ICA Europe Bulletin

A new dialogue started between French co-operatives and the Government. Guy Hascoët, State Secretary of the recently established "Economy of Solidarity" chaired the first General Assembly of the French Supreme Co-operative Council held on June 27, 2000 in Paris.

The results of the co-operative movement are very positive. The quantitative indicators confirm these results which are all the more significant as they are not due to any special privileges.

Jean-Claude Detilleux, president of GNC (National Co-operative Association) expressed the readiness of co-operatives to be actively involved in the new reform processes launched by the Government.

State Secretary Guy Hascoët promised that co-operatives would not be left out of the new reform measures such as salary savings. Referring to steps taken at European level, he informed participants of his negociations with the Minister of European affairs in order to relaunch discussions about the Statute of European Co-operative Society as well as to obtain a European recognition of the identity of social economy and economy of solidarity.

Germany

The two German consumer co-operative organisations, the "Zentralverband Deutscher Konsumgenossenschaften eV - ZdK" and "Konsumverband eG", both members of ICA decided to create a new central union, the Federation of Consumer Co-operatives (Gesamtverband Deutscher Konsumgenossenschaften). The founding ceremony took place on June 27, 2000 in Berlin.

ZdK, Hamburg had traditional consumer co-operatives as members along with other types of co-ops in the ecological field, co-ops for disabled people and car-sharing co-ops. It had 96 member societies with a total of 60.000 individuals.

The Consumer Federation, Berlin was originally the umbrella organisation of consumer co-ops of the former Eastern Germany. Recently, the member co-operatives got involved in new activities, such as the real-estate market and the hotel business.

The mission of the new federation is to promote consumer co-operation in Germany through raising awareness, distributing information, improving legislation, representing the co-operative interests towards the Government and the Parliament and assist members in meeting strong market competition.

Poland

On the eve of the International Co-operative Day, Polish President A. Kwasniewski met with the leaders and representatives of the Polish co-operative movement in the headquarters of the National Co-operative Council in Warsaw. This was the second time in the 100 year-old Polish co-operative history that a head of state met with co-operative members.

The President acknowledged the significant contribution of co-operatives to the economic and social development of the country. He emphasized that co-operatives should enjoy the same conditions as any other companies in order to further develop their business activities.

Sweden

Mr. Lennart Hjalmarson, Deputy CEO of Kooperativa Förbundet, is the new Managing Director of the Swedish Co-operative Centre. His assignment begins on September 1, 2000. Mr. Hjalmarson replaces Mr. Karl-Johan Fogelström, who has been appointed Director General of the ICA.

Mr. Hjalmarson was Director of Education and Head of the Co-operative College Vår Gård from 1979-1983 and CEO of the Sörmland consumer co-operative society from 1983-1989. In 1990 he became deputy CEO and a member of the Management Group at KF.

The Swedish Co-operative Centre (SCC) is a development assistance organisation representing the Swedish co-operative movement. The SCC collaborates with organisations in 15 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America in order to improve the living conditions of poor families.

Turkey

ICA has four member organisations in Turkey. The oldest member, the Turkish Co-operative Association joined in 1969.

There are 57,850 co-operatives with 7.9 million members in Turkey. Among the 24 different types of co-operatives, the agricultural credit, agricultural marketing co-operatives, housing, consumers' and village co-operatives are most developed. In recent years the number of co-operatives of sugar beet producers has increased substantially.

The main problem in the Turkish co-operative movement is that there are four different laws applying to the various types of co-operatives. The latest one which is considered as the most democratic legislation is the Co-operative Law Nr. 1163 of December 30, 1991. Art.51 says: "The state shall take measures to enable the development of the co-operative movement". This law allowed for the establishment of the apex organisation, the National Union of Co-operatives.

Since December 1999, Turkey is a candidate country for accession to the European Union.

United Kingdom

ICA President Roberto Rodrigues addressed the Co-operative Congress 2000 of the British Movement which took place in Manchester on May 28-29. The main theme was: Improving Performance and Accountability in Co-operative Societies.

Pat Wheatley, President of the Congress focused her speech on the involvement of women in the Movement. "Eighty per cent of co-op members are women", she said. Despite their major share, there are very few in the leadership of the Movement, either in management or in lay leadership positions.

Resolutions were passed by the Congress on a regional dimension, co-operative structures and accountability, food trade strategy, the co-operative difference, member involvement, co-operation among co-operatives, support for co-operative housing and on the Co-operative Commission. The Congress proceedings will be made available on CD Rom.

At the next Congress, which will take place in Birmingham, the report and recommendations of the Co-operative Commission will be discussed. It has been confirmed that the 2002 Congress will be held in Belfast for only the second time in the Movement's history; the first was in 1926.

After many years of serving ICA, Bruce Thordarson left the position of Director General on July 4, 2000. ICA Europe would like to thank Bruce Thordarson for his support to the Region and wish him all the best for the future.

The Board appointed Karl-Johan Fogelström, the current Managing Director of the Swedish Co-operative Centre (SCC), as new Director General, effective September 1, 2000.

A warm welcome to the new Director General, Karl-Johan Fogelström who is a Finnish citizen, born in 1940. He was first employed by SOK, one of ICA's Finnish member organisations. He has obtained extensive international experiences while managing several Nordic projects in Kenya and Tanzania. After he joined SCC in 1985, he was appointed Senior Development Officer of the ICA Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific in New Delhi. From 1993 he was first Senior Programme Officer, then Development Director and from 1998 Managing Director of SCC.

