Cooperatives Driving Change: Key Events in Brussels, March 2025

As part of the International Year of Cooperatives, a series of impactful events took place in Brussels, aimed at highlighting the role of cooperatives in fostering Europe's prosperity, industrial transformation, and social cohesion. Euro Coop actively participated in all three events, underscoring its commitment to promoting the cooperative model as a driver of change in the EU.

Cooperative Leadership Forum (17 March 2025)
The week kicked off with the Cooperative Leadership Forum, organized by Cooperatives Europe under the theme "The Coop Model 2030: Challenges & Solutions". On the occasion of the 2025 - International Year of Cooperatives, the forum brought together cooperative leaders to discuss the future of the cooperative model, with the aim of identifying the key challenges facing cooperatives at national level and charting the course towards overcoming them through greater cooperation. This was the first event exclusively tailored to cooperative leaders across Europe since 2012 - the first International Year of Cooperatives. 

The event was opened by introductory speeches on behalf of three presidents - Prof. Petar Stefanov of Cooperatives Europe, Dr. Ariel Guarco of International Cooperative Alliance and Juan Antonio Pedreno of Social Economy Europe. The main themes included a call to action for greater cooperation through the development of a Coop Roadmap and Vision 2050 which shall translate into joint action for greater visibility, advocacy and commercial collaboration. It was emphasised the initiated closer cooperation between Cooperatives Europe and Social Economy Europe in attaining greater recognition for the social economy in Europe, of which cooperatives a fundamental pillar. 

The plenary session focused on the role of statistics, research, education and featured as speakers Gianluca Salvatori - Secretary General of EURICSE, Prof. Anu Puusa - professor of University of Eastern Finland, Inigo Albizuri - manager of ASETT think-tank of CEPES (Spain) and Felix Kriedemann - policy advisor at RESCOOP. 

A ground-breaking initiative was presented - the process of establishing a European Coop. Academia for business education of leaders and managers working in the cooperative movement. It would be co-designed by numerous cooperative organisations, self-managed and financed, and international. The blended format means a combination of online and offline courses in various different cooperative / academic institutions. The organisations who have laid the foundations for this initiative are Cooperatives Europe - under the leadership of Prof. Stefanov, EURCISE, Mondragon University, Saint Mary’s University and the University of Eastern Finland. 

The speakers’ interventions included the themes of cooperative statistics and data as a basis for policy, the role of education and training in raising the qualifications of cooperative leaders and managers and the importance of establishing networks of organisations engaged in these priority workstreams in order to scale up efforts. Last but not least, the role of policymakers in ensuring an enabling environment for cooperatives was also discussed.  

The leaders’ forum was an opportunity to examine how cooperatives can maintain their identity, strengthen their management models, and innovate in response to global shifts in order to shape a fair and sustainable economy. The discussions touched upon other themes, such as strategies to reinforce cooperative governance and education, cooperative scaling up while staying true to their core values, and cooperative innovative projects and policies that will shape the future of the cooperative movement in Europe and beyond.

In the closing remarks on behalf of Prof. Stefanov it was proposed to hold more frequent such leaders’ events - with the second leadership forum suggested for the end of the year to close the International Year of Cooperatives and to initiate the development of a Coop Road Map with a Vision 2050 aimed at reinforcing the cooperative model of enterprise. 

"Fostering Europe's Prosperity and Industrial Transformation: Cooperatives as Drivers of Change" Conference (18 March 2025)
On 18 March, the European Commission hosted a high-level conference in cooperation with Cooperatives Europe and CECOP, which gathered cooperative leaders, EU officials, economic stakeholders and representatives of academic institutions across Europe. 

The event opened with a symbolic lighting of the "Cooperative Flame" - courtesy of the French co-operative movement, as an emblem of the cooperative values celebrated during this international year. Key EU officials, including Amaryllis Verhoeven (Director at DG GROW, European Commission) and MEP Maravillas Abadia Jover, underscored the importance of cooperatives in enhancing the European single market. They highlighted how cooperatives foster social cohesion and reduce dependency on external imports, reinforcing Europe's competitiveness and resilience. Due to the force majeure absence of Prof. Petar Stefanov - Cooperatives Europe President, the organisation was represented in the opening panel by vice-president Thomas Meyer, who underlined the contribution of cooperatives to employment, the twin transition and sustainable development. 

He emphasised the importance of attaining higher visibility for cooperatives across Europe, which may be done through ensuring cooperative legislation in each country and facilitated by the strong market presence of co-op brands in different branches of the economy. Meyer reminded that cooperatives represent 10% of the economy in many countries. A key element of achieving greater recognition from policymakers could be the inclusion of the co-op model at all levels of the education system on national level, so that next generations may be offered the opportunity to pursue their entrepreneurship and career development in the cooperative economy. 

The conference featured a rich program with numerous parallel thematic workshops on topics such as boosting youth cooperative entrepreneurship, the role of cooperatives in advancing the green and digital transitions, innovation and competitiveness, strengthening industrial clusters through cooperatives, boosting investments and financial opportunities, and the role of policymakers and research in reinforcing the cooperative economy’s contribution to the EU economy and society. 

Euro Coop actively participated in the event, contributing to discussions on how cooperatives can drive ecological and digital transitions, and positioning cooperatives as essential actors in building a better world. Our representatives included Euro Coop president - Mathias Fiedler, Board members - Loïc Pelletier (FNCC) and Ingvill Størksen (Coop Norway), auditor - Olivier Mugnier (FNCC), and secretariat colleagues Annalisa De Chirico and Todor Ivanov.  

"Cooperatives: Driving Force for Europe’s Competitiveness and Social Cohesion" (19 March 2025)
On 19 March, Euro Coop participated in an event hosted by Legacoop - the association that brings together more than 10 thousand cooperative enterprises active throughout Italy and the entire production chain - and the Emilia-Romagna Region, focusing on the role of cooperatives in strengthening European competitiveness and promoting social cohesion. 

The event was attended by several EU institutional representatives, including Raffaele Fitto - EU Commission Executive Vice-President for Cohesion and Reforms and Pina Picierno - Vice-President of the European Parliament. The event was opened by Michele De Pascale - President of Emilia-Romagna Region and Simone Gamberini - President of Legacoop, who emphasized the need for EU policies that recognize the cooperative model’s contribution to sustainable growth. The gathering included discussions on the green transition in agriculture and food, as well as the importance of a supportive EU legislative framework for cooperatives to enhance competitiveness, simplify regulations, and improve access to financing, particularly for small businesses.

Euro Coop and consumer cooperatives had their presence in one of the two parallel roundtables. Albino Russo - General Manager of ANCC-Coop (Italy) and Euro Coop Vice-President, together with Domenico Brisigotti - CEO of Coop Italia and Euro Coop Secretary-General Todor Ivanov participated in the roundtable on the agrifood chain. In his remarks, Albino Russo emphasised the crucial importance of catering to consumers’ demands and expectations by offering quality products at reasonable prices, whilst contributing to stable relations within the agrifood supply chain and to environmental and social sustainability. 

Looking Ahead
Euro Coop’s participation in these events reaffirmed its commitment to amplifying the role of consumer cooperatives in Europe’s economic and social future. In a world facing complex challenges - from economic uncertainty and climate change to digital transformation and social inequality - the cooperative business model stands out as a resilient and people-centered alternative. By prioritizing democratic governance, long-term sustainability, and community well-being, cooperatives offer a unique path toward a more inclusive and competitive Europe. These discussions not only strengthened the case for greater policy support but also reinforced the cooperative movement’s role in shaping a better world for all.