The identification of social economy companies in Spain. Legal problems

Abstract

The Law of Social Economy 5/2001 was created with the aim of configuring a legal framework that gives visibility to the social economy and gives it greater legal security. The law defines the social economy and establishes the requirements that the so-called social economy entities must meet. These requirements refer to the condition of private entity, the development of an economic activity with business criteria and the fulfillment of certain purposes and principles. The entities of the social economy must pursue the general interest, directly or in conjunction with the interests of its user members, and must act in accordance with certain principles that can be classified as structural and functional. And finally, the entities of the social economy will be those incorporated into the catalog. The catalog is not a register of particular entities but a list of types or categories of entities). These entities will be taken into account for the preparation of statistical information and may be beneficiaries of the policies to promote the social economy. The qualification of an entity as a social economy is performed ope legis in the case provided in art. 5.1 of the law or after its incorporation into the catalog once the compliance with the requirements required by law has been verified. It is necessary to regulate statutorily the criteria that must be taken into consideration to determine if the aims and principles of the social economy are fulfilled. Regarding the accreditation of compliance with these requirements by the entities included in the catalog, it could be required by the Administration as a condition to be a beneficiary of the measures to support the social economy; but above all it should be the entities of the social economy themselves that voluntarily assume the evaluation of compliance with these requirements and their dissemination, mainly through the Annual Report of the financial year.