EU to present new Social Economy Action Plan in 2021
The Social Economy aims to put people first and reinvest profits back into an organisation or a social cause.
Businesses in the Social Economy play an important role in job creation, work integration and sustainable growth. They cover a wide range of economic sectors, such as social services, health care, social housing, energy, recycling, retail, tourism, hospitality. They are an important and growing group of enterprises whose main objective is to have a social, societal or environmental impact for the general interest.
More than 11 million people – 6% of the EU’s employees – work for social economy enterprises. The 2021 Commission Work Programme outlined the EU’s plans to publish the Social Economy Action Plan at the end of 2021.
To prepare, citizens and stakeholders were invited to give their views on a roadmap that outlined key problems to be tackled and why EU action is needed. The Action Plan will support social enterprises to scale-up, innovate and create new jobs.
Due to its ability to address societal challenges and contribute to economic growth, the EU has launched actions to support the development of social enterprises.
The following initiatives highlight the potential of a Social Economy:
Many social enterprises struggle to find the right funding opportunities due to a lack of understanding and their small size. However, they can benefit from all European programmes such as COSME, or the structural funds such as the regional development fund and the European social fund.
You can also find out more about the Social Economy here.
