EFAPCO 
The European Federation of the Associations of Professional Congress Organizers

Established in 2004 as the result of an initiative taken by the PCO associations from six European countries: Belgium – BAPCO; Greece – HAPCO; Italy - PCO ITALIA; Poland – PCCA; Portugal – APOPC; Spain - OPC ESPANA; and the United Kingdom – ABPCO.
 
They have been joined by: Italy – FEDERCONGRESSI; France – FSCEF; Germany – GCB PCO Group; Hungary – MARESZ; Ireland – AIPCO; and SAPCO - Slovakia. 
 
EFAPCO aims to support the conference sector within the European Union, raise the profile of the conference industry as a whole, as well as provide networking and educational opportunities for European professional congress organisers.
 
A non-profit institution based in Brussels, EFAPCO complements the national activity of its members, enabling PCOs to have a single, strong voice in Europe. Combining the potential of major PCOs with solid international experience, EFAPCO shapes the European conference industry, enhances the status of professional conference and event organisers in Europe and helps improve the region’s competitive edge.
 
EFAPCO was founded because of an urgent need among the leading PCOs in EU countries to address common problems, such as the recognition and institutionalisation of their profession, the certification and upgrading of services, the lack of graduate and postgraduate education in the area, the steady loss of market share in EU countries in the Congress and Business Tourism sectors, and the lack of statistics in the same geographical area.