(Madrid, November 27, 2012). CEPES has published, with the support of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) the report" The cooperative enterprise in the Mediterranean " within the activities of the Euro-Mediterranean Network of Social Economy (ESMED) in the framework of the International Year of Cooperatives in 2012 proclaimed by the United Nations.
The report addresses the status and role of cooperatives as a key player in the economic and social development of Europe and its southern Mediterranean neighbors. To do this, the publication counts on the collaboration of managers and experts of the cooperative movement from 12 Mediterranean countries (Algeria, Egypt, France, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia and Turkey) who emphasize the strong presence of cooperative economic partner, with 200,000 enterprises which have more than 170 million members and generate 6.3 million jobs. Also, the contributions of the cooperative experts agree on the importance of this business model in job and wealth creation in a region which is in the middle of a major economic, political and social change with the arrival of the "Arab Spring."
The report has also the support of the President of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) and the Deputy Director of Cooperatives Europe, who point out that the cooperative movement is a global phenomenon with nearly 1 billion people who are members of cooperatives which have created 100 million jobs worldwide. Also, both the Secretary General responsible for cooperation policies of the Spanish Ministry for Foreign Affairs as well as the Chief for Cooperatives policies in the International Labour Organization (ILO), highlight the importance of the social economy in the policies and activities concerning the fight against poverty in the southern Mediterranean Basin and the important role that ESMED plays in this area.
The development of this publication has allowed for the first time collect statistical data from all these countries, making this publication a reference document for the development and visibility of cooperatives in the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, as this report also includes the conclusions of the conference 'The Actor Cooperative Enterprise Social Economy Social and Economic Development in the Mediterranean' organized the 8th May by CEPES in the city of Murcia, with the support of AECID, the Regional Government of Murcia, Murcia University and the Cooperative Union of the Region of Murcia (UCOMUR). The conclusions of this conference identified several proposals directed to cooperative sector organizations and Governments of the Mediterranean countries to work together to support this type of business, as the slogan of the International Year of Cooperatives, "help build a better world".
This document is available in electronic format in both Spanish and English
English version.
