The role of social economy in a fair and sustainable recovery: input for the future Action Plan on social economy

The role of social economy in a fair and sustainable recovery: input for the future Action Plan on social economy

par | 11 Mar 2021 | Editorial

The first European Social plan, which will be driven by European associations and announced by Commissioner Nicolas Schmit, raises several questions. The consequences of the economic and social crises we are experiencing are putting the social economy at the forefront, which has shown its resilience capacities in the recent months. This is why the European Economic and Social Committee organised a public hearing on February 17th focusing on the role of the social economy in the European recovery.

 

“The circular economy can only work with fair regulation”

The European Union has been able to propose new legislative instruments that will strengthen the adaptability of its public policies and the resilience of its citizens. New levers for action were recommended in the recent strategic foresight report. Giuseppe Guerini (EESC) highlighted the appropriate response the social economy provided in the crisis and in the recovery. That is why there is a need for “a more harmonised fiscal policy among Member States, which would allow greater recognition of the general interest function of social economy organisations”, he said. This issue is also perfectly fits with the programme of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council that began last January, which focuses on the European social rights basis and also corresponds to the action plan announced by Mr. Schmit. It should be noted that this presidency is resolutely focused on the digital dimension, and that this dimension will be pursued during the forthcoming Slovenian and French presidencies.

 

The MEP Sven Giegold then focused on the role of the European Parliament in promoting social economy. According to the MEP, “the EU must support this sector as much as possible, in particular by going further in terms of public policies”. For example, it would be appropriate, according to Mr Giegold, to create a stronger statute for associations at the European level. “There is a real need for a new offensive from the European institutions to recognise the social economy in its diversity, to facilitate the procedures related to it and to create a clear and transparent status” he said. The MEP supports the idea that the social economy can only function on the basis of fair regulation, while relying on a long political agenda and continued support from public authorities.

“The role of the state must be reassessed to improve our resilience”

Nevertheless, the EU is defined by the Treaties as a social market economy, which at present still seems to be lacking. It is necessary to find a good balance to bring business into this debate. Thus, the major economic sectors are seen as inactive in this area, according to Maxime Cerutti (Business Europe).

There is a need for help, especially financial help, in this sector, which has been weakened by the current crises. Filipa Farelo (CASES, Portugal) took the opportunity to point out that “the social economy should be given greater prominence in order to guarantee a better European transition, particularly in view of its importance in terms of resilience”. According to her, the social economy has demonstrated its capacity for inclusion and diversity, in terms of the good representation of women and people with reduced mobility it shows, compared to other sectors.

 

“The current crisis allows for change in some sectors”

Juan Pedreno (Social Economy Europe) pointed out the importance of supporting democratically functioning start-ups. Such initiatives would allow for a more active participation of European citizens, while strengthening protection systems and cooperation with the public sector to build innovative projects. Thus, the digital transition is a crucial issue for revitalising the social economy in Europe, especially in rural areas affected by the crisis through collective enterprises. The role of the state must therefore be reassessed to improve the resilience of each and every individual.

 

The social economy is therefore a priority for many actors at the European level, as Jordi Canas, MEP, stated at this public hearing. He therefore regretted the fact that the social economy is not a priority of the Commission, but an objective. Ann Branch (DG Empl) stated that “the Commission attaches full importance to the common base and the social economy”. This therefore poses problems of legal interpretation at the level of European standards related to this theme.

This position is all the more regrettable since the role of the social economy is clear in job creation, without being fully recognised, according to Gianluca Pastorelli (DIESIS). This is why the current crises could be a real window of opportunity to change certain sectors, such as “tourism, which can be made more sustainable and local”, in connection with the social economy.

 

EU Social Tech Public Affairs Web Review

EU Social Tech Public Affairs Web Review

par | 19 Nov 2020 | Communs & plaidoyer, Editorial, Revue de presse


As the COVID health crisis19 is forcing a large proportion of Europeans to remain at home, Social Economy, Digital inclusion, Democracy defense are more than ever accurate. On such matters, European activity is not slowing down. Here is a panorama on EU Public Affairs news on our subject (Tech x Social) : Digital Service Act, digital ambitions of the German Presidency of the EU, Data Governance Act, European Action Plan for Democracy and ambitions for the ‘next world’.

