European Commission
The Social Economy Action Plan, released by the European Commission, aims to support and enhance the social economy in Europe. It focuses on creating favorable conditions, opening opportunities for social economy organizations, and raising awareness. With 2.8 million social economy entities employing 13.6 million people, the plan aims to unlock their potential in achieving a just green and digital transition. The plan includes proposals for legal frameworks, financial support, and data collection. The implementation will last until 2030 in collaboration with member states.
The European Commission adopted the Social Economy Action Plan on December 9, 2021 to help the European social economy thrive and reach its full potential in terms of economic growth, job creation, and contributing to a fair, inclusive, green and digital recovery[1][5].
The action plan proposes measures for the period 2021-2030, focusing on three main areas[1][2][3]:
- Creating the right conditions for the social economy to thrive This involves improving legal and policy frameworks, adapting taxation, public procurement and state aid to the needs of the social economy. The Commission will propose a Council Recommendation on developing social economy framework conditions in 2023[1][2].
- Opening opportunities for social economy organisations to start up and scale up The plan aims to support business development, reskilling and upskilling of workers in the social economy. The Commission will launch an EU Social Economy Gateway in 2023, new financial products under InvestEU in 2022, and a European Competence Centre for Social Innovation in 2022[1][2].
- Making sure the social economy and its potential are recognised This focuses on mapping, data collection and analysis on the social economy, and raising public awareness. The Commission will carry out communication activities and studies to better understand the social economy[1][2].
The action plan recognizes the 2.8 million social economy entities in Europe that employ 13.6 million people[1][3]. It seeks to unlock their potential as key actors in achieving a just green and digital transition[4].
The Council recommendation proposed in June 2023 aims to guide member states in enhancing social economy framework conditions, especially in less developed areas[4]. The action plan implementation will last until 2030 in collaboration with member states[4].
Citations: [1] https://sharing4good.org/article/eu-social-economy-action-plan [2] https://www.interregeurope.eu/policy-learning-platform/news/the-social-economy-action-plan-has-been-published [3] https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/cooperatives/sse/WCMS_840976/lang--en/index.htm [4] https://www.impacteurope.net/insights/spotlight-social-economy-action-plan [5] https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1537&langId=en [6] https://www.epr.eu/social-economy-action-plan/ [7] https://www.caritas.eu/the-european-action-plan-on-social-economy/ [8] https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12743-Social-Economy-Action-Plan