demonstrate their social added value which is anchored to solidarity and supporting the most vulnerable. Specifically, social impact should be aligned to the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights, and mainstreamed through all stages of the European Semester process, ensuring that the Pillar’s principles are systematically put into practice and monitored. In particular they must be visible in country reports and country-specific recommendations;

Amendment 159 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Reminds the Member States that the Advisory Platform for Social Outcomes Contracting created by the European Commission and the European Investment Bank Group can provide expert advice and technical support to public sector organisations wishing to address key social inclusion challenges through outcomes-based approaches;

Amendment 16 #

Konstantinos ARVANITIS, Leila CHAIBI, José GUSMÃO, Eugenia RODRÍGUEZ PALOP

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the social economy encompasses diverse types of private entities, independent of public authorities, as cooperatives, mutual ~~benefit~~ societies, associations ~~(including charities)~~, foundations, social enterprises, and other legal forms, all characterised by different operating and organisational principles and features such as the primacy of people as well as social and environmental purpose over profit, the ~~reinvestment of most profits/surpluse~~limited distribution of profits and assets among members or shareholders, and democratic or participatory governance;

Amendment 160 #

Motion for a resolution
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 161 #

Konstantinos ARVANITIS, Leila CHAIBI, José GUSMÃO, Eugenia RODRÍGUEZ PALOP

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Urges, in any event, that the development of the social economy should not be conditional on any ideological interest, as is the case with the SDGs, that could have an impact on their purposes;

Amendment 162 #

Motion for a resolution
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 Member States to include this topic in the 2023 Council recommendations in order to further support these initiatives at regional and national level and to work closely with workers' representatives to support and link up with the federations of worker cooperatives in assisting workers’ buyouts ; also urges the Commission to keep on working closely with the Member States to identify tools and solutions to remove obstacles and speed up legal procedures to transfer the ownership of an enterprise after its closure to the employees through worker cooperatives or other forms of worker-owned social economy enterprises; invites the Member States to share and exchange best practices in this regard;

Amendment 163 #

Motion for a resolution
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~~business support structures, including legal counselling, financial support and help to create business plans; underlines the important role of trade unions and collaboration between trade unions and social economy organisations in order to enhance the chances of successful workers’ buyouts, which preserves jobs, and contributes to innovation and the democratisation of the economy; encourages Member States to include ~~this topic~~workers’ buyouts in the 2023 Council recommendations in order to further support these initiatives at ~~reg~~national and ~~nat~~regional level;

Amendment 164 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

Amendment 165 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Welcomes existing initiatives in Member States to provide workers interested in the buyout process and cooperatives emerging from workers’ buyouts, and any other type of commercial company with social purposes, with legal counselling, financial support, support in the preparation of business plans, data needed for external investors and business support structures; ~~encourages Member States to include this topic in the 2023 Council recommendations in order to further support these initiatives at regional and national level;~~

Amendment 166 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. Encourages the European Commission to help and support social services and other social economy entities, particularly those providing social and health care services, in overcoming many of the employment challenges that they face, including – but not limited to – low wages due to the low value of contracts awarded by public authorities, precarious working conditions and challenges in effective recruitment and retention conditions; support should be provided to enable the employment of those who face barriers in accessing the labour market and the social economy entities themselves to become barrier-free environments and barrier lifters.

Amendment 167 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7b. Encourages Members States to support Social Economy actors to develop social innovation programmes to improve social service development and delivery and improving accessibility to services for the most vulnerable, including people with disabilities and the older people;

Amendment 168 #

Konstantinos ARVANITIS, Leila CHAIBI, José GUSMÃO, Eugenia RODRÍGUEZ PALOP

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

Amendment 169 #

Motion for a resolution
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 the~~as 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 17 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the social economy encompasses diverse types of private entities, independent of public authorities, as cooperatives, mutual ~~benefit~~ societies, associations (including charities), foundations, social enterprises, and other legal forms, all characterised by different operating and organisational principles and features such as the primacy of people as well as social purpose over profit, the reinvestment of most profits/surpluses, and democratic or participatory governance;

Amendment 170 #

Motion for a resolution
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 the social economy; calls on the European Commission to ensure that the Social Taxonomy is social-washing proof including through special provisions for adequate and affordable housing;

Amendment 171 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. ~~Welcome~~Regrets the announced report on the possible extension of the EU Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance to social objectives; considers that the EU taxonomy ~~needs to~~should not cover social factors, ~~without creating~~as this would lead to an excessively disproportionate burden on businesses~~, as it can be a driver for investment~~ without added value; calls on the Commission to refrain from extending the ~~field of the social economy~~EU taxonomy to social objectives;

Amendment 172 #

Heléne FRITZON, Marianne VIND, Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Manuel PIZARRO, Ilan DE BASSO, Marc ANGEL, Klára DOBREV, Agnes JONGERIUS, Gabriele BISCHOFF, Alicia HOMS GINEL, Estrella DURÁ FERRANDIS, Lina GÁLVEZ, Brando BENIFEI, Evelyn REGNER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

Amendment 173 #

Sara SKYTTEDAL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. ~~Welcomes~~Takes note of the announced report on the possible extension of the EU Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance to social objectives; considers that the EU taxonomy ~~needs~~might be extended to cover social factors~~, without creating an excessively disproportionate burden on businesses, as it can be a driver for investment in the field of the social economy~~; stresses that such a social taxonomy must respect the principle of subsidiarity and must not create an excessively disproportionate burden on businesses;

Amendment 174 #

Konstantinos ARVANITIS, Leila CHAIBI, José GUSMÃO, Eugenia RODRÍGUEZ PALOP

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Welcomes, cautiously and with reservations, 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 the social economy;

Amendment 175 #

Motion for a resolution
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 176 #

Jordi CAÑAS, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Lucia ĎURIŠ NICHOLSONOVÁ, Atidzhe ALIEVA-VELI, Daniela RONDINELLI, Fabio Massimo CASTALDO, Patrizia TOIA, Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE, Sylvie BRUNET, Manuel PIZARRO, Leopoldo LÓPEZ GIL, Michal ŠIMEČKA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. highlights that social economy organisations have for decades been leaders in implementing circular business models, especially in reusing, repairing and recycling activities, thus accelerating the transition to the circular economy and reinforcing the focus on positive social impact;3a supports the Commission's initiative to strengthen the capacity of the social economy to further develop greener services and products; _________________ 3a OECD/European Union (2022), Policy brief on making the most of the Social Economy’s contribution to the Circular Economy

Amendment 177 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Calls on the Commission, in collaboration with Member States, to examine transfers of enterprises to employees and to set up an EU platform for exchange of best practice between Member States, local and regional authorities and social economy networks;

Amendment 178 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Recalls the need for structured social dialogue in all sectors of the Social Economy and invites the European Commission to advance related pending initiatives;

Amendment 179 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)

8b. Calls on the Commission to encourage social impact investing and to assess existing measures to increase citizens’ participation in social impact finance initiatives with a view to increasing the funding of social economy entities and the visibility thereof;

Amendment 18 #

Jordi CAÑAS, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Lucia ĎURIŠ NICHOLSONOVÁ, Radan KANEV, Daniela RONDINELLI, Fabio Massimo CASTALDO, Patrizia TOIA, Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE, Sylvie BRUNET, Manuel PIZARRO, Leopoldo LÓPEZ GIL, Michal ŠIMEČKA

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the social economy encompasses diverse types of private entities, independent of public authorities, as cooperatives, mutual benefit societies, associations (including charities), foundations, for-profit and non-profit social enterprises, and other legal forms, all characterised by different operating and organisational principles and features such as the primacy of people as well as social purpose over profit, the reinvestment of most profits/surpluses, and democratic or participatory governance while respecting the free market economy and guaranteeing and promoting the initiatives of commercial companies that have the same purpose of cooperation in the service of people and society itself;

Amendment 180 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 c (new)

8c. Highlights the importance of attaching greater attention to social impact measurement and management methodologies and practices; calls on the European social economy stakeholders to carefully assess the development, together with the support of the Commission, of social impact measurement methodologies apt for the diversity of social economy organisations, as well as a strategy to further access and attract social investments;

Amendment 181 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 d (new)

8d. Invites the European Commission to examine carefully together with social economy stakeholders and academics the feasibility and practicality of social impact bonds;

Amendment 182 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Calls on the Commission to ensure that social action is not restricted to certain predetermined tenets, but that it allows plurality of aims;

Amendment 183 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to set up capacity-building partnerships and formal agreements with social economy networks in order to provide social economy organisations with advisory services such as tailor-made mentoring and coaching, financing capacity-building, training and education, incubating services and networking for capacity-building; in this regard, brings to the attention of regional and local authorities committed to initiating or upgrading their capacity building measures for the social economy the Guidelines for Local Governments on Policies for Social and Solidarity Economy published by the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development in 2021;

Amendment 184 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to set up national, transnational and interregional capacity- building partnerships and formal agreements with social economy networks and their representative organisations in order to provide social economy organisations with advisory services such as tailor-made mentoring and coaching, financing capacity-building, training and education, incubating services and networking for capacity-building; welcomes concrete projects such as the European Business School on Social Economy promoted by the Smart specialisation platform partnership on social economy, formed by six European regions and supported by European Social Economy Networks;

Amendment 185 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to set up capacity-building partnerships and formal agreements with ~~social economy network~~national, transnational, and interregional level social economy entities and their representative organisations in order to provide social economy organisations with advisory services such as tailor-made mentoring and coaching, financing capacity-building, training and education, incubating services and networking for capacity-building paying particular attention to minority-led social enterprises;

Amendment 186 #

Konstantinos ARVANITIS, Leila CHAIBI, José GUSMÃO, Eugenia RODRÍGUEZ PALOP

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to set up capacity-building partnerships and formal agreements with social economy networks in order to provide social economy organisations with advisory services such as tailor-made mentoring and coaching, financing capacity-building, training and education, incubating services and networking for capacity-building; calls for greater cooperation of labour authorities of the member states, both at a local and at a national level, in order to promote larger adoption of social economy and to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and good practices;

Amendment 187 #

Ádám KÓSA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

Amendment 188 #

Motion for a resolution
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 189 #

9. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to set up capacity-building partnerships and formal agreements with social economy networks in order to allow exchange of experience and provide social economy organisations with advisory services such as tailor-made mentoring and coaching, financing capacity-building, training and education, incubating services and networking for capacity-building;

Amendment 19 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas, in the European Union, there are currently 2.8 million social economy entities, providing jobs for 13.6 million citizens; whereas differences between member states still remain high in the social economy field, with the percentage of paid jobs in social economy enterprises ranging between 0.6% and 9.9% out of the total; whereas the social economy action plan and all subsequent initiatives of the EU should aim towards reducing such differences, while, at the same time, trying to adapt the necessary actions to the level of development of the social economy in the member state in which they apply;

