EU Commission disbands the ‘Social Economy’ unit; Séjourné tries to reassure

Brussels – Hands off the social economy and its agenda. The internal reorganization of the European Commission does not please the European Liberals (Renew), who demand accountability for decisions to close offices and merge them elsewhere. Ciaran Mullooly, an independent Irish member of Renew, disputes the decision to disband the Social Economy Unit of the Internal Market Directorate General, which covers industry, entrepreneurship, and SMEs (DG GROW), and transfer its responsibilities to the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG EMPL). 

This choice, which the MEP challenges in his parliamentary question, “risks weakening the economic and industrial positioning of the social economy, an ecosystem that employs over 11 million people, at a time when resilience, inclusion, and competitiveness must go hand in hand.” The move to the right of the von der Leyen Commission now worries even those who are not exactly Labour supporters.

 Officially, the numbers are different. According to the EU Commission, there are 13.6 million people active in the social economy (more than those declared by Mullooly, therefore), which non-profit associations, cooperatives, and foundations carry out. A change of internal organization risks burdening all this. However, Stéphane Séjourné, executive vice president for industrial strategy, rejects these concerns.  

“The reorganization of DG GROW, which includes the elimination of the unit dedicated to the social economy, aims to improve efficiency, while integrating the social economy into broader industrial and Single Market policies,” explains the French member of the College of Commissioners. He assures: “The actors of the social economy remain fully integrated” into the policies for which Séjourné himself is responsible. They remain central in particular for “industrial strategy, the review of public procurement, and specific programs such as the Enterprise Europe Network, Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs, and the European Cluster Collaboration Platform.”

The social economy is not under attack or under discussion, Séjourné continues: “The Commission is firmly committed to promoting the development of the social economy, in particular through the implementation of the Social Economy Action Plan, and to ensuring that social economy actors can contribute significantly to the prosperity and resilience of the single market.” In the meantime, however, the dedicated unit is closed and dismantled.