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This paper tries to show how the concept of social enterprise is increasingly used in many countries. In Europe, the most significant steps have been taken by the Italian parliament in the early 90’s and since 2002 by the UK government which has decided to map and promote social enterprises. From a scientific point of view, the approach built by the EMES European Research Network, based on comparative research in all EU countries, provides a solid basis for further theoretical and empirical work as well as new insights into the whole social economy.