EU Wellbeing Economy Coalition Discussion Paper

The idea for the EU Wellbeing Economy Coalition was born just 2 years ago. Some organisations with shared interest in advancing the wellbeing economy in Europe began to meet, initially to share updates and exchange ideas. It has since evolved into meaningful collaboration as the coalition grew larger and more diverse, and engaged in several initiatives together. Civil society is galvanising behind the need for economic systems that are focused on delivering wellbeing, as momentum grows within European Institutions too.

Our initial intention was to create a “roadmap” for a wellbeing economy for Europe, but it quickly became clear that there is no single map for this. Building a wellbeing economy means complete economic system transformation, which entails many and varied parallel shifts. The more we discussed the component parts of a Wellbeing Economy for Europe, the more complex our vision became – and this was matched by a breadth of knowledge and experience amongst the coalition members.

We worked together to articulate a clear shared vision of a wellbeing economy for Europe, which was published in May and sets out twelve component parts of the new economic system we need. We took the decision to accompany this with a discussion paper to delve into the details of each component and suggestions for policymaking that would take us towards a wellbeing economy, drawing on the expertise of our coalition membership.

Each section in this paper summarises the current state of play in Europe around ten different policy areas, and focuses on potential solutions and ways forward. We hope that it sparks hope, and more importantly sparks policy change towards the wellbeing economy we all need.

Following the Beyond Growth Conference held at the European Parliament in May 2023, there is more interest and excitement around the wellbeing economy agenda than ever. We hope that this paper makes a useful contribution for policymakers interested in learning more. We are looking forward to strengthening collaborations around wellbeing economy with a variety of stakeholders and we hope this discussion paper will spark discussions on solutions and proposals we need.