Social economy

The social economy consists of 2.8 million entities in Europe, providing more than 13 million paid jobs and covering 6.3% of the total workforce.

The actors of the social economy not only create quality jobs and ensure labour market integration of disadvantaged groups but also provide key affordable goods and services to communities, reinvest at least a part of their profits into green and social causes and set examples for resilient and sustainable business models that promote democratic principles and active citizenship.

Unfortunately, current EU policies including the Social Economy Action Plan are still not doing enough to support and capitalise on the full potential of the social economy.

Social Platform calls for social economy actors, including not-for-profit, social service providers, to be included and promoted as key stakeholders in achieving the European Pillar of Social Rights targets and for the creation of enabling environments that allow the Social Economy to thrive.

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Front cover of social economy position paper

Position paper on social economy

Social Platform welcomed the adoption of the Social Economy Action Plan (SEAP) in 2021 and the increasing awareness about the role of social economy within the EU. This position paper articulates recommendations for an enabling environment for the social economy and is derived from the vast experiences of Social Platform’s members and experts in the social economy

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Quality social services for all

Social services are essential for our societies to function and to support everyone to participate fully in society. Even though the social services sector varies across EU Member States, not-for-profit social service providers make up a major share of those social services, as well as of the social economy across Europe. Unfortunately These social services are often structurally underfunded and subject to increased cuts.

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