discuss the economic and social condition of Europe
Answers
Answer:
The economy and unemployment remain people's top concerns, followed by inflation and the rising cost of living. sharp focus by the economic and financial crisis.
Answer:
A significant proportion of Europe's economy is intended to make profits for people other than investors or owners. Known as the ‘social economy’, it includes cooperatives, mutual societies, non-profit associations, foundations and social enterprises. They operate a very broad number of commercial activities, provide a wide range of products and services across the European single market and generate millions of jobs. Social enterprises are also the engine for social innovation.
Explanation:
Social economy in the EU
What they are - there are 2 million social economy enterprises in Europe, representing 10% of all businesses in the EU. More than 11 million people – about 6% of the EU’s employees – work for social economy enterprises. They have different legal forms and various objectives ranging from agriculture and banking to provision of employment and sheltered workshops.
Main objectives - the primary objective of the traditional social economy enterprises is to serve the members and not to obtain a return on investment as the traditional mainstream capital companies do. The members act in accordance with the principle of solidarity and mutuality, and manage their enterprise on the basis of 'one man one vote' principle.
Social enterprises - an important and growing group of social economy enterprises are the social enterprises. Their main objective is to have a social, societal or environmental impact for the general interest.
Policy - when policy-makers work to improve the business environment in Europe, they need to ensure that the specificities of these enterprises like ethos, working style, corporate governance, specific accounting modes, asset lock, profits retaining, special 'social' objectives are taken into account
Social economy enterprises are important because of their
Membership - up to 160 million people in Europe are members of social economy enterprises (mostly retail, banking and agricultural cooperatives, as well as mutual societies offering services complementary to social security regimes).
Objectives - social economy enterprises contribute to the EU’s employment, social cohesion, regional and rural development, environmental protection, consumer protection, agricultural, third countries development, and social security policies.
Size - social economy entities are mostly micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).