Bridging competitiveness and shared prosperity through employee ownership

This fringe event is organized as part of the “European EO Days”- a two-day series of events in Brussels designed to advance the practice and policy of employee ownership across Europe. For more information on the overarching event and other sessions, please go to https://ied.si/eo-days/. 

Employee ownership is gaining momentum across Europe — but it remains fragmented, advancing country by country without the cross-border exchange of knowledge, models, and policy tools that could accelerate its growth. As a wave of business owners approach retirement and legislative frameworks for employee and steward ownership move up the EU agenda, there has never been a more urgent moment to bring practitioners, policymakers, and advisors together.

This fringe session as part of the EO Days public conference has been designed to take stock of where employee ownership stands today, and what stands in its way. The FEPS panel, grounded in real national experience, will give attendees a comparative view of the landscape and a clear-eyed look at the barriers still holding it back — followed by a networking lunch to continue the conversation.

Why Attend

• Get a comparative, country-by-country view of employee ownership models and legislative developments across Europe
• Understand the real barriers to scaling employee ownership — financing, legislation, and taxation — and what needs to change
• Connect with advisors, policymakers, business owners, and association leaders working at the forefront of this movement
• Leave with a clearer sense of how employee ownership can work as a succession and ownership option for your own organisation or clients

Preliminary programme

• 9h00 – 9h45 Registrations & welcome coffee 
• 9h45 – 10h00 Opening remarks 
• 10h00 – 11h30 Panel 1 — The State of Employee Ownership Across Europe

Practitioners and advocates from several European countries share national models, recent legislative developments, and illustrative cases — giving attendees a comparative overview without assuming prior expertise. 

• 11h30 – 11h45 Coffee break 
• 11h45 – 13h15 Panel 2 — Hurdles to Growth 

A candid look at the structural barriers limiting the spread of employee ownership: access to financing for buyouts, legislative gaps, and the lack of tax incentives that would make employee buyouts as appealing as other exit options. Grounded in concrete experience and oriented toward what needs to change — nationally and at the EU level — to make employee ownership a mainstream succession option. 

• 13h15 – 14h00 Networking lunch

This fringe event is organised by FEPS in collaboration with IED and with the support of FEBEA – European Federation of Ethical and Alternative Banks and Financiers, Fondazione Messina, Fundació Seira and SOCODEN.