At the European level, worker cooperatives and social cooperatives are represented by CECOP- CICOPA Europe, the European confederation of industrial and service cooperatives. Since its creation in 1979, CECOP-CICOPA Europe defends the interests of its members and promote their development throughout Europe. It is strongly embedded in the cooperative movement: it is the sectoral organisation of Cooperatives Europe (the European organisation grouping cooperatives from all sectors), and the regional organisation of CICOPA for Europe, which in turn, is the sectoral organisation for industry and services of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA).