Our approach

What is Cooperatives Europe?

 

Cooperatives Europe (CE) is the European regional office of the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA), the apex body representing cooperatives worldwide. Established in 2006, it is the voice of cooperative enterprises in Europe, committed to promoting the cooperative business model in the region. As of 2023, Cooperatives Europe counts

84 member organisations from 33 European countries across all business sectors. Its members include European sectoral organisations, national cooperative representative organisations, individual cooperative enterprises, and national sectoral organisations. These represent 163 million individual member cooperators owning 250.000 co-operative enterprises, and providing jobs to 5.4 million European citizens, evidence of the role of cooperatives as a force for economic growth and social change. The regional office is based in Brussels, also given the proximity to the European Union.

Learn more about Cooperatives Europe by reading our flyer.

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Our activities

 

Cooperatives Europe works to promote the cooperative business model at European level.

 

Advocacy

We advocate granting the plurality of business forms in Europe.

 

We advocate for a plurality of business forms in Europe It is about increasing awareness, knowledge and recognition of the cooperative business model across the European Union institutions, national governments and other relevant stakeholders in the public and private sectors. We help design and implement policies and toolkits supporting the sustainable development of cooperative enterprises, and inform our members of upcoming EU or national legislation to anticipate potential impact on the work of cooperatives.

 

Communication

We foster communication amongst and about cooperative enterprises.

 

We foster communication and dialogue amongst and about cooperative enterprises. We focus our efforts on creating, maintaining and strengthening the connections with and among our members. Together with them, we amplify the voice of the European cooperative movement and increase the visibility, awareness and recognition of cooperatives at EU level. 

 

Projects

We enhance the development of the cooperative ecosystem through projects and partnerships.

 

We enhance the development of the cooperative ecosystem through international and regional projects and partnerships, facilitating the exchange of know-how and best practices between European countries and across the continent. Cooperatives are also an essential actor for the implementation of the EU Agenda. We leverage our work and that of our members to integrate cooperatives as people-centred and value-based businesses and viable partners for sustainable development into EU policies and programming.  Cooperative enterprises enable people to become key players in their own social and economic development. They are thus a key tool for European and international growth strategy.

 

 

Annual report

 

Find our latest annual reports here:

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Find our annual reports

 

 

Contact Us

 

We’d love to hear from you.

You can reach us at our Operational Office at Rue du Trône 4, B – 1000 Bruxelles, or call us during working days Monday, Tuesday or Thursday at +32 2 213 00 80.

You can also send us an email or visit our head office at Cooperative House Europe, avenue Milcamps 105, B – 1030 Bruxelles.

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