The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has adopted an own-initiative opinion highlighting the strategic importance of industrial cooperatives in strengthening European competitiveness in an inclusive and sustainable manner. The opinion, adopted almost unanimously at the EESC plenary session (198 votes in favour, 0 against and 3 abstentions), highlights the capacity of these enterprises to generate employment, promote social cohesion and contribute to the green and digital transition.
The document, entitled ‘Industrial cooperatives: a tool for meeting the challenge of inclusive and sustainable competitiveness’, was drafted by Giuseppe Guerini, who was accompanied by Michal Pintér as co-rapporteur. It stresses that cooperatives, due to their democratic structure and focus on the equitable redistribution of profits, represent a resilient and adaptable business model in the face of contemporary economic and social challenges. According to the EESC, their potential extends from manufacturing and construction to emerging sectors such as artificial intelligence, biomedicine and renewable energy.
Among its main recommendations, the EESC urges EU institutions and Member States to promote education on cooperatives within vocational and university training, and to incorporate these entities into mobility programmes such as Erasmus+. It also proposes specific financial incentives, such as grants, tax breaks and low-interest financing, to support the creation and expansion of industrial cooperatives, as well as investment in shared infrastructure and eco-industrial zones.
The opinion also highlights the role of cooperatives in European reindustrialisation and the protection of quality employment. The purchase of companies by workers is presented as an effective mechanism for saving companies at risk and ensuring job continuity, especially in family-owned SMEs. In this regard, the EESC recommends developing financial instruments and technical support to facilitate these processes.
Sustainability and digital transition are other key themes in the opinion. Industrial cooperatives can lead the way in industrial symbiosis by reusing waste and by-products. The opinion also draws attention to the growing importance of data-based cooperatives. Supporting collective structures for data management and exchange will enable SMEs and workers to participate fully in these transformations, especially when they lack the capacity to access or process large volumes of data independently.
The EESC also draws attention to the need to improve the visibility and recognition of the cooperative model among citizens, the financial sector and public administration, in order to ensure its full integration into the European economy and its use as a tool for innovation, inclusion and sustainability.
The International Year of Cooperatives 2025, proclaimed by the United Nations under the slogan ‘Cooperatives build a better world’, provides an ideal framework for the EU to strengthen these organisations, recognising their role as an economic, social and environmental driver. According to the EESC, cooperatives represent a strategic opportunity to consolidate European competitiveness that is at once inclusive, sustainable and resilient in the face of the challenges of the 21st century.
In tribute to the International Year of Cooperatives, the EESC’s new opinion was presented on 4 December at an event in Brussels, attended by EESC President Séamus Boland, representatives of the International Cooperative Alliance and the ILO, and the rapporteurs of the opinion.
Giuseppe Guerini concluded: ‘The cooperative industry plays a crucial role in Europe’s strategic autonomy because it is based on community principles. They may not produce goods on a global scale, but they continue to operate within the community. Cooperatives also play a vital role in shaping Europe’s future competitiveness.’