Amendment 190 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. ~~Calls on the Commission and~~Notes that the Member States tocould set up capacity-building partnerships and formal agreements with social economy networks in order to provide social economy organisations with advisory services such as tailor-made mentoring and coaching, financing capacity-building, training and education, incubating services and networking for capacity-building;

Amendment 191 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Calls on the ~~Commission and the~~ Member States to set up capacity-building partnerships and formal agreements with social economy networks in order to provide social economy organisations with advisory services such as tailor-made mentoring and coaching, financing capacity-building, training and education, incubating services and networking for capacity-building;

Amendment 192 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to set up capacity-building partnerships and formal agreements with social economy networks, including commercial entities, in order to provide social economy organisations with advisory services such as tailor-made mentoring and coaching, financing capacity-building, training and education, incubating services and networking for capacity-building;

Amendment 193 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure, by all means possible, that social economy entities uphold their social duty to their employees through offering, as it applies to all types of companies, secure employment contracts, decent working conditions, living wages and equal opportunities, prohibiting all types of discrimination based on disability, age, religion or belief, sex, gender identification or ethnic origin;

Amendment 194 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Calls on the social economy stakeholders to fully align with the targets of the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan by making sure that at least 60% of social economy employees and relevant public authorities' officials receive training every year by 2030;

Amendment 195 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)

9b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to make sure that social economy organisations and enterprises comply with the relevant legislation against discrimination at work and ensure decent working conditions, fair remuneration and career growth perspectives;

Amendment 196 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)

9b. Calls for the need to ensure that women have prioritised access to funding given the greater difficulties experienced by women in gaining access to resources compared to men;

Amendment 197 #

Konstantinos ARVANITIS, Leila CHAIBI, José GUSMÃO, Eugenia RODRÍGUEZ PALOP

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that social enterprises meet labour obligations towards their employees by offering, as is the case for enterprises of all types, adequate employment contracts, decent working conditions, fair remuneration and the opportunity for career progression;

Amendment 198 #

Motion for a resolution
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 199 #

Motion for a resolution
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~~including media literacy, participatory leadership, resilience and the green transition, both at EU and national level, in order to support them to enter or remain in the labour market, and calls on the Commission and Member States to explore how mainstream businesses and social economy organisations can cooperate in that regard;

Amendment 2 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 a (new)

— having regard to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, signed and ratified by the EU and all its Member States, and in particular Article 27 on work and employment;

Amendment 20 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas the social economy represents 2.8 million entities in Europe, employs around 13.6 million workers and significantly contributes to the European GDP; whereas the number of social economy entities and employment in the EU varies depending on the definition, estimates and national statistics; whereas it is important to acknowledge the diversity among social economy actors in different Member States and improving the recognition and visibility of the social economy and its added value to our society;

Amendment 200 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Highlights the key role that new technologies, when accessible to all, can play in developing and scaling up social economy ~~projects~~organisations to reinforce and strengthen their social aim and the importance of giving social economy entrepreneurs, and employees, with a specific focus on vulnerable workers 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 explore how mainstream businesses and social economy organisations can cooperate in that regard;

Amendment 201 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Highlights the key role that new technologies can play in developing and scaling up social economy projects ~~and~~; stresses 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 explore how mainstream businesses and social economy organisations can cooperate in that regard~~Union and national level;

Amendment 202 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Highlights the key role that new technologies and artificial intelligence can play in developing and scaling up social economy projects and the importance of giving social entrepreneurs ~~priority acces~~equal opportunities to training programmes on digital skills and advanced technologies, both at EU and national level, and calls on the Commission and Member States to explore how mainstream businesses and social economy organisations can cooperate in that regard;

Amendment 203 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Highlights the key role that new technologies can play in developing and scaling up social economy projects, enhance competitiveness, create jobs 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 explore how mainstream businesses and social economy organisations can cooperate in that regard;

Amendment 204 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Highlights the key role that new technologies, if accessible to all, can play in developing and scaling up social economy ~~projects and~~, as well as the importance of giving social economy entrepreneurs ~~priority~~enhanced 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 explore how mainstream businesses and social economy organisations can cooperate in that regard;

Amendment 205 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Highlights the key role that new technologies that are accessible and suitable for all 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 explore how mainstream businesses and social economy organisations can cooperate in that regard;

Amendment 206 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Reminds the Member States of the importance and potential of worker cooperatives in providing quality employment and bringing democracy to the workplace, better life-work balance, workers empowerment through ownership and governance and life-long learning; encourages all Member States to create favourable legal environments and supportive environments for the establishment and functioning of worker cooperatives;

Amendment 207 #

Jordi CAÑAS, Patrizia TOIA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Highlights the role that the social economy plays in contributing to the green transition; notes that many social economy organisations develop sustainable and green practices and help people adapt to and contribute to a greener economy; supports the Commission’s initiative to boost the capacity of the social economy to adopt and develop greener practices, products and services;

Amendment 208 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to involve social economy entities in all relevant policies regarding the transition to a sustainable economy; stresses that the social economy can play an active role in ensuring a just transition and facilitate workers finding new jobs away from fossil fuel-based industries;

Amendment 209 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Highlights the importance of strengthening the support to cooperatives in the field of digital transformation, access to finance, test-before-invest and training, capacity building; notes that the digital transition in the social economy should be encouraged, inter alia, through taxation, public procurement and state aid;

Amendment 21 #

Jordi CAÑAS, Patrizia TOIA

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas according to the European Economic and Social Committee the social economy represents 2.8 million businesses and organisations in Europe (EU28), employing 13.6 million workers, or around 6.3% of the EU workforce; whereas the social economy also includes over 232 million members of cooperatives, mutual societies and similar organisations, as well as 82.8 million volunteers; 1a _________________ 1a https://www.eesc.europa.eu/sites/default/fi les/files/qe-04-17-875-en-n.pdf

Amendment 210 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)

10b. Highlights the distinctiveness of renewable energy cooperatives, as part of energy communities, in the energy system, as they promote sustainable energy production and consumption practices, strengthen community ownership and social innovation, generate widespread benefits and can be used to satisfy security of supply in remote locations and on certain islands;

Amendment 211 #

10b. Regrets that 11.6% of workers in the private sector of the Member States is undeclared and highlights the need for policy measures to fight undeclared work and effectively enforce workers’ rights; highlights the contribution of social economy organisations, and in particular cooperatives, to combatting undeclared work;

Amendment 212 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)

10b. Stresses the importance of promoting the social economy also at international level, as a way to address common global challenges and reach common objectives linked to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;

Amendment 213 #

Konstantinos ARVANITIS, Leila CHAIBI, José GUSMÃO, Eugenia RODRÍGUEZ PALOP

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 c (new)

10c. Highlights the importance of ensuring decent work opportunities in the platform economy and calls on the European Commission and the member states to protect the interests of the persons performing platform work, as well as to support creation and operation of platform cooperatives as a way to promote sustainable and inclusive platform work opportunities;

Amendment 214 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 c (new)

10c. Highlights the importance of strengthening the business planning, implementation and evaluation skills of social economy organisations by setting up a Social Economy and Proximity Skills Alliance; looks forward to the forthcoming “Pact for Skills for the Social Economy”;

Amendment 215 #

Motion for a resolution
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 216 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. ~~Considers it regrettabl~~Takes note that social economy organisations do not feature to the same extent as ~~more conventional~~other businesses in the curricula of mainstream school education and higher education enterprise and business education14 ; in light of this, invites 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 and discuss impulses for research programs for academic institutions while upholding the freedom of scientific research; _________________ 14 Eurofound (2019), Labour market change. Cooperatives and social enterprises: work and employment in selected countries.

Amendment 217 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. ~~Considers it regrettable~~Regrets 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 light of this, invites 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; as well as vocational education and training14; suggests to review school and university curricula in this regard; _________________ 14 Eurofound (2019), Labour market change. Cooperatives and social enterprises: work and employment in selected countries.

Amendment 218 #

Motion for a resolution
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 light~~calls therefore ofn th~~is, invi~~e 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 219 #

Konstantinos ARVANITIS, Leila CHAIBI, José GUSMÃO, Eugenia RODRÍGUEZ PALOP

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Considers it regrettable that social economy organisations ~~do not feature to the same extent as more conventional businesses~~are not present enough in the curricula of mainstream school education and higher education enterprise and business education14 ; in light of this, invites 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; _________________ 14 Eurofound (2019), Labour market change. Cooperatives and social enterprises: work and employment in selected countries.

Amendment 22 #

Motion for a resolution
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 220 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Considers it re~~grett~~asonable that social economy organisations, since they are at an early stage of development and are not widespread, do not feature to the same extent as more conventional businesses in the curricula of mainstream ~~school education~~ and higher school education on enterprises and business ~~education~~; in light of this, invites 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~~14; _________________ 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)

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 222 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Believes that higher education institutions can be a great catalyst for the development of the social economy and for the fostering of social innovation; welcomes the newly announced "European Competence Centre for Social Innovation" and asks the Commission to ensure continuous collaboration between this centre and higher education institutions in all member states with the scope of developing joint projects and raising awareness of the possibilities that the social economy offers to future young entrepreneurs;

Amendment 223 #

Konstantinos ARVANITIS, Leila CHAIBI, José GUSMÃO, Eugenia RODRÍGUEZ PALOP

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Highlights the role that the social economy plays in contributing to the green transition; notes that many social economy organisations develop sustainable and green practices and help people adapt to and contribute to a greener economy; supports the Commission’s initiative to boost the capacity of the social economy to adopt and develop greener practices, products and services;

Amendment 224 #

Heléne FRITZON, Marianne VIND, Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Aurore LALUCQ, Manuel PIZARRO, Ilan DE BASSO, Marc ANGEL, Klára DOBREV, Agnes JONGERIUS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to raise awareness and increase the visibility of the social economy among young people and young entrepreneurs as an opportunity for business start-ups; expects that the new Youth Entrepreneurship Policy Academy will make a contribution in this regard;

Amendment 225 #

Motion for a resolution
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 226 #

Jordi CAÑAS, Patrizia TOIA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Underlines the importance of promoting the cooperative model among young people in various training systems; notes that workers' cooperatives can create quality jobs and boost youth entrepreneurship;

Amendment 227 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)

11b. Highlights that, through the Pact for Skills, the Commission should support the training and life-long learning access of social economy workers in areas such as digitalisation, including media literacy, participatory leadership, resilience and the green transition, in order to support them to enter or remain in the labour market of social economy enterprises; while paying particular attention to the groups with the greatest difficulties e.g. young people, long-term unemployed persons, persons with disabilities or those living in remote areas with limited access to digital resources; encourages to promote in line with the 2015 Council Conclusions education and training in entrepreneurship through different forms of social economy at all educational levels, from primary to higher education (including both university education and vocational training);

Amendment 228 #

Heléne FRITZON, Marianne VIND, Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elisabetta GUALMINI, Aurore LALUCQ, Manuel PIZARRO, Ilan DE BASSO, Marc ANGEL, Klára DOBREV, Agnes JONGERIUS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)

