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Welcome,
this is the EUROPEAN FEDERATION OF EMPLOYEE
SHARE OWNERSHIP (EFES). The EFES acts as
the umbrella organization of employee owners,
companies and all persons, trade unions,
experts, researchers, institutions looking
to promote employee ownership and participation
in Europe. The EFES was recognized by the
European Commission (DG Enterprise and Industry)
as the European Business Representative
Organization in the field.
This
site is basically written in English but
for detailed info is multilingual:
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 What's
new on this website since your last visit ?
Annual Economic Survey of Employee Ownership
in European Countries in 2009 
In
short: Employees took advantage of lower share prices
to increase their share. This is the main conclusion
of the economic survey of employee ownership in
the European countries in 2009. The survey will
bring an exhaustive information about the 2.475
largest European companies, employing 33.4 million
people in 2009.
More information and downloads
Report and documents of the Eighth European Meeting
of Employee Ownership - Brussels
18 May 2009
Employee ownership and the financial crisis. Annual
Economic Survey of Employee Ownership in European
Countries in 2008. Witnesses from various countries.
Manifesto for the 2009 European Parliament Elections.
More
information
Manifesto for the 2009 European Parliament
Elections
150 Members of the European Parliament
and candidates from all political parties answered
our Manifesto for the European elections. The last
ten years saw a strong development of employee ownership
in European companies. Strangely, this happened
while a European policy for the promotion and the
development of employee ownership was completely
lacking. It is time to reconsider things and to
relaunch a real European policy. This is a role
for the new European Parliament. Detailed information
A political roadmap for employee ownership
in Europe
A political roadmap for Europe was proposed in the
framework of the French Presidency of the European
Union. Detailed information
The
European Employee Ownership TOP 100 rankings in
2008
The European Employee Ownership TOP 100 is designed with respect to two rankings
of Europe's largest companies, considering employee
ownership. Full
information
Real
cases
Employee
ownership, what it is, really. Multiple
schemes in all countries,
for small and medium sized companies as well as
for biggest corporations. Specific models for companies
all along their life: Creation, development and
maturity, transmission, rescue. More
information
Going
to a true ambitious policy of the European Union
The main recent progress in the European
Institutions. More
information
CEEEONet
- Central and Eastern European Employee Ownership
Network
EFES Discussion Forum
You can just have a look at all discussions about
various topis or you can register and have your
own say. More
information
European
Programme EOLE (Employee Ownership Learning &
Education)
European Programme for training and education for
employee ownership and financial participation of
workers. More
information
EFES call to the Governments of the European
Union (May 2007)
A recent study funded by the European Commission
enlightened the fact that 89% of all 2.000 widest
European Groups (29 millions employees) have employee
share ownership and 83% have plans to develop it
more.
These Groups consider employee share ownership as
one of the best ways for aligning employees and
shareholders interests, motivating people, improving
corporate performances and giving people the chance
to share better corporate results.
They are used to offer annual share plans to their
employees in all possible countries.
Unfortunately, the main obstacle in development
of their common human resources policy is the lack
of proper legislation in several Member States.
This situation causes discrimination between their
employees - people from various countries, and put
a brake on their development and investments abroad.
This is why we would like to trigger discussion
about the most effective legislation. Our aim is
to encourage all governments to introduce a dedicated
legislation, allowing the following employee share
plans, as the most used across the world, in the
European Union and the United States as well:
- Employee Stock Purchase
Plan, possibly annual
- Discount rate 20%, free
of tax and social security, up to 10% of annual
gross salary (or 5.000 Euro annually)
- Blockage period:
3 years (through deferred stocks, blocked stocks
or options with vesting period).
EFES
call to the European Parliament, to the European
Commission and to all Governments of the European
Union (2004)
In 1998, when the European Federation of Employee
Share Ownership was set up, it was said that some
10% of American employees held shares of their enterprise;
they are now 23,3%. Some weeks ago, the Australian
Government launched a programme to double employee
share ownership in Australia, from 5,5% of employees
today to 11% in 2009. Today,
performances studies have multiplied and we can
now consider with no doubt that when it is practiced
in good conditions, employee ownership brings to
enterprises a gain of performances estimated at
2% of additional annual growth on average.
On the European Union scale, this would represent
millions of additional jobs. In this way the development
of employee ownership could be an important factor
for the Lisbon Strategy.
Today, we are far from a European awareness and
a strong mobilisation. Scepticism or indifference
still dominate in many European countries. The contrast
is obvious in comparison with the United States,
Australia and other parts of the world. A political
willingness of the European Union has still to crystallize.
We recommend that Europe gives itself a voluntary
objective of industrial policy : reach 10 % of employee
ownership in the whole European Union in 2010. In
this way, a whole combination of means have to be
implemented at the Union level, in the Member States
and in the regions.
We particularly insist on the followings :
1. The implementation of a community organ (agency
? institute ? committee ?) for the promotion and
the development of employee ownership. In this way,
we applaud the proposal of the European Commission
Experts Group, chaired by Jean-Baptiste de Foucauld,
to install a European Committee for Financial Participation
of Workers.
2. An adapted legislation must be applied in each
country of the European Union. In this way too,
we applaud the proposals of the Experts Group of
the Commission chaired by Jean-Baptiste de Foucauld.
3. Enterprise transfer and salvation of failing
enterprises are situations where employee ownership
has proved its worth (the Spanish sociedades
laborales being a good example). Employee buyouts
schemes should get particular support. These formulas
are not only to be supported for themselves but
also because they are favourable to the diffusion
and promotion of employee ownership, in all enterprises
of the Union's countries.
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