The EOQ (at that time called European Organization for Quality Control – EOQC) was established in 1956.
The founding organizations came from five western European Countries: France, Italy, Western Germany, The Netherlands and United Kingdom.
As a first major step in broadening the delivery of a quality agenda the EOQ spread its roots into other western European countries, before establishing links with central and eastern European countries.
More recently EOQ has widened its activities to include the countries of the southern and eastern Mediterranean region.
EOQ Facts and Figures
- Founded in 1956
- 23 National Representative (member) organisations in 24 European countries
- Different partner Members (Croatia, Israël, Norway, Switzerland and more)
- Through its member organisations, it has the following infrastructure:
- almost 30 administrations in the national markets
- almost 30 national marketing units
- 23 national Boards, Presidents and CEOs
- 300 staff members
- 14 EOQ Competence Centre Agents (organisations) in 14 countries
- More than 100,000 EOQ Competence Certificates issued by spring 2021
- 70,000 members (through its member organisations)
- 500,000 companies linked
- Over 1,000 events during the annual European Quality Week
- More than 60 annual Congresses
Presidents of EOQ
| 2020 – 2023 | Torolf Paulshus | Norway |
| 2017 – 2020 | Torolf Paulshus | Norway |
| 2014 – 2017 | George Georgiades | Cyprus |
| 2011 – 2014 | Niyazi Akdas | Turkey |
| 2008 – 2011 | Viktor Seitschek | Austria |
| 2006 – 2008 | Yuri Gousakov | Russia |
| 2004 – 2006 | Wolfgang Kaerkes | Germany |
| 2002 – 2004 | Frank Steer | UK |
| 2000 – 2002 | Ricardo Dell’Anna | Italy |
| 1998 – 2000 | Sean Conlan | Ireland |
| 1996 – 1998 | Otto Neumayer | Austria |
| 1994 – 1996 | Ulf Anderson | Sweden |
| 1992 – 1994 | Tito Conti | Italy |
| 1990 – 1992 | Horst Fuhr | Germany |
| 1988 – 1990 | John Goldsmith | UK |
| 1986 – 1988 | Dieter Seghezzi | Switzerland |
| 1984 – 1986 | Sütö Kalman | Hungary |
| 1982 – 1984 | Ove Hartz | Denmark |
| 1981 – 1982 | Bill Thoday UK | UK |
| 1978 – 1980 | Alexander Glichev | USSR |
| 1975 – 1977 | V. Cantarelli | Italy |
| 1973 – 1975 | Enrico Blanco | Spain |
| 1971 – 1973 | Georges Borel | France |
| 1969 – 1971 | Oseberg | Norway |
| 1967 – 1969 | Johnson | Sweden |
| 1965 – 1967 | Umberto Turello | Italy |
| 1963 – 1965 | Jan van Ettinger | Netherlands |
| 1961 – 1963 | J. Mothes | France |
| 1959 – 1961 | F. Nixon | UK |
| 1957 – 1959 | Walter Masing | Germany |
Congresses
2023 - 64th EOQ Quality Congress in Porto/Portugal
64th EOQ Quality Congress in Porto, Portugal on November 9-10, 2023 under the motto “Quality for the Future”, organized by EOQ and its National Representative organization from Portugal, APQ.
The slogan “Quality for the Future”, was elected by a majority vote from proposals by the EOQ National Representatives. It is EOQ’s conviction that quality is an essential factor in ensuring success with a view to the future.
2019 - 63th EOQ Quality Congress in Lisbon/Portugal
EOQ and its National Representative organization from Portugal, APQ, have organized the 63rd EOQ Quality Congress in Lisbon, Portugal on October 23-24, 2019 under the motto “Rediscovering Quality”.
2018 - 62nd EOQ Quality Congress in Paris/France
EOQ and its National Representative organization from France, AFQP, have organized the 62nd EOQ Quality Congress in Paris, France on June 21-22, 2018 under the motto “Feel the new Quality way!
2017 - 61st EOQ Quality Congress in Bled/Slovenia
EOQ and its National Representative organization from Slovenia, SZKO, have organized the 61st EOQ Quality Congress in Bled, Slovenia on October 11-12, 2017 under the motto “Success in the Digital Era – Quality as a Key Driver”.
2016 - 60th EOQ Quality Congress in Helsinki/Finland
EOQ and its National Representative organization from Finland, FQA, have organized the 60th EOQ Quality Congress in Helsinki, Finland on June 1-2, 2016 under the motto “Quality enables Growth and Competitiveness”.
2015 - 59th EOQ Quality Congress in Athens/Greece
EOQ and its National Representative organization from Greece, HMA, have organized the 59th EOQ Quality Congress in Athens, Greece on June 11-12, 2015 under the motto “Is Quality a Philosophy or is it a Mindset?”.
2014 - 58th EOQ Quality Congress in Gothenburg, Sweden
EOQ and its National Representative organization from Sweden, SFK, have organized the 58th EOQ Quality Congress in Gothenburg, Sweden on June 11-12, 2014 under the motto “Managing Challenges in Quality Leadership”.
