The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) was established in 1973 and currently has a membership of 83 national trade union confederations from 36 European countries, as well as 12 European industry federations, making a total of 60 million members. ETUC has its seat in Brussels.

Other trade union structures such as Eurocadres (the Council of European Professional and Managerial Staff) and European Federation of Retired and Elderly Persons (EFREP/FERPA) operate under the auspices of ETUC.

In addition, ETUC coordinates the activities of the 44 Interregional Trade Union Councils (ITUCs), which organise trade union cooperation at a cross-border level.