42 Amendments of Marie-Christine VERGIAT related to 2012/2004(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 (new)
Paragraph -1 (new)
-1. Recalls that social enterprises tend to be organisations whose nature and status differ from those of classical enterprises, created to meet objectives that are primarily social and/or in the general interest, essentially non-profit making, generating numerous jobs, the profits of which are largely reinvested to ensure sustainability or to develop social activities or activities to meet needs of general interest, and that their operation aims to ensure the participation, or indeed the co-decision of their employees and/or users and/or partners; stresses that the activities of social enterprises are for the most part non-relocatable and are extensively involved in the social, economic and territorial cohesion of the Union and of its Member States;
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 (new)
Paragraph -1 (new)
1. Recalls that social businesses are usually organisations which have different standards and regulations than classic enterprises, are created to meet social and/or public policy objectives, are mainly non-profits that generate many jobs and whose profits are mainly reinvested to sustain or develop social activities or to meet public policy objectives, and that their operation also aims to ensure the participation or even the codecision of their employees and/or users and/or partners; highlights that the activities of social businesses cannot usually be outsourced and play a strong role in the social, economic and territorial cohesion of the European Union and its Member States;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the Commission'’s proposal on increasing access to financing for social enterprises by establishing a regulatory framework for introducing investment instruments at EU level; points out that the introduction of new forms of financial support will be preceded by an analysis of current instruments in order to verify their efficiency; firmly believes that the proposal to create a system of European social entrepreneurship funds or European venture capital funds constitutes a chance to recognise and develop social enterprises; takes the view that initiatives encouraging specific Business Angels to get involved in the field of social business could also be promoted; calls on the European Commission, the Council and the Member States to take account of current initiatives in the Member States and at local level to develop innovative financial instruments, taking account of their specific, individual status, operational and organisational methods, and activities; in this regard, calls on the European Commission, the Council and the Member States to pay particular attention to the development of hybrid capital structures corresponding to the ways in which social enterprises are financed1, including with respect to the development of different types of public social investment and the initiatives of ethical and cooperative banks, etc. ; __________________ 1 see the EESC opinion (INT/589) adopted on 26 October 2011
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Acknowledges that social businesses have the potential to provide innovative responses to the current social and economic problems; encourages, therefore, the development of a supportive regulatory framework and the provision of financial support to enable them to grow and surviveto promote the structural diversity of social businesses, to meet the specific nature of their activities in particular by adopting specific EU statutes for social and charitable economy players, and forms of aid and ad hoc financial support to enable them to carry out their activities under suitable conditions with the aim of meeting social and public policy needs and to grow;
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 a (new)
Citation 10 a (new)
- having regard to the Resolution of the European Parliament of 19 February 2009 on Social Economy 1; __________________ 1 P6_TA(2009)0062
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Highlights that the recognition of social businesses on an EU level should not be limited to including social objectives in certain commercial enterprises but should take into account the specific nature of each category of social businesses, particularly those in the social and charitable economy; to do this, emphasises the need to adopt and implement funding tools which allow these businesses to carry out their activities according to their own goals and objectives and to establish solidarity between them; also emphasises the fact that a better knowledge of social businesses and a qualitative, multi-party and independent assessment of their activities would promote their contribution to society as a whole and raise awareness of how social cohesion is a source of economic and social wealth, where it too often is considered to be merely a cost;
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 b (new)
Citation 10 b (new)
- having regard to the EECS opinion INT/589 of 26 October 2011,
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Considers it necessary to create conditions under which social enterprises, especially those operating in the social economy, can gain financial independence andto engage in commercial business activityand develop their activity to meet needs of a general interest; notes that, in many Member States, financial mechanisms force a large number of social enterprises to focus on obtaining grants and funds from governmental institutions, rather than on to the detriment of guaranteeing and increasing the quality of their services or products, which would help boost their competitiven to meet needs of a general interesst; emphasises the need to broaden access to debt and equity instruments, taking into account the specific way in which social enterprises operate and their social purpose;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Highlights the contribution of social businesses to understanding and meeting the needs of vulnerable consumers in particularat social businesses aim primarily to meet social and public policy needs but also the growing demands of citizens for ethical behaviour which is more respectful of human beings, the environment, nature, social standards and solidarity on both a local and an overall level and therefore social businesses aim to meet the needs of all citizens not only those who are in a vulnerable situation, even though special attention to the integration of these groups is often given;
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 c (new)
Citation 10 c (new)
- having regard to the European Parliament written declaration (P7_DCL(2010)0084) adopted on 10 March 2011,
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Commission to adopt measures to increase consumers’ knowledge of,aimed at the general public to increase awareness of the activities of social businesses and confidence in, social these businesses and to encourage them to actively support this type of business;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas social enterprises, employing over 11 million people in the EU and accounting for 10% of all European businesses, that is 2 million businesses, and employing more than 11 million people in the EU, that is 6% of the entire EU workforce, significantly contribute to the European social model12 and generate an innovative social value; 1 2whereas they have great potential for generating and maintaining stable employment, due mainly to the fact that those actrivities, by their very nature, are not likely to be delocalised; Or. fr http://www.eesc.europa.eu/resources/docs/ces1584-2011_ac_en.doc http://www.eesc.europa.eu/resources/docs/ces1584-2011_ac_en.doc
