RREUSE and its members have been highly active since before the SEAP's 2021 launch and welcome renewed momentum to increase support and recognition for social economy actors in the EU and beyond. The midterm review provided an opportunity to recalibrate support, particularly given the overlapping challenges facing circular social enterprises, such as the pandemic, the displacement of civilians from Ukraine, and the second-hand textile crisis.
One key SEAP milestone RREUSE highlights is the 2023 Council Recommendation on developing social economy framework conditions. This is the EU’s first legal act for the social economy and asks national governments to incorporate social economy issues across areas such as labour, state aid, and circular economy policies. Since its adoption, the recommendation has prompted 21 out of the 27 EU Member States to adopt or prepare social economy strategies, with more expected to follow. This act demonstrates the need and value of targeted EU social economy policies.
Based on the 2025 review, the report sets out a vision for SEAP initiatives from 2026 to 2030, focusing on building a competitive, strong, and well-recognised social economy. Five main action areas come from this vision: improving implementation at all levels, creating rules and frameworks, boosting investments, expanding skills programs, and gathering evidence. RREUSE fully supports this vision and sees the ongoing need for integrated policies, sustainable funding, and support for evidence and visibility to keep up past progress.
RREUSE particularly welcomes the report's focus on the social economy's role in circularity through reuse and repair. As the report has emphasised, such activities simultaneously reduce emissions and keep materials in community loops, while also creating local, quality jobs and providing inclusive training opportunities. The Commission also positively notes that reuse and repair hubs, alongside local textile reuse systems, exemplify inclusive circular solutions that merit policy support, including through circular and socially responsible public procurement. Furthermore, the text references the compatibility of social economy organisations with the aims of the future Circular Economy Act.
RREUSE urges that future SEAP initiatives fully reflect this recognition and stay relevant to reuse, repair, and recycling social enterprises and their networks. Upcoming measures, such as a toolkit for local policies, should support both the social and circular goals of many social enterprises, especially given uneven support and the ongoing textile crisis. Promoting socially responsible public procurement should include both social and green criteria guidance. Similarly, state aid guidance for social support has to address cases where linking social and environmental services is not currently allowed for aid.
Supporting revisions to key files, such as the General Block Exemption Regulation and the Public Procurement Act, are further positive steps. Together with the future Circular Economy Act, these offer opportunities for integrated frameworks. As the European Commission rightly notes, "The social economy’s potential has not yet been sufficiently integrated into mainstream policies, creating an uneven playing field. The next phase of implementation of the action plan must prioritise closing these gaps.” RREUSE remains committed to working with EU institutions, including through the GECES expert group, to address these disparities and strengthen the alignment between the EU's social and circular economy objectives.