11b. Stresses that volunteering and paid traineeships in the social economy are an opportunity for increasing skills and qualifications of young people, with a positive effect on their employment chances; calls on the Commission and the Member States to put in place policies to facilitate the transition from paid traineeships to regular employment;

Amendment 229 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 c (new)

11c. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to support initiatives and the role of local and regional authorities in promoting the social economy, social entrepreneurship and social innovation;

Amendment 23 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)

Ab. Whereas the social economy was borne out of the need to address pressing social needs that the open labour market and Member State actions have not succeeded in tackling;

Amendment 230 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 d (new)

11d. Underlines that the social economy plays an important role in providing employment opportunities for women, in particular in vulnerable situations, and can be an entry point to transition from informal to formal employment; stresses that gender mainstreaming should be a priority, also in the social economy; calls on the Commission and the Member States to remove all barriers for women in order to achieve gender equality;

Amendment 231 #

Konstantinos ARVANITIS, Leila CHAIBI, José GUSMÃO, Eugenia RODRÍGUEZ PALOP

Motion for a resolution
Subheading 2

Tapping into the full potential of EU instruments ~~for the social economy to~~so that services to meet social needs may thrive

Amendment 232 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

~~12.~~ Notes the possibilities offered ~~12.~~ under InvestEU to support the social economy; recognizes the different legal frameworks of the Member States and urges the Commission and implementing partners to align their legal framework to include social economy enterprises as members of the digital innovation ecosystem; urges the Commission and the implementing partners to design financial products tailored to the needs of social economy enterprises under the Social Investment and Skills window and to allocate sufficient resources to these products; notes that sound eligibility criteria should be developed to target financial intermediaries that specifically support the social economy and considers that advisory services should be made available under the InvestEU Advisory Hub in order to maximise the potential of these financial intermediaries to tap into the InvestEU programme; calls on the Commission to ensure that other InvestEU financial products such as those targeting SMEs are made accessible to social economy organisations, most of which are micro, small and medium-sized organisations; calls on the Commission to create a monitoring body for the implementation of the strategy and policies; reminds that full social, environmental and financial transparency conditionalities should apply to all recipients of public funds; specifies that all recipients of EU public funds should respect trade unions and workers’ rights, work towards gender equality, sustainability, inclusion of persons with disabilities and belonging to groups at risk of exclusion;

Amendment 233 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Notes the possibilities offered under InvestEU to support the social economy; urges the Commission and the implementing partners to design financial products tailored to the needs of social economy enterprises under the Social Investment and Skills window which include microfinance and the financing of social economy enterprises, and to allocate sufficient resources to these products; notes that sound eligibility criteria should be developed to target financial intermediaries that specifically support the social economy and considers that advisory services should be made available under the InvestEU Advisory Hub in order to maximise the potential of these financial intermediaries to tap into the InvestEU programme; calls on the Commission to ensure that other InvestEU financial products such as those targeting SMEs are made accessible to social economy organisations~~, most of which are micro, small and medium-sized organisation~~; considers that advisory and technical assistance should be provided on the priories for the Social Investment and Skills window, in view of developing a pipeline of projects on key topics;

Amendment 234 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Notes the possibilities offered under InvestEU to support the social economy; urges the Commission and the implementing partners to design financial products tailored to the needs of social economy enterprises under the Social Investment and Skills window and to allocate sufficient resources to these products; notes that sound eligibility criteria should be developed to target financial intermediaries that specifically support the social economy and considers that advisory services should be made available under the InvestEU Advisory Hub in order to maximise the potential of these financial intermediaries to tap into the InvestEU programme; calls on the Commission to ensure that other InvestEU financial products such as those targeting SMEs are made accessible to social economy organisations, most of which are micro, small and medium-sized organisations; believes that all measures taken in support of the social economy should be taken in a way that improves competitiveness and creates a better environment in which the SMEs can thrive;

Amendment 235 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Notes the possibilities offered under InvestEU to support the social economy; urges the Commission and the implementing partners to design financial products tailored to the needs of social economy enterprises under the Social Investment and Skills window and to allocate sufficient resources to these products with an emphasis on enterprises working on the digital transformation and the green transition; notes that sound eligibility criteria should be developed to target financial intermediaries that specifically support the social economy and considers that advisory services should be made available under the InvestEU Advisory Hub in order to maximise the potential of these financial intermediaries to tap into the InvestEU programme; calls on the Commission to ensure that other InvestEU financial products such as those targeting SMEs are made accessible to social economy organisations, most of which are micro, small and medium-sized organisations;

Amendment 236 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Notes the possibilities offered under InvestEU to support the social economy; urges the Commission and the implementing partners to design financial products tailored to the needs of social economy enterprises under the Social Investment and Skills window and to allocate sufficient resources to these products; notes that sound eligibility criteria should be developed to target financial intermediaries that specifically support the social economy and considers that advisory services should be made available under the InvestEU Advisory Hub in order to maximise the potential of these financial intermediaries to tap into the InvestEU programme; calls on the Commission to ensure that other InvestEU financial products such as those targeting SMEs are made accessible to social economy organisations, most of which are micro, small and medium-sized organisations; highlights that InvestEU must not crowd out private investments;

Amendment 237 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Notes the possibilities offered under InvestEU to support the social economy; urges the Commission and the implementing partners to design financial products tailored to the needs of social economy enterprises under the Social Investment and Skills window and to allocate sufficient resources to these products, including the creation of Social Bonds to stimulate social innovation and impact finance, that could be highly advantageous for the sector as a whole, with tangible impacts for the community; notes that sound eligibility criteria should be developed to target financial intermediaries that specifically support the social economy and considers that advisory services should be made available under the InvestEU Advisory Hub in order to maximise the potential of these financial intermediaries to tap into the InvestEU programme; calls on the Commission to ensure that other InvestEU financial products such as those targeting SMEs are made accessible to social economy organisations, most of which are micro, small and medium-sized organisations;

Amendment 238 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Notes the possibilities offered under InvestEU to support the social economy; urges the Commission and the implementing partners to design financial products tailored to the needs of social economy enterprises under the Social Investment and Skills window and to allocate sufficient resources to these products; notes that sound eligibility criteria should be developed to target financial intermediaries that specifically support the social economy and considers that advisory services should be made available under the InvestEU Advisory Hub in order to maximise the potential of these financial intermediaries to tap into the InvestEU programme; calls on the Commission to ensure that other InvestEU financial products such as those targeting SMEs are made accessible to social economy organisations, most of which are micro, small and medium-sized organisations; and, in the same way, that SMEs can enjoy the rights and prerogatives of social economy organisations in terms of benefiting from fiscal and financial advantages when social engagement is their purpose;

Amendment 239 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)

12a. Supports the Commission’s initiative to launch a Youth Entrepreneurship Policy Academy in 2022 under the ESF+ to foster youth entrepreneurship; however considers it regrettable that the Action Plan for the Social Economy does not include other targeted initiatives to help underrepresented social entrepreneurs besides youth; reminds the Commission and all social economy stakeholders that there are still challenges for persons with disabilities, migrants, ethnic minorities, elderly and women, among others, to set up their own social economy organisations or projects; calls on the Member States to include targeted support measures for all budding social entrepreneurs in national social economy strategy;

Amendment 24 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)

Ab. whereas social economy entities still face significant obstacles that constrain their economic and overall social impact;

Amendment 240 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)

12a. Welcomes the proposal to launch a new single EU Social Economy Gateway in 2023; agrees that this initiative has the potential to support social economy entities in providing important information on relevant EU funding, policies, networks and platforms, as well as related initiatives;

Amendment 241 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)

12b. Calls for the gender perspective to be taken into account as regards policies and access to funding for social economy entities, given the greater difficulties experienced by women in accessing credit and financial resources compared to men;

Amendment 242 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)

12a. Considers it necessary to make it easier for social economy enterprises to access European funds, including in the context of public/private partnerships, without distorting their legal nature, and to promote their active participation in defining the European policy agenda, such as in the context of the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights;

Amendment 243 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)

12a. Calls for separate entities, both with-profit and non-profit, to receive the same favourable treatment, provided that the aim of providing assistance and the social benefit are equivalent;

Amendment 244 #

Konstantinos ARVANITIS, Leila CHAIBI, José GUSMÃO, Eugenia RODRÍGUEZ PALOP

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)

12b. Urges the Commission and Member States to ensure that both economic models coexist harmoniously, to ensure that opportunities may be provided for carrying out initiatives of all kinds, and to ensure that there is complementarity through collaboration between the two models;

Amendment 245 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Invites the Commission, on the occasion of the next revision of the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER), to ~~adequatel~~widen 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 246 #

Motion for a resolution
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 247 #

Cindy FRANSSEN, Dennis RADTKE, Loucas FOURLAS

Motion for a resolution
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, in particular persons with disabilities, 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; Encourages the European Commission to adapt the current EU State Aid rules to be more accessible to social economy entities, particularly those providing social and health care services;

Amendment 248 #

Motion for a resolution
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, including people with disabilities, persons with a sharply decreased yield deficit and people with a migration background, 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;

Amendment 249 #

Motion for a resolution
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~~better include social considerations such as promoting the recruitment of disadvantaged workers in State Aid decisions, 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;

Amendment 25 #

Heléne FRITZON, Marianne VIND, Vilija BLINKEVIČIŪTĖ, Elisabetta GUALMINI

Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)

Ac. whereas there is a need for the EU to have a permanent statistical mapping system that will enable it to have suitable comparable and up-to-date data on the size and impact of the sector;

Amendment 250 #

Motion for a resolution
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; invites it to do so provided that this does not give rise to any form of comparative injury or discrimination against those enterprises that might have a social economy purpose but which, because they do not comply with one of their restrictive principles, are at risk of being excluded;

Amendment 251 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Invites the Commission to provide clarity and guidance to national authorities on the right choice of the legal basis regarding state aid to support social economy entities, thereby trying to avoid legal uncertainty, facilitating sufficient funding for social economy entities and lowering the risks for recoveries; calls on the Member States and national authorities to make full use of the options provided under state aid rules and the existing Union rules in relation to services of general economic interest in order to maximise the potential of the social economy; welcomes the indicated measures from the Commission in the Action Plan in facilitating this process;

Amendment 252 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Urges the national, regional and local authorities to deepen their knowledge of existing rules regarding the possibility offered by services of general economic interest(SGEI) to access public finance support and to make the most of the margin of discretion in the definition and organisation of SGEI, while exploring the possibility of recognising social economy organisations as SGEI;

Amendment 253 #

13a. Calls on the Commission to revise the Public Procurement Directives to prevent competition at the expense of wages and service quality so that only those who do not undermine existing collective agreements can successfully bid; that respect of fundamental labour rights is a mandatory exclusion criterium; calls on the Member States to ensure compliance, monitoring and enforcement.

