A cooperative is an autonomous association of persons united to meet common economic, social, and cultural goals. They achieve their objectives through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise.
Cooperatives are enterprises that serve the needs of their members who contribute to their capital.
The Communication on the promotion of co-operative societies in Europe (2004) focuses on 3 main issues
The Working Group on Cooperatives was established in 2013 to assess the specific needs of cooperative enterprises with regard to a wide variety of issues such as the appropriate EU regulatory framework, the identification of barriers at national level and the internationalisation of cooperatives.
Upon the recommendations of the Working Group, 2 pilot projects are being implemented: 'Business transfers to employees creating a cooperative' and 'Reduction of youth unemployment and the setup of cooperatives'.
Business transfers to employees creating a cooperative
This project aims to make it easier to transfer businesses to employees/workers in a cooperative. It will also raise awareness about the benefits of a cooperative model. 2 consortia have been chosen to implement the project. It started in April 2016.
Reduction of youth unemployment and the setup of cooperatives
Phase 1
This project will support the development of entrepreneurship education, focusing on cooperatives. It will encourage cooperatives to employ young people and promote start-ups. This will help provide youth employment and ensure the generational renewal of cooperatives. 2 consortia have been chosen to implement the project. The project started in April 2017.
Phase 2 began in March 2020.
See the consortia selected to implement the project.
The European Cooperative Society is an optional legal form of a cooperative. It aims to facilitate cooperatives' cross-border and trans-national activities. An SCE must unite residents from more than one EU country.