During the “Social Entrepreneurs: Have Your Say!” event, European Commissioner Antonio Tajani took the audience by surprise with the announcement that a legislative initiative text on the statute for a European mutual society (EMS) would soon be drawn up by the European Commission. This additional step will follow the impact assessment, the results of which are to be released on January 22, 2014. According to Antonio Tajani, the statute for a European mutual could become effective in “late 2015 or early 2016.” French Social Economy Minister Benoît Hamon, who also attended the event, particularly commended this step forward.