Keynote speech of László Andor, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, at the Conference "Cooperatives and Work Integration of Disadvantaged Persons". It was co-organized by the European Confederation of Cooperatives in Industry and Services (CECOP-CICOPA Europe) and Confcooperative-Federsolidarietà, the largest Italian Federation of Social Cooperatives on 25 November 2013, at the European Economic and Social Committee in Brussels.