The industrial and service cooperatives represented by CECOP belong to the wider social economy family. Cooperatives are collectively owned and democratically managed by their members, and the profits generated are reinvested in the cooperative. Worker and social cooperatives provide quality, inclusive employment opportunities, affordable and accessible services, particularly for vulnerable populations and in disadvantaged areas. A considerable number of social cooperatives have as core mission the work integration of disadvantaged workers.

Cooperatives also play an important role in industry, particularly in decarbonisation, innovation, and reindustrialisation. In terms of environmental sustainability, cooperatives are guided by the seven cooperative principles and values including environmental consciousness. Due to industrial and service cooperatives’ commitment to circularity, they constantly innovate both in terms of technological development and cooperation with public or private partners. Furthermore, as cooperatives are deeply embedded in the local economy and are accountable to the community, they are committed to the sustainable development of their environment and local community. In terms of reindustrialisation, the cooperative model often saves businesses from closing or relocating via workers buyouts, i.e., business transfers to the employees under the cooperative model.

Besides deindustrialization, the EU is also facing social challenges, including Europe’s aging society, growing inequalities, labour and skills shortages, which the proposal for the Regulation must take into account. As Mario Draghi stated in his report, ‘The Future of European Competitiveness’, “A European approach must ensure that productivity growth and social inclusion go hand-in-hand”. He astutely pointed out that in order to increase our competitiveness, we must also preserve “our values of equity and social inclusion”, while growing our productivity. However, the proposal for the next MFF does not heed his call, placing less emphasis on the social dimension than in the past and than is necessary within the current socioeconomic context.

To ensure that people are not left behind as the EU increases its competitiveness and that industrial and service cooperatives’ contributions are duly recognised, CECOP calls on the Commission to consider the below recommendations:

 

  1. Recognise cooperatives under the EU Preference 
  2.  Explicitly integrate the social economy in the Regulation
  3.  Recognise workers buyouts as a way to fight deindustrialisation
  4.  Strengthen cooperatives’ access to the ECF InvestEU instrument
  5.  Earmark financing for small and medium enterprises
  6.  Invest in the people

 

Access our position paper here.