The Cooperativa António Sérgio para a Economia Social (CASES) has published issue 25 of its journal ‘Economia Social. Leituras & Debates’, corresponding to June 2026. The new edition brings together different studies, analyses and reflections on the situation and prospects of the social economy, with particular attention to the development of the sector in Portugal and its relationship with European public policies.
The issue opens with an editorial entitled « Economia Social: uma construção coletiva », signed by Eduardo Graça, Deolinda Meira and Maria Elisabete Ramos. The authors put forward an idea that serves as a common thread throughout the publication: the social economy should not simply be understood as a set of entities, but as a collective construction involving citizens, civil society organisations and public institutions.
One of the journal’s central articles analyses the reform of the social economy sector in Portugal between 2010 and 2025. Its author, Eduardo Graça, President of CASES, reviews the process of institutional transformation that took place during those years. The text explains the evolution from the former INSCOOP to the creation of CASES, and also analyses the emergence of other structures such as the National Council for the Social Economy, the Portuguese Confederation of Social Economy and the Centre of Competences for the Social Economy.
The journal also pays particular attention to public policies. Professor Rafael Chaves-Ávila, President of the Scientific Commission of CIRIEC-Spain, analyses the importance of these policies. The issue thus raises the debate on the legal, financial and institutional conditions necessary for these entities to develop their activities.
Another highlighted contribution is an interview with Juan Antonio Pedreño, President of Social Economy Europe. The conversation provides a European perspective and addresses the role that the social economy can play in the face of the major challenges facing the EU.
The situation of CASES also occupies a prominent place in this issue. The journal includes an article by legal scholar Deolinda Meira entitled « Un enfoque jurídico sobre la anunciada propuesta de retirada del Estado de CASES y sus implicaciones para el sector cooperativo ». The text analyses, from a legal perspective, the consequences that the withdrawal of the State from this public-interest cooperative, created in 2010, could have.
The publication also addresses other aspects related to the development of the sector. These include volunteering in Portugal, the importance of training for managers and workers of Social Economy entities, and the need for a National Strategy for the Social Economy.
Finally, issue 25 includes studies on specific issues affecting the sector, such as the financial regime of mutual associations and the tax benefits available to social economy entities.
News of the European Social Economy
Issue 25 of the Portuguese journal ‘Economia Social. Leituras & Debates’
