The Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity (MMSS) will develop and implement in the coming period the National Strategy for Social Economy, as well as over 400 occupational standards, including for social economy, announced Labour Minister Simona Bucura-Oprescu.

She met on Thursday with Alexandre Lourie, international director of Groupe SOS, the largest consortium of social integration enterprises in France, which includes Ateliere Fara Frontiere (AFF).

According to a release posted on the Facebook page of the Ministry of Labour, the collaboration between MMSS and SOS will focus in the coming period on the development in Romania of an incubator for social entrepreneurship, as they are in other EU countries.

In this context, Minister Simona Bucura-Oprescu announced that the MMSS is planning to sign memorandums of understanding with the relevant ministries in France and Italy, similar to the one signed with Spain, for the development of the social economy and the implementation of pilot projects in this regard.

The minister also signed a recommendation to include the social economy in the portfolio of the European Commissioner for People, Skills and Preparedness Roxana Minzatu.

„I congratulate and thank you for the work you do, because your work is a source of inspiration for good practices and public policies. I would like the social economy to develop in Romania as in France, Spain and Italy, where it generates more than 10% of the GDP. In the coming period, we will develop and implement the National Strategy for Social Economy and we will develop over 400 occupational standards, including for the social economy. I would like the MMSS to become the Ministry of Labour and Social Development through the most appropriate public policies of investment, training, employment and social assistance,” Minister Simona Bucura-Oprescu is quoted in the press release as saying.

She added that the MMSS will continue to collaborate with AFF for a better integration of vulnerable people and the development of social economy enterprises in Romania.

AGERPRES