Commissioner for Internal Market Michel Barnier has indicated that his services will work on the European Foundation Statute in 2011. Concrete action is to be released in the Commission’s proposal for a “Single Market Act” on 27 October 2010. According to information the EFC managed to gather, the Commission is currently looking at the challenges for cross-border work of foundations and the possible solutions, including the European Statute for foundations, but no decision has been taken yet on follow-up actions.
Commissioner Barnier made the announcement at a European Parliament hearing in which he and Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship Antonio Tajani were invited to share their views regarding social economy as well as the specific initiatives they are planning to adopt in relation to social economy organisations, including foundations.
Both Commissioners recognised the role and added value of social economy organisations and expressed their interest and commitment to social economy. Commissioner Barnier further stressed the need to go further and faster to put social economy at the heart of Europe and reconcile citizens with the European project.
This should be reflected in the upcoming proposal for a “Single Market Act”, which aims to implement a “social market economy” as mentioned in the Treaty of Lisbon, i.e. a market in which there is a balance between social and economic aspects and which serves both to companies and citizens (as actors and consumers), see EFC news
The Commission will also propose a "Social Business Initiative" to contribute to the development of socially responsible businesses in the single market. Other interesting initiatives include new policy proposals in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) early next year and the review of a Statute for a European Cooperative Society. The concerns raised and lessons learnt regarding this Statute can help us build the case for the European Foundation Statute. Finally, the Commission will also look at the obstacles that other social economy actors, notably mutualities, face in their cross-border activities.
About the European Parliament hearing
The hearing “From Words to Action: European Scholars in Support of Social Economy Enterprises" was organised by the European Parliament, under the lead of MEPs Patricia Toia (S&D, Italy) and Jean-Paul Gauzès (EPP, France). Participants had the opportunity to discuss with Commissioners Barnier and Tajani the open letter sent to them by university professors and researchers calling for the recognition and concrete policies in support of social economy organisations. The letter is available here.
Further information
Further information on the event and the open letter is available at Social Economy Europe's website
For more details on the European Foundation Statute, please visit EFC's dedicated webpage
EFC members interested in obtaining further information on the outcomes of the event and the Commission’s plans regarding foundations, please contact EFC secretariat at eu@efc.be