Brussels, 15/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - Social entrepreneurship and the social economy will be on the agenda of the two-day meeting between the European Commission, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and various civil society representatives on 16-17 January in Strasbourg. This event seeks to be both collaborative and participatory and will focus on a kind of entrepreneurship that is increasingly being vaunted. The aim of a social enterprise is not to make profits for its owners or shareholders but rather to have a positive impact on society. Though one out of four new companies now shares this goal, they also have to face a variety of different problems. These challenges could be directly tackled by social entrepreneurs, finance companies and social activists, together with the European commissioners for industry, Antonio Tajani, internal market, Michel Barnier and social affairs, Laszlo Andor. The president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, the Greek prime minister, Antonis Samaras, and the chairman of the EESC will also take part in these debates on the social economic sector, which accounts for around one tenth of the EU's GDP. The event will allow assessment of the progress made by the social entrepreneurship initiative (in October 2011). (MD/transl.fl)