Digital Service Act : imposing a Tech European model

From Brussels, Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market is fully mobilised on the Digital Services Act: “As part of the European Digital Strategy, the European Commission has announced a Digital Services Act package to strengthen the Single Market for digital services and foster innovation and competitiveness of the European online environment”. The main aim is to reform the Directive on electronic commerce dating from 2000 with regard to the obligations and responsibilities of platforms and to develop the competition rules. It also provides for the regulation of online content, reinforcing the responsibility of intermediaries in the “fight against illegal content and its amplification”. It thus includes the inclusion of online hate in criminal offences at European level. “Platforms must be more responsible and accountable, they must become more transparent. It is time to go beyond self-regulatory measures” says Vera Jourova, European Commissioner for Values and Transparency.

Very clearly, the European Commission’s ambition is to tackle the ‘too big to care’ monopoly, which the Commission believes crushes competition and distorts the smooth functioning of the internal market. The arm wrestling, as we suspected, promises to be tough. Thierry Breton, who wants to take the digital economy out of the “Far West” era, does not hesitate to directly question the bosses of Silicon Valey: “Don’t try to play the smartest game. Pay your taxes if you have to pay them. Don’t resort to tax havens. Pay your taxes,” he told Facebook’s CEO last May, before Google CEO Sundar Pichai apologised in October for his more than aggressive internal lobbying practices. 

The German rotating presidency of the Council of Europe, which ends in December 2020, also makes digital technology one of its major subjects, along with the ecological transition. “In order to stand out internationally as a community of values, we must therefore position ourselves even better on strategic future issues such as climate change, refugees and migration, the rule of law and digital transformation”, said the German Foreign Minister when presenting an ambitious agenda. This also includes the development of a European data and 5G infrastructure and support for research, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence. The Data Governance Act, a regulation on data governance proposed by the European Commission, should thus inflate the pool of data that will feed AI systems and start-ups, and in fine should encourage the emergence of these large sectoral data spaces. 

European Democracy : inclusion of people, social economy and civil society are key

The other major topic of this new school year is Democracy. It is the common thread of the digital regulation carried by Europe. And it is a matter of urgency. On the one hand because the breeding ground for mistrust is becoming more and more fertile, particularly because of social networks. According to a survey carried out by the Jean Jaurès Foundation in February 2019, “one Frenchman in five agreed with at least one conspiracy theory” and “43% of those polled agreed that the government would be in cahoots with the pharmaceutical laboratories to hide the reality of the harmfulness of vaccines”. European politicians are also singing the praises of this questioning of our democratic values. While the European recovery plan was painfully voted through, Hungary and Poland decided to apply their veto refusing “that the payment of Community funds should henceforth be conditional on respect for the rule of law”. One point of consensus, whatever our values: they cannot be bought with billions of euros of aid.

The European action plan for democracy, which has been under the media radar, was the subject of an online consultation this summer. Through the accumulation of new constraints and recommendations for all actors in the democratic game, it must both strengthen the integrity of elections, guarantee media freedom and provide solid strategies against disinformation. It is scheduled for December. 

After the first containment, calls for the “next  world” had bloomed like flowers in the spring. Despite this regulatory activism, the European project is taking a beating. One would have dreamed that European news coverage would be as dense as it was during the American elections. Wishful thinking that fades like leaves in autumn. Yet there are some calls that resonate more than others, such as that of the first European democratic institution: David Sassoli, President of the European Parliament. “We must ensure that the European policies supported by the resources we pool will encourage a transformation of our economies in the years to come, in the service of respect for the environment, social cohesion – which has been particularly affected in the current health context – and the fight against all forms of inequality,” David Sassoli declared last September. He also recognised that “Europe needs more than ever to support the voluntary sector” and that “the harmonisation of the single market should not be limited to companies but should also concern the voluntary sector“. In the meantime, a European regulation on participatory financing to protect investors from financial losses will have to be sufficient. 