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Believes that one of the fundamental problems in the social enterprises market is the lack of appropriate know-how when it comes to establishing and managing such enterprises, and that therefore it is important not only to create an intof enterprises is the impossibility for these enterprises to have their specific characteristics taken into account; also recalls the need to provide better information about the existence of international knowledge relating to the creation, operation and social or general- interest purpose of social enterprises, especially those opernational knowledge baseng in a social economy, but also to ensure that advice, training and information is available in this context, including in the framework of initial and continuous training;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses that social businesses help to build an ‘activeby the nature of their activities and their modus operandi help to build a more cohesive and democratic society’ which is supportive of sustainable and inclusive economic growth;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas different historical developments have led to legal frameworks for social business, including social business, to show significant differences across Member States; whereas this situation does not prevent the Union from adopting European legal frameworks to protect the specific features of social business, in particular the European status of families of the social economy which have not yet suspected them (mutuals, associations and foundations, as well as the necessary review of that of cooperatives;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Emphasises that it is essential to change the perception of social enterprises through proper information campaignsreate greater awareness of social enterprises, especially those operating in a social economy, through proper information campaigns, and believes that this objective requires greater visibility being given to the advantages and purposes of social entrepreneurship by drawing on other assessments and other indicators than those of a purely economic nature; notes that in many cases the operations of social enterprises, especially those operating in a social economy, are hampered by awareness problems or by the stereotypes surrounding them; notes, therefore, that, in the Commission’s view, the top priority is to broaden awareness within all public authorities, especially local communities, as using local potential might help involve these local communities and at the same time increase the attractiveness of the social enterprises working in the regions concerned;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Is of the opinion that the reform of the EU’s public procurement rules provides a good opportunity to improve respect for social standards and increase theensure the equal participation of social businesses at least in public contracts; insists that the main goals of the reform – simplification and modernisation – should not be jeopardised by overly burdensome social obligations or condit and to reinforce the more systematic implementation of social and environmental criteria in awarding these public contracts and concessions;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the economic and social consequences of the current financial crisis ands well as an ageing population burdenare a heavy burden on health protection and social welfare systems, including statutory and voluntary healthcarsocial insurance schemes;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Welcomes the Commission’s proposal to add the new category of disadvantaged persons to reserved contracts; stresses that such a significant extension of the notion of reserved contracts should not come at but considers that social businesses usually have social diversity objectives involving equal access to their services and activities for all groups including, but not limited to, the cmost of competitivenesvulnerable groups; therefore emphasises the need to avoid equating social businesses to charities;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the Single Market Act12 and the Europe 2020 strategy – which both aim to establish sustainable growth and to develop more and better jobs – are strongly inter- linked and social business cand its innovation potential aim to contribute to them make a major contribution to that through its innovation potential, its capacity to perform Services of General Interest and to provide specific and effective respones to social needs;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Welcomes the Commission’s proposal concerning Article 11 on revising the public procurement Directive but calls for the specific nature of social businesses, particularly those in the social and charitable economy, to be included, particularly when they are responsible for managing an SGEI in the context of public–public cooperation, in order to take into account the pooling of resources of social businesses as a response to social needs, to the continuity of public social services in the general interest in the EU, and to the requirement of citizenship and the performance of their tasks;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Asks the Commission to develop a long- term strategy to safeguard social goals and to enhance the participation of social businesses in public procurement, without hampering the competitive awarding of contracts or creating incentives to circumvent the rulesguarantee the respect, promotion and development of EU social goals in accordance with Article 3 of the TEU and Article 9 of the TFEU, and, in addition, to guarantee the equal participation of social businesses and the social and charitable economy in public procurement;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the European Commission recognises social economy actors and social enterprises as important drivers of inclusive jobeconomic, social and environmental actors, most notably because they offer huge potential for the creation of jobs and social innovation that require specific support1; 1 COM(2012) 173, Towards a job-rich recovery. innovation, and therefore require specific support1, taking account of their specific features;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas Services of General Interest, especially Social Services of General Interest, are among the shared values of the Union, play a significant role in promoting the social and territorial cohesion of the Union and are therefore key components of a welfare state, and social business can helpis a key actor in delivering these services;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas social business is characterised by the values and principles of democracy, the participation of social actors, workers and users, social objectives or objectives of general interest, and the capacity to reinvest profits into the operation and development of the business, and promotes, in particular, good governance, supports policy reform, by promoting good governance, democratic control by members, solidarity, mutual learning and social innovation;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the Commission Communications ‘Social Business Initiative’ and ‘Towards a job-rich recovery’12 with recommendations to national governments on job creation – 1 2 especially in the fast-growing sector for health and social care (the so-called white sector) and in the green sector – that offer new chances to social business;; Ibid. Ibid.
