Structure & Membership

Social Services Europe is established as a formal, legally based association under Belgian ASBL/VZW status. Social Services Europe intends to have a ‘light’ structure based on expertise and capacity available in the membership, made up by the Board, the General Working Group, Taskforces and the General Assembly. It formalises co-operation in areas of common interest of its members and where agreement can be found to work together, based on an Annual Work Programme.

All members of SSE share two general “orientations”: “Not-for-profit/non-profit” and “delivery of (social) services in the general interest”. SSE aims to strengthen the profile and position of social services and to promote the role of not-for-profit social service providers throughout Europe.

General Assembly

With one seat for the Directors or Secretary Generals and the Presidents of all members. It meets once a year, normally end of May. Extraordinary General Assemblies can be held in November or December of each year, if needed, e.g., to adopt changes of the Statutes of SSE.

Task Forces

Task Forces can be set up by the Board to organise the work around specific topics or for dedicated activities. Members interested in the topic or activity nominate their policy staff or thematic experts. The observer members can be represented. SSE currently has two Task Forces, one on the European Care Strategy (and topics related to care policies) and the other on the Social Economy Action Plan (and social economy in general).

The Board

Thomas Bignal

SSE President - EASPD Secretary General

Mathieu de Poorter

SSE Treasurer - CEDAG President

Heather Roy

EURODIACONIA Secretary General

Mette Petersen

RED CROSS EU OFFICE Director

Diana Dovgan

Secretary General - CECOP

Alicia Gómez Campos

SSE Vice-President - EPR Secretary General

Aad Koster

EAN 1st statutory Vice President

Maria Nyman

CARITAS EUROPA Secretary General

Freek Spinnewijn

FEANTSA Director

Sylvain Renouvel

Director - Federation of European Social Employers (Observer Member)

The Secretariat

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Mila Shamku

Coordinator

mila.shamku@socialserviceseurope.eu

Vasiliki Poulaki

Project Officer

vasiliki.poulaki@socialserviceseurope.eu

MEET OUR MEMBERS

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What are the added value and benefits of being a member of Social Services Europe?

Pooling of knowledge, expertise and experience from different sub-sectors of social services and from all across Europe – based on the national membership of all SSE members – on the topics of joint interest and concern (see above). The added value of an EU-level umbrella organisation for EU-level networks is particularly obvious and important when it comes to legal and technical dossiers, such as state aid, public procurement, access to EU funding, green transition, digitalisation (including AI), European legal forms for associations, cooperatives or foundations or a social taxonomy.
Pooling, coordination and, thus, amplification of advocacy activities and capacities towards the EU institutions, in particular the European Commisssion and the European Parliament, but also vis-à-vis the European Council and the European Economic and Social Committee.
The membership in SSE also can ensure the coordination and alignment of the main proposals or requests when it comes to EU-level policy initiatives, funding programmes and EU legislation for the social services sectors on “horizontal topics” concerning all social service providers.
Being able to be seen and recognised at EU-level/across as the voice of the not-for-profit social service providers, not least also by the social economy ecosystem and its key EU-level actors

Do you have an interest in joining SSE?

Please contact us via info@socialserviceseurope.eu