Central Cooperative Union Bulgaria celebrates its 75th anniversary

This month CCU Bulgaria celebrates the 75th anniversary of its foundation. CCU was the result of cooperative members' and organizations' requests to reach better cooperation with institutions, and even fuller implementation of the cooperative mission. As declared at the National Cooperative Assembly held on June 23, 1946, representatives of all cooperatives organizations in Bulgaria called for unification and stressed the need to create shared conditions to coordinate the activities of cooperatives and individual sectors of the cooperative movement.

On April 2nd, 1947, the Sofia Regional Court registered the newborn organization under the name "Central Cooperative Union - Co-Center".

At the end of the year, the CCU took over the organizational and economic management of 20 cooperative headquarters, 51 regional cooperative unions, and over 4,000 cooperatives.

Over the years, consumer cooperatives in Bulgaria have increased and innovated retail outlets, improved the quality of services, and mantained  cooperation relations with cooperative organizations outside the CCC system.

Today the Central Cooperative Union represents the interests of:

110,877 cooperating members
657 consumer cooperatives
30 cooperative unions
5,000 employees

Cooperative trade represents a priority activity for CCU, but it has also broadened to the cooperative industry, tourism, and agriculture sectors. In accordance with its functions as a national union, CCU assists its members in implementing economic policies and projects of high social value, aimed at:

delivering of goods and services at fair prices
providing assistance for vulnerable groups
promoting the cooperative business model in the social and solidarity economy.

Source: CCU Bulgaria website