The cooperative movement welcomes the renewed emphasis on the social and employment aspects of the Lisbon Agenda, Cooperatives Europe said.
The document underlines the cooperatives' important contribution to the European economy and society, and their specific legal and fiscal framework; it calls on the Portuguese presidency to defend the cooperative model before the EC. The memorandum also highlights the capacity of cooperatives to remain rooted in territories and not to delocalise, and to combine labour security with entreneurial flexibility.
It requests that the specific contributions of cooperatives in the delivery of services of general interest (SGI) be duly taken into consideration in the definition of a normative framework for SGI.
Finally, the memorandum advocates the need to incorporate fully cooperative enterprises in the future policy review concerning SMEs, in the sense that many cooperatives are SMEs and they contribute to economic health and social cohesion, in particular in areas facing economic challenge. To view the whole memorandum,click here.
News from: Cooperatives Europe, 17/07/07
