Following the chaos and disruption of the second World War, there was a fundamental need for a period of re-construction and co-operation in economic development throughout the continent. One aspect of this co-operation was the founding in 1949 of the Conseil des Fédérations Industrielles d'Europe (CIFE), and, within this organisational framework, the Union des Industries des pays de la Communauté européenne, begun by the national industrial federations from the six member states of the European Coal & Steel Community, initially to monitor this community. It was a natural evolution for this body to become the Union des Industries de la Communauté européenne (UNICE) in March 1958, to track the political consequences of the community created by the Treaty of Rome.

The six countries of this first European Community were all represented by the eight founder-member federations, the BDI and BDA (Germany), the CNPF (France), Confindustria (Italy), the FEDIL (Luxembourg), the FIB (Belgium), the VNO and FKPCWV (the Netherlands). The Federation of Greek Industries was accepted as an associate member.

At its début, the organisation was staffed by 7 directors and 7 employees under the supervision of a Secretary General (Ms. H.M. Claessens) and under the leadership of the first President, Léon Bekaert. There were 11 Commissions and 12 working groups, with the Headquarters based in Brussels, as is still the case. In 2007, just before its 50th birthday, the organisation changed its name into BUSINESSEUROPE, The Confederation of European Business, expressing more clearly what it does and where it does it.

The basic motivation for collective action by BUSINESSEUROPE has remained unchanged for over fifty years, as can be seen from a comparison of the original mandate with the current expression of our mission. The original aims included uniting the central industrial federations to foster solidarity between them; encouraging a Europe-wide competitive industrial policy; and acting as a spokesperson body to the European institutions. BUSINESSEUROPE strived for permanent liaison with official institutions, studied current problems, and co-ordinated responses, and always at a general "horizontal" level. BUSINESSEUROPE was never a sectoral organisation.

Many eminent men from the highest levels of industry have been associated with BUSINESSEUROPE and its work. These include the Presidents who have served over the past fifty years.

Léon Bekaert (Belgium)	1958-1961	Ray Pennock (U.K.)	1984-1986
Georges Villiers (France)	1961-1962	Karl-Gustav Ratjen  (Germany)	1986-1990
H.J de Koster (Netherlands)	1962-1967	Carlos Ferrer (Spain)	1990-1994
Fritz Berg (Germany)	1967-1971	François Perigot (France)	1994-1998
Paul Huvelin (France)	1971-1975	Georges Jacobs (Belgium)	1998-2003
Pol Provost (Belgium)	1975-1980	Jürgen F. Strube (Germany)	2003-2005
Guido Carli  (Italy)	1981-1983	E.-A. Seillière (France)	2005-2009

As the EEC broadened and deepened, so BUSINESSEUROPE also grew. There are now 40 members from 34 countries, including the European Union countries, the European Economic Area countries, and some central end Eastern European countries. The current structure includes seven Main Committees, about sixty Working Groups, with a staff of forty-five under the direction of the Director General Philippe de Buck (CV) and the organisation works under the leadership of the current President Jürgen Thumann (CV).