EU for Social Economy & Social Enterprises

Join us in March for the European Conference on #Cooperatives ! Launched by the United Nations, the 2025 International Year of Cooperatives represents a unique opportunity to show Europe's commitment to the cooperative model. 💪 We will hold a Conference on 18 March entitled: 'Fostering Europe’s prosperity and industrial transformation: Cooperatives as drivers of change' #ConfCoopBrux25 👍 in a beautiful location La Vallee (https://lavallee.brussels/ ) The event will feature several plenary sessions and workshops designed to foster dialogue among cooperatives representatives, academics, and policymakers on how this business model can contribute to a more prosperous and sustainable economy. This conference is organised in close cooperation with CECOP, Cooperatives Europe and the European Economic and Social Committee. More information & registration: https://lnkd.in/et-K4h6Y

A month of impact: Honouring the women shaping SRPP Today, we highlight Nancy THOMAS, one of our #WeBuySocialEU Ambassadors. Nancy leads IMS-Luxembourg, a national CSR network that fosters meaningful dialogue between companies and their stakeholders, driving social innovation within the corporate world. Her leadership continues to inspire change and advance CSR practices across borders, making her a true champion of inclusive growth and social impact. 🔗 Learn more about #WeBuySocialEU here: https://lnkd.in/eXSbY_xx #EUPublicProcurement #IWD2025

🌱 As a public procurement professional, you have the power to create positive social impact with every purchase! 👉 Our latest video explores the EU legislative framework and the tools available to Contracting Authorities to embed social clauses in tender specifications, and provide opportunities for the Social Economy sector through reserved contracts, subcontracting, division into lots, etc. Check the full video: https://lnkd.in/ecXhUFwt #SociallyResponsiblePublicProcurement #SRPP #WeBuySocialEU

Can cooperatives save the world? Yes, they can, which is why the United Nations has declared 2025 the International Year of Cooperatives #IYC2025 to promote the cooperative model around the world. During the European Commission DG GROW conference 'Fostering Europe’s prosperity and industrial transformation: Cooperatives as drivers of change', the youth panel highlighted the important role of universities in explaining cooperatives to law and economics students but also to children. KCO KU Leuven is promoting a cooperative mindset with a bachelor course on social and cooperative entrepreneurship, the supervision of master's theses on cooperatives, recurring guest lectures, a presence at the Children's University, the development of a massive online open course and an executive programme for professionals. EU for Social Economy & Social Enterprises, Cooperatives Europe, CECOP, European Economic and Social Committee Kunnen coöperaties de wereld redden? Uiteraard! Om het coöperatief model wereldwijd te promoten werd 2025 door de VN uitgeroepen tot Internationaal Jaar van de Coöperatie #IYC2025. Tijdens #ConfCoopBrux25 over coöperaties als changemakers beklemtoonde het jeugdpanel de belangrijke rol van universiteiten om coöperaties bekend te maken bij rechten- en economiestudenten maar ook bij kinderen. KCO KU Leuven plant zaadjes met het bachelorvak 'Sociaal en coöperatief ondernemen', begeleiding van masterscripties over coöperaties, terugkerende gastlessen in mastervakken en ook de Kinderuniversiteit, de ontwikkeling van een massive online open course en een postgraduaat voor coöperatieve doeners via PUC - KU Leuven Continue.

Advancing a just energy transition: the role of housing and energy #cooperatives ⚡🏘️ Today, at the conference on cooperatives as drivers of change, we discussed how cooperatives are supporting a just energy transition—ensuring affordability, inclusivity, and sustainability in housing and energy. Rossana Zaccaria president of Legacoop Abitanti, presented what cooperatives are doing in the Italian context. She mentioned that with the European Commissioner in their first mandate for housing, this is a pivotal time to push for innovative solutions Just last week, the European Investment Bank (EIB) launched its guidelines for the Pan-European Investment Platform for Affordable Housing, marking an important step in mobilizing resources. Legacoop Abitanti is helping citizens access affordable housing, leveraging mutualism and democratic traditions to promote energy communities. 🔹In Ferrara, the Castello Green House cooperative already has 15 members and has achieved 40% energy savings. 🔹Another inspiring example is the Cooperativa Habitare, that has invested over €200 million, involving 8,000 families and owning 3,000 dwellings—a significant effort, particularly as many elderly residents had to be reeducated on energy transition practices. Main takeaway? Tapping into strategic municipal frameworks is key to securing substantial support, such as Milan’s goal to be one of 100 EU cities to reach climate neutrality by 2030. It’s important to reorganise the funds available at the moment, as optimising them would be a huge help to promote more energy communities. ‘The goal of energy transition is not about increasing profits’. Cooperatives Europe #IYC2025

