science

Societas cooperativa Europaea

Societas cooperativa Europaea is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Societas cooperativa Europaea rather than just read about it. In short: The European Cooperative Society (SCE, for Latin societas cooperativa Europaea) is, in corporate law, a European cooperative type of company, established in 2006 and related to the Societas Europaea (SE). They may be established and may operate throughout the European Economic Area (EEA, including the European Union).

Key takeaways

Societas cooperativa Europaea belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Societas cooperativa Europaea to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Societas cooperativa Europaea from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The European Cooperative Society (SCE, for Latin societas cooperativa Europaea) is, in corporate law, a European cooperative type of company, established in 2006 and related to the Societas Europaea (SE). They may be established and may operate throughout the European Economic Area (EEA, including the European Union). The legal form was created to remove the need for cooperatives to establish a subsidiary in each member state of the European Union in which they operate, and to allow them to move their registered office and headquarters freely from one member state to another, keeping their legal identity and without having to register or wind up any legal persons. No matter where they are established, SCEs are governed by a single EEA-wide set of rules and principles which are supplemented by the laws on co-operatives in each member state, and other areas of law.

History

Early attempts

Legislative history

SCEs in practice In 2015, the German meat marketer Westfleisch changed its legal form to a Societas cooperativa Europaea. In 2018, OurPower, the first European cooperative based in Austria, was founded.

Formation Article 2(1) of the SCE Regulation provides for SCEs to be formed in five ways:

ex novo: by five or more natural persons resident in at least two member states by a merger between at least two EEA co-operatives governed by the law of at least two different member states; by at least five natural and legal persons resident in, or governed by the law of, at least two member states; by conversion of a single EEA co-operative, if it has had an establishment or subsidiary in a different member state for at least two years. by two or more legal persons governed by the law of at least two member states;

Characteristics

Membership The creation of a cooperative: by 5 or more persons residing in different Member States or by legal entities established in different Member States.

Capital The issued capital shall not be less than EUR 30,000. Shares issued shall be paid for on the day of the subscription to not less than 25% of their nominal value. The balance shall be paid within five years unless the statutes provide for a shorter period.

Principles

Governing law The SCE legal form is a creature of European Union law. The two specific pieces of EU legislation providing the legal basis for the SCE legal form – which apply throughout the European Economic Area – are:

Council Regulation (EC) No 1435/2003 of 22 July 2003 on the Statute for a European Cooperative Society (SCE) which established the SCE legal form; Council Directive 2003/72/EC of 22 July 2003 supplementing the Statute for a European Cooperative Society with regard to the involvement of employees which sets out rules about representation and involvement of employees in European Cooperative Societies. Both of them were passed into law on 22 July 2003, and the regulation, which established the SCE legal form, began to apply from 18 August 2006. Thus, subject to the necessary national laws being passed, SCEs could be created in member states from 18 August 2006. The SCE Regulation is currently under review in accordance with its article 79. This process started more than three years ago and, among other things, involved an in-depth study, two public consultations, three conferences, and a report from the EC. The European Commission has recently announced that it does not plan to revise the SCE Regulation (as well as the SE Regulation) in the short term.

See also Cooperative Types of legal European business entities Catherine Cathiard and Arnaud Lecourt, "La Pratique du Droit Européen des Sociétés – Analyse comparative des structures et des fusions transfrontalières", [Practice of European Company Law – Comparative analysis of European structures and cross-border mergers], Paris, JOLY Editions, Pratique des Affaires, 2010(available in French). Catherine Cathiard, "La coopérative européenne" (the European Cooperative Society), JCP E n°1-2009 (French).

References

External links Summaries of EU legislation > Employment and social policy > Social dialogue and employee participation > Statute for a European Cooperative Society European Commission > Enterprise and Industry > Policies > Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) > Promoting Entrepreneurship > Social Economy > Co-operatives Cooperatives Europe: Presentation about the 'Vade-Mecum de la SCE' (in French) "European Cooperative Society : background - interest - first SCE" blog of Maître Catherine Cathiard, Avocat (French). "La pratique du droit européen des sociétés - analyse comparative des structures et des fusions transfrontalières", JOLY Editions, 2010 (presentation of the book written by Catherine Cathiard and Arnaud Lecourt) Study on the implementation of the Regulation 1435/2003 on the Statute for a European Cooperative Society (SCE): Executive Summary and Part I: Synthesis and comparative report Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine and Part II: National Reports

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Societas cooperativa Europaea

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Societas cooperativa Europaea claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Societas cooperativa Europaea before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Societas cooperativa Europaea ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Societas cooperativa Europaea

In research: Societas cooperativa Europaea appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Societas cooperativa Europaea in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Societas cooperativa Europaea is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Business models, Companies of the European Union, Cooperatives in Europe, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Societas cooperativa Europaea outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Societas cooperativa Europaea in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Societas cooperativa Europaea means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Societas cooperativa Europaea out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Societas cooperativa Europaea in simple terms?

Why does Societas cooperativa Europaea matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Societas cooperativa Europaea?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Societas cooperativa Europaea.