The European Commission has announced that the EU Proximity and Social Economy Platform is no longer being updated. The announcement was made on the Platform’s website, which explains that the social economy “will become a cross-cutting theme within the Tourism, Retail, Textiles and other communities”, as part of a broader Stakeholders Support Platform. The space will no longer be updated, but all existing content remains accessible to users.
Depending on the area of interest, the Commission has created six “dynamic communities” which, it states, “are increasingly integrating proximity and social economy values”, and presents the Social Economy Gateway as a “complementary resource”.
From now on, the active communities are:
EU Agri-food Platform
EU Retail Platform
EU Tourism Platform
EU Textiles Ecosystem Platform
EU Chemicals Platform
EU Construction Platform
Through these communities —and others to be created in the future—, the European Commission claims it will continue to promote proximity and the social economy “as a key theme, integrated across different sectors.”
However, at first glance, the social economy and its various branches are barely mentioned on these community websites, at least for now. Moreover, the Social Economy Gateway, created as part of the European Action Plan for the Social Economy adopted at the end of 2021, is a rather static website that, in its three years of existence, has published barely thirty news items about the sector.
The European Commission, nevertheless, thanks all Ambassadors, members and visitors for their contributions and commitment to the EU Proximity and Social Economy Platform, “helping to build a vibrant and resilient ecosystem,” and now encourages everyone “to continue moving forward together through new channels.”
