Confederation of European Business
 | |
| Abbreviation | BusinessEurope |
|---|---|
| Formation | 28 February 1958 |
| Location | |
Region served | European Union |
President | Maciej Witucki |
Director General | Markus J. Beyrer |
| Website | businesseurope.eu |
The Confederation of European Business, shortened as BusinessEurope, is a lobby group representing enterprises of all sizes in the European Union (EU) and seven non-EU European countries. It represents 42 national business federations and employers' organizations[1]. The current president of the confederation is Maciej Witucki, while the Director General is Markus J. Beyrer.
Based in Brussels and registered in Belgium as an Association internationale sans but lucratif,[2] the confederation is officially recognised as a social partner at European level and involved in a range of economic and social decisions and cooperates with a number of stakeholders and business partners. It promotes the interests of corporate citizens to ensure that public policy supports the European economy. It is generally considered the strongest interest organisation in Brussels,[3] and represents 20 million companies through its member trade associations in 36 European countries.
History
[edit] | This section is missing information about BusinessEurope's achievements. (November 2025) |
The association was founded in 1958, first called UNICE (Union des Industries de la Communauté Européenne) and later changed its name to BusinessEurope in January 2007 during the presidency of Ernest-Antoine Seillière. In 2014, Unilever terminated its membership of BusinessEurope's Advisory and Support Group because it opposed the organisation's stance on carbon dioxide emissions.[4][5]
Leadership
[edit]The association is led by a president, which has been held by the following persons:[6][7]
- 1958–1961 Léon Bekaert
- 1961–1962 Georges Villiers
- 1962–1967 H. J. de Koster
- 1967–1971 Fritz Berg
- 1971–1975 Paul Huvelin (businessman)
- 1975–1980 Pol Provost
- 1981–1983 Guido Carli
- 1984–1986 Raymond Pennock
- 1986–1990 Karl Gustaf Ratjen
- 1990–1994 Carlos Ferrer Salat
- 1994–1998 François Perigot
- 1998–2003 Georges Jacobs
- 2003–2005 Jürgen Strube
- 2005–2009 Ernest-Antoine Seillière
- 2009–2013 Jürgen Thumann
- 2013–2018 Emma Marcegaglia
- 2018–2022 Pierre Gattaz
- 2022-2026 Fredrik Persson
- Since July 2026: Maciej Witucki.
BusinessEurope is administered by a director general. Markus J. Beyrer has held that position since 2013.[8]
Activities
[edit]The Confederation of European Business organises the biannual BusinessEurope Day in Brussels.
Member organisations
[edit]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ https://www.businesseurope.eu/members/
- ↑ BusinessEurope, Re: Classification of Foreign Exchange Differences ... under IFRS 18, correspondence published on 24 November 2025
- ↑ "Brussels' most powerful lobbyist? Step forward BusinessEurope". Corporate Europe Observatory.
- ↑ "Unilever confirms it has quit BusinessEurope lobby group". 22 August 2014.
- ↑ "WBCSD - World Business Council for Sustainable Development". Retrieved 4 February 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ "History of the organisation". Business Europe. Archived from the original on 5 June 2023. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
- ↑ "Jürgen Thumann wird EU-Lobbyist". Handelsblatt (in German). 29 June 2009. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
- ↑ "Ex-HP-Vorstand Rudolf Kemler wird ÖIAG-Chef". Die Presse (in German). 7 September 2012. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
Sources
[edit]- European Social Partners as recognised by the Treaty of Lisbon
- European Transparency Register
- RFI 20 May 2011
- Europolitique 21 January 2011[link removed]
External links
[edit]
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| National | |