ICA to launch Global Cooperative Legal Framework Analysis in webinar
LONDON, February 11, 2026 — The International Cooperative Alliance [ICA] will host a global webinar on February 25 to officially launch its Legal Framework Analysis [LFA] for Cooperatives, a major research initiative examining the state of cooperative legislation worldwide.
Co-organised by the ICA’s global and regional offices, the event marks the public unveiling of the LFA as a harmonised, regionally implemented effort spanning all ICA regions. The initiative forms part of the ICA–EU Partnership (2024–2028), known as #coops4dev, and is co-funded by the European Union.
The LFA builds on 79 national reports and four regional reports, mapping and analysing cooperative legal environments across the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia-Pacific. It identifies legislative strengths, gaps and reform needs, providing what ICA describes as a coordinated global platform for understanding how laws shape cooperative development.
As the global custodian of cooperative values and principles, the ICA has long maintained that legal frameworks are critical to the success of cooperatives. Legislation determines whether cooperatives can form, operate, scale, federate and endure as member-owned enterprises, or whether their identity and potential are constrained by inadequate or outdated laws.
The February 25 session will explore how cooperative values and principles — including democratic governance, member economic participation, autonomy, education, inter-cooperation and concern for community — are translated into enforceable legal provisions. ICA representatives will examine how legal systems either enable or hinder these principles in practice.
A central feature of the webinar will be a moderated exchange with ICA regional officers leading the LFA’s implementation. Experts from the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia-Pacific will present key findings and trends from their respective regions, highlighting noteworthy national experiences and common patterns that define enabling cooperative legal environments.
The session will also include a methodological overview outlining recent additions to the LFA and explaining how regions have adapted the implementation strategy to local realities. Representatives of the European Commission, through the ICA–EU partnership, are expected to underscore the initiative’s international and intra-regional value.
Beyond presenting findings, the webinar will serve as a call to collaboration. The ICA aims to develop the LFA into a living and evolving body of knowledge on cooperative legal frameworks worldwide. Legal scholars, practitioners, institutions and cooperative organisations are being invited to contribute to the ongoing effort to map and document laws affecting cooperatives globally.
The broader ICA–EU Partnership, implemented by the ICA Global Office together with ICA Africa, Cooperativas de las Américas, ICA Asia and Pacific, and Cooperatives Europe, seeks to strengthen the ICA network and position cooperatives as key actors within the European Union’s international development agenda.
With the launch of the Legal Framework Analysis, the ICA hopes to deepen global understanding of how legislation shapes cooperative enterprise — and to encourage reforms that allow cooperatives to thrive as democratic, member-driven businesses worldwide.
https://thecooperator.news/global-minimum-tax-to-hit-french-farm-cooperatives/
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