But those who have the most to lose are ultimately the most precarious among us. What appears to be self-evident takes on even greater prominence in the DESI ranking, which reveals that the digital and economic divides overlap.  In that prospect, Cedric O, French Secretary of state for Digital affairs, just  announced a budget of €250 million (40% EU funding) on inclusive digital on the NEC 2020. 4,000 digital advisers will be recruited by local authorities and associations.

For all these mentioned prospect and because Social Economy and Civil society are both a motor for a more sustainable and prosperous economy for all in Europe, they have to be fully involved in all public policies making. This is also what the European Platform for Philanthropy is calling for. 









By Nils Pedersen, President of La Fonda Asso and Vice-President of SOGA EU for Public and Academic Affairs


Paris, november 2020


 

EU Digital Policies : Digital Society index, Digital Service Act and more

EU Digital Policies : Digital Society index, Digital Service Act and more

par | 3 Nov 2020 | Communs & plaidoyer, Editorial, Revue de presse

As every trimester, our EU Tech expert Arnaud Castaignet delivers his analysis on the last EU Tech data and policies. From the Digital part of the State of European Union Speech to the last editions of the European Digital Society Index, including the debates on Digital Service Act in Brussels, here is Arnaud’s sum up of what Social Good organisations must retain of the last EU tech news. 

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, presented on September, 16th to the European Parliament her vision in her first State of the European Union address. Since she got appointed, a strong focus has been made on the EU Green Deal. This speech was the opportunity to highlight the Commission’s other top priority: “Europe’s Digital Decade”. 

Tech and digital will have a great importance in the Next Generation EU fund and will be backed up by 20% investment in digital from it, meaning €150bn of the EU’s €750bn recovery fund will be spent on digital projects. Three focus areas have been identified: industrial data, AI and infrastructure.

Talking about industrial data (as opposed to consumer data) shows that the EC will focus on the development of a data economy, hoping to reap the benefits of the fact the amount of industrial data in the world will quadruple in the next five years. The EC is pushing forward with plans to develop common data spaces hosted on a new cloud platform, GaiaX, in energy and health sectors for instance, and is looking forward to support cooperation between start-ups, companies, SMEs, researchers. When it comes to consumer data, Von der Leyen considers that Europe “has been too slow and is now dependent on others”.

On AI, the President of the European Commission actually pushed new AI governance laws back. When she was elected last November, she promised to introduce AI legislation within the first hundred days of her presidency. During her speech, she mentioned that it would be proposed next year, with “a human-centric approach” to rules and regulation. It is worth noting that she also propose a secure European e-identity, that will allow citizens to use it anywhere in Europe to do anything from paying taxes to renting a bicycle, and will guarantee control over personal data, which may sound similar to principles of Estonia’s e-identity.

Infrastructure investments should also be a strong focus in the road to “Europe’s digital decade”. It is more than needed given that digital divide remains very important in Europe as highlighted in the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), a composite index that summarises relevant indicators on Europe’s digital performance and tracks the evolution of EU Member States in digital competitiveness. Finland, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands scored the highest ratings in DESI 2020 and are among the global leaders in digitalisation. These countries are followed by Malta, Ireland and Estonia. Some other countries however still have a long way to go, in terms of infrastructure but also human capital and ability to use Internet services and technologies. Most of them are among the countries with the lowest GDP in the EU (Bulgaria, Romania and Greece, for instance) or strongly affected by Covid19 and its economic consequences (Italy). Therefore, there is a high risk that both digital divide and economic inequalities may deepen. It is worth noting that the biggest countries are not necessarily the most digitally advanced: France is only ranked 15th overall and even 18th when we focus on connectivity, according to DESI index.

The pandemic has exposed the stark reality of Europe’s digital divide. While countries and regions with good internet connections have been able to continue living life with at least a semblance of normality, others have not been so lucky. Of those living in rural areas, 40 per cent still lack access to fast broadband. The investment boost through NextGenerationEU will look to drive expansion to these areas. The investments will be focused on secure connectivity, on the expansion of 5G, 6G and fiber.

