22 Amendments of Joel HASSE FERREIRA related to 2008/2250(INI)
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas the social economy is based on a social paradigm which is in line with the fundamental principles of the European social model,
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the social economy represents 10 % of all European businesses, with two million undertakings or 6 % of total employment, and has great potential for generating and maintaining stable employment, mainly thanks to the non- delocalization characteristics of its activities,
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas social economy enterprises are usually SMEs contributing to a sustainable economic model whereunder individuals are more important than capital and whereas such undertakings are often present in the single market and therefore need to ensure that their activities comply with legislative provisions,
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the social economy has developed from particular organisational and/or legal business formations such as cooperatives, mutual societies, associations, foundations and other entities in each of the Member States; whereas it covers a range of terms used in the various Member States such as ‘the solidarity economy’, ‘third sector’, ‘platform’ or even ‘ and ‘the third systemector’, and although these are not described as ‘social economy’ in all the Member States comparable activities sharing the same features exist throughout Europe,
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas there is a need to recognise the statute of some forms of the social economy at EU level, taking into account the rules of the internal market, in order to reduce bureaucratic obstacles to obtaining Community funding,
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Points out that the social economy plays a primordial role in the European economy, by combining profitability with solidarity, enabling high-quality job creation and strengthening social and regional cohesion, active citizenship, solidarity and, sustainable development and social, environmental and technological innovation;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Considers the social economy to be important, both symbolically and in terms of performance, for the purpose of strengthening industrial and economic democracy;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Underlines the fact that an economic system wherein social economy enterprises play a more significant role would reduce exposure to speculation in financial markets on which some private companies are not subject to the supervision of shareholders and regulatory bodies;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Considers that the Commission's withdrawal of its proposals for a European Mutual Society Statute and a European Association Statutes a serious setback for the development of these forms of social economy within the EU; therefore urges the Commission to review its work programme accordingly;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to support the creation of national statistical registers for social economy businesses, to establish national satellite accounts for each institutional sector and branch of activity and allow for this data to be included in Eurostat, as the bundled indicator method is a tool that is readily available;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Notes that the social economy creates jobs that normally do not delocalize which, given the various forms of enterprises, contributes for the accomplishment of the Lisbon Strategy goals;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Points out that the social economy has a key role to play in attaining the Lisbon goals of sustainable growth and full employment, since it counteracts the numerous imbalances on the labour market, in particular by supporting female employment, and establishes and provides community care services (such as social, health, and welfare services), in addition to creating and maintaining the economic fabric of society, thus helping to promote local development and social cohesion;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Believes that the EU should seek to establish a frame of reference for the social economy action programme, thereby enhancing its competitiveness and capacity for innovation at local level, bearing in mind – given that economies are first and foremost cyclical systems – that the social economy can provide stability by redistributing and reinvesting profits locally, where appropriate, fostering an entrepreneurial culture, gearing economic activities to local needs, supporting activities entailing a degree of risk (craft industries, for example), and generating social capital;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 c (new)
Paragraph 11 c (new)
11c. Points to the importance of the social economy as regards services of general interest; points to the added value provided by public-private integrated networks, as well as to the risk of exploitation, for instance in the form of outsourcing to help public authorities cut their costs, not least by making use of contributions in the form of voluntary work;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 d (new)
Paragraph 11 d (new)
11d. Calls on the Commission to incorporate the social economy into its other policies and strategies in the sphere of social, economic, and enterprise development, especially in connection with the ‘Small Business Act’, bearing in mind that social economy entities carrying on socio-economic activities might prove particularly useful for SMEs and services of general interest; urges the Commission, in addition, to look again at the possibility of reactivating a social economy unit;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 e (new)
Paragraph 11 e (new)
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 f (new)
Paragraph 11 f (new)
11f. Calls on national and local government authorities, and operators on the ground, to promote and support the forms of synergy in the services field that could be achieved between social economy actors and users by broadening the scope of participation, consultation, and empowerment;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 g (new)
Paragraph 11 g (new)
11g. Calls on the Member States to organise training projects, at higher education and university level and in vocational education, with a view to imparting knowledge of the social economy and of the forms of enterprise based on its values;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 h (new)
Paragraph 11 h (new)
11h. Believes that the EU and the Member States should recognise the social economy and its component entities (cooperatives, mutual societies, associations, and foundations) in their legislation and policies and provide for measures, for example easy access to credit, incentives, and tax relief, aimed at supporting social economy organisations operating in market and non-market sectors, having been set up for socially useful purposes;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 i (new)
Paragraph 11 i (new)
11i. Calls on the Commission to establish an EU think-tank on co-operative banks and other financial services that might be of interest to social economy organisations which would study how these specific social economy entities have performed so far in the EU - especially during the current global credit and financial crises - and how they will avert future risks of this kind;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 j (new)
Paragraph 11 j (new)
11j. Calls on the Commission to allow for social economy entities when revising State aid policy, bearing in mind that small businesses and organisations active at local level find it very difficult to obtain credit, especially in the current economic and financial crisis; also calls on the Commission to refrain from obstructing national company and tax laws such as those aimed at banking and retailing and distribution cooperatives, which operate according to the principles of mutualism, company democracy, assets handed down from one generation to the next, indivisible reserves, the work ethic, and business ethics;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Urges the Commission to continue its work of dialogue and clarification with the parties concerned and to support the Member States with regard to services of general interest and social services of general interest, taking also in account that the bundled indicator method is a tool that is now available;