Confederation of European Business
The Confederation of European Business, shortened as BusinessEurope, is a lobby group representing enterprises of all sizes in the European Union and seven non-EU European countries. It is made up of 40 national industry and employers' organizations. The current president of the confederation is Fredrik Persson, while the Director General is Markus J. Beyrer.
Based in Brussels and registered in Belgium as an Association internationale sans but lucratif, 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, and represents 20 million companies through its member trade associations in 36 European countries.
History
The association was established in 1958. In 2014, Unilever terminated its membership of BusinessEurope's Advisory and Support Group because it opposed the organisation's stance on carbon dioxide emissions.Leadership
The association is led by a president, which has been held by the following persons:- 1958–1961 Léon Bekaert
- 1961–1962 Georges Villiers
- 1962–1967 H. J. de Koster
- 1967–1971 Fritz Berg
- 1971–1975
- 1975–1980
- 1981–1983 Guido Carli
- 1984–1986 Raymond Pennock
- 1986–1990
- 1990–1994
- 1994–1998 François Perigot
- 1998–2003 Georges Jacobs
- 2003–2005 Jürgen Strube
- 2005–2009 Ernest-Antoine Seillière
- 2009–2013
- 2013–2018 Emma Marcegaglia
- 2018–2022 Pierre Gattaz
- Since July 2022: Fredrik Persson.
Activities
The Confederation of European Business organises the biannual in Brussels.Member organisations
| Country | Organisation |
 Austria |