Regulation 2003/1435 - Statute for a European Cooperative Society (SCE) - Main contents

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Council Regulation (EC) No 1435/2003 of 22 July 2003 on the Statute for a European Cooperative Society (SCE)

Official Journal L 207 , 18/08/2003 P. 0001 - 0024

Council Regulation (EC) No 1435/2003

of 22 July 2003

on the Statute for a European Cooperative Society (SCE)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 308 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament(2),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee(3),

Whereas:

• (1) 

  The European Parliament adopted resolutions on 13 April 1983 on cooperatives in the European Community(4), on 9 July 1987 on the contribution of cooperatives to regional development(5), on 26 May 1989 on the role of women in cooperatives and local employment initiatives(6), on 11 February 1994 on the contribution of cooperatives to regional development(7) and on 18 September 1998 on the role of cooperatives in the growth of women's employment(8).

• (2) 

  The completion of the internal market and the improvement it brings about in the economic and social situation throughout the Community mean not only that barriers to trade should be removed, but also that the structures of production should be adapted to the Community dimension. For that purpose it is essential that companies of all types the business of which is not limited to satisfying purely local needs should be able to plan and carry out the reorganisation of their business on a Community scale.

• (3) 

  The legal framework within which business should be carried on in the Community is still based largely on national laws and therefore does not correspond to the economic framework within which it should develop if the objectives set out in Article 18 of the Treaty are to be achieved. That situation forms a considerable obstacle to the creation of groups of companies from different Member States.

• (4) 

  The Council has adopted Regulation (EC) No 2157/2001(9) establishing the legal form of the European Company (SE) according to the general principles of the public limited-liability company. This is not an instrument which is suited to the specific features of cooperatives.

• (5) 

  The European Economic Interest Grouping (EEIG), as provided for in Regulation (EEC) No 2137/85(10), allows undertakings to promote certain of their activities in common, while nevertheless preserving their independence, but does not meet the specific requirements of cooperative enterprise.

• (6) 

  The Community, anxious to ensure equal terms of competition and to contribute to its economic development, should provide cooperatives, which are a form of organisation generally recognised in all Member States, with adequate legal instruments capable of facilitating the development of their cross-border activities. The United Nations has encouraged all governments to ensure a supportive environment in which cooperatives can participate on an equal footing with other forms of enterprise(11).

• (7) 

  Cooperatives are primarily groups of persons or legal entities with particular operating principles that are different from those of other economic agents. These include the principles of democratic structure and control and the distribution of the net profit for the financial year on an equitable basis.

• (8) 

  These particular principles include notably the principle of the primacy of the individual which is reflected in the specific rules on membership, resignation and expulsion, where the "one man, one vote" rule is laid down and the right to vote is vested in the individual, with the implication that members cannot exercise any rights over the assets of the cooperative.

• (9) 

  Cooperatives have a share capital and their members may be...

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