WHAT DOES EMPLOYEE FINANCIAL PARTICIPATION MEAN? by employees and the reciprocity systems that appear between them, EFP reduces the risk of parasitic behaviour( free-riding) (Krause 2016). Nevertheless, with a view to the public agenda in Romania, it is important to keep in mind that the following arguments have been forwarded by the major political groupings in the European Parliament: (1) Employee participation in decision-making could improve the organisational performance and quality of professional life of employees, as it could serve as a tool for innovation at the workplace, promoting a sense of belonging, increasing the flow of information within the company and improving trust and confidence between employers and employees. ( 2) Companies that offer their employees financial participation create more jobs and increase their sales(2 percent per year) and productivity(4 percent per year) more than companies that do not do so. ( 3) The concentration of capital is reduced, which leads to increased economic competition. ( 4) The risk of a company's activities being relocated or outsourced is reduced. ( 5) Shareholder employees accumulate more pension assets, receive better salaries and are less exposed to the risk of unemployment than other employees. At present, household income depends largely on wages, so shareholder employees benefit from increased capital income, which reduces inequalities in the distribution of wealth in society. ( 6) The Europe 2020 Strategy for Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth emphasises the need for inclusive growth that, among other things, empowers citizens through employment, investment in skills, the fight against poverty and the modernisation of labour markets and social protection. Financial participation of workers provides concrete tools in this regard. ( 7) EFP involves employees in the consultation and decision­making process, benefiting both employees and company, including in terms of sustainable governance, transparency, social dialogue, mutual respect between employees and employers, and other issues, such as recruitment, retention, motivation, job satisfaction and skills development, as well as overall performance and profitability; ( 8) In the context of the EU's priority of fostering the integration of capital markets, EFP could improve the inclusion and transparency of economic activity. Combined with training of participants by businesses and Member States, EFP could improve the financial education and skills of EU citizens. ( 9) EFP helps businesses restructure their economic activities by addressing issues like company succession and integration of the next generation. (1 0) EFP helps to develop the social economy based on solidarity, for example by boosting the accessibility of investments and financing; (1 1) EFP complements EU programmes aimed at improving access to capital, especially for SMEs, such as the COSME programme, the Innovfin programme, the“Creative Europe” programme and the European Structural and Investment Funds. 3