Secretaria-Geral do Ministério do Trabalho, Solidariedade e Segurança Social

After many years of work and commitment by various people and social economy entities at European level, including Social Economy Europe and its members, including CASES, we are pleased to have the Social Economy Action Plan announced by the European Commission.

We believe that this Plan marks a new chapter in the life of the Social Economy, in which it gains more visibility, consistency, body and maturity. Just as certain disruptive events favour entering a new phase of development, the COVID-19 crisis has also accelerated the growth of this sector – through greater appreciation and recognition by society at large of the principles and values that govern the social economy, such as the primacy of people and the planet, solidarity, cooperation, justice and social cohesion.

This Plan means not only the recognition by the European institutions of the importance of the Social Economy, through a specific policy aimed at the sector; as well as putting in place, in a concerted and systemic way, concrete mechanisms of action that promote social economy entities, which should be considered and used in the best way, including at national level, transforming them into ambitious objectives and targets for the sector over the next few years.

The Plan includes concrete actions to be implemented over the next nine years, in key areas such as: State aid (exploiting new possibilities for social enterprises for labour integration and other social economy enterprises of social utility), legal and policy frameworks, socially responsible public procurement and access to markets, promoting the social economy at local, regional and international level; business support, skills, youth entrepreneurship, access to finance (InvestEU and other relevant programmes); contribution of the social economy to the green and digital transitions, social innovation; Recognition, among others.

Consult here the Action Plan for the Social Economy

Source: CASES