Social Enterprises in the European Union: Gradual Recognition of Their Importance and Models of Legal Regulation

Abstract

This chapter addresses social enterprises as a special corporate category, which in some European jurisdictions, and increasingly so after their promotion by the European Union, are provided with a specific legal framework to promote and encourage their development. The paper begins with a brief compilation of the several social enterprise concepts developed by economic doctrines both in the United States and Europe, which reveal a great diversity of approaches. This is followed by an analysis of the various documents published by the European Union, showing the increasing recognition of this business phenomenon, from the publication of the Social Business Initiative in 2011 to the recent Action Plan for the Social Economy in 2021. Finally, the results obtained from the analysis of the different European legal systems are presented, and three main models of legal regulation of social enterprises are distinguished, namely, the use of the social cooperative form, enactment of a special law, and integration into a social economy law. The chapter concludes with a table comparing the essential aspects of the regulation of social enterprises in 14 European countries.