Cooperatives as Regulatory Infrastructure for a Value-Based Digital Economy 💼🇪🇺 In the struggle for European Sovereignty, the digital economy is now more than ever in focus. 🔍 The EU has prepared a level playing field through GDPR, DSA, DMA, DA, DGA, and AIA – with considerable extraterritorial effects (the "Brussels Effect": Anu Bradford). 📊🇪🇺 Regulating the digital economy means competing not only with foreign powers but also with powerful companies that act as rule makers in oligopolistic markets (more on this in the volume on Regulatory Competition in the Digital Economy edited by Lars Hornuf and myself: https://lnkd.in/eg5EvqK8). 🏛️💻 Europe must move beyond its role as principal regulator and gain market shares. 📈 FinTech companies like Klarna and N26 Group, music-streaming services like Deezer and Spotify, and trading platforms like Zalando and Delivery Hero SE clearly demonstrate that European tech can be competitive and even dominant in digital markets. 💡🇪🇺🚀 DG GROW of the European Commission is now exploring ways to support value-based digital innovation in Europe and rightfully looks at digital cooperatives as pieces of the regulatory and economic puzzle. 🧩 Despite not offering a sustainable alternative to Amazon or Facebook (as suggested by Trebor Scholz), cooperatives could provide a valuable addition to the European economy, where SMEs are the pillars. 🏢🤝🇪🇺 Cooperatives could: 🔍✨ ➡️ Train open-source LLMs like LLama in closed, value-confirmed environments 🤖🇪🇺 ➡️ Offer secure governance for data intermediaries, encouraging SMEs to share data for analysis 🔒📊 ➡️ Function as counterweights to market power in tech environments ⚖️💪 Regulating cooperatives could be part of an enabling approach where corporate law serves as infrastructure for a value-based digital economy. 🏗️ 🇪🇺 Key ideas for binding corporate governance must include: ⚖️📝 ➡️ Reconciling democratic governance with dynamic management needs 🗳️⚡ ➡️ Attracting external investment with alternatives to classic shares-for-investment schemes 💰🔄 ➡️ Securing European values in cooperative governance structures 🇪🇺🛡️ A 28th European regime for cooperative law is on the table; at minimum, a simplifying modernization of the SCE regulation and model articles of association must be pursued. 📜✍️🇪🇺 I'm glad to contribute to DG GROW's reflections on "Cooperatives as Drivers of Change" as a panelist today in Brussels, alongside Simone van der Burg, Jan Oleszczuk-Zygmuntowski, and Johanna Kühner. 🗣️🎤 Let's hope our ideas are well-received by the European Commission – currently the finest institution of the free world. ✨🇪🇺🌟 Thank you Amaryllis Verhoeven and Karel Vanderpoorten for the warm welcome!

🚀 Cooperatives & Digital Innovation: A Fairer Online Future? At Session 2, Room 3: "Driving Value-Based Digital Innovation", experts explored how cooperatives can lead in ethical tech development, data sovereignty, and governance in the digital economy. 🔹 Data as a cooperative product – Dr. Michael Denga (BSP Business & Law School, Germany) argued that coops could leverage PIMS (Personal Information Management Systems) to offer privacy-first data processing, sharing, and ownership. He also called for a 28th legal regime or harmonised governance standards to ensure cooperatives operate under consistent rules across Europe. 🔹 Tech isn’t neutral—values must guide development – Simone van der Burg (Waag Futurelab) emphasised that technology always reflects underlying values. To create ethical, socially-driven digital solutions, software developers and social scientists must collaborate. She also stressed the importance of a code of conduct for data sharing in the social economy to prevent data misuse and reinforce trust. 🔹 Scaling up without venture capital – Jan Oleszczuk-Zygmuntowski (PLZ Spółdzielnia, Poland) highlighted that digital cooperatives grow through their members, not external investors. Trust is key—both to attract new members and keep existing ones engaged. He warned that Europe must build technological sovereignty through coops, or risk replacing American tech giants with pan-European oligarchs dictating EU policies. 📢 Key takeaway: Cooperatives can and should lead in digital governance, ensuring data sovereignty, ethical AI, and tech for the common good. The future of digital innovation must be driven by communities, not just capital. At the event "Cooperatives as Drivers of Changes in Brussels", organised by the European Commission, and co-hosted with CECOP, European Economic and Social Committee, Cooperatives Europe #Cooperatives #DigitalInnovation #DataSovereignty #EthicalTech #PlatformCoops

