On 24 May 2024, Prof. Petar Stefanov – President of the Central Cooperative Union Bulgaria and member of the Board of the Bulgarian Industrial Association was elected President of the Association of European Cooperatives (Cooperatives Europe), which unites and represents 141 million individual members and over 5 million employees in 250 000 cooperatives from 32 countries in Europe.
The election took place during the organisation's Annual General Assembly in Brussels, which was attended by 52 cooperative organisations representing 315 delegates from across Europe.
Prof. Petar Stefanov was elected for the highest European cooperative post in a direct contest with the representatives of Great Britain - Viviane Woodall and Thomas Meyer from France.
In his speech to the delegates prof. Stefanov outlined several key strategic priorities in the work of Cooperatives Europe:
- Active work with the newly elected European Parliament to create a Friends of Cooperatives group and to implement, with the active participation of national and sectoral organisations, events and projects that generate greater visibility and strengthen the role of cooperatives as an equal partner of the European institutions. The aim is for these institutions not only to hear the united cooperative voice, but also to take it into account when formulating and implementing European public policies that will bring more benefits to members and cooperative businesses.
- A cooperative business creating financially independent and sustainable cooperatives - a key pillar of Europe's social and solidarity economy.
- 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 cooperatives with the necessary protection against political interference and unfair competition.
- Real involvement of young people in the governance of cooperative organisations and highlighting their relevance for Europe by setting up a European youth structure, providing the necessary budget for its operation and a statistical system to support the implementation of the relevant policies.
- Hold a series of meetings with the leaders of national and sectoral cooperative organisations, cooperative veterans, young people and representatives of research and academia from European universities studying cooperatives and their development. The aim of these meetings is to share issues and best practices from cooperative policy and business and to outline the vision and parameters of sustainable cooperatives in the short and long term.
The delegates of the General Assembly and the Board of the European Cooperative Organisation expressed full support for the priorities that were presented by the newly elected President Prof. They stressed their readiness to work actively at national and European level to implement all the events and projects that will successfully prepare European cooperative organisations for the celebration of the Second International Year of Cooperatives in 2025.
