Senator Feargal Quinn, the president of Superquinn, has been elected chairman of the EU-wide body which represents the retail and wholesale sectors.
Senator Quinn, who last year sold his Superquinn retailing chain, is to chair EuroCommerce group. He will hold the office for three years.
Established in 1993, EuroCommerce says it represents "the retail, wholesale and international trade sectors in Europe". Its membership includes local commerce federations and individual companies.
The organisation claims commerce is one of the few sectors increasing employment in Europe at present. It generates 13 per cent of the EU's GDP through 5.5 million companies, most of them smaller enterprises, it claims.
Senator Quinn said: "My mission is to convince the people of Europe about the role that commerce can play as an engine of growth in the EU."
"Europe urgently needs to ramp up the level of its growth from its current very low levels. I believe commerce can be in the front line of achieving that growth, if seen in the right light and given the right encouragement," he said.