During the opening session of the event, we welcomed Amaryllis Verhoeven (Director at DG GROW, European Commission), Maravillas Abadia Jover (MEP, European People's Party), Thomas Meyer (Vice-President, Cooperatives Europe). 🗣️ Amaryllis Verhoeven underlined "Cooperatives play a big role in key industrial sectors and underscores that they need more visibility and recognition". Thomas Meyer urged 👉 “Before we can talk about innovation, we need to keep production tools on our territory, a model that is excellent at achieving this has been the workers buyout under a worker cooperative”. MEP Maravillas Abadia Jover stated 📌 "Cooperatives are crucial in reinforcing the single market. They are social and participatory therefore creating economic cohesion. They concentrate on local production and reduce our dependence on imports from third countries. To increase European competitiveness, we must support cooperatives!" #CoopsInspireChange

🌊♻️ Innovation & Sustainability in Action: 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐠𝐚 𝐚𝐭 𝐁𝐋𝐔𝐄𝐃𝐎𝐓𝐒 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐚! Every year, 12 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬. Futuralga is tackling this challenge by offering a sustainable alternative to single-use plastic packaging. 🚀 Who are they? 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐠𝐚 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭-𝐮𝐩 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐥𝐠𝐚𝐞, 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. Their innovative approach has gained international recognition, securing spots in top business acceleration programs and leading sustainability events. 🔗 Learn more about Futuralga in the video below and through www.futuralga.com 📢 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐠𝐚 - 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝! At the #Bluedotsproject event in Málaga, during the session "Good Practices in Key Sectors," Futuralga’s representatives will share insights on how they are transforming the sector with their nature-based solutions. 𝐉𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐌á𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐚 – 𝐁𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐁𝐋𝐔𝐄𝐃𝐎𝐓𝐒 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭! ✅ Engage with top international experts on sustainability & digital transformation ✅ Take part in interactive workshops, roundtables & networking sessions ✅ Gain valuable insights into funding opportunities & innovation strategies ✅ Experience sustainable practices firsthand 📍 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧? May 22-23 in Málaga ⏳ 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞: March 31st, 2025 🔗 Check the full agenda here: https://bit.ly/41INUQE 🔗 Find all the information about the application process here: https://bit.ly/4iIcoQP 🔗 Apply now: https://bit.ly/4hrAG0q 💰 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐀𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞! Social Economy SMEs & enabling organizations in the blue sector across Europe can apply for up to €800 to cover travel, accommodation & subsistence. 📅 Don’t miss out—Secure your spot today!

🏆 European Social Economy Awards. 3rd edition 🏆 THE CALL FOR APPLICATIONS IS OPEN!!! Do you have an outstanding initiative in: 🏠 Housing, 🔋 Clean Energy solutions, 📚 Social Economy Training & Education, or 💡 Innovation in Work Integration Social Enterprises (WISEs)?? 🏛️Are you a local/regional government supporting the Social Economy? Apply now to the 3rd edition of the European #SocialEconomy Awards and gain visibility across Europe and the EU institutions!! Who can apply? ✅ Social Economy organizations & enterprises ✅ Educational institutions & training providers ✅ Local & regional governments 📅 Deadline for applications: June 16, 2025 Don’t miss this opportunity to showcase your work and make a bigger impact! Find out all the info and apply here 👉 https://lnkd.in/dJKyJ9mR AIM - Association Internationale de la Mutualité/International Association of Mutuals CECOP CEDAG - European Council of Associations of General Interest CEPES Confederación Empresarial Española de la Economía Social ConcertES ESS France FEBEA - European Federation of Ethical and Alternative Banks and Financiers Forum Terzo Settore Eurodiaconia Diesis Network ENSIE NETWORK The Wheel Philea - Philanthropy Europe Association ADV Romania TechSoup Coompanion Microfinance Centre European Microfinance Network REVES - EUROPEAN NETWORK OF CITIES AND REGIONS FOR THE SOCIAL ECONOMY AMICE Mutuals Social Economy Ukraine