Brussels, 17/04/2015 (Agence Europe) - The European Federation of Employee Share Ownership (EFES) said in a press release on Wednesday 15 April that it welcomed the shift in government attitudes towards employee ownership. It has noted a number of national policy decisions in favour of employee share ownership since 2012.
Among these are the UK government's action plan for promoting employee ownership, simplification of employee share plans in Hungary and tax exemptions on employee share plans in Spain and Austria. The EFES also flags up negative decisions, however, such as the abolition of the 1986 law in France which, in the event of privatisation, reserved 10% of shares for employees.
Marc Mathieu, EFES secretary general, said: “Policies democratising employee share ownership are key to recovery and investment for the future. They are a sine qua non for the return of confidence in Europe” (our translation). In his view, these policies should serve as a model for the European Commission. When contacted by EUROPE, the Commission declined to respond. (Jean Comte)