Established in 1973, the ETUC is recognized by the EU, the Council of Europe and EFTA as the only representative cross-sectoral trade union organization at a European level. It has grown steadily with a membership of 88 National Trade Union Confederations from 37 countries and ten European Industry Federations with a total of 60m. members. The Congress meets every four years; the 13th Statutory Congress took place in Paris in Sept.–Oct. 2015.