The place of Social Economy in Europe

DATE DE PUBLICATION 09/05/2025

The place of Social Economy in Europe

Faced with the current challenges of ecological transition, inclusion and social cohesion, the European Union is making Social Economy a lever of its strategy, through an action plan and dedicated funding.

It is in this context that France is benefiting from increased European support, mobilising funds such as the ESF+, the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and guarantees from the European Investment Fund to support, finance and secure the careers of committed entrepreneurs.

France Active, a key player in solidarity finance, provides a concrete illustration of this dynamic by facilitating access to finance and support for the most vulnerable entrepreneurs and the most committed structures.

Social Economy is playing an increasingly important role in Europe’s economic and social landscape. It brings together a variety of structures – cooperatives, mutual societies, associations, foundations, social enterprises – which place social utility, solidarity and democratic governance at the heart of their economic model.

Although there are 4.3 million Social Economy structures throughout the EU, there is considerable heterogeneity in terms of the place it occupies in the economy of each Member State. The countries with the most active and recognised legislative frameworks in this area are France, followed by Spain and Italy.

Europe is gradually integrating Social Economy into its strategies and public policies:

The action plan within the framework of the European Social Rights Framework: this action plan aims to make Europe a global model of social justice, shared prosperity and resilience in the face of crises. It represents a strong political commitment to ensuring that economic growth is accompanied by social progress, while respecting the fundamental rights of all European citizens.
European Action Plan for Social Economy: presented in December 2021, it recognises the social economy as one of the 14 key industrial ecosystems for Europe’s recovery and resilience. It aims to facilitate access to finance, raise the sector’s profile and encourage social innovation.
EU Council Recommendation (November 2023): calls on Member States to put in place favourable policies and regulatory frameworks, improve access to finance and public procurement, and strengthen the recognition of Social Economy
European funds: the European Social Fund + (ESF+) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) actively support SSE initiatives, particularly for employment, social cohesion and innovation.

There are two main challenges facing the development of Social Economy in Europe:

Its legal and institutional recognition: despite some progress, Social Econmy still suffers from a lack of harmonisation and institutional recognition in many European countries.
Its funding: the specific funding needs of the SSE are estimated at €6.7 billion for the period 2021-2027 (source : publication by ESS France), underlining the importance of easier access to tailored funding.

To meet these challenges, the European Commission has drawn up an action plan for 2021-2030. It includes 38 concrete actions, with a common understanding of the social economy in Europe and the ambition to mobilise €2.5 billion from the European budget for investment in the social economy. This amount will be supplemented by resources mobilised through the #NextGenEU European Recovery Plan, managed by the Member States, as well as by contributions from other levels of government (local, regional and national).

France, a European driving force for Social Economy

The framework law passed in France in 2014 (the Hamon law) sets an example for the institutional recognition of the Social Economy in Europe. The innovative schemes that France has been developing for years, such as the Société coopérative d’intérêt collectif status, the PTCEs (territorial clusters of economic cooperation) or the solidarity savings mechanisms (the 90/10 funds) are sources of inspiration for many other European countries.

How does Europe support the development of the Social Economy in France?

Europe supports the development of the Social and Solidarity Economy in France through a number of schemes from which France Active benefits, as do the committed entrepreneurs it supports.

Securing bank loans for the most fragile entrepreneurs and the most committed structures

France Active mobilises European funds to finance entrepreneurial projects.

For example, Europe, via the European Investment Fund (EIF – a subsidiary of the European Investment Bank Group), intervenes as a bank ‘counter-guarantee’ to cover the risk that France Active takes on when it guarantees the most fragile entrepreneurs, so that they do not have to take out a personal guarantee when launching their business. It is aimed particularly at priority groups (people in very precarious situations, young people or women seeking work or in precarious employment) and priority areas (priority urban policy districts, rural regeneration areas).  

The EIF also provides guarantees for France Active investments, enabling entrepreneurs to go further in their support for priority groups, the most vulnerable areas and innovative projects by companies with a strong social impact, while keeping risk-taking under control.

Promoting support for entrepreneurs

ESF+ is a very important source of funding for the France Active network and for its work in supporting and financing entrepreneurs and Social Economy structures. It enables to support, connect and finance an increased number of entrepreneurs who are far from the banking system (jobseekers, recipients of minimum social benefits, young people under the age of 26, women, etc.) and Social Economy structures¹.

The France Active association mobilises the  ESF+ for its actions to professionalize its network with the national employment agency (DGEFP)². Territorial associations mobilise the ESF+ (or the ERDF where applicable) from the Regions for their actions to support entrepreneurial projects, in line with the regional operational programmes (ROP).

The DLA is France’s leading support organisation for the social economy, providing free support to socially useful organisations to help them develop their jobs and projects. To help Social Economy entrepreneurs with their projects, France Active, as the DLA Funding Resource Centre³, produces guides, training courses, thematic studies, educational sheets and articles, thanks to European funding.

Ambroise FAYOLLE

Vice-President of the European Investment Bank Group

As a long-standing partner of France Active, the EIB Group has renewed its confidence in 2024 by extending the term of its contracts by three years and increasing the guarantee envelope for France Active Investissement and the counter-guarantee envelope for France Active Garantie.

Through the activities of our European Investment Fund subsidiary dedicated to financing SMEs and very small businesses and as part of the InvestEU European guarantee programme, the EIB Group is mobilising to provide an additional boost to sustainable investment, innovation, social inclusion and job creation in Europe. For us, this is a way of taking concrete action to promote a just transition by meeting the social and environmental challenges to which social entrepreneurship responds.

1 – ESF+ operation ‘Impact +’ 2023-2026 2023-2026 – Retour

2 – ESF+ operation ‘Nouvel Horizon: Structuration et professionnalisation du réseau France Active pour accompagner l’évolution des besoins des entrepreneurs’ 2022-2024 (pending extension for the period 2025-2027) – Retour

3 – ESF+ operation ‘DLA Financement Resource Centre’ 2024-2026, via a call for projects from Avise. – Retour