This State of the Union speech shows that digital and environmental transitions will be the key priorities of the EU in the coming years and that these transitions are deeply connected. Digitalisation is clearly considered as critical to achieve environmental transition, particularly in urbanism (smart cities), mobility and decarbonisation of the economy and the industry. Again, the main risk is that the same countries might be the winners. Denmark, for instance, is both among the leaders in digitalisation and one of the countries whose smart cities initiatives will help decrease the most carbon emissions. 

Meanwhile, in Brussels, the Digital Services Act Package is the most important text for the EU digital economy that will shake up discussions between the Commission and the Parliament until the end of the year. It is an ambitious arsenal to tackle both the dominance of the digital giants and their policies on moderation. It is being led by Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market. In a recent interview with the newspaper Le Monde, he explains that the regulation of social networks “is intended to be dealt with at the European level”. Many of the measures are based on the French law on confidence in the digital economy (LCEN), which in France governs the same sector. The Digital Services Act also provides that the platforms can identify and locate Internet users posting under a pseudonym “if necessary”. In case of breach, the sites could be financially sanctioned or “be prohibited from accessing the internal market of the European Union”. For the platforms concerned, the calculations would be made according to a threshold of audience “yet to be determined”. The discourse is quite clear, however, and targets sites with “much larger audiences than traditional media, which gives them responsibilities similar to those of an editorial director or content editor”. Apple, Google and Facebook could be put on a “black list” established by the European Union (EU). As reported in the Financial Times, the EU institutions would be developing stricter rules to regulate the digital services market and impose new rules on the biggest players in the market, both in terms of business practices and data sharing and transparency on data collection. large companies to change their business practices. This would include forcing America’s mastodons to share their data and to be more transparent about how they collect it, according to specific criteria.
Discussed in Parliament in week 43, the own-initiative reports by Alex Agius Saliba (S&D) in the Internal Market Committee (Imco), Tiemo Wolken (S&D) for Legal Affairs (Juri) and Kris Peeters (EPP) for Civil Liberties (Libe) were adopted, almost without amendments.

For More Information

The Digital Economy and Society Index – DESI 2020

DESI 2020: Questions and Answers

Country performance in digital

Data Visualisation Tool

DESI 2020 methodology

Digital technologies – actions in response to coronavirus pandemic

Communication on Shaping Europe’s Digital Future

 

 

How EU institutions are preparing Social Economy response? Interview of Denis Stokkink

par | 13 Mai 2020 | Communs & plaidoyer, Editorial, Revue de presse



Denis Stokkink, Board member of SOGA EU, founding president of the Brussels-based European think & do tank POUR LA SOLIDARITÉ-PLS. An economist and lecturer in social economy at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, he is also general rapporteur of the European Commission’s Group of Experts on Social Entrepreneurship (GECES). He gives us a progress report on the current state of play of the European institutions mobilised for the Social Economy and the role of GECES during the Covid crisis.

Can you tell us more about the genesis of GECES (2012-2017) ?

Denis Stokkink : “In its Communication on the “Social Entrepreneurship Initiative” (October 25th, 2011), the European Commission announced the establishment of a “Multi-stakeholder Advisory Group on Social Entrepreneurship” which will review the progress of the measures envisaged by this Communication. (…) this group could be composed of representatives from Member States, local authorities, social entrepreneurship organisations, the banking and financial sector, and the academic world”. 

This group of experts for the Social Economy at the European Commission (GECES) has therefore been set up for 6 years (2012-2017) in order to be consulted by the EU Commission in the framework of the social entrepreneurship initiative and on other issues related to social entrepreneurship and the social and solidarity economy.

The roadmap of this first GECES ended in 2016, with a General Report to the Commission. It listed, inter alia, five positive contributions of the Social Economy to the development of the EU and thirteen recommendations for concrete actions to take full advantage of the potential of social enterprises to address the four main problems faced by social economy actors and social enterprises: a lack of visibility, recognition and identity; difficulties in accessing finance; an inadequate legal framework and a serious lack of European programmes, networks and support mechanisms.”

What is the new GECES roadmap (2017-2023)?

Denis Stokkink : “In 2017, new commitments have been made and are being steered by the Taskforce co-chaired by Ann Branch (DG Employment) and Ulla Engelmann (DG Grow).

