The General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER) is a key state aid instrument, well-positioned to accelerate public investment and facilitate the implementation of EU priorities, such as social inclusion and territorial cohesion. However, the uptake of the current GBER is modest, particularly in comparison to other state aid instruments. As the current GBER expires at the end of 2026, it is crucial that the EU works towards a clear and sound GBER, coherent with other EU-level legislation, which will facilitate further access to funding for cooperatives.

Following the Commission’s publication of its proposal for a new GBER, CECOP finds several aspects in need of further improvement.

CECOP calls on the Commission to:

  • Explicitly include the social economy throughout the Regulation by replacing ‘social enterprise’ with ‘social economy entity’, aligned with the 2023 Council Recommendation on developing social economy framework conditions
  • Support business transfers to the employees, or workers buyouts
  • Clarify the definition of ‘sheltered employment’ by adding back the threshold of 30% of workers with disabilities in the undertaking, enabling legal certainty
  • Ensure that, when calculating the operating profit, cooperatives are not discriminated against due to their statutory/legal obligations requiring an asset lock or the reinvestment of profits
  • Provide aid for the recruitment of disadvantaged or severely disadvantaged workers until the workers are considered to be fully rehabilitated, instead of the aid expiring after 24 months for disadvantaged workers and 36 months for severely disadvantaged workers
  • Acknowledge cooperatives’ contributions to the circular economy by increased aid intensity for social economy entities in terms of investment aid supporting the transition towards circular economy

 

Read our full response to the consultation.