European co-operatives have submitted contributions to the EU 2020 strategy mid-term consultation. With the newly-elected European Commission taking duty on 1 November for a five year term, the public consultation aims to collect views on the strategy’s future development, which aims to promote smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.
Cooperatives Europe highlights in its contribution that the overall impact of the 2020 strategy has been “non-decisive” given the mostly non-binding targets of the current strategy and the fact that most pillars are out of the EU’s direct responsibility. The regional organisation of the International Co-operative Alliance argues that the good practices of co-operatives should be acknowledged and given the appropriate attention.
Klaus Niederländer, director of Cooperatives Europe, said: “The Europe 2020 strategy must be the backbone of any EU policy and strategy. To do so, however, the EU must put in place a more participatory and inclusive approach to the decision-making process, so that all stakeholders can really be involved in its design and implementation.”
The contribution asks the EU to recognise sustainability as one of the big horizontal themes of the Europe 2020 strategy. Cooperatives Europe calls for a sound, fair and open business environment providing a level-playing field for all types of businesses and initiatives.
The European Confederation of Cooperatives active in industry and services (CECOP) has also made a number of recommendations to reverse the curve for growth and jobs within the EU.
CECOP has highlighted a number of areas which it believe should have a central place in the EU 2020 strategy. It has called for a stronger commitment towards the employment target of 75% of the active population, which, it argued, should be politically binding. The organisation invited the European Commission to observe that co-operative enterprises within its network are characterised by particularly high job tenure.
In its contribution, CECOP also points out that some member states have adopted austerity programs in order to achieve fiscal consolidation. This has had damaging effects on some EU 2020 targets such as employment, poverty alleviation and training and education.
A commitment to sustain and increase investment by member states should be another priority of the new Commission, according to CECOP. The organisation has pointed out that industrial and service co-operatives need investment in favour of a long-term sustained growth for the re-industrialisation of the EU and its regions. CECOP argues that investment should be aimed at sectors with high employment potential, such as the green economy, education for young people in co-operative entrepreneurship and enterprise support services and adequate financial instruments.
While more than 12,000 social co-operatives across Europe provide social services and employment for the most disadvantaged, they require social public investment in order to contribute to reaching the EU 2020 social objectives, says CECOP.
Commenting on the potential of co-operatives to help achieve the EU’s 2020 strategy, Bruno Roelants, secretary general of CECOP, said: “CECOP puts the experience of its 50,000 democratic and participative enterprises at the Commission’s service to provide inspiration regarding their mechanisms, structures and principles. This said the resilience of our enterprises will begin to show its limits if adequate European policies and a favourable environment for their development are not put in practice.”
