The year 2021 may be remembered as the European year of social economy and, if so, important merits should be acknowledged to Portugal, who wished to include, among the priorities of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, great attention to social issues. The Oporto Summit on May 7th was the most institutionally significant moment, with the adoption of an important statement that commits the European institutions and governments of Member States to achieving the 20 main objectives of the Action Plan for the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights.
 
Before the Oporto Summit, always as part of the initiatives of the Portuguese Presidency of the EU Council, a high-level conference was held on March 29th, 2021 dedicated to “The role of Social Economy in job creation and in the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights”, broadcast from the Queluz National Palace in Sintra, where the network of 6 Portuguese cities that are European Capitals of Social Economy for 2021 was also presented.
 
In this paper, I will propose an in-depth analysis of the intervention presented on the occasion, which also takes up the issues addressed in the opinion(1) approved by EESC, which explored, at the request of the Portuguese Presidency, the role of social economy organisations in job creation.
Social economy is increasingly acknowledged internationally as a decisive and important economic actor, capable of expressing the transforming capacity of organised civil society, with its entrepreneurial dimension and propensity to generate economic values ​​and produce increasingly consolidated services.


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(1)https://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/our-work/opinions-information-reports/opinions/role-social-economy-creation-jobs-and-implementation-european-pillar-social-rights