The General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER) plays a vital role in directing public aid towards social enterprises that promote inclusive employment and training within the reuse, repair, and recycling sectors. Despite this, the social economy ecosystem faces significant underfunding.
Recent evidence from the French Court of Auditors further exemplifies the issue, reporting in 2024 that the social economy, despite contributing to 13.7% of private employment in France, received only 7% of total public aid to enterprises. This amounted to only 4% of social economy entities receiving subsidies. This limited support in France, a country with strong social economy frameworks, highlights concerns for other EU Member States with weaker frameworks.
This highlights the urgent need for substantial improvements through the GBER revision before its expiration by the end of 2026. Our feedback to the public consultation elaborated on the following key proposals:
- Extended Support Schemes for Recruitment Aid
- Broadened Definition of "Disadvantaged Worker"
- Increased Fund Coverage for Training
- Flexible Fund Coverage for Wage Subsidies
- Enhanced Fund Coverage for Assistance Costs
- Explicit Reference to Reuse Aid
- Clear Definition of Social Economy and Social Enterprise.
Public consultation
