As part of our commitment to advocate for an economic framework that prioritises people and planet over short-term gains, we have actively contributed to two key EU consultations: the Savings and Investments Union (SIU) Consultation and the Public Procurement Directive Evaluation. Our input emphasises the need for financial and public procurement policies that contribute to the EU economic resilience, social cohesion, and environmental leadership. In particular, we believe that the SIU should ensure it serves the real economy by excluding investments that are harmful to people and the planet. Meanwhile, for public procurement, we advocate for a level playing field for social economy entities.

Savings and Investments Union

The transformation of the Capital Markets Union into the Savings and Investments Union (SIU) represents a crucial opportunity to direct EU savings toward strategic priorities, including the just green transition and the decarbonization of the European economy. However, without strong safeguards, there is a risk that the SIU will serve as a pretext to expand financial markets at the expense of human rights, labor protections, and environmental standards.

Our contribution highlights three key concerns:

• Lack of mechanisms to prevent harmful investments

While the SIU proposes mobilizing idle savings, it lacks concrete measures to ensure these funds support a sustainable transition. Without safeguards, investments could be funneled into environmentally and socially harmful activities.

• An over-reliance on mainstream banks

Current proposals place too much emphasis on traditional banks, which prioritize financial activities over real-economy investments. To ensure that savings truly benefit society, we advocate for policies that shift banks’ focus toward financing productive activities, including social economy enterprises, SMEs, and community-based projects.

• The risks of reviving securitization

High-level reports in 2024 suggest reviving securitization, blaming its decline on strict banking regulations. However, these regulations were put in place to mitigate financial risks. Instead of encouraging securitization—which fosters short-term speculation—we propose safer alternatives:

• De-risking instruments (e.g., guarantees) to support banks that prioritize positive social and environmental impact.
• EIB capital investment in value-driven credit institutions, mirroring the Biden Administration’s Emergency Capital Investment Program (ECIP), which has successfully increased financial support for underserved communities.
• Proportional regulation that acknowledges the positive impact of cooperative banks and credit unions, reducing undue regulatory burdens that hinder their role in financing the green transition.

Public Procurement

Public procurement represents 14% of the EU’s GDP, yet it remains largely inaccessible to social economy enterprises (SE) and SMEs. The current system favors large corporations, undermining local economies and social cohesion. A revision of the Public Procurement Directive is essential to align procurement policies with the EU’s social, environmental, and industrial priorities.

In line with Social Economy Europe’s contribution, our key recommendations:

• Strengthening social and environmental clauses
  • Move away from the lowest-price criterion toward the most economically advantageous tender.
  • Promote qualitative criteria that reward sustainability, local supply chains, and quality employment.
  • Train public authorities to apply these clauses effectively.
  • Improving access for SMEs and SE entities.

• Simplify procedures, reduce financial barriers, and enforce fair payment practices.
  • Divide procurement into smaller lots to enable SME participation.
  • Expand reserved contracts for SE entities providing essential services.
  • Enhancing capacity-building for SE in public procurement.

• Train public authorities on SE’s added value and legal frameworks.
  • Provide technical assistance to help SE organizations successfully bid for public contracts.
  • Encourage co-design of procurement strategies between SE actors and public institutions.