Social Enterprises and Their Ecosystems in Europe

Résumé du livre

Europe's first ever ministry for social and solidarity economy (SSE) was established in Luxembourg in 2009. Such clear interest in social enterprise-related matters has nevertheless been an issue of long-term debate in the country; indeed, agreement on the sector's boundaries remains uncertain. Historically, civil society activity outside of the Church was not very vibrant. New welfare state social services only emerged in the 1970s and work integration social enterprises (WISEs) in the 1980s. In the 2000s and 2010s, diverse initiatives began developing, but their categorisation was fiercely debated. Various terms have been ventured over the years, including "solidarity economy", "social business", "social and solidarity economy", and "social enterprises"; of these, the two former terms have disappeared from use, whereas the latter two remain very much alive if unclearly defined. Luxembourg's Social and Solidarity Economy Union (Union luxembourgeoise de l'économie sociale et solidaire, ULESS), which was established in 2013, adopted a legal definition of SSE in 2016 and yet, so far, has been unable to resolve categorisation issues. Although ULESS and the 2016 law deal explicitly with SSE, non-normative references are often made to social enterprise.