Nicolas Schmit: Putting the "social" back into the EU economy

"There is no other economic sector closer to the citizens than the social economy," said Nicolas Schmit, Luxembourg's Minister for Labour, Employment and the Social and Solidarity Economy, at the Social Enterprise: Make it happen - a renewed commitment event held by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) on 10th July. "This is why I pay tribute to the EESC for being the sector's constant champion," he added. Mr Schmit also sees the social economy as a crucial link between the EU and its citizens.

Luxembourg's presidency will have a strong focus on the social economy and social enterprises, concluding with a major conference on the subject in December. The EESC, which is currently working on an opinion on the financial ecosystem and social enterprises, will play an important part in the event.

Panellists at Social Enterprise: Make it happen - a renewed commitment stressed the importance of the social economy having the right financial instruments. It was not about more money, but about more useful money ("hybrid financing") that gives social entrepreneurs what they need. More also had to be done on raising awareness, since many people, including banks, do not know exactly what the social economy/social entrepreneurship is all about. "The implementation of the social economy needs concrete action plans and guidelines for Member States," said Swedish MEP Jens Nilsson i, member of the European Parliament's Social Economy Intergroup.

Mr Schmit spoke of two major opportunities for social enterprises:

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  firstly, those countries that had been hit hardest by the crisis, such as Greece, would have to rebuild their economic infrastructure from scratch and the social economy could contribute to rebuilding a viable and sustainable economic framework;
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  secondly, there had also been a change in the mindset of young people, who wanted to create something on their own rather than being employed. They wanted to build their own businesses based on strong values. Social entrepreneurship was a way for them to achieve their ambitions.

"The lack of values was part of the crisis," said the minister, "but a successful, sustainable economy needs values, social commitment and innovation."

The social economy - originally not part of the Juncker investment plan - is now included and the next step is to make it a reality through action and implementation. The 2020 strategy will also have to be revisited with a stronger focus on concrete activities related to the social economy.

In the recent years, the EESC has been a major actor in the EU scene in promoting Social enterprise and social economy an area on which it has also issued a number of reasoned opinions.