·
After
the meeting held this Monday between Pedro Sánchez and the highest
representatives of CEPES and SEE, entities that represent the Social Economy in
Spain and Europe.
·
The
President of the Government showed his support for both organizations and his
confidence in the social economy as an engine of the
reconstruction of Europe.
·
Juan
Antonio Pedreño, president ofboth employers´ associations, pointed out that the
meeting held with Pedro Sánchez demonstrates, once again, his commitment and
that of the Government with the Spanish and European Social Economy.
Madrid, 24 January 2023. - The Spanish presidency of the Council of the EU
will be a "key" moment to place the social economy at the centre of
Europe´s agenda. This is one of the conclusions of the meeting held on Monday between the President of
the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the highest
representatives of the Spanish Business Confederation of Social Economy (CEPES)
and Social Economy Europe (SEE, representative entity of the sector in
Europe).
"The meeting held with Sánchez demonstrates, once again, the
commitment of the president and the Government with the Spanish and European
social economy," said the president of CEPES and SEE, Juan Antonio
Pedreño, after the meeting.
As Pedreño pointed out, this meeting will allow us to continue advancing
in the visibility of this business model
that generates a differential social value; facilitate innovation, the
ecological and digital transition both through the European structural
funds dedicated to the social economy and the PERTE of Social Economy and Care;
as well as consolidate the Spanish social economy as a reference organization in Europe.
During the meeting, the President of the Government recognized both
entities, CEPES and SEE, for their excellent work in favor of the social
economy in Spain and Europe, and highlighted the contribution of this
business model during the pandemic, as well as its potential capacity to
rebuild the European business fabric in the midst of the delicate situation
that the continent is going through,
especially marked by the war in Ukraine.
In reference to the current situation that the social economy is
experiencing at the international level, the meeting, CEPES and SEE
reviewed the different resolutions,
recommendations and agreements, already made or underway, from different international
organizations in favor of promoting this business model (resolutions and
recommendations of the ILO, the OECD, United Nations, Davos Forum, the commitment of 23 governments of the
European Union, the manifesto signed last week between France and Spain
contemplating the importance of the social economy in both countries, the one
signed in Portugal more than a year ago and the one that will be signed between
Spain and Germany in the coming months).
On the other hand, the European Action Plan on the Social Economy,
approved by the European Commission last December 2021, was another of the
highlights of the meeting, since, as Pedreño indicated, "This Plan
recognizes the social economy as a key driver for an inclusive and sustainable
future and also recognizes it as a fundamental economic agent in the European
and international political agenda,
allowing to make visible its role as an essential element of
transformation and sustainability of society, capable of generating wealth, job
stability, social cohesion and inclusive development, especially for young
people". In this regard, the importance of the Youth Entrepreneurship Policy Academy to attract
young talent to the social economy has been discussed with the president.
In addition, the commitment of the European Commission to consider the
social economy as one of the 14 industrial ecosystems for recovery to address the fair green and digital transitions
that contribute to sustainable growth was confirmed. During the meeting, it was
revealed that SEE leads together with the Commission the alliance to improve the skills of
companies and the skills of workers, an aspect that becomes very important in
2023, the European Year of Skills.
All these advances will be made visible at the European High Level
Conference to be held in San Sebastian on November 13 and 14, a conference
that is being worked on so that the EU Social Economy Recommendation servesas a
basis on which many governments adoptpolicies for the social economy and, at this point, Spain´s role will be key. Thus, they requested the possibility of
attending a meeting between all the ministers responsible for the European
Social Economy.
Juan Antonio Pedreño pointed out that: "Given the relevance of the
issues to be discussed at the San Sebastian Conference, he shared with
President Sánchez the importance of his presence in it as an unequivocal sign
of Spain´s leadership in the social economy".
The President of the Government, for his part, showed his support for both organizations and his
confidence in the role of the social economy in Spain and Europe, so he
asked them for their collaboration to implement the necessary actions to
promote the model during the Spanish presidency of the Council of the EU in the
second half of 2023.
From CEPES and SEE they showed their confidence in
the involvement and commitment of Sánchez in the framework of the actions that will be developed on the
occasion of this Spanish presidency, especially in the EU-Latin America Summit,
so that the social economy is one of the business actors of this work
agenda.
REPRESENTATION OF CEPES AND SEE
CEPES represents the interests of more than 43,000 social economy companies
in Spain, representing more than 2,350,000 jobs (12% of the country´s
employment), and 10% of GDP. SEE
represents more than 32 million companies and more than 14 million workers in
Europe, accounting for 6.5% of employment.
Those attending the meeting with the President of the Government were the
President of CEPES and SEE, Juan Antonio Pedreño; the Vice-President of
SEE, President of the French Chamber of the Social
and Solidarity Economy (ESS-France) and President of Crédit Coopératif, Jérôme
Saddier; the Vice-President of SEE and Director of the European
Network of Insertion Companies (ENSIE). Patrizia
Bussi; the vice-president of SEE, member of
the EESC, member of the bureau of AIM (International Association of Mutual
Health Societies), co-president of Social and Solidarity Economy of the Global
Forum (ESS-FI) and responsible for international relations of the Belgian
Socialist Mutual Society ´Solidaris´, Alain Coheur; the vice-president of CEPES and president of the General Council of
Mondragon Corporation, Leire Muguerza;
the vice president of CEPES representing Agrifood
Cooperatives of Spain and president of the Federation of agricultural
cooperatives of the Balearic Islands, Jerónima
Bonafé; the vice president of CEPES and president of the Spanish Confederation of Mutual Societies, Enrique Sanz-Fernández; the vice president of CEPES and general secretary of ONCE, Rafael
de Lorenzo; and the Director of Social Economy Europe, Víctor Meseguer.
