• After the meeting between the European Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Elżbieta Bieńkowska, with the co-chairs of the Social Economy Intergroup of the European Parliament and the President of the Employers of the European Social Economy.
• The European Commissioner said that the Social Economy will be a major player on the European agenda and the process of modernizing the single market.
(Madrid, April 20, 2016) .- The Spanish Business Confederation of Social Economy (CEPES) greatly appreciates the commitment emerged to promote the social economy in the EU agenda after the meeting between the European Commissioner for Market Interior, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Elżbieta Bieńkowska, and the Social Economy Intergroup of Parliament.
President of CEPES and 'Social Economy Europe', Juan Antonio Pedreño, called the meeting "as one of the most important held in Europe in the field of social economy in recent years by the commitment of the Bieńkowska Commissioner to develop a policy to promote the social economy and the announcement of establishing a permanent dialogue between the Commission and European Parliament in matters of Social Economy ".
European Commissioner announced that "the Social Economy is an important step in the modernization process of the single market actor," and noted that the COSME program -for the competitiveness of companies and SMEs and to save companies difficulties- allocate financial resources to promote digitization of Social Economy enterprises and to foster relationships between these and traditional businesses.
Bieńkowska also expressed its commitment to maintaining a permanent political dialogue between the Commission and the Social Economy Intergroup of the European Parliament, with the aim of developing new policies and initiatives for the Social Economy.
For his part, Vice President of the European Parliament, Ramón Luís Valcárcel, the Commissioner emphasized the role that Social Economy enterprises play for growth, entrepreneurship and employment, both in Spain and in the European Union.
Valcárcel stressed that although the social economy is not sufficiently known by some politicians, experience during his 19 years as President of the Region of Murcia showed how social economy enterprises act as reconversor agent, recovering bankrupt companies and turning them into cooperatives, thereby preventing the massive loss of jobs, creating new jobs and shaping a new corporate culture.
Portuguese MEP Sofia Ribeiro said that the composition of Intergroup Social Economy -formed by 80 deputies of 6 groups politicians reveals the broad political support of the European Parliament to promote the Social Economy.
The meeting between Bieńkowska and Intergroup Social Economy of the European Parliament was held at the headquarters of that institution in Strasbourg, with the purpose of exchanging views on the next steps to advance the effective recognition and promotion Social economy.