ICA addresses UN General Assembly

The ICA was one of nine NGOs invited to address the Special Session of the UN General Assembly which met in Geneva to review implementation of the World Summit on Social Development. This invitation was recognition by the UN of ICA's status as one of the largest representative civil society organisations in the world and a partner to the UN.

Bruce Thordarson, former ICA Director General, delivered a statement on June 30 and said "ICA is convinced that there is a growing potential for co-operative development, and for co-operative renewal, in light of the limitations of the free market, in regard to social responsibility and equity, the advantages of decentralisation of power, the importance of stakeholder and community involvement in economic and social life, and the growing role of the civil society." He reiterated the commitment of the co-operative movement to effective action in putting social justice at the heart of the global political agenda for the promotion of peace and prosperity.

ICA and Youth

The ICA working group on Youth Initiative met on June 16, 2000 in Geneva for a brainstorming session. Stefania Marcone, ICA Board Member in charge of youth issues chaired the session. Gabriella Sozánski, ICA Europe Director and Fanja Rasolomanana, ICA staff co-ordinator for youth initiatives also attended the meeting. The aim of the group is to promote a network of youth co-operators and encourage their involvement in ICA activities, collect information from the regions on members' activities and draft a strategy paper for submission to the ICA Board at their next meeting in Bratislava, October 2000.

COPAC

If co-operatives are to continue to increase their ability to make a difference, they will require enhanced internal capacities - professional management, committed, enlightened and honest leadership, institutional capacity-building, general membership education and training - in addition to constructive support from governments. This was the unanimous conclusion reached by speakers at the Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Co-operatives (COPAC) Open Forum held in Geneva on June 28, 2000.

Mr. Göran Hultin, Executive Director, Employment Sector of the ILO, opened the session. The ICA President, Mr. Roberto Rodrigues, gave an introductory speech. Presentations were made by some ICA members, amongst them, Crédit Mutuel of France, the Mondragon co-operatives of Spain and NCBA, USA.

At its latest meeting on July 19 in Brussels, the Presidents of CCACE member organisations discussed the present priorities of CCACE, namely, the publication of the White Paper on co-operatives and the European Co-operative Statute. The organisation of a big conference or event in Brussels was a suggestion made, to contribute to the visibility and political impact of co-operatives at EU level. CCACE is currently considering hiring outside expertise, with recognised qualifications in co-operative development, to co-ordinate the members' contributions and draft CCACE's position and comments on the White Paper.

Mr. Ianello, representative of the European Commission participated in the meeting and announced that the new organigramme of DG Enterprise is expected to be published in mid-September. it is planned that the new unit will include a person specifically in charge of co-operatives, supported by a national expert.

"Challenges and perspectives for the agricultural sector" was the title of the High-Level-Seminar held in Brussels, July 10 within the PHARE/COPA/COGECA/CEJA Project. Commissioner Franz Fischler participated and talked about the enlargement of the EU and its agricultural aspects. He reminded that since the opening of the negotiations on agriculture on June 14, the following three key issues have emerged: trade questions, the fixing of quota and the question of direct payments. In addition to calling attention to the SAPARD programme, he spoke with acknowledgment about the present COPA's PHARE Project which was initially designed for one year and which will hopefully continue serving the interests of partner associations from the CEECs.

EURO COOP

On June 30, 2000, Euro Coop published its position paper: "Euro Coop's Comments to the Communication from the Commission to the Council on Fair Trade (COM(1999) 619)". Euro Coop sees no need, at present, for the European Commission to propose a legal definition of Fair Trade. Instead, Euro Coop would welcome the establishment of a platform for dialogue with the Fair Trade Movement in order to facilitate the work of the Commission in trying to generate general common labelling and accreditation criteria for Fair Trade products.

Work allowing some progress towards the adoption of the European Co-operative Statute should be relaunched under the French Presidency of the EU, with the aim of opening the way for further concrete achievements under the forthcoming Swedish Presidency (January - June 2001). This is what Guy Hascoët, French Minister for the "Economy of solidarity" indicated at the end of June to the representatives of the French co-operative movement during a meeting in Paris.

Euro

The European Commission urges member states to step up consumer information on the Euro, in particular by promoting dual pricing and the use of the Eurologo in shops. The European Commission wishes to respond to the specific need for information on the introduction of the Euro, some eighteen months before.

Euro coins and notes are due to come into circulation. Therefore, it has decided to co-finance transnational information activities aimed at specific target audiences deserving particular attention because of the specific difficulties they have with obtaining access to general information. The target groups are: micro-enterprises and one-person businesses, small traders, firms located in rural or isolated areas and small enterprises.

He noted that in many countries the most successful co-operatives have grown into large-scale, professionally run and solidly financed enterprises that operate in full competition with commercial firms while emphasizing expertise that enables people to help themselves.

Stressing that co-operatives serve as an example to those who would like to see the private sector get more involved in development activities, he called for making greater use of the tools that the co-operative movement offers towards the shared goal of "a more just, more inclusive and more prosperous world."

The UN International Day of Co-operatives was initially celebrated on the first Saturday of July 1995, marking the centenary of the International Co-operative Alliance.

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Deadline for receiving contributions for the next issue is October 31, 2000.