Legal base	—
Document originated	23 February 2004
Deposited in Parliament	2 March 2004
Department	HM Treasury
Basis of consideration	EM of 15 March 2004
Previous Committee Report	None
To be discussed in Council	None planned
Committee's assessment	Politically important
Committee's decision	Cleared

Background

10.1 There are 140 million individual members of cooperatives and at least 300,000 cooperatives, providing 2.3 million jobs, in the 37 countries of the International Co-operative Alliance's ICA Europe region. All Member States and accession and candidate countries except Ireland and Luxemburg are included in these 37 countries.

The document

10.2 The Commission believes that co-operatives have an important and valuable role in matters such as employment policy, social integration, regional and rural development and agriculture. The Commission's Communication aims to ensure the potential of co-operatives is further exploited and promoted, particularly in the new Member States and candidate countries. To this end the Communication outlines a number of steps that the Commission intends to take so as to promote greater use of co-operatives across Europe, to encourage Member States to improve cooperative legislation, particularly as a consequence of the adoption of the European Cooperative Society Statute, the SCE (Regulation (EC) No. 1435/2003), and to maintain and improve co-operatives' contribution to Community objectives.

10.3 The Communication discusses possible action under three headings:

• promoting the cooperative enterprise style and ensuring an accurate understanding of the sector, touching on such matters as education and training, support services and access to finance and workers' cooperatives;
• providing a suitable regulatory environment, including implementation of the SCE, national rules in relation to the SCE and a review after five years of the SCE; and
• the contribution of cooperatives to Community objectives.

10.4 The Commission proposes 12 specific activities for itself, many of them in a consultative or advisory relationship with Member States, representative organisations and co-operators. It makes no legislative proposals.

The Government's view

10.5 The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Ruth Kelly) says "The government recognises the contribution of co-operatives to providing choice and diversity in the economy. It will consider with interest the Commission's proposals for action to promote the use of co-operatives across Europe".

Conclusion

10.6 This Communication usefully sets out the Commission's view of the role of cooperatives in the Community in the coming years and what it intends to do in support of the cooperative movement. We clear the document.