2 DESARROLLO CONCEPTUAL Y TEÓRICO ALREDEDOR DE LOS GREMIOS
2.4 Caracterización de la estructura institucional de representación de intereses
The statutory provisions on the social economy are of major
importance for the recognition of this sector, from three perspectives:
• Explicit recognition by the public authorities of the different
identity of these organisations, which require special treatment. In this respect the objective of the legal system is to institutionalize them as private agents;
• Recognition of the these organisationsʹ capacity and freedom to
act in any area of social and economic activity:
• Recognition of their negotiating role in the process of drawing up and applying the various public policies, viewing them as co‐ decision makers and co‐executors of the policies.
3.1. European documents of social economy
A first document on the social economy is the Social Economy Chart,
which states the principles and values characterizing social economy
organisations. This Chart, elaborated in 1980, and updated in 1995, sets several basic principles, which are shown in Table 8.
43 Table 8 Basic principles of the Social Economy Chart
(1980, 1995)
Article 1 • Social economy enterprises function democratically; they have
the same rights and duties.
Article 2 • Shareholders, consumers or producers, social enterprises
members commit themselves freely to follow the chosen form
of action (mutual cooperatives or associations) for their
responsibilities as full rights members of these societies.
Article 3 • All members are at the same time owners of the production
means; the social economy enterprises try to establish, within
the internal social relations, new links for a permanent action of
formation and information on the basis of consideration and
mutual trust.
Article 4 • Social economy enterprises claim equal opportunity for all
members, stating their right to develop on the basis of respect
for the total freedom of action.
Article 5 • Social economy enterprises have a particular system of credit,
distribution or income allocation. The fiscal surplus can only be
used for economic growth and to provide better services to the
members who just take care of the control.
Article 6 • Social economy enterprises endeavour to promote permanent
research and experimentation in all fields of human activity, to
participate in the harmonious development of the society, to
promote the individual and collectivity.
Article 7 • Social economy enterprises claim that their final goal is to serve
the people.
Source: Robert 2007, 12 şi http://transversel.apinc.org/spip/article.php3?id_article=286.
In Europe, the European Commission published in 1989 the
communication Social economy enterprises and the single internal market. In the same year, the Commission financed the first European Conference on Social Economy (Paris) and created a unit for social economy within DG
Economy. In 1990, 1992, 1993 and 1995, the Commission promoted European conferences on social economy at Roma, Lisbon, Brussels and Seville. In
1997, the Luxemburg Summit recognised the role of the social economy
enterprises in job creation and launched the pilot action “The third system and labour force employment” taking social economy as reference domain.
In the European Parliament (EP) the Intergroup for Social Economy became operational in 1990. In 2006, the European Parliament asked the Commission to “respect the social economy and to make a report on this cornerstone of the European social pattern”.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) published
many reports and communications on the contribution of social economy
enterprises to the accomplishment of the different objectives of the public policies.
Main legal acts on social economy adopted by the European Union
• The Commission forwarded three legislative proposals to the Council of
Europe:
1. Proposal for a Council Regulation on the Statute for a European
Cooperative Society
2. Proposal for a Council Regulation on the Statute for a European
Mutual (insurance society)
3. Proposal for a Council Regulation on the Statute for a European
Association,
These three regulations were accompanied by three similar directives
which imposed employee involvement in the decision‐making process in
their European businesses, such as the Directive on Employee Involvement (Council Directive 2001/86/EC of 8 October 2001)1. It took 11 years for the
Statute of the European Society of the Cooperatives to be adopted on July 22
2003).1 The other two proposals of regulation have been withdrawn by the
Commission in 2006 because of the lack of progress in the legislative
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• Services of General Economic Interest (SGEI), which specify the conditions
in which the compensation for the companies providing public services is
compatible with the unemployment aid legislation and it must not be
notified in advance to the Commission.
• On the Value Added Tax (VAT). Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28
November 2006. The common VAT system allows the member states to
authorize the social enterprises not to cash VAT for the goods and services
provided for the general interest.
• Communication in the field of general interest services, which include
social services, to evaluate the way to improve transparency and trust – EU
working frame in which social services can be provided.
• Commission Interpretative Communication of the on the application of the
community law on public procurement and concessions for
Institutionalised Public‐Private Partnerships – IPPP. The IPPPs are
understood by the CE as cooperation between public and private entities,
involving the establishment of an entity with mixed capital which
concludes contracts or public concessions.
• Commission Regulation (EC) no 800/2008 of 6 August 2008 which states
certain categories of assistance compatible with the common market in
applying art. 97 and 88 from the Treaty (Regulation of block exemption).
Source: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sme/promoting‐entrepreneurship/social‐economy/ index_en.htm; http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sme/promoting‐entrepreneurship/ social‐economy/co‐operatives/index_en.htm.
The most recent conceptual delimitation of the social economy, by its own organisations, is that of the Charter of Principles of the Social Economy
promoted by the European Standing Conference on Co‐operatives, Mutual
Societies, Associations and Foundations (CEP‐CMAF), the set principles
being as follows:
• The primacy of the individual and the social objective over
• Voluntary and open membership;
• Democratic control by the membership (not applying to
foundations because they don’t have members);
• The combination of the interests of members/users and/or the
general interest;
• The defence and application of the principle of solidarity and
responsibility;
• Autonomous management and independence from public
authorities;
• The essential surplus is used to carry out sustainable development objectives, services of interest to members or of general interest (CIRIEC, 2007, 9).
In Europe, the different forms of social economy don’t have an adequate level of recognition in the national legislations. Not all the forms of social economy are recognised to the same extent by the legislative systems if the different EU member states.
In the case of the cooperatives, which are explicitly recognized in Article or Section 48 of the Treaty of Rome as a specific type of company, and also in the constitutions of various member states, like Greece, Italy
Portugal and Spain, although they have a regulatory framework within
which they can operate and which guarantees the rights of members and third parties there is not always a specific law at national level that regulates all co‐operatives. Indeed, some countries like Denmark, the Czech Republic or the United Kingdom lack general co‐operative laws, although there are some laws for specific types of cooperative, such as housing cooperatives in the case of Denmark, or credit cooperatives or credit unions in the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic. This contrasts with the situation in other countries like Spain, Italy or France, which suffer from legislative inflation in this area, with different laws according to the type of cooperative and level of government (state and regional).
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