13 Amendments of Patrizia TOIA related to 2012/2321(INI)
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that, in the EU, there are about 160 000 cooperative enterprises owned by 123 million members and providing jobs for 5.4 million people – including around 50 000 cooperative enterprises in industry and services providing jobs for 1.4 million persons – and that cooperatives contribute around 5% on average to Member State GDP; notes that, over the last few years, several hundred industrial and service cooperative enterprises have been established as the result of the restructuring of businesses in crisis or without successors, thereby saving and re- developing local economic activities and jobs; notes that industrial and service cooperative groups have had a key impact on regional development in some of the most industrialised regions of the EU; notes that some industrial and service cooperatives specialised in labour integration provide jobs to over 30 000 disabled and disadvantaged persons; notes that cooperatives therefore play a very important role in the EU in economic, social and employment terms; points out that the cooperative model has grown significantly in non-traditional sectors, such as social and health care services, digital and business support services and services of general interest, that were previously provided by the public sector (e.g. production of electricity from renewable sources) and has also become a model for the self-employed and the liberal professions; notes that cooperatives therefore play a very important role in the EU in economic, social and employment terms, in addition to being a springboard for social innovation, which is a very important topic in both the EU 2020 strategy and Horizon 2020;
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Reiterates that the cooperative business model contributes to real economic pluralism, is a vital part of the 'social market economy' and is fully in keeping with the values of the EU Treaty and the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy;
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Points out that cooperatives have proved themselves to be even more resilient in times of crisis than many conventional enterprises, having opened up also to new sectors, both in terms of employment rates and business closures, and notes that there is considerable evidence of this resilience, particularly in relation to cooperative banks and industrial and service cooperatives (worker cooperatives, social cooperatives and cooperatives formed by SMEs); notes, moreover, the growing importance of 'community cooperatives', which enable – especially in remote and disadvantaged areas – the direct participation of citizens in order to meet various needs, such as health and social services, school services, commercial services, communications, etc.;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Notes that cooperative enterprises are able to meet existing and new needs effectively and efficiently, in areas such as the management of cultural resources and creativity, and environmental sustainability relating to new lifestyles and modes of consumption; stresses that cooperatives have also cultivated values such as the protection of legality – one example of this is Italy, where cooperatives are entrusted with the management of assets confiscated from the mafia;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Takes the view that cooperatives should be fully included in the objectives pursued by the EU's industrial policy and in the measures taken by the EU, also in view of their fundamental contribution to industrial restructuring, a key chapter of the new EU industrial policy;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Notes that in the different Member States numerous good practices can be found, demonstrating the excellent results achieved by cooperative enterprises in terms of growth, employment, survival rates and business start-ups, such as the 'single payment system' (pago único) in Spain and the Marcora Law in Italy – which help finance the establishment of new cooperatives through unemployment benefits – the 'employment and business cooperatives' created in France, Sweden and Belgium; moreover, the Spanish group Mondragon is an excellent example of how individual cooperatives can voluntarily form large business groups covering sectors such as industry, agriculture, distribution, finance, R & D and high-level education; calls on the Commission to look at these good practices in depth and consider including them in the framing of business-friendly EU policies;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Notes that in the various Member States a diversity of situations due to legal and conceptual differences can be found; calls on the Commission, therefore, to carry out a review of existing legislation, in order to seek some common ground and harmonise, in compliance with the subsidiarity principle, the key elements with a view to lifting the barriers to the development of cooperatives;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Urges the Member States, in keeping with ILO Recommendation 193/2002, to review their legislation applying to cooperatives and to cooperative credit banks, with a view to adopting a comprehensive policy to support the cooperative business model and creating a regulatory environment favourable to the recognition and development of cooperatives in all fields and sectors; stresses that this should include the introduction of appropriate financial instruments and the recognition of cooperatives’ role in the national social dialogue, in addition to the role of cooperative credit banks, which have always attached particular importance to sustainable and socially responsible financing and are well-established locally;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Considers that the transfer of a business to the employees through the creation of a cooperative is often the best way of ensuring the continuity of an enterprise; stresses that this kind of transfer of businesses to employees, in particular with regard to worker cooperatives and worker buy-outs, should be supported by a specific EU budget line that also includes financial instruments; calls urgently for the creation, with the participation of the EIB and stakeholders from the cooperative movement, of a European mechanism designed to promote the development of cooperatives and, in particular, business transfers under the cooperative form;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Emphasises the active role of social cooperatives in the restructuring of SMEs, in particular through 'social spin-offs', which promote the integration of workers who can be defined as disadvantaged and who are in a critical employment situation, by strengthening – through solidarity – a growing capacity to meet social demand;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Emphasises the positive aspects of mechanisms that are typical of the cooperative model, such as the indivisibility of reserves, i.e. reserves that cannot be distributed among members even in the event of liquidation, but which must be used for the development of the cooperative movement, and legal provisions to allow third parties to provide cooperatives with venture capital, with or without voting rights, such as mutualisation funds and Cooperazione Finanza Impresa (CFI) in Italy, the Institut de Développement de l'Economie Sociale (ESFIN-IDES) in France and the investment structure of the Mondragon Corporation in Spain;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Calls on the Commission to promote policies and measures in favour of maintaining existing jobs and not only creation of new jobs in start-ups; asks to the Commission to create new start up services to support cooperative form of enterprise through raising awareness and training initiatives;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Considers it necessary to strengthen the capitalisation of cooperatives by making better use of the resources that can be provided by their social structure; calls on the Commission to promote measures in support of capitalisation, including tax benefits – even if they are limited in time – once buy-outs have been established or implemented, without them being regarded as state aid;