Amendment 254 #

Motion for a resolution
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 #

Konstantinos ARVANITIS, Leila CHAIBI, José GUSMÃO, Eugenia RODRÍGUEZ PALOP

Motion for a resolution
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 256 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)

13b. Welcomes the idea of launching a new initiative under the Single Market Programme 2022 to support the creation of partnerships between social economy entities and mainstream businesses, enabling a “buy social” business-to- business market;

Amendment 257 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)

13b. Calls on the Commission to assess the suitability of the SME definition when applying it to social economy entities;

Amendment 258 #

Motion for a resolution
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 259 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14a. Considers that Member States must promote the access of social economy entities to Next Generation EU funding, through the Recovery and Resilience national plans, regardless of their legal form, in particular for the promotion of employment, socioeconomic inclusion and the adaptation to the digital and green transitions of disadvantaged groups, such as persons with disabilities;

Amendment 26 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A d (new)

Ad. whereas the social economy plays an important role in the transformation and evolution of our societies, welfare systems and economies thus substantially contributing to economic, social and human development in and beyond the EU and are supplementary to existing welfare regimes in many member states;

Amendment 260 #

Elisabetta GUALMINI, Heléne FRITZON

Motion for a resolution
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 261 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14a. Reminds the Member States that ESF+ funding can be used to fund the position of “facilitators of social clauses” to advise public authorities on the drafting of tender specifications that are accessible to the social economy;5a _________________ 5a http://www.fse.gouv.fr/fse-mag/clauses- sociales-et-insertion-des-personnes-les- plus-eloignees-de-lemploi-plaine- commune

Amendment 262 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14a. Calls on the Commission to monitor that Member States follow through with the commitments regarding the Social Economy set in national Recovery and Resilience Plans (RRPs);

Amendment 263 #

Konstantinos ARVANITIS, Leila CHAIBI, José GUSMÃO, Eugenia RODRÍGUEZ PALOP

Motion for a resolution
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 264 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)

14b. Invites the Member States to promote the access of social economy organisations and enterprises to Next Generation EU funding, through the Recovery and Resilience national plans, in particular for the promotion of employment, socioeconomic inclusion and the adaptation to the digital and green transitions of disadvantaged groups, such as persons with disabilities;

Amendment 265 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)

14b. Welcomes the Commission’s plans to assess the launch of dedicated co- investment mechanisms with foundations and philanthropic organisations around target mission areas such as homelessness; Calls on the European Commission to consider establishing a dedicated financial instrument to channel investment into the fight against homelessness;

Amendment 266 #

Jordi CAÑAS, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Lucia ĎURIŠ NICHOLSONOVÁ, Radan KANEV, Daniela RONDINELLI, Fabio Massimo CASTALDO, Patrizia TOIA, Manuel PIZARRO, Leopoldo LÓPEZ GIL, Michal ŠIMEČKA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 c (new)

14c. Welcomes the various tools foreseen by the European Commission, such as the new single EU Social Economy Gateway, in order to give guidance about relevant EU funding, but calls on the European Commission and Member States to ensure the effective consultation of social economy organizations in the preparation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of national and regional operational programmes of the European Structural and Investment Funds;

Amendment 267 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 c (new)

14c. Invites the Member Sates to exchange knowledge and experience on social economy entrepreneurship through the EU Mutual Learning Programme;

Amendment 268 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 d (new)

14d. Highlights the importance of obtaining data and information on the challenges and experiences faced by the social economy in partner countries; regrets that non-EU social economy organisations are not always eligible for EU programmes; invites the Commission to explore how to overcome those barriers;

Amendment 269 #

Konstantinos ARVANITIS, Leila CHAIBI, José GUSMÃO, Eugenia RODRÍGUEZ PALOP

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14a. Calls on the Commission to allocate European funds to mitigate specific and pressing needs in certain areas of society requiring support or capacity-building in order to be able to achieve autonomy and the best possible livelihood;

Amendment 27 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A e (new)

Ae. whereas social partners, at all levels, can play an important role in promoting the social economy and making it fit for responding to current and future challenges;

Amendment 270 #

Motion for a resolution
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 provide a common definition of the social economy based on its principles and features -as per the SEAP-, a definition that, taking into consideration the diversity of the social economy, applies to all policies, programmes and measures that the European Commission develops and operates for the social economy7a,as it would also ensure that support measures are granted to all social economy organisations and enterprises; notes that the Council Recommendation 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; _________________ 7a The approach to follow could be the one followed for the SME Recommendation.

Amendment 271 #

Motion for a resolution
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 272 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Strongly welcomes the proposal of a Council recommendation on social economy framework conditions to be approved in 2023; believes that taking into account the variety of the situations throughout EU Member States, 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 appropriate legal frameworks for different types of enterprises including cooperatives, public procurement, employment, state aid and social policies, taxation, education, skills and training and the importance of linking the circular economy, the green transition and the social economy agendas;

Amendment 273 #

Motion for a resolution
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; expects that these recommendations take, to the extent possible, note of the member states’ differences in governance, economy, culture and general adoption of the social economy;

Amendment 274 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Strongly welcomes the proposal of a Council recommendation on social economy framework conditions to be approved in 2023~~; believes that it~~ and calls for the full involvement of the European Parliament in this regard to make it joint recommendation of both institutions; stresses that the recommendation 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, state aid, employment and social policies, taxation, education, skills and training and the importance of linking the circular economy and the social economy agendas;

Amendment 275 #

Motion for a resolution
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, state aid, employment and social policies, taxation, education, social and care services, skills and training and the importance of linking the circular economy and the social economy agendas;

Amendment 276 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. ~~Strongly welcomes~~Welcomes, cautiously and with reservations, 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, provided that free competition is respected;

Amendment 277 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15a. Supports the setting up of national competence centres for social innovation aimed at social entrepreneurs and a European competence centre for social innovation; reminds the Commission and Member States however that social innovation is practiced by all social economy organisations, including not-for- profit social service providers, as well as social entrepreneurs; calls on Member States to address the specific challenges of the not-for-profit social services sector to allow this sector to continue its innovative trend, though retaining grants and subsidies, offered under the ESF+ or the Erasmus+ project;

Amendment 278 #

Konstantinos ARVANITIS, Leila CHAIBI, José GUSMÃO, Eugenia RODRÍGUEZ PALOP

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15a. Welcomes the development by certain member states of labels and certification systems that can enable beneficial treatment to enterprises that have a social scope and encourages all member states to make use of such tools; invites the Commission to explore the possibility of adopting social economy labels and certification schemes at EU level;

Amendment 279 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. ~~Considers it regrettable~~Regrets 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; reiterates the Parliament’s call to introduce common minimum standards for non- profit organisations throughout the EU and establish a statute for a European association; 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 be explored as a tool to overcome the aforementioned decades-long deadlocks;

Amendment 28 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A f (new)

Af. whereas a significant feature of the social economy is the large number of female workers, who account for over 70% of the labour force in many entities;

Amendment 280 #

Motion for a resolution
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 281 #

Motion for a resolution
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, including cross-border activities, be explored as a tool to overcome the aforementioned decades-long deadlocks;

Amendment 282 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Considers it regrettable that Parliament’s past calls on the Commission to submit proposals allowing mutual societies, associations9a 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 be explored as a tool to overcome the aforementioned decades-long deadlocks; _________________ 9a Resolution on non-profit making associations in the European Communities of 13 April 1987

Amendment 283 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Considers it ~~regrettable that Parliament’s past calls on the Commission~~necessary for the Commission to explain the reasons why Parliament’s calls 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~~have not been heard; 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 be explored as a tool to overcome the aforementioned decades-long deadlocks;

Amendment 284 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16a. Supports the setting up of national competence centres for social innovation aimed at social economy entrepreneurs, as well as a European competence centre for social innovation; looks forward to the launch of the Youth Entrepreneurship Policy Academy to be developed together with the Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development; calls on social economy organisations to support the emergence of Youth Social Economy Entrepreneurs; believes, however, that the Commission, together with the Member States, should launch targeted initiatives to help other social economy entrepreneurs from underrepresented and disadvantaged groups;

Amendment 285 #

Motion for a resolution
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 286 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16a. Notes the key role of Cohesion Funds, and in particular the ERDF and ESF, in supporting the development of the social economy and calls on Member States to ensure that not-for-profit social services are able to effectively use funds; Calls on the Commission to make greater use of the Erasmus+ programme to promote the participation of young people in the social economy, particularly in regions facing barriers to mobility;

Amendment 287 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)

16b. Supports the setting up of national competence centres for social innovation aimed at social entrepreneurs and a European competence centre for social innovation; reminds the Commission and Member States however that social innovation is practiced by all social economy organisations, including not-for- profit social service providers, as well as social entrepreneurs;

Amendment 288 #

Konstantinos ARVANITIS, Leila CHAIBI, José GUSMÃO, Eugenia RODRÍGUEZ PALOP

Motion for a resolution
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 authorities; 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; invites the Commission to make the EU Social Economy Gateway operational as soon as possible and believes that member states should also be quick to raise awareness about this unique information access point;

Amendment 289 #

Motion for a resolution
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 authorities~~can 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 29 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A g (new)

Ag. whereas the full respect of workers’ and trade union rights in all models and operational forms in the social economy must be respected and enforced;

Amendment 290 #

Cindy FRANSSEN, Dennis RADTKE, Loucas FOURLAS, Stelios KYMPOUROPOULOS

Motion for a resolution
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 authorities and frontline social service providers; 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 (new) social investment strategy ~~where social priorities are clearly identified~~that does not interfere with existing funding instruments and where social priorities are clearly identified, in line with the European Pillar of Social Rights, and which can provide a framework for cooperation between public authorities and social economy organisations;

Amendment 291 #

Motion for a resolution
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 authorities, where a wider application of SGEI is important for the activities of social service providers; 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 292 #

Ádám KÓSA

Motion for a resolution
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 authorities; 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 taking into consideration the integration of sheltered workshops as well, where social priorities are clearly identified and which can provide a framework for cooperation between public authorities and social economy organisations;

Amendment 293 #

Motion for a resolution
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 authorities; 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, while respecting the principle of Subsidiarity and Proportionality, 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 294 #

Guido REIL, Nicolaus FEST

Motion for a resolution
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 authorities; 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~~in accordance with national law and practice, 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~~enhanced public-private partnership;

Amendment 295 #

Motion for a resolution
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 authorities; highlights that social economy projects do ~~generally~~often 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 296 #

Motion for a resolution
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 authorities; 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 297 #

Jarosław DUDA

Motion for a resolution
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 authorities; highlights that the success of social economy projects ~~do generally require a close partnership with public entities~~relies on building a stable partnership, 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 298 #

Konstantinos ARVANITIS, Leila CHAIBI, José GUSMÃO, Eugenia RODRÍGUEZ PALOP

Motion for a resolution
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 authorities; highlights that social economy projects do generally require a close partnership with public ~~entitie~~administrations, 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 of any kind;

Amendment 299 #

Motion for a resolution
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 3 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 a (new)