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Stresses that the recognition of social business at European level should not be limited to including social objectives in some commercial businesses, but should take account of the specific features of each category of social enterprises, especially those of the social economy; to this end, stresses the need to adopt and apply tools, including financing tools, to enable these businesses to carry out their activities in accordance with their own goals and objectives and to establish solidarity among themselves; stresses, furthermore, that better knowledge of social enterprises and a qualitative, multi- party and independent assessment of their activities would make it possible to highlight their benefits to society as a whole and to understand how social cohesion can be a source of economic and social wealth, while it is all too often simply considered to be a cost;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. States that social business is part of the eco-socialan essential component of the European economy and markes an important economy and the European Single Market and has showed high resilience against thtribution to the functioning of the European economy through its innovative responses and to the social and territorial cohesion of the Union and of its Member States, and has showed high resilience against the crises through its capacity to provide innovative responses to current economic and social problems while having suffered the consequences of the spending cuts of these crises;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 – point A
Paragraph 3 – point A
A. Social business: social enterprises and the whole sector of the European social market economy, which is offering social or general interest products or services or fulfils social objectives through itstheir activities;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. States that social welfare enterprises or organisations should not be exposed to unregulated competition, which may be the result if profit-oriented enterprises focus on lucrative areas, which are mostly urban, so that oAsk the Commission to develop a regulatory framework to promote the diverse organisation of social enterprises and to respond to the nature and specific features of their areas, which are mostly rural –where logistic hinders incur higher costs – become more and more reliant on so-called ‘services foctivities, especially through the adoption of ad hoc aid and financial support arrangements to enable them to carry out their activities and to develop under pgoor people’d conditions;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Supports initiatives on a European level to extend and strengthen the already advanced association sector in various Member States; asks the Commission to resume its work towards a legislative proposal on establishing European statutes for associations in accordance with the written declaration of the European Parliament No P7_DCL(2010)0084 adopted on 10 March 2011;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. SupportAsks the Commission’s intention to commission to carry out a study on the situation of mutual societies in all Member States and, in so doing, to take account of the study carried out by the European Parliament; calls on the Commission to carry out this work in close cooperation with representatives of mutual societies in the European Union;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Welcomes the adoption of a revised package of EU state-aid rules concerning social and local services of general interest; stresses, however, that these measures represent only a necessary but insufficient first step in order to offer national and local authorities as well as actors in the sector adequate legal security and to take into account the specific features of the public services, the role of which, in terms of social and territorial cohesion, is more essential than ever;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 – indent 1
Paragraph 16 – indent 1
- models and principles for employethe participation of employees, users and, more broadly, all stakeholders;
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 – indent 2
Paragraph 16 – indent 2
- while profit-making in gs can be made by social enteral is allowed and even supportedprises, including those of the social economy, profits, operating surpluses, funds and reserves are primarily to be reinvested in quality, innovation and the development of activities aimed at meeting needs, including social and general interest needs, and not at simply remunerating the capital;
Amendment 188 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Determines that social enterprises are mainly engaged in social, health, care and home services, assisted living, education and training, repair of goods, environmental and resource efficiency, art, culture, research and innovation, tourism, crafts, etc., and that they therefore meet a large number of needs and contribute significantly to the Union’s objectives of social and territorial cohesion; stresses, at the same time, that the objectives of social enterprises are primarily to meet social or general interest needs but also to respond to the increasing demands of citizens for ethical conduct and greater respect for human beings, the environment, nature, social standards and solidarity, both local and global, and therefore to satisfy the needs of all citizens and not just vulnerable people, even though a great deal of attention is often paid to the integration of these groups;
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Declares that, even if social enterprises do notmainly offer social products and services, their entrepreneurial objective will include e.g. the inclusion and work integration of vulnerable groupsis not aimed exclusively at vulnerable groups and their work integration, the provision of socio- pedagogic assistance or the (re)integration of persons with disabilities through training or sheltered workshops;
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Clarifies that while the notion of corporate social responsibility (CSR) should be distinguished from that of social business, some commercial businesses with significant CSR activities can have a strong interaction with social businesespecially because the recognition of social business cannot be limited to the inclusion of a few social objectives in some commercial enterprises;
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Believes that the ‘EU Programme for Social Change and Innovation for 2014- 2020’, with its Microfinance and Social Entrepreneurship axis, willcould play a very important role in the effort to guarantee, among other things, better access to micro-credits; believes that the proposal to create a European social business fund system or a European venture capital fund system is an opportunity to recognise and develop social business; asks the European Commission, the Council and the Member States to take account of current initiatives in Member States and at local level to develop innovative financial instruments taking account of the particularities of the special statutes, operational and organisational methods and activities of social enterprises, especially those of the social economy; in this regard, asks the European Commission, the Council and the Member States to pay particular attention to the development of hybrid capital structures corresponding to the ways in which social enterprises are financed, including the development of different types of public social investment and the initiatives of cooperative banks, ethics, etc.;
Amendment 254 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to institute a ‘social label’ to be awarded to social enterprises, to ensure better access to public procurement; stresses that reforming EU public procurement rules is a good opportunity to improve compliance with social standards, to ensure, as a minimum, that social enterprises participate equally in public procurement, and to strengthen the more systematic implementation of social and environmental criteria in the award of public contracts and concessions, especially to social enterprises including those of the public economy;