EU initiatives

As part of the implementation of the action plan for the social economy, the Commission adopted a proposal for a Council recommendation on developing social economy framework conditions on 13 June 2023.

The Council formally adopted the recommendation on 27 November 2023. The final text is available here.

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This initiative seeks to ensure full single market freedoms for associations, simplifying their cross-EU activities and promoting their fundamental rights.

Current rules create obstacles, such as additional registrations, when associations operate across EU borders. This may distort the market for non-profit organisations, affecting the EU democratic space and the exercise of EU fundamental rights.

For background: A study on Comparative legal analysis of associations laws and regimes in the EU.

For some background information see here.

On 5 September 2023 the proposal to facilitate cross-border activities of non-profit associations in the EU has been adopted.

Public consultation: 6 September 2023 - 28 November 2023, you can share your feedback here.

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In the Social Economy Action Plan, the Commission committed to continue working with the Expert Group on Social Economy and Social Enterprises (‘the group’) with a view to delivering the announced actions.

The current membership of the group will expire in July 2024. Therefore, the Commission intends to renew it.

The group was initially created in 2012 following the Social Business Initiative communication. In 2018, the group was renewed by the Commission’s Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (‘DG GROW’).

The group has been assisting the Commission by providing guidance and expertise in the field of social economy and social entrepreneurship development.

The new members will be invited to advise Commission’s services on the implementation of the Social Economy Action Plan and the Transition Pathway for the ‘Proximity and Social Economy’ industrial ecosystem and the Council recommendation on social economy framework conditions.  

The political momentum created by the adoption of the action plan, the release of the transition Pathway for the ‘Proximity and Social Economy’ industrial ecosystem, and the Council Recommendation constitute the ground for re-defining the composition and the tasks of the group.

The group’s tasks shall be :

1. to assist the Commission in relation to the implementation of the measures envisaged in the Commission’s Communication: ‘Building an economy that works for people: an action plan for the social economy’;
2. to advise the Commission on how to best implement policy measures in the field of industrial policy for social economy, in particular the development of the Transition Pathway for the ‘Proximity and Social Economy’ industrial ecosystem;
3. to assist the Commission by providing advice and expertise on the follow-up to the implementation of the Council recommendation on developing social economy framework conditions in Member States;
4. to assist the Commission in the preparation of legislative proposals and policy initiatives in the field of social economy and social enterprise;
5. to reflect on how to best incorporate social economy and social enterprise issues in Commission policies and funding;
6. to bring about an exchange of experience and good practice in the field of social economy and social enterprise and contribute to awareness-raising.

The Commission is calling for applications with a view to selecting members of the group other than Member States' authorities.

This call will be open for four weeks, from the date of publication on 13 April 2024. The evaluation of applications will take place in May 2024. Applicants must send duly signed applications by 10 May 2024.

More information

Call for Expression of Interest to join the drafting committee developing a  “Code of Conduct for data management and data sharing in the social economy”

One of the actions announced in the social economy action plan is to “Develop a code of conduct on data use and management in the social economy, in cooperation with stakeholders to support the uptake of data and technology”.  

This ambition was further concretised in the transition pathway for the green and digital transition of the proximity and social economy industrial ecosystem, which was released in November 2022. Among the 14 areas of shared action of ecosystem stakeholders, action area 11 “Data sharing, Data management & Code of Conduct” clarified that the Commission will facilitate to “Develop a Code of Conduct for data collection, sharing and management in the social economy to build a community of practice” (action 23). 

This call for expression of interest is the first step in the development of the Code of Conduct (CoC-SE). It aims to mobilise private and public actors to engage in this process, supported and facilitated by the European Commission services through an external contractor. 

The European Commission invites applicants to submit their interest by sending their motivation and expertise (related to the relevant criteria listed in the call) to join the drafting committee as well as their willingness to contribute voluntarily to the drafting and conceptualisation process of the CoC-SE.

Please find the call for expression of interest below with all details on the process:

Call for expression of interest

Applicants are also requested to add their CV to the application email. Please email your CV and a short motivation letter (1-2 page) to GROW-SOCIAL-ENTERPRISEec [dot] europa [dot] eu (GROW-SOCIAL-ENTERPRISE[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu) by 5 January 2024 (extended from origianl deadline: 8 December 2023). Please address questions to the DG GROW social economy team via the same email address. 

This section will highlight consultations conducted by the European Commission that may be relevant for stakeholders in the social economy.

Public consultation for the interim evaluation of the Single Market Programme  2021-2027

8 March 2024 – 31 May 2024, Learn more

Public consultation on the European Social Fund and the Youth Employment Initiative:

30 October 2023 – 9 January 2024, Learn more

Public consultation to evaluate European Labour Authority’s performance:

7 November 2023 – 5 January 2024, Learn more

Public consultation on the proposal to facilitate cross-border activities of non-profit associations in the EU:

 6 September 2023 – 28 November 2023, you can share your feedback here.

European Commission

The three Commissioners who are responsible for the social economy-related matters are:

• Nicolas Schmit, Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights
• Thierry Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market
• Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President and Commissioner for an Economy that Works for People

As the Commission adopts decisions collectively, other Commissioners are involved as well.

At working level, the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG EMPL) and the Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) are leading the work on social economy. However, due to the transversal nature of the social economy, several other Directorate-Generals are involved.

GECES expert group

The expert group on social economy and social enterprises (GECES) advises the Commission on topics related to the social economy, raises awareness at the national level of EU actions, and promotes exchanges of best practices between Member States. The group's current mandate runs until 2024.

European Parliament

In the European Parliament, the Intergroup on Social Economy aims to ensure a permanent dialogue between the European Institutions, Member States and the social economy sector, and to mainstream the social economy perspective into the legislative and non-legislative work of the European Parliament.

Committees

The European Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee are also involved in the work on social economy:

• On 8 February 2023, the European Committee of the Regions adopted an opinion on 'Creating an enabling environment for the social economy', underlining the strong local anchorage of the social economy.
• The European Economic and Social Committee has adopted opinions on the action plan for the social economy (2022) and on the role of social economy in the creation of jobs and in the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights (2021). The Committee also hosts the Social Economy Category, a group that has encouraged the mainstreaming of the Social Economy in the Committee's opinions and other activities, as well as initiated a number of commissioned studies on the sector.

EU Member States

The Monitoring Committee for the Luxembourg Declaration

The Monitoring Committee was set up following the adoption of the Luxembourg declaration (“A roadmap towards a more comprehensive ecosystem for social economy enterprises”) under the Luxembourgish Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2015. It serves as an informal forum for EU ministers competent for the social economy to exchange experience and share information on respective initiatives. More countries have gradually joined the group, which today comprises 23 countries. Bulgaria held the presidency of the Monitoring Committee in 2023, followed by Belgium in 2024.