The Portuguese government has announced its intention to withdraw from co-op body Cases – following a Council of Ministers Resolution adopted on 28 November 2025 in the context of a broader ministerial reform.
Cases – Cooperativa António Sérgio para a Economia Social – supports co-ops and the wider social economy through a partnership of the state and sector bodies.
Created in 2009 as a public-interest co-op, Cases was designed as a partnership between the state and representative organisations of the sector. With the government a 60% shareholder, its withdrawal could collapse the organisation, warns Cases president Eduardo Graça.
He told a parliamentary hearing on the Committee on Labor, Social Security and Inclusion, requested by the Socialist Party (PS), that the move will “bring down” the organisation, labelling the move ”betrayal“ of Cases’ 30 workers.
Meanwhile, Cooperatives Europe warns the move “could lead to the disappearance of the national entity that promotes and accredits the co-operative sector in Portugal, putting at risk more than 15 years of accumulated expertise in co-operative development and social economy policy”.
The decision by Portugal’s centre right Democratic Alliance government has sparked a public outcry, with an open letter opposing the move signed by more than 100 social economy organisations and more than 1,000 citizens.
A public statement from the team at Cases expressed “deep concern and total apprehension” over the decision, made by the Council of Ministers on 28 November.
Cases says this was “made without any prior dialogue“, adding the team is still awaiting clarification regarding “the guarantee of their jobs, the fate of the programs, projects and assets”.
The Cases statement adds that the co-op sector represents 6% of national employment and more than 3% of Gross Value Added (GVA) and is “of enormous relevance to Portuguese society”. It says the government’s withdrawal is “clearly out of step with national and international commitments”, such as the EU’s Social Economy Action Plan.
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Cases’ work includes accreditation and supervision of co-ops; legal and technical support, including validation of statutes and bylaws; data collection, research and official statistics on the sector; training, capacity building and dedicated support programmes; and representation of Portuguese co-op sector at European and international level.
“Through this work,” said Cooperatives Europe, “Cases contributes not only to the strength of the cooperative ecosystem in Portugal, but also to Portugal’s engagement in European and global policy dialogue.”
Cooperative Europe warned the move poses “serious concerns for the future of co-operative development in Portugal”
It added: “At a time when co-operatives are increasingly recognised as contributors to competitiveness, quality jobs and territorial cohesion, dismantling a long-standing institutional framework risk weakening accumulated expertise and institutional continuity.”
Social Economy Europe has also criticised the move. In a letter to ministers, the organisation’s president Juan Antonio Pedreño said: “I have been a direct witness to the value of the work carried out by Cases and its team of professionals in promoting high-impact policies, programmes and frameworks for co-operation.
“ Its institutional and human capital constitute a strategic asset of particular relevance in the current European context, marked by the commitment of member state governments to the measures set out in the 2023 Council Recommendation of the European Union on developing framework conditions for the social economy, as well as the European Action Plan for the Social Economy adopted by the European Commission in 2021.”
He added: “The role of Cases has been decisive in key milestones such as the adoption of the Framework Law on the Social Economy in 2013, one of the first of its kind in Europe and worldwide, or the preparation of the Satellite Accounts of the Social Economy, also among the first in the European Union.
“These advances, among many others, have placed Portugal at the forefront of a more inclusive, sustainable and cohesive model of economic and social development, in which the Social Economy plays a central role.”
Main picture: The Portuguese legislative assembly building (image: Jose Manuel/Wiki CC)