— Having regard to the Commission communication of 7 October 2020 entitled ‘A Union of Equality: EU Roma strategic framework for equality, inclusion and participation’ (COM(2020) 620) and the Council Recommendation of 12 March 2021 on Roma equality, inclusion and participation (2021/C 93/01)

Amendment 30 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A h (new)

A h. whereas public authorities rarely use the existing possibilities available to facilitate the access of social economy entities to public procurement or funding, nor the flexibility offered by current EU state aid rules; whereas most public tenders are still awarded based only on the price criterion and socially responsible public procurement is still far less known and developed than green public procurement;

Amendment 300 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17a. Shares the view that labels and certification systems, which have been developed in some countries, could serve as inspiration to other Member States; welcomes the commitment in the SEAP to launch a study on national social economy labels and certification systems with a view to a common European approach;

Amendment 301 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17a. Calls on the Commission to update the 2012 Study on the current situation and prospects of mutuals in Europe to identify opportunities and barriers for their development in Europe, particularly in healthcare and insurance;

Amendment 302 #

Motion for a resolution
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~~calls for this study to cover workers or the composition of the different types of social economy entities, and to include the gender perspective, thus providing sex- disaggregated data including gender indicators; notes that detailed, standardised, comparable disaggregated (by sex, age, ethnic background, disability, gender and other factors) and reliable data on the scale and impact of the social economy including its sustainability impact, 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 goal~~which itself has the necessary transformative potential for the European economy as a whole; Calls for an EU platform for exchange of best practice between Member States, local and regional authorities and social economy networks;

Amendment 303 #

Motion for a resolution
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; calls in this respect on the Commission and the Member States to work with Eurostat with a view to promote the development of standardised data, allowing robust analysis and trends in the social economy;

Amendment 304 #

Motion for a resolution
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; reminds the Member States of the 2015 Council conclusions’ invitation for national statistical authorities to develop and implement social economy satellite accounts;

Amendment 305 #

Motion for a resolution
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 306 #

Motion for a resolution
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; considers that the specification of clear, comparable definitions of the concepts surrounding the social economy and the enterprises and organisations that comprise it will make it possible to properly put into practice these analyses and the ensuring policies;

Amendment 307 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Calls on the Commission to create a single online platform to support enterprises, organisations and entrepreneurship using different forms of social economy, which links all European studies and reports on the social economy and the opportunities offered by the EU to these enterprises and organisations; Recommends that this online platform be designed and managed in cooperation with European social economy networks and the expert group on social economy and social enterprises (GECES);

Amendment 308 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18a. Welcomes the Commission’s work on a transition pathway for the social economy and proximity industrial ecosystems; notes, however, that additional information is required to explain how such a pathway will be implemented on the ground and how it will interact with other regional and local initiatives;

Amendment 309 #

Motion for a resolution
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;

Amendment 31 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A i (new)

Ai. whereas voluntary work plays a fundamental role in the social economy, being important both for the younger generation and for older people, for whom in some cases it represents an important opportunity to play an active role in society that helps to improve their quality of life, gain qualifications and increase their employment prospects;

Amendment 310 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)

18b. Calls on the Commission to strongly enforce the social clause of the existing EU public procurement directive and to revise that directive in order to strengthen social clauses in public contracts, requiring economic operators and subcontractors to fully respect workers’ right to collective bargaining, and to set conditions for the full implementation of the applicable sectorial collective agreements and the working conditions described therein, while at the same time respecting national labour market traditions and models”

Amendment 311 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)

18b. Urges the Commission and the European External Action Service to provide information and training on the social economy to the staff working in EU delegations and to increase the visibility thereof in EU external action;

Amendment 312 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 c (new)

18c. Calls on the Commission to promote the social economy in the external dimension of EU policies, inter alia, by acknowledging and including its specific nature in future association agreements and the revision of the current ones, and by assessing how it can contribute to its development outside EU borders;

Amendment 313 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 c (new)

18c. Calls on the Member States to review their implementation on the social clause of the public procurement directive in particular to assess the respect of collective agreements in public contracts.

Amendment 314 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Calls on the Member States to designate social economy coordinators and to set up local social economy contact points with a view to facilitating access to funding, including EU funding; invites the Commission and the social economy organisations to also use the announced Social Economy Gateway to raise awareness of the funding opportunities at EU level; calls on the Member States to properly and effectively implement the SEAP in collaboration with the social economy stakeholders;

Amendment 315 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Calls on the Member States to designate social economy coordinators and to set up local social economy contact points with a view to facilitating access to funding, including EU funding; Welcomes the setting up of a Social Services Helpdesk, referred to in the Action Plan and co-funded by ESF+, not least as social service providers and other social economy organisations have the potential to reshape the economy post-COVID through inclusive and sustainable economic models;

Amendment 316 #

Konstantinos ARVANITIS, Leila CHAIBI, José GUSMÃO, Eugenia RODRÍGUEZ PALOP

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

Amendment 317 #

Motion for a resolution
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;

Amendment 318 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Calls on the Member States to designate social economy coordinators and to set up local social economy contact points with a view to facilitating access to support and funding, including EU funding;

Amendment 319 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Calls on the Member States, in the event that the social economy thrives, to designate social economy coordinators and to set up local social economy contact points with a view to facilitating access to funding, including EU funding;

Amendment 32 #

Jarosław DUDA

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas the social economy plays a crucial role in social inclusion and building social capital;

Amendment 320 #

19a. Reiterates Parliament’s support to the fact that the components of the social economy should be recognised in the EU sectoral and inter-sectoral social dialogue and suggests that the process should be encouraged by both the Member States and the Commission9a; and calls on the Commission and the Member States to strengthen the mechanisms and instruments to support the European, national and regional representative organisations of the social economy as they are crucial for the creation of favourable ecosystems for the social economy; _________________ 9a European Parliament Resolution of 19 February 2009 on Social Economy

Amendment 321 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)

19a. Calls on the Member States to introduce appropriate measures and rules to prevent the misuse of funding when funding is allocated to social economy organisations

Amendment 322 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Calls on the Commission to ~~set up an implementation taskforce for the SEAP and to disseminate its composition and~~collaborate with the expert group on social economy and social enterprises (GECES), to set up an implementation taskforce for the SEAP - with regular reporting to the European Parliament, the Council and the relevant representative organisations of the social economy, facilitated by means of a dedicated budget -and to disseminate its timeline for action;

Amendment 323 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Calls on the Commission to set up an implementation taskforce for the SEAP, which regularly reports to the European Parliament, the Council and the relevant stakeholders, and to disseminate its composition and timeline for action;

Amendment 324 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Calls on the Commission to set up an implementation taskforce, to firstly conduct comprehensive market studies to make sure of the real social benefit of the social economy and its impact on the overall economy, to serve as a basis, if applicable, for the SEAP and to disseminate its composition and timeline for action;

Amendment 325 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20a. Calls on the Member States to implement the Action Plan for the Social Economy in collaboration and partnership with all social economy stakeholders, and with the long-term goal of making the social economy the new mainstream.;

Amendment 326 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 b (new)

20b. Calls on the European Commission to ensure synergies with other important initiatives whereby there is complementarity, such as in the work of the European Platform on combatting Homelessness and the development of the European Care Strategy;

Amendment 33 #

Jarosław DUDA

Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)

Ab. whereas the principal of subsidiarity is one of the cornerstones for the functioning of the European Union; whereas the social economy is one of the best examples of its application;

Amendment 34 #

Anne SANDER

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas the social economy is one of the drivers of upward social convergence within the European Union and is associated with the creation of sustainable jobs and social progress;

Amendment 35 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas those who need support, because of age, disability, sickness or other reasons, must always be cared for in our society; whereas public authorities must promote conditions to ensure that public and private initiatives can meet their needs and those of their families;

Amendment 36 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)

Ab. whereas the solidarity of the social economy must be extended to all sectors of society such as the care sector and assistance to older people or those at risk of social exclusion, in order to ensure that any entity, whether for-profit or non- profit, may offer these services for the common good and in support of families;

Amendment 37 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas the social economy ~~has~~and social service providers have 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 and~~fabric, society and economy and - in particular in the field of not-for-profit social, health and education/vocational training services - 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~~goals of the European Social Pillar and the social targets and activities of the social economy12 ; _________________ 12 OECD (2020), Social economy and the COVID-19 crisis: current and future roles.

Amendment 38 #

Motion for a resolution
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 39 #

Motion for a resolution
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 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 economy~~economic and social sustainability of its business model12 ; _________________ 12 OECD (2020), Social economy and the COVID-19 crisis: current and future roles.

Amendment 4 #

Jordi CAÑAS, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Lucia ĎURIŠ NICHOLSONOVÁ, Radan KANEV, Daniela RONDINELLI, Fabio Massimo CASTALDO, Patrizia TOIA, Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE

Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 a (new)

— having regard to the European Skills Agenda for Sustainable Competitiveness, Social Fairness and Resilience of 1 July 2020

Amendment 40 #

Motion for a resolution
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 and has driven and contributed to social and economic resilience thanks to ~~the~~its 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 41 #

Motion for a resolution
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, in society and economy ~~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~~- in particular in the field of not-for-profit social, health and education/vocational training services – and has driven and contributed to social and economic resilience thanks to the targets and activities of the social economy12 ; _________________ 12 OECD (2020), Social economy and the COVID-19 crisis: current and future roles.

Amendment 42 #

Motion for a resolution
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, often plugging the gaps left by the State, partly through its capacity to intercept specific regional needs, 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 OCSE (2020), Social economy and the COVID-19 crisis: current and future roles.

