site.btaCentral Cooperative Union Chair Petar Stefanov Elected Cooperatives Europe President

Central Cooperative Union (CCU) Chairperson Petar Stefanov was elected Cooperatives Europe President during the organisation's annual General Assembly in Brussels, which was attended 315 delegates representing 52 cooperative organisations from across Europe, CCU said in a press release on Monday. Stefanov was chosen ahead of Viviane Woodall (UK) and Thomas Meyer (France).

Cooperatives Europe brings together 141 million individual members and more than 5 million employees in 250,000 cooperatives in 32 countries across Europe.

Addressing the event, Stefanov outlined several key strategic priorities in Cooperatives Europe's work. Among those are active work with the future European Parliament to implement national and sectoral organisations' events and projects that generate higher visibility and strengthen the role of cooperatives as an equal partner of the European institutions.

Stefanov underscored the need for a thorough analysis of cooperative legislation and the creation of a common European legal framework that not only supports and promotes sustainable development, but also provides cooperative organisations with the necessary protection from political interference and unfair competition.