Cooperatives Europe has announced the election of Giuseppe Guerini as its new president for the next four years. The decision was confirmed during the organisation’s General Assembly held on 2 June in Antalya, Turkey.
Giuseppe Guerini brings extensive experience in the cooperative sector. He currently serves as president of CECOP and vice-president of CICOPA. He has also been a board member of Cooperatives Europe and the International Cooperative Alliance.
He has long been a member of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), where he has authored over 30 opinions, many of them focused on the social economy and cooperative entrepreneurship.
Guerini was nominated by DGRV (Germany), Coop FR (France) and Febecoop (Belgium). He will lead Cooperatives Europe for the next four years, succeeding Petar Stefanov of CCU Bulgaria, who had served as president since 2024.
Upon his election, and with a view to the Cooperatives Europe 2030 strategy, Guerini stated: “We are facing profound transformations across all cooperative sectors. Cooperatives Europe must be present and active in shaping these changes, defending economic democracy, strengthening political dialogue, and making the cooperative voice heard.”
The organisation highlighted that, with this renewed mandate and a committed board of directors, Cooperatives Europe “will continue to defend and promote the cooperative model through policies, partnerships, and actions across the continent.”
New Board of Directors
The General Assembly also elected a new Board of Directors, comprising a diverse group of cooperative leaders from across Europe:
- Iñigo Albizuri Landazabal, COCETA (Spain)
- Jacques Debry, Febecoop (Belgium)
- Mariam Gabrielyan, Farm Credit Armenia (Armenia)
- Stephen Gill, Co-operatives UK (United Kingdom)
- Illia Gorokhovskyi, UKRKOOPSPILKA (Ukraine)
- Mieczysław Grodzki, National Cooperative Council (Poland)
- Andreas Kappes, DGRV (Germany)
- Teodora Kuzmanova, CCU Bulgaria (Bulgaria)
- Catiuscia Marini, Alliance of Italian Cooperatives (Italy)
- Thomas Meyer, Coop FR (France)
- Ünal Örnek, ORKOOP (Turkey)
- Anu Puusa, Pellervo (Finland)
- Vivian Woodell, Cooperative Housing Ireland (Ireland)
The sectoral organisations also nominated the following representatives, confirmed by the General Assembly:
- Mathias Fiedler, Euro Coop
- Leonardo Pofferi, COGECA
- Priscille Szeradzki, European Association of Cooperative Banks (EACB)
CECOP and REScoop.eu will appoint their representatives following their respective General Assemblies.