Amendment 43 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas the ~~social economy has played an important role~~re are signs that the social economy has been able to play its part in mitigating and in addressing the short- and long-term impacts of COVID-19 on the EU’'s social market, society and economy 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 44 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas social economy entities demonstrated great resilience and innovation in the face of adversity but faced difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as drops in activity, limited cash reserves, or the need to take their business activity online;

Amendment 45 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas it has a significant potential and contribution in facilitating the integration of disabled persons, in particular with regards to mental disabilities, in the open labour market instead of segregated work;

Amendment 46 #

Konstantinos ARVANITIS, Leila CHAIBI, José GUSMÃO, Eugenia RODRÍGUEZ PALOP

Motion for a resolution
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 47 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas the social economy plays an important role in promoting the cultural heritage of each Member State;

Amendment 48 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)

Bb. whereas work at social economy enterprises can significantly improve the well-being and mental health of disadvantaged groups, such as people with mental health illnesses, which are excluded from the traditional economy;

Amendment 49 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)

Bb. whereas social economy entities are drivers for new employment initiatives and social innovation, including in the context of the green economy and the promotion of sustainable development;

Amendment 5 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 a (new)

— having regard 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 50 #

Konstantinos ARVANITIS, Leila CHAIBI, José GUSMÃO, Eugenia RODRÍGUEZ PALOP

Motion for a resolution
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 51 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)

Bb. whereas the social economy plays an important role in promoting democracy and citizen’s social emancipation;

Amendment 52 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B c (new)

Bc. whereas governments and public authorities at large have the ultimate responsibility for ensuring equal and universal access of citizens to a high standard of welfare;

Amendment 53 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

Ba. whereas the new environmental, economic and social challenges that have been made more urgent by the pandemic have encouraged deeper reflection about the role of the social economy;

Amendment 54 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas social economy organisations have a long history in the majority of Member States, most of which have adopted specific laws in this field, and have established themselves as crucial market players; whereas the member states that have not yet adopted specific legislation for the facilitation of the social economy should do so, with technical support from the European Commission, in agreement with the objectives of the Action Plan for the Social Economy;

Amendment 55 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas social economy organisations have a long history in the majority of Member States, most of which have adopted specific laws in this field, and have established themselves as crucial market players; whereas their visibility is relatively limited and their actual contribution to the economy difficult to define, mainly due to the lack of consensus on the social economy's definition;

Amendment 56 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas social economy organisations have a long history in the majority of Member States, most of which have adopted specific laws in this field, and have established themselves as crucial market players; whereas regulatory frameworks must ensure that social economy enterprises can compete effectively in all economic sectors;

Amendment 57 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas social economy ~~organisation~~entities have a long history in the majority of Member States, most of which have adopted specific laws in this field, and have established themselves as crucial ~~market players;~~ actors in the economy and the labour market and make up more than 10% of the business and economic fabric of the EU;

Amendment 58 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

Amendment 59 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas social economy organisations have a long history in the majority of Member States, most of which have adopted specific laws in this field, and have established themselves as crucial market players; whereas, however, their heterogeneous nature, with these organisations varying considerably across different countries, has meant they have often been overshadowed within major European development processes, with their clear merits going unrecognised and their enormous potential held back;

Amendment 6 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 a (new)

— Having regard 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 60 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas social economy organisations have a ~~long~~n unequal and heterogeneous history in the majority of Member States, most of which have adopted specific laws in this field, and have established themselves as crucial market players;

Amendment 61 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas the social economy is an essential component of the EU’s social market economy and a driver for the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights and its targets; whereas social economy organisations play a role in the updated Industrial Strategy4a as they lay the ground for a more sustainable and resilient EU economy that leaves no one behind; _________________ 4a OECD/European Union (2022), Policy brief on making the most of the Social Economy’s contribution to the Circular Economy.

Amendment 62 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

Ca. Whereas there are plenty of successful models already developed in member states with a stronger tradition for social economy and those models could be used as role models totally or partially by other Member States with no such experience; whereas the Commission should facilitate collaboration between member states in the exchange of good practices;

Amendment 63 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

Ca. Whereas social economy organisations are recognised as important partners for public authorities in the provision of social, health and care services, therefore contributing to achieving key principles for social protection and inclusion of the European Pillar of Social Rights by reducing inequality, poverty, unemployment and gaps in service provision;

Amendment 64 #

Elisabetta GUALMINI, Heléne FRITZON

Motion for a resolution
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 65 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas there are numerous challenges and barriers preventing social economy organisations who want to internationalise or operate cross-border from doing so, including different rules and definitions and the lack of financing;

Amendment 66 #

Ca. Whereas the digital transition offers several opportunities to the Social Economy; whereas Social Economy operators need training to keep up in fast- paced, competitive digital markets;

Amendment 67 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)

Cb. whereas social economy organisations operate in all sectors, including key sectors such as health, long-term care, pensions, education, culture and tourism, tech for good, housing, industry, finance, circular economy, renewable energy and waste management, and by virtue of their local anchoring and their social and integrative character, are an intrinsic part of the European social model;

Amendment 68 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)

Cb. Whereas in these times of crisis, increasing the employment rate is and should continue to be at the heart of all EU policies; whereas social economy has a large untapped potential in the creation of jobs and that potential should be fully harnessed by all member states;

Amendment 69 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)

Cb. whereas the best tool to fight poverty and social exclusion is to create decent jobs with decent pay; whereas a way to contribute to such an objective could be through the implementation of direct employment initiatives in the social economy;

Amendment 7 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 b (new)

— having regard to its resolution of 16 September 2021 on fair working conditions, rights and social protection for platform workers – new forms of employment linked to digital development,

Amendment 70 #

Elisabetta GUALMINI, Heléne FRITZON

Motion for a resolution
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 71 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)

Cb. Whereas cooperatives can play a role in the democratisation of digital work, for instance creating workers- owned labour platforms;

Amendment 72 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)

Cb. whereas social economy organisations strengthen the sense of community and social capital, especially at the local level;1a _________________ 1a https://www.oecd- ilibrary.org/docserver/e9eea313- en.pdf?expires=1643295376&id=id∾cna me=guest✓sum=BF1226E6C5CBB1858A 3F36DBF5F48577

Amendment 73 #

Cc. whereas the social economy contributes to a well-functioning welfare state as it focuses on social and labour needs; whereas, however, it is the State and public authorities at large which have the ultimate responsibility for ensuring universal and equal access of citizens to a high standard of welfare, and as such, social economy organisations should play a complementary role, not a replacement of, first-line, state/regional-based provisions;2a _________________ 2a European Economic and Social Committee Milan declaration, cited in the Council conclusions of 7 December 2015 on ‘The promotion of the social economy as a key driver of economic and social development in Europe’.

Amendment 74 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C c (new)

Cc. Whereas the current situation caused by the war in Ukraine has demonstrated the importance of local communities and solidarity in the European Union and in the countries that border Ukraine; whereas generally social economy does not have a high adoption in these countries; whereas a higher presence of social economy enterprises could have been a great advantage in coordinating the support for the Ukrainian refugees;

Amendment 75 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C c (new)

Cc. whereas social economy plays an important role in promoting inclusive green and digital transition;

Amendment 76 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C d (new)

Cd. whereas social economy organisations operate in key sectors such as health, long-term care, pensions, education, culture, tech for good, housing, leisure and circular economy, renewable energy and waste management, and by virtue of their local anchoring and their social and integrative character, are an intrinsic part of the European social model;

Amendment 77 #

Cd. whereas social economy organisations can create sustainable jobs, and can help provide decent working conditions, as well as ensure labour market integration of disadvantaged or marginalized workers;

Amendment 78 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C e (new)

Ce. whereas a legal and policy framework that adequately protects and promotes worker cooperative enterprises, a set of policy measures aimed at facilitating business transfers to employees and a high level of organisation and consolidation of worker cooperatives in organisations/federations contribute to successful business transfers to employees;

Amendment 79 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C e (new)

Ce. whereas social economy organisations can contribute to the reduction of inequalities, unemployment, poverty and lack of access to vocational training as they already provide access to skilling, upskilling and re-skilling measures but also need enhanced policy measures to support skill development;

Amendment 8 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 13 a (new)

— having regard to its resolution of 11 February 2021 on the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions European Skills Agenda for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience,

Amendment 80 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C f (new)

Cf. whereas the social economy model holds great potential in reaching the most vulnerable and disadvantaged communities, such as the Roma, significantly improving their access to rights, resources, and services, as well as their professional, social, and civic participation;

Amendment 81 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C f (new)

Cf. whereas the Parliament has highlighted in past resolutions4athe importance of facilitating the development of cross-border activities and of allowing for an unhindered access to the internal market for mutual societies, associations and foundations; _________________ 4a 1987 resolution on non-profit-making associations in the European Communities; European Parliament resolution of 14 March 2013 with recommendations to the Commission on the Statute for a European mutual society; European Parliament resolution of 2 July 2013 on the proposal for a Council regulation on the Statute for a European Foundation (FE).

Amendment 82 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C g (new)

Cg. whereas social economy organisations are perceived by investors as high risk due to the information asymmetries in the market or the investors’ limited understanding of this model;5a _________________ 5a European Commission, Directorate- General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, Hayday, M., Varga, E., A recipe book for social finance : a practical guide on designing and implementing initiatives to develop social finance instruments and markets, Publications Office, 2017

Amendment 83 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C g (new)

Cg. Whereas more than a third of the about 13.8 million paid jobs in the social economy are in the sector of social services

Amendment 84 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C h (new)

C h. whereas social economy organisations and enterprises have traditionally played an important role in the employment and service provision for persons with disabilities, including through UNCRPD-abiding Work Integration Social Enterprises (WISE);

Amendment 85 #

Konstantinos ARVANITIS, Leila CHAIBI, José GUSMÃO, Eugenia RODRÍGUEZ PALOP

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas the social economy must always and at all times respect the right to free competition;

Amendment 86 #

Motion for a resolution
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 87 #

Motion for a resolution
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;~~ ; stresses that during times when the European Union is facing enormous challenges in terms of unemployment and social exclusion as well as demographic change, social economy entities have an important role to play, both in society and the labour market;

Amendment 88 #

Konstantinos ARVANITIS, Leila CHAIBI, José GUSMÃO, Eugenia RODRÍGUEZ PALOP

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Welcomes, cautiously and with reservations, 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;

Amendment 89 #

Motion for a resolution
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 9 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 14 a (new)

— having regard to its resolution of 24 November 2020 on Tackling homelessness rates in the EU;

Amendment 90 #

Motion for a resolution
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 91 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Believes that European competitiveness and growth is the key driver for social progress; underlines that the social market economy is a prerequisite for economic development;

Amendment 92 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Stresses the need to establish a clear, transparent European frame of reference that sets out common definitions, starting with the definition of ‘social economy’, highlighting which entities may form part of it, valuing its heterogeneity and plurality and at the same time encouraging full presence and a range of activities in the internal market;

Amendment 93 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1b. Considers it necessary for the actors in the social economy to be fully involved in the green, digital revolution that is in progress, ensuring that they acquire the key competences and knowledge to create ecosystems that are ever more resilient and interconnected and thus becoming, at the same time, advocates for fully carrying out their own social purpose;

Amendment 94 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Believes, however, that concrete measures and follow-up measures for achieving each objective need to be laid out and the interlinkages between measures and to other EU-level initiatives such as the Action Plan of the European Pillar of Social Rights, the European Disability Strategy, the EU Roma Strategic Framework, the European Platform on Combatting Homelessness and the New Pact on Asylum and Migration must be further detailed; considers it necessary to establish a calendar for all actions included in the SEAP and their monitoring and evaluation, with a view to guiding the relevant authorities in the implementation and ensuring cohesion and common purpose;

Amendment 95 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Believes, however, that concrete measures and follow-up measures for achieving each objective need to be laid out and the interlinkages between measures, and to other EU-level initiatives, e.g. the EPSR Action Plan or the European Disability Strategy, further detailed; considers it necessary to establish a calendar for all actions included in the SEAP, with a view to guiding the relevant authorities in the implementation;

Amendment 96 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Believes, however, that concrete measures and follow-up measures for achieving each objective need to be laid out in accordance with national law and practice and the interlinkages between measures further detailed; considers it necessary to establish a calendar for all actions included in the SEAP, with a view to guiding the relevant authorities in the implementation;

