The Confederation of European Business, shortened as BusinessEurope, is a lobby group representing enterprises of all sizes in the European Union (EU) and seven non-EU European countries. It represents 42 national business federations 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.
The association was founded in 1958, first called UNICE (Union des Industries de la Communauté Européenne) and later changed its name to BusinessEurope in January 2007 during the presidency of Ernest-Antoine Seillière. In 2014, Unilever terminated its membership of BusinessEurope's Advisory and Support Group because it opposed the organisation's stance on carbon dioxide emissions.
The association is led by a president, which has been held by the following persons:
BusinessEurope is administered by a director general. Markus J. Beyrer has held that position since 2013.
The Confederation of European Business organises the biannual BusinessEurope Day in Brussels.