The new GECES has seen its members renewed and was constituted with the will to meet regularly the members to discuss the future of HE in Europe. Two subjects are the subject of a more developed consultation: solidarity finance (a report submitted at the end of 2019 will be presented at the European Summit in Mannheim at the end of November 2020) and ecological and social innovation clusters with Hugues Sibille, Denis Stokkink and Ana Umbelino as rapporteurs. A report with 30 good practices published in 2019, new report will also be presented in Mannheim.”  


How did EU Social economy experts respond to the Covid crisis and how do they prepare Mannheim European Summit?

Denis Stokkink : The GECES continues to work actively by exchanging between public and private experts and the European Commission on the possibilities of highlighting SSE. 

The members met on 29 April to share :

  1. Sectoral “Bottum up” initiatives from Social economy and civil society in the territories to respond to the challenges that enable, in particular, precarious populations to propose social innovations in emergency/transitional society situations. For example, DG Grow has worked to reference the social economy initiatives created across Europe on Covid 19 (DG GRow) and to set up a support unit that offers webinars of actors from the European Social Economy community.
  2. The vision and ambitions of European Social Economy actors, taken up by the European Commissioner for Employment Nicolas Schmidt during a speech on Q&A, to help prepare the European Commission’s action plan for the SSE, in the 2nd quarter of 2021. Nicolas Schmit also sent a letter to the national authorities of all EU Member States, stressing the importance of SSE responses in the territories and the importance of significant economic rescue measures directed towards Social Economy actors. All GECES members were enthusiastic about Commissioner Schmidt’s announcement that he is truly committed to giving SSE the means to develop.

    The next meeting of the GECES will take place on 18 June on the preparation of the European Social Economy Summit in Mannheim.

    EU Social Innovation: an important milestone at Web Summit 2018

    par | 12 Nov 2018 | Communs & plaidoyer, Editorial

    For the first time, European social innovation project holders and policy makers were gathered at Web Summit 2018 aka the “Davos for Geeks” in Lisbon (Novemebr 5-8th). Web Summit is the biggest venue of Tech players and innovators in Europe, and it was a very clear move that challenges Europe is facing could not been solved only by technology, but first by social and environnemental purposes and impacts. Around our “Social Innovation Village” and its 24 exhibiting projects were planned two discussions about Social Innovation at Forum Stage, before a thousand attendees. One year after the “High level conference – Opening up to an ERA of Social Innovation” in Lisbon, European social innovators and policy makers are again proving their ability to gather forces and networks to make their voice heard. Again in Lisbon at Web Summit 2018, an important milestone has been added along with Carlos Moedas, European Comissioner for Research, Science and Innovation.

    First discussion on Tuesday november 6th at Web summit : Conference “Social innovation: Achieving a triple A rating for Europe” gathering Carlos Moedas (European  Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation), Isabel Mota (Director, Gulbenkian Foundation), Maria Leitao Marques (Portuguese Minister of the Presidency and of Administrative Modernisation) and Madeleine Gabriel (NESTA foundation, Social innovation Community).

    The European Commission’s actions on social innovation stem from the Innovation Union initiative (2010) and of the Social Investment Package (2013). These actions facilitate the inducement, uptake and scaling-up of social innovation solutions. The main objectives were to promoting social innovation as a source of growth and jobs, sharing information about social innovation in Europe and supporting innovative entrepreneurs and mobilising investors and public organisations.

    At Web Summit 2018, a big annoucement has been made : more money is going to be invested by European institutions in Social Innovation, while the Mutiannual Financial Framework for the 7 years to come has already been discussed, prior to the European election next May 2019.



    Social Innovation Community was one of the H2020 funded Social Innovation Village ‘s projects at Web Summit 2018. During the following official visit on Social Innovation Village, they handed Social Innovation Community Declaration to Mr. Moedas and Mr Mahjoubi (French Secretary of State for Digital Affairs) : “For a Fairer, More Inclusive Europe” #SIDeclaration


     
    Social Innovation Community will be gathered in Sevila, Spain from November 12 to 13th, to prepare the next European mandate and gain leverage to increase funds, skills and acknowledgement, in the same effort as our Manifesto #MakeItForGood, more focus on the acceleration of partnerships in between Tech and social innovators.