Amendment 97 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Believes, however, that concrete measures and follow-up measures for achieving each objective need to be laid out and the interlinkages between measures and other EU-level initiatives further detailed; considers it necessary to establish a calendar for all actions included in the SEAP, with a view to guiding the relevant authorities in the implementation;

Amendment 98 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Believes, however, that concrete ~~measur~~strategies and follow-up measures for achieving each objective need to be laid out and the interlinkages between measures further detailed; considers it necessary to establish a calendar for all actions included in the SEAP, with a view to guiding the relevant authorities in the implementation;

Amendment 99 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Believes, however, that preliminary impact studies and analyses still need to be set up to make it possible to assess the concrete measures and follow-up measures for achieving each objective ~~need to be laid out~~ and the interlinkages between measures further detailed; considers it necessary to establish a calendar for all actions included in the SEAP, with a view to guiding the relevant authorities in the implementation;

source: 719.855

2022/06/15 EMPL 52 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas the social economy encompasses diverse types of private entities, independent of public authorities, as cooperatives, mutual ~~benefit~~ societies, associations (including charities), foundations, social enterprises, and other legal forms, all characterised by different operating and organisational principles and features such as the primacy of people as well as social and environmental purposes over profit, the reinvestment of most profits/surpluses in the sustainability of the entity and the general interest providing goods and services to their members or society at large, and democratic or participatory governance;

Amendment 10 #

Motion for a resolution
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; notes, however, that certain aspects related to employment and social affairs within the social economy could be further strengthened;

Amendment 11 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Underlines social economy’s plurality of aims and the important role it plays in improving the resilience of the economy, ensuring a just transition, reducing inequalities, providing quality employment opportunities to vulnerable groups, promoting people’s independent living, enhancing the sense of community, countering depopulation and strengthening the development of rural areas, implementing the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights, and achieving upwards social convergence;

Amendment 12 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Believes, however, that concrete measures and follow-up measures for achieving each objective need to be laid out and the interlinkages between measures further detailed; considers it necessary to establish a calendar for all actions included in the SEAP, with a view to guiding the relevant authorities in the implementation;deleted

Amendment 13 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. U~~rges~~nderlines that despite the social economy being a considerable source of economic growth and job creation, more needs to be done to promote this model, including the principle of solidarity, social inclusion and social investment which underpins it; urges therefore the Commission and the Member States, as well as regional and local authorities, to step up efforts to further promote the social economy and mainstream the social economy dimension in relevant policies, programmes and practices, such as those relevant to ongoing transitions such as the green and digital ones, at Union level as well as globally via the EU’s external action;

Amendment 14 #

Motion for a resolution
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 competitive and supportive of micro, small and medium-sized organisations both within and outside~~without weakening existing rules, standards, and rights, such as environmental and consumer protection so as to, on one hand, make the regulatory frameworks more supportive of micro, small and medium-sized entities in their application of existing rules and regulations, and, on the other, to strengthen the development, sustainability and growth 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 15 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Believes, that concrete strategies and follow-up measures for achieving the objective set out in the SEAP need to be laid out taking into account national law and practices; underlines that the interlinkages between the SEAP and other EU initiatives such as the Action Plan of the European Pillar of Social Rights, the European Disability Strategy or the European Platform on Combatting Homelessness need to be further detailed; considers it necessary to establish a calendar for all actions included in the SEAP as well as for their monitoring and evaluation, with a view to guiding the relevant authorities in the implementation of the SEAP and ensuring policy coherence;

Amendment 16 #

Motion for a resolution
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~~entities that respond to quality criteria and whose main aim is the in~~tegrat~~clusion of persons with disabilities or other ~~disadvantaged groups~~groups at risk of social exclusion into the workforce; ~~invites~~calls on public authorities to ~~consider~~recognise 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 the inclusion of environmental and social requirements in tenders can be essential in the development of the social economy sector, calls on the Commission to further promote socially responsible public procurement and good practices to boost socially responsible business practices and encourages Member States to aim at making all public funding disbursed in the form of public procurement contracts, conditional on their compliance with applicable obligations in the fields of environmental, social and labour law established by Union law, national law, collective agreements or by the international environmental, social and labour law;

Amendment 17 #

Motion for a resolution
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 ~~organisation~~entities; 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~~what social economy entities can offer and how they can meet the tender requirements; calls on procurers not to award contracts based solely on the lowest price but on best value, thus incorporating quality criteria and social impact considerations; calls on the Member States to enhance transparency and prevent corruption in public procurement; highlights the need for the relevant authorities to explore cooperation and partnerships in the access to public procurement by social economy entities, as is the case in some Member States;

Amendment 18 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Highlights that a workers’ buyout processes can be one possible solutions toprevent the loss of jobs arising from a restructuring; Welcomes existing initiatives in Member States to provide workers interested in the buyout process and cooperatives emerging from workers’ buyouts with business support structures, including legal counselling, financial support, ~~support~~help in the preparation of business plans, and data needed for external investors ~~and business support structures~~; encourages other Member States to implement similar initiatives and to include this topic in the 2023 Council rRecommendations in order to further support these initiatives at regional and national level; highlights the role of workers’ representatives, including trade unions, in the support to and link up with the federations of cooperatives assisting workers’ buyouts in order to enhance the chances of success;

Amendment 19 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7 a. Stresses the need for the Commission to keep on working closely with the Member States to identify tools and solutions to remove obstacles and speed up legal procedures to transfer the ownership of an enterprise to the employees through worker cooperatives or other forms of worker-owned social economy entities; calls on the Commission to set up an EU platform for exchange of best practices between Member States, local and regional authorities and social economy networks;

Amendment 2 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

A a. whereas, although there is a need to have comparable data collection mechanisms on the social economy sector among EU countries, the social economy is said to represent up to 2.8 million entities in the European Union and employ around 13.6 million workers (between 0.6 and 9.9% of the workforce, depending on the country)1a; whereas the number of social economy entities and the employment rate in the sector in the EU varies depending on the definition, estimates and national statistics; whereas more than a third of the paid jobs in the social economy sector are in the social services sector; whereas the social economy offers an untapped job creation potential and represents an important tool to fight social exclusion and poverty, not least through active employment initiatives put in place in several member states, such as zero long term unemployment territories, whereas the Commission should list and map existing initiatives in order to have a better understanding of their functioning and efficiency and to share best practices among Member States; __________________ 1a See the European Commission’s Social Economy Action Plan available here: https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId =1537&langId=en

Amendment 20 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7 b. Underlines the importance of promoting the cooperative model and its principles of workers’ participation/democracy; encourages Member States to create a favourable legal environment for the establishment and functioning of cooperatives, including worker’s cooperatives;

Amendment 21 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. ~~Welcomes the announced report on the possible extension of~~Highlights the current work done by the EU to extend the ~~EU T~~taxonomy for Ssustainable Ffinance 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~~be relevant from a social perspective, while at the same time taking the situation of micro-enterprises and SMEs into account, as it can be a driver for investment in the field of the social economy if said investment is properly aligned with the principles and features of the social economy;

Amendment 22 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8 a. Highlights the importance of strengthening the business planning, implementation and evaluation skills of social economy entities, as well as relevant media literacy, management skills, participatory leadership, lifelong learning, resilience and skills required by ongoing transitions, including the green and digital ones, by supporting the Social Economy and Proximity Skills Alliance; looks forward to the forthcoming “Pact for Skills for the Social Economy” to invest in such skills; and calls on the social economy stakeholders to fully align with the targets of the EPSR by making sure that at least 60% of their employees receive training every year by 2030;

Amendment 23 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

Amendment 24 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

Amendment 25 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. ~~Considers it regrettable~~Regrets that social economy ~~organisation~~entities do not feature ~~to the same extent as more conventional businesses~~enough in the curricula of mainstream school education and higher ~~education enterprise and business~~ education14 ; in light of this, invites sector-representative bodies and relevant public authorities, in partnership with the relevant stakeholders, to review and evaluate the curricula a~~nd put forward policy recommendations for academic institution~~t all educational levels, from primary to higher education, including vocational and educational training and put forward policy recommendations; underlines the necessity to promote social economy among young people; asks the Commission to ensure continuous collaboration between the ‘European Competence Centre for Social Innovation’ and higher education institutions in all Member States with the goal of developing joint projects and raising awareness of the possibilities that the social economy offers to future young entrepreneurs and underrepresented groups such as persons with disabilities, women, older persons and socially vulnerable groups; __________________ 14 Eurofound (2019), Labour market change. Cooperatives and social enterprises: work and employment in selected countries.

Amendment 26 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11 a. Highlights that social economy entities have for decades been leaders in implementing circular business models, especially in reusing, repairing and recycling activities, thus accelerating the transition to the circular economy and reinforcing the focus on positive social impact1a, supports the Commission’s initiative to strengthen the capacity of the social economy to further develop greener services and products; __________________ 1a OECD/European Union (2022), Policy brief on making the most of the Social Economy’s contribution to the Circular Economy.

Amendment 27 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)

11 b. Highlights the distinctiveness of renewable energy cooperatives in the social economy, as part of energy communities, in the energy system as they promote sustainable energy production and consumption practices, strengthen community ownership and social innovation, generate widespread benefits and can be used to satisfy security of supply in remote locations and on certain islands;

Amendment 28 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 c (new)

11 c. Highlights the fundamental role played by social economy entities, including mutuals, in the care sector and underlines the important growth potential social economy has in this area to respond to the increased demand for care services and to address ongoing challenges such as demographic ageing; calls on the European Commission and Member States to support a quality care sector with adequate policies and to ensure that the upcoming revision in the area of state aid ensures greater flexibility to social economy entities providing social and health care services;

Amendment 29 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 d (new)

11 d. Highlights the importance of attaching greater attention to social impact measurement methodologies and practices; calls on the Commission, with the support of European social economy stakeholders, to carefully assess the development of social impact measurements methodologies, which can suit the diversity of social economy entities and further attract social investments;

Amendment 3 #

Motion for a resolution
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 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.sustainability of this model;

Amendment 30 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 e (new)

11 e. Underlines the importance of the social economy in promoting gender equality and in providing employment opportunities for women, in particular in vulnerable situations, and that it can be an entry point to transition from informal to formal employment; notes that women often make more than 60% of the workforce in the social economy, and gaps in pay and leadership have been reported to be lower; calls on the Commission and the Member States to remove all barriers for women in order to achieve gender equality; calls for the strengthening of the gender dimension in policies and access to funding for women engaged in social economy entities given the greater difficulties experienced by women in accessing finance compared to men; asks the Commission to identify a clear role for social economy in the upcoming European care strategy;

Amendment 31 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 f (new)

