----

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the promotion of cooperative societies in Europe

(COM(2004) 18 final)

(2005/C 234/01)

On 23 February 2004, the Commission decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under Article 262 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the abovementioned communication.

The Section for the Single Market, Production and Consumption, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on this subject, adopted its opinion on 14 February 2005. The Rapporteur was Mr Hoffelt.

At its 415th plenary session, held on 9 and 10 March 2005 (meeting of 9 March 2005), the European Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 120 votes to one, with three abstentions.

1.   Introduction

2.   Gist of the Commission's Communication

2.2.1   Promoting the establishment of more cooperatives in Europe by improving the visibility and characteristics of this sector

The objective, inter alia, is to organise structured exchanges of information and experiences and to promote actions aimed at raising awareness amongst public authorities and private economic operators.

2.2.2   Improving national legislation governing cooperatives

This objective has been formulated in connection with the adoption by the Council in July 2003 of the Regulation on the Statute for a European Cooperative Society (SCE). The aim is to bring about implementation of the Regulation as regards the measures to be taken under the national laws of the Member States to improve national law in this field and to promote the establishment of ‘model laws’. Attention is drawn to the fact that the Commission also pays special attention to the situation in the new EU Member States.

2.2.3   The maintenance and improvement of cooperatives' place [in] and contribution to Community objectives

This goal covers, inter alia, agricultural policy in the context of EU enlargement, rural and regional development and the creation of jobs.

3.   General comments

4.   Fields involving cooperatives which need to be fleshed out in a more in-depth manner

4.1   Regulatory environment

4.2   Competition rules, freedom of establishment and tax treatment

4.3   Social responsibility and governance of enterprises

4.3.1   Corporate social responsibility (CSR)

4.3.2   Corporate governance

4.4   Groupings of cooperative enterprises

5.   Comments and recommendations concerning the proposed actions

5.1   Perception and promotion of cooperative practices (Actions 1-2)

5.2   Statistical data (Action 3)

5.3   Training and entrepreneurship (Action 4)

5.4   Business support services (Action 5)

5.5   Access to finance (Action 6)

5.6   Contribution made by cooperatives in a number of particular areas of enterprise policy (Action 7)

5.7   Coherence between national laws, improvement of national laws, drafting of model laws and the European Cooperative Society (Actions 8, 9, 10 and 11)

5.8   Community objectives (Action 12)

6.   Conclusions

Brussels, 9 March 2005.

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Anne-Marie SIGMUND

----

(1)  The Cooperative Charter was adopted by the International Cooperative Alliance at its congress in Manchester in 1995.

(2)  Idem.

(3)  Opinion of the Committee of the Regions of 16 June 2004 (CdR 97/2004 fin), rapporteur: Mrs Pellinen (OJ C 318 of 22 December 2004)

(4)  Resolution 56/114 adopted at the 88th plenary meeting of the UN General Assembly, held on 19 December 2001

(5)  R193: Recommendation on the Promotion of Cooperatives, adopted at the 90th session of the International Labour Conference on 20 June 2002

(6)  Article III – 142 of the European Convention currently in the process of ratification

(7)  Council Regulation No. 1435/2003, OJ L 207 of 18 August 2003 and Council Directive No. 2003/72/EC, OJ L 207 of 18 August 2003

See also the EESC opinion of 26 May 1992 on the Proposal for a Council Regulation on the Statute for a European Cooperative Society and the Proposal for a Council Directive supplementing the statute with regard to the involvement of employees (OJ C 223 of 31 August 1992)

(8)  EESC's opinion on the Social economy and the single market, rapporteur: J. Olsson, OJ C 117 of 26 April 2000

(9)  Cf. footnote 3

(10)  EESC opinion entitled Economic diversification in the accession countries – role of SMEs and social economy enterprises, rapporteurs: L. Fusco and J. Glorieux, OJ C 112 of 30 April 2004

(11)  Shares in cooperatives could be regarded as capital a) in cases where the issuer retains an unconditional right to refuse to reimburse the shares or b) in cases where, either under national legislation or under the statutes of the organisation concerned, a threshold is established below which the level of capital may not fall.

(12)  In this context, it is a striking fact that the High Level Group of European Company Law Experts, referred to on a number of occasions in the Communication, fails to include any expert in cooperative law

(13)  See the final paragraph of point 3.2.7 of the Commission's Communication

(14)  In Germany, for example, it is not possible to establish cooperatives in the field of the dispensing of prescription drugs

(15)  Article 8(2) of this Council Regulation stipulates that: ‘if national law provides specific rules and/or restrictions related to the nature of businesses carried out by an SCE, or for forms of control by a supervisory authority, that law shall apply in full to the SCE’

(16)  See point 3.2.6 of the Commission's Communication

(17)  Opinion of the Committee of the Regions referred to in footnote 3 above

(18)  Green Paper on Promoting a European framework for corporate social responsibility (COM(2001) 366 final)

(19)  Through the organisation of fair trade networks, the implementation of social impact assessment systems, the establishment of the European grouping of social impact assessment systems, etc.

(20)  Cf. the EESC opinion on the Green Paper entitled ‘Promoting a European framework for Corporate Social Responsibility’, CESE 355/2002, rapporteurs: Hornung-Draus, Engelen-Kefer, Hoffelt, OJ C 125 of 27 May 2002

(21)  Cf. the EESC opinion on the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on modernising company law and enhancing corporate governance in the European Union – a plan to move forward, rapporteur: G. Ravoet, CESE 1592/2003, OJ C 80 of 30 March 2004

(22)  The structure and organisation of auditing cooperatives in a number of EU Member States, such as Germany, illustrate this point

(23)  Cf. the Commission's seminar, held on 23 October 2004, on Satellite Accounts for the Social Economy

(24)  Such as the Leonardo, Socrates and Erasmus programmes

(25)  Cf. footnote 3

(26)  Community support programme for entrepreneurship and enterprise competitiveness (2006-2011)

(27)  Communication from the Commission entitled Action Plan: the European agenda for Entrepreneurship (COM(2004) 70 final). See the EESC opinion on this subject: CESE 1198/2004 of 15 September 2004 – Rapporteur: Mr B. Butters

(28)  Cf. the EESC opinion on the Ability of SMEs and social economy enterprises to adapt to changes imposed by economic growth (OJ C 120 of 20.5.2005, rapporteur: L. Fusco)

(29)  See point 3.2.4 of the Commission's Communication

(30)  Under the heading ‘social enterprises’, the Commission points out that in some EU Member States legal forms have been adopted to designate enterprises whose main purpose is to achieve social objectives

(31)  Some national cooperative organisations were even opposed to such a measure

(32)  The term ‘demutualisation’ is generally applied in cases where a cooperative ceases to be an enterprise owned jointly by an association of individuals and passes into the hands of external investors. This happens, for example, in cases where cooperatives are converted into capitalised companies

(33)  For example, under a law recently introduced in Italy cooperatives may issue bonds

----