As the European Union works to strengthen strategic autonomy, increase local production and reduce dependence on external supply chains, greater attention must also be given to where the value created by European businesses ultimately remains.
CECOP and Cooperatives Europe, both organisations of which the Malta Cooperative Federation is a member, have published a new joint position paper with the support of REScoop.eu and Euro Coop. The paper calls for the emerging “Made in EU” framework to be underpinned by an “Owned by EU” principle.
The position paper argues that manufacturing in Europe is not enough if profits, ownership and economic benefits are extracted from the communities where that value is generated. Cooperatives are particularly well placed to address this challenge because their democratic ownership structures help retain and reinvest value within local communities.
The document sets out five recommendations, including explicit recognition of cooperatives within the “Made in EU” framework, stronger consideration of value retention in public procurement, greater coherence between concepts such as “Made in EU”, “Designed in EU” and “Owned in Europe”, and support for SMEs and cooperatives during the transition.
Its publication comes as the European Commission prepares proposals to revise EU public procurement rules, creating an important opportunity to promote economic models that keep production, ownership and value within Europe.
