Advancing: Our Voice for European Change
A European Observatory at the Service of the System
Protecting the individual member is our starting point, but not our only horizon. As the European Observatory, our broader mission is to act at a systemic level to promote sustainable change. We are convinced that governance problems are not just isolated incidents, but often symptoms of structural weaknesses, inappropriate regulations, or instrumental interpretations.
To this end, we are committed to being a constructive, reference partner, supporting national and European institutions (ministries, supervisory bodies, legislative bodies) wherever their sphere of action struggles to reach. At the same time, we stand resolutely on the side of the weakest: the members who, despite being the beating heart of cooperatives, often have neither the strength nor the tools to make their voices heard in the face of consolidated, self-referential management.
Our Concrete Actions for Change
Collecting and Harmonizing Information at the European Level
Our first task as an Observatory is to watch, listen and analyze. Our job is to collect, map, and harmonize a constant flow of information from all over Europe on how the cooperative world works. This intelligence work includes:
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We analyze the most significant legal actions and rulings concerning member rights.
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We monitor press reports on scandals and crises, as well as success stories and best practices.
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We study the most virtuous models of governance to promote their dissemination.
This unique body of knowledge gives us an overview of the challenges and opportunities facing the cooperative movement, overcoming national fragmentation.
OETC is listed in the European Union Transparency Registerfor its interest representation activities with the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission (ID: 0656184100387-31).
Dialogue and Institutional Support
We make our analyses available to public institutions. We act as a "sensor in the field," providing objective data and in-depth analyses that can help legislators draft more effective laws and supervisory bodies to better direct their controls.
Our aim is to be a reliable partner for institutions that share our commitment to protecting the integrity of the cooperative model.
Our Independence as a Guarantee
Our entire action is based on one non-negotiable principle: our total independence. We receive no funding from cooperatives or interest groups that could influence our actions. This allows us to be an impartial, credible, and benchmark interlocutor, inspired solely by our mission and founding values.