11 f. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to set up national, transnational and interregional capacity- building partnerships and formal agreements with social economy networks and their representative organisations; points out that it is necessary to ensure the conditions for the further development and professionalisation of social economy entities, which can be done through the provision of advisory services such as tailor-made mentoring and coaching, financing capacity-building, training and education, skilling and up/re-skilling, incubating services as well as access to legal counselling;

Amendment 32 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 g (new)

11 g. Highlights the key role that new technologies and artificial intelligence, when accessible to all, can play in creating jobs and developing and scaling up social economy; stresses the importance of giving social economy entrepreneurs and employees, with a specific focus on vulnerable workers, enhanced access to training programmes on digital skills and advanced technologies, both at Union and national level, and calls on the Commission and Member States to explore how mainstream businesses, the public sector and social economy entities can cooperate in that regard; notes that the digital transition in the social economy should be encouraged, inter alia, through taxation, public procurement and state aid;

Amendment 33 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 h (new)

11 h. Calls on the Member States to provide targeted funding for social economy entities and to make full use of existing Union funds to promote the social economy sector and to step up their efforts to absorb the funds that are made available to them in the social economy field;

Amendment 34 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 i (new)

11 i. Welcomes the proposal to launch a new single EU Social Economy Gateway in 2023; underlines that this initiative has the potential to support social economy entities in providing important information and guidance on relevant Union funding, policies, networks and platforms as well as related initiatives;

Amendment 35 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Notes the possibilities offered under InvestEU to support the social economy; urges the Commission and the implementing partners to design financial products tailored to the needs of social economy enterprises under the Social Investment and Skills window and to allocate sufficient resources to these products with an emphasis on projects concurrently dealing with digital transformation and the green transition; notes that sound eligibility criteria should be developed to target financial intermediaries that specifically support the social economy and considers that advisory services should be made available under the InvestEU Advisory Hub in order to maximise the potential of these financial intermediaries to tap into the InvestEU programme; calls on the Commission to ensure that other InvestEU financial products such as those targeting SMEs are made accessible to social economy ~~organisation~~entities, most of which are micro, small and medium-sized ~~organisa~~entities in order to allow for the development of a pipeline of projects on key topics and improve the long-term economic sustainability of social economy entities as well as their uptake of innovative solutions;

Amendment 36 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)

12 a. Notes in particular the key role of Cohesion Policy Funds, including the European Social Fund (ESF+) and the European Regional Development- Cohesion Fund, in financing social economy projects; recalls the specific objectives of the ESF+ in improving access to employment for all jobseekers, in particular young people, as well as through the promotion of self- employment and the social economy; reminds the Member States that ESF + funding can be used by public authorities in public procurement to fund the set up of “facilitators of social clauses”, i.e. professionals in charge of promoting and supporting the implementation of social clauses at local level, and to advise public authorities on the drafting of tender specifications that are accessible to the social economy;

Amendment 37 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)

12 b. Acknowledges the great potential that the social economy has in the creation of quality jobs and internships for the youth, which can accelerate their integration into the labour market; encourages Member States to use funds available under the reinforced Youth Guarantee to boost social economy among the young generation as it can enhance the integration of young people into the labour market; welcomes the Commission’s initiative to launch a Youth Entrepreneurship Policy Academy in 2022 under the ESF+ to foster youth entrepreneurship and calls on the Commission to devote particular attention to social entrepreneurship and to develop targeted initiatives to help other underrepresented entrepreneurs in the social economy;

Amendment 38 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

Amendment 39 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14 a. Calls on the Member States to promote access of social economy entities to Next Generation EU funding, in the context of their Recovery and Resilience national plans, in particular for the promotion of quality employment, of social inclusion and of an inclusive digital and green transition for all;

Amendment 4 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

B a. whereas the social economy contributes to and benefits from well- functioning welfare systems; whereas, however, it is the State and public authorities at large which have the ultimate responsibility for ensuring universal, affordable and equal access of citizens to a high standard of public services and welfare, and as such, social economy organisations play, and should continue to do so, a complementary role, not a replacement of, first-line, state/regional-based public service provisions;

Amendment 40 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)

14 b. Invites the Commission, on the occasion of the next revision of the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER), to widen the scope of the Regulation and adequately take into account the specific needs of social economy entities in terms of access to finance and market development; calls on the Commission to better include social considerations in the area of State Aid such as the promotion of the recruitment of disadvantaged workers, including persons with disabilities, especially in the context of the post-COVID-19 recovery, to explore different evidence-based options, after consulting relevant stakeholders, to support the development of social economy entities and to provide clarity and guidance to national authorities on the legal basis to be used to support social economy entities via state aid;

Amendment 41 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 c (new)

14 c. Urges the national, regional and local authorities to better tap into the potential of existing rules regarding the specific provisions offered to services of general economic interest (SGEI) to access public finance support in the EU state aid regulation, not least by making full use of the possibility to recognise social economy entities carrying out an economic activity as SGEI where relevant;

Amendment 42 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 d (new)

14 d. Welcomes the idea of launching a new initiative under the Single Market Programme 2022 to support the creation of partnerships between social economy entities and mainstream businesses, enabling a “buy social” business-to- business market that can strengthen- the social economy;

Amendment 43 #

14 e. Believes that existing labels and certifications for social economy entities could serve as an inspiration to Member States; welcomes the commitment in the SEAP to launch a study on national social economy labels and certification systems with a view to increasing the visibility of the social economy and enabling a well- functioning single market, and, based on the results, exploring the possibility of laying the ground for a more standardised system at Union level; underlines that this study should build on previous findings and involve social economy stakeholders;

Amendment 44 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Strongly welcomes the proposal of a Council recommendation on social economy framework conditions to be approved in 2023; ~~believ~~stresses that ~~it should serve as a compass to~~the recommendation should provide a common definition of the social economy at Union level based on its main principles and features as presented in the SEAP and that both the Recommendation and definition need to take into account the diversity of social economy entities within and across member states; highlights that the Recommendation shall have the primary objective of strengthening the social economy legal and policy frameworks, especially in Member States where the social economy ecosystem is less developed~~, and~~; believes that the Recommendation should clearly highlight the support instruments made available by the EU and provide guidance in relation to specific policies such as suitable legal frameworks for different social economy entities, public procurement, state aid employment ~~and~~, social and health policies, taxation, education, skills and training and the importance of linking ~~the circular economy and~~ongoing transitions with the social economy agendas;

Amendment 45 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15 a. Underlines the importance of workers’ participation and democratic governance, principles recognised in the SEAP, in achieving the objectives of the social economy; stresses that all workers in the social economy must have decent working and employment conditions and career progression perspectives, ideally, based on collective agreements; highlights in this context that social economy entities have to respect trade union rights, social dialogue and collective bargaining; calls on the Commission to ensure that all EU financial support to social economy entities should be made conditional on their compliance with the applicable working and employment conditions and/or employer obligations set by law and/or resulting from collective agreements; stresses that social economy entities, due to the characteristic of their model based on workers’ participation, and are well-placed to promote social dialogue and collective bargaining; stresses therefore the need to further develop social dialogue, both at national and European level, and collective bargaining in the social economy;

Amendment 46 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)

15 b. Calls on the Commission and the European External Action Service to promote the social economy at international level and to increase the visibility of the sector in the external dimension of Union policies, inter alia, by acknowledging and including its specific nature in future association agreements and providing information and training on social economy to the staff working in EU delegations, and by assessing how such actions can contribute to the development of social economy in third countries;

Amendment 47 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. ~~Considers it regrettable~~Regrets 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; reiterates Parliament’s call to introduce common minimum standards for non-profit organisations throughout the EU and establish a statute for a European association and calls on the Commission to publicly explain the reasons why the Parliament’s calls have not been heard, 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, including cross-border activities, be explored as a tool to overcome the aforementioned decades-long deadlocks;

Amendment 48 #

Motion for a resolution
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 authorities and social economy entities; highlights that social economy projects do ~~generally~~often 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 new social investment strategy where social priorities are clearly identified, in line with the EPSR, and which can provide a framework for cooperation between public authorities and social economy ~~organisation~~entities;

Amendment 49 #

Motion for a resolution
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; calls for this study to cover the different types of social economy entities and disaggregated data on workers, 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; calls on the Commission, as part of this work, to update the 2012 study on mutuals in the Union to identify opportunities and barriers for their development, particularly in the area of healthcare and insurance; and calls on the Commission and national statistical authorities to work with Eurostat to collectstandardised data and to regularly update and analyse it;

Amendment 5 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C

C. whereas social economy ~~organisation~~entities have a long, yet heterogeneous history in the majority of Member States, most of which have adopted specific laws in this field, and have established themselves as crucial ~~market playe~~social and economic actors, who can play an important role in the market, whereas social economy entities still face significant obstacles that hamper their economic and overall social impact; whereas Member States need to adopt specific legislation to overcome those barriers and enable the consolidation and development of the social economy, and to ensure that social economy entities can compete effectively in all economic sectors;

Amendment 50 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18 a. Welcomes the Commission’s work on a transition pathway for the social economy and proximity industrial ecosystems, notes, however, that additional information is required to understand how it will interact with other regional and local initiatives and ensure an effective implementation on the ground;

Amendment 51 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Calls on the Member States to designate social economy coordinators and to set up local social economy contact points with a view to raising awareness of and facilitating access to support and funding, including EU funding; calls on the Commission to set up a single online EU platform for exchange of best practices between Member States, local and regional authorities and social economy networks, underlines that this platform needs to be managed in cooperation with European social economy networks and the Commission Expert group on social economy and social enterprises (GECES); considers that there is a need to ensure a close coordination between the national coordinators, the local contact points, the EU online platform and the EU Social Economy Gateway in order to maximise knowledge exchange and synergies as well as the visibility of opportunities for social economy actors and avoid possible duplication of work;

Amendment 52 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Calls on the Commission to further collaborate with GECES and to set up an implementation taskforce for the SEAP including the GECES as well as national coordinators in charge of monitoring and regularly reporting to the European Parliament, the Council and the relevant stakeholders, including social partners, and to disseminate its composition and timeline for action;

Amendment 6 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

C a. whereas social economy organisations operate in key sectors such as health, long-term care, social, education and vocational training, culture and the promotion of cultural heritage, advanced technologies, housing, leisure and circular economy, renewable energy and waste management, and by virtue of their local anchoring and their social and integrative character, are an intrinsic part of the European social model;

Amendment 7 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)

C b. whereas social economy entities have traditionally played an important role in the integration and employment of as well as in the provision of services for disadvantaged workers, especially persons with disabilities, including through UNCRPD-abiding Work Integration Social Enterprises (WISE), thus improving their wellbeing and mental health;

Amendment 8 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C c (new)

C c. whereas more than 82.2 million volunteers play an active and fundamental role in the social economy1a; whereas volunteering is important both for the younger generation and for older people, for whom in some cases it represents an important opportunity to play an active role in society; __________________ 1a https://www.eesc.europa.eu/sites/default/fi les/files/qe-04-17-875-en-n.pdf

Amendment 9 #