Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-05-13-Speech-2-278"
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"en.20030513.12.2-278"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, Mrs Gebhardt, Mr De Rossa, today, this debate on a European Cooperative Society is focusing somewhat on the legal base chosen to reintroduce this report. This legal base has been challenged in all the work of the Parliamentary committees as it arises essentially from Amendment No 1, which was specifically proposed for the text of the regulation.
This situation means that, once again, the Members are facing an impossible choice: whether to recognise the rights of this House in terms of codecision or to adopt a Statute which has been awaited for 30 years by the social economy sector. By refusing the European Parliament codecision in this area, the unfortunate precedent of the limited company is perpetuated and this situation could be repeated when we address the statute for friendly societies or European associations. Is the Council going to continue to ignore Parliament’s position?
As regards the first point, my fellow Members have amply elaborated on the grounds for challenging the legal base and they have put forward strong arguments. At the same time, however, and despite everything, it is just as important that we achieve a text on the Statute for a Cooperative Society at last. Although the draft that has been submitted to us represents a backwards step in some respects in relation to the 1993 text, and even though there has been no real debate on the content, I am not sure we need to take the risk of delaying the implementation of a draft which has known many ups and downs. There are many arguments in favour of adopting this text without a delay. I shall cite just a few. The draft has the agreement of representatives of the cooperative sector as a whole, as we have heard. The number of cooperatives concerned in Europe is anything but negligible. Out of 200 000 companies – Commissioner, my figures are slightly higher than yours – in this European cooperative sector representing over 3 million jobs, between 10 and 12% operate outside the local area and their activities concern every sector of economic life. These cooperatives must be able to extend their activities to European level and to be able to do so within a certain legal framework, which safeguards their specific nature, both in terms of the primacy of the individual and the objects of the undertaking on capital, and in terms of participation in the general interest and social cohesion.
Lastly – and I feel this is an important point – we should allow an economic sector built on the original legal base, which has proven itself in terms of local development, to be able to develop, in particular in countries currently experiencing a sometimes painful economic transition towards the market economy. This is the case of the future Members of our Union. Recognition of the diverse forms of company and the social economy constitutes one response to the liberal globalisation that is being challenged today and is an ingredient of the European social model that we wish to defend. I believe, Commissioner, that we share this concern."@en1
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