Brussels, 13 February 2008

EURO COOP is the European Association of Consumer Cooperatives. Our primary objectives include representing to the EU institutions the interests of consumer cooperatives and their 23 million consumer-members across 17 European countries.

Brussels, February 2008 - Euro Coop welcomes the Commission's Transparency Initiative and is fully supportive of what has been proposed towards greater transparency at the EU level.

Consumer co-operatives are democratic and responsible organisations, within which consumers act as citizens. Euro Coop and its members are responsible to their individual members and have to account for their financial resources, governance and activities.

We are therefore natural supporters of more transparency in the European decision-making process.

Euro Coop is only financed by members' fees and has a policy of full transparency.

Bolstered by its values and ideals, Euro Coop commits to adhere to a registry of stakeholder organisations and to provide all the necessary information to the European Commission.

Besides, Euro Coop engages itself to respect the future rules, including rules of sanction, necessary for the system to be efficient.

Euro Coop calls on all other interest organisations to adhere to such rules in order to make the system transparent, comprehensive and more effective.

For more information please contact:

Rodrigo Gouveia, Secretary General, Euro Coop
Tel: +32 (0)2 285 00 70
E-mail: infoateurocoop.coop