EVPA’s participation in the latest GECES meeting
On the 14th of December, EVPA participated in the meeting of the European Commission Expert Group on the Social Economy and Social Enterprises (GECES). EVPA is an active stakeholder of the GECES since 2013, voicing the concerns of its members directly to the European Commission and strengthening, together with other experts, the social impact investment ecosystem.
Setting the ground for 2021
EVPA is an active stakeholder in the GECES1, a consultative expert group set up by the European Commission to examine the progress of measures improving access to finance for social enterprises, enhancing their visibility and optimising their legal environment.
On the 14th of December, EVPA participated in the meeting of the European Commission Expert Group on the Social Economy and Social Enterprises (GECES). EVPA is an active stakeholder of the GECES since 2013, voicing the concerns of its members directly to the European Commission and strengthening, together with other experts, the social impact investment ecosystem.
During this meeting, EVPA took part in a resourceful dialogue through our GECES Representative, Lisa Hehenberger, tackling highly important topics for EVPA members. Most of the exchanges set the ground for 2021 and many policy developments are still under discussion.
Starting the meeting with an in-depth exchange on the Pact of Skills and its Roadmap for the 1stSemester of 2021, continuing with European Social Economy Regions, preparations for the Social Economy Action Plan, and updates on the new EU multi-annual financial framework, the European Commission’s DG EMPL (Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion) and DG GROW (Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs) emphasised the critical role of private socially driven organisations in the coming years. The two Directorates-General (DGs) indicated the above-mentioned key policy developments as the main connections between the European Commission and stakeholders active in the social economy ecosystem.
EU Funding Opportunities 2020
During this meeting, DG EMPL recalled that the EaSI social finance calls have been successfully financing projects supporting the design and launching of financial instruments and investment readiness programmes.
According to the official communication, the “EaSI grants awarded so far had helped to kick-start and fund 41 innovative projects on both the demand and supply sides. Three calls for proposals had been published since 2013, each time building on the lessons learned from the previous rounds.”
The grants awarded under the call for proposals “Actions to boost the development of finance markets for social enterprises” were also published.
Congratulation to EVPA Members!
We are very glad to announce that 6 EVPA members are part of the consortia which accessed finance under this call: La Bolsa Social, Open Value Foundation, Stichting Doen, Erste Social Finance Holding, Rethink Ireland, and Phitrust. We would like to take the opportunity to congratulate them on their success and wish them the best of luck in implementing the proposed programmes.
- The next GECES meeting will take place online on the 25th of March. The Agenda will soon be published here.
If you would like to find out more about EVPA’s work within GECES or about the latest December meeting, do not hesitate to contact EVPA Senior Policy Manager, Bianca (bpolidoro@evpa.eu.com), or Cătălina (cpapari@evpa.eu.com) EVPA Policy Associate.
1About GECES
The Expert Group on Social Economy and Social Enterprises (GECES) was set up in 2011 and is consulted by the European Commission on the development, set up and implementation of all the actions mentioned in the Social Business Initiative (SBI) and the further development of social entrepreneurship and social economy.
More about the group and their topics of discussion here.