State of the Union 2016: Towards a better Europe

Today, the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, gave his annual State of the Union speech at the European Parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg.
 
Proposing a “positive agenda” for the next 12 months, Juncker outlined concrete European actions to be taken in areas including economy, youth and international development. Although we regret that entrepreneurship was addressed only through start-ups and Capital Market Union, Cooperatives Europe welcomes Juncker’s plan of action. It could be an opportunity for cooperatives and other social economy actors, to contribute towards shaping a better Europe. It is however important to mainstream the cooperative model within EU policies.
 
Dirk J. Lehnoff, President of Cooperatives Europe, commented: “The plan should allow all economic actors to build up a Europe that, as mentioned by Jean-Claude Juncker, empowers its citizens. In that regards, we welcome the proposal to double the duration and the financial capacity of Fund of the Investment Plan for Europe. It should be an opportunity to support entrepreneurial projects, such as cooperative ones, that put people’s needs first.”

Read the full speech