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Cooperatives Europe is the European regional office of the International Co-operative Alliance and acts for cooperative enterprises in Europe. Representing 83 member organisations from 33 European countries,[1] across all business sectors as of 2014, Cooperatives Europe promotes the cooperative business model in Europe and advocates for a level playing field between cooperatives and other forms of enterprise. Its members represent 123 million individual member cooperators owning 160.000 cooperative enterprises and providing jobs to 5.4 million European citizens.[2]
As part of the International Cooperative Alliance, Cooperatives Europe Cooperatives Europe adheres to the definition of a cooperative as outlined in the Statement on the Co-operative Identity. in the Statement on the Co-operative Identity which also defines seven cooperative principles. Over time, the international cooperative movement has made small readjustments to this first set of principles of the Rochdale cooperative. The most recent adjustment was made in 1995 at the Centennial Congress of the International Cooperative Alliance, when the seven cooperative principles were approved: voluntary and open membership, democratic member control, member economic participation, autonomy and independence, education, training and information, cooperation among cooperatives, and concern for the community. The new principles, while building on and refining the previously accepted ones, the principles position cooperatives as jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprises, emphasizing values such as self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, and solidarity.[3]
Cooperatives Europe works to increase the knowledge of the cooperative business model across Europe and to facilitate the development of cooperative enterprises. Cooperatives Europe is registered on the European Union Transparency Register,[5] created by the European Commission.
Cooperatives Europe is developing a European network of Young Cooperators.[6]
History
Cooperatives Europe was established on 7 March 2006 as a nonprofit organization under Belgian law (ASBL),.[7] The first General Assembly took place in Manchester, on 11 November 2006, where Pauline Green and Etienne Pflimlin were elected co-presidents.
Since 2012, Cooperatives Europe recognized as a Civil Society Organization,[8] and takes part in the Policy Forum on Development, organized by the European Commission’s DG DevCo. Cooperatives Europe has organized several seminars on international cooperation such as the event Cooperatives and Sustainable Development: Challenges for the Post-2015 Agenda,[9] co-organized with CoopBuro in Brussels, among others.
Cooperatives Europe is one of the partners within the European Year for Development (EYD2015), EU’s first ever thematic year dedicated to international development cooperation. The year 2015 is designated as the European Year for Development, focusing on the European Union's external actions and its role in international development. For development organisations all over Europe it is an unparalleled opportunity to showcase Europe's commitment to eradicating poverty worldwide and to inspire more Europeans to get engaged and involved in development. 2015 is also the year in which the Millennium Development Goals that the world agreed to reach in 2000, and in which the international community will agree on the future global framework for poverty eradication and sustainable development.[10]
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