The social economy as a paradigm for the present and future of Europe: Elements for an Action plan

9 March 2021

As the European Commission prepares to launch a new Action Plan for the Social Economy, together with Diesis Network and with the support of Social Economy Europe, we wanted to share some observations that we have drawn from our experience as practitioners and researchers.

The document “The social economy as a paradigm for the present and future of Europe: Elements for an Action plan” tries to outline the key elements of a vision that sees the social economy as a key link between the European Union’s root and its future. The position paper that we have elaborated in our opinion should be taken into account in the Action Plan, as a contribution to the Roadmap published by the European Commission on march 1st, 2021.

The approach of the Social economy today becomes even more promising and far-sighted since the Covid pandemic has been an exceptional training ground for grasping the importance of an approach that is not solely oriented towards profit nor based exclusively on the exercise of public authority. Thus the Action plan for the Social economy is an opportunity to recreate a balance between economic growth policies as an engine of fair and sustainable development.

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