International Relations

At the international level, we represent the interests of both the members of the Employers’ Confederation and, more broadly, the entire Estonian business sector in BusinessEurope, the central European Employers’ Organization, in IOE, the international umbrella organization for employers, and in BIAC Business@OECD (Entrepreneurs representation organisation with the OECD). Additionally, the Employers’ Confederation is a member of the European Economic and Social Committee.

As a leading European business organization, BusinessEurope brings together over 20 million companies from 35 European countries through 40 employers’ organizations. 

BusinessEurope is an EU wide recognised social partner, with a mission to ensure that the voice of business is heard in European policy-making. BusinessEurope interacts regularly with the European Parliament, Commission and Council as well as other stakeholders in the policy community. BusinessEurope actively participates in shaping European-level policies as a representative organization of large, medium, and small-sized enterprises to ensure that entrepreneurs’ interests are taken into account and to contribute to enhancing Europe’s competitiveness. 

The IOE (International Organisation of Employers) is an international umbrella organization for employers, representing business interests at the global level, including in communication with the International Labour Organization (ILO). The IOE comprises over 150 employers’ organizations from more than 140 countries around the world.

The Estonian Employers’ Confederation also serves as the voice of employers in the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), which is an advisory body to the Council of the European Union, the European Commission, and the European Parliament on economic and social issues. Our representative in the Economic and Social Committee is International Relations Advisor Kristi Sõber.

BIAC (Business Advisory Committee to the OECD) serves as the voice of entrepreneurs at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The Estonian Employers’ Confederation has been a member of BIAC since 2010, when Estonia became a member of the OECD, uniting highly developed democratic countries with open market economies.

At the international level, our goal is to contribute to policy-making processes that are evidence-based and consider the interests of entrepreneurs. We consult our members in formulating our positions. In addition, we organize study trips for the confederation members to other countries and hold seminars and training sessions to introduce the experiences of other countries for the sharing of best practices.