2013 - 57th EOQ Quality Congress in Tallinn, Estonia
EOQ and its National Representative organization from Estonia, EAQ, have organized the 57th EOQ Quality Congress in Tallinn, Estonia on June 18-19, 2013 under the motto “Quality Renaissance – Co-creating a Viable Future”.
2012 - 56th EOQ Quality Congress in Frankfurt, Germany
EOQ and its National Representative organization from Germany, DGQ, have organized the 56th EOQ Quality Congress in Frankfurt, Germany in June 14-15, 2012 under the motto “Made for Quality – Made for success”.
2011 - 55th EOQ Quality Congress in Budapest, Hungary
EOQ and its National Representative organization from Hungary, HNC-EOQ, have organized the 55th EOQ Quality Congress in Budapest, Hungary in June 20-22, 2011 under the motto “Navigating Global Quality in a New Era”.
2010 - 54th EOQ Quality Congress in Izmir, Turkey
EOQ and TSE (Turkish Standards Organization) have organized the 54th EOQ Quality Congress on 26-27 October 2010 in the beautiful city of Izmir/Turkey, under the congress motto “A Heritage for the Future: Quality”.
Georges Borel Award Winners
The EOQ Georges Borel Award recognises individuals who have brought an outstanding contribution to the EOQ mission, which is: “Improve European society through the promotion of Quality in its broadest sense”.
History Since 2012:
| Year | Georges Borel award | Awarded to | Place |
| 2021 | EOQ presidential Georges Borel Award for European achievements | Konrad Scheiber | Online Ceremony on 15th September 2021 |
| 2021 | EOQ presidential Georges Borel Award for European achievements | Udo Hansen | Online Ceremony on 15th September 2021 |
| 2019 | EOQ presidential Georges Borel Award for European achievements | António de Almeida Júnior | Lisbon/Portugal on 24th October 2019 |
| 2017 | EOQ presidential Georges Borel Award for governmental achievements | Tatjana Mizori Zupan | Bled/Slovenia on October 10th 2017 |
| 2017 | EOQ presidential Georges Borel Award for international achievements | Nikolay Khersonskiy | Bled/Slovenia on October 10th 2017 |
| 2016 | EOQ presidential Georges Borel Award for governmental achievements | Charles Corrie | Helsinki/Finland on May 31st 2016 |
| 2016 | EOQ presidential Georges Borel Award for international achievements | Dr. Noriaki Kano | Helsinki/Finland on May 31st 2016 |
| 2016 | EOQ presidential Georges Borel Award for European achievements | Viktor Seitschek | Helsinki/Finland on May 31st 2016 |
| 2015 | EOQ presidential Georges Borel Award for governmental achievements | Dr. Thomas Facklam | Athens/Greece on June 10th, 2015 |
| 2015 | EOQ presidential Georges Borel Award for international achievements | Dr. George Anastasopoulos | Athens/Greece on June 10th, 2015 |
| 2015 | EOQ presidential Georges Borel Award for European achievements | Tiia Tammaru | Athens/Greece on June 10th, 2015 |
| 2014 | EOQ presidential Georges Borel Award for international achievements | Thomas Szabo | Leuven/Belgium on December 5th, 2014 |
| 2013 | EOQ presidential Georges Borel Award for international achievements | Gregory H. Watson | Tallinn/Estonia in June 2013 |
| 2012 | EOQ presidential Georges Borel Award for governmental achievements | Jacques McMillan | Frankfurt/Germany on June 14th, 2012 |
History Before 2012:
European Medal:
2002 Walter Masing and Jean François Zobrist
2004 Geert Bruyneel
2006 Niyazi Akdas
International Medal:
2003 Bob King
2005 Shoji Shiba
2006 Paul Borawski
Media Medal:
2003 John Humphrys
2006 Elisabeth Ballery
European Quality Leaders
| EQL Award of Year | EQL Awarding Ceremony | EQL Award Winners |
| 2022-23 | 2023 | Mr. Dag Kroslid from Norway, CEO of NorDan Gruppen AS |
| 2021 | 2022 | Mr. Fernando Alberto Mesquita de Melo from Portugal, CEO of Amorim Cork Flooring |
| 2020 | 2021 | Mr. Carlos Ribas from Portugal, Technical Plant Manager and Bosch Representative in Portugal |
| 2020 | 2021 | Mr. Ajay Naik from Sweden, Managing Director & Country Manager of SKF Sverige AB. |
| 2019 | 2020 | Mr. Eric Wolff from France, Quality Director at L’Oréal. |
| 2018 | 2019 | Marc Bazinet/Management System, Risks and Internal Control Director at EDF – Commerce Division/France |
| 2017 | 2018 | Dr. Daniela Müller/Global program manager for standardizationand optimization/Honeywell Austria GesmbH/Austria Robin Roest/Managing director of the division repair services/CED European Claim Experts/Netherlands |
| 2016 | 2017 | Gerd Hartinger/CEO CEO of the Geriatric Health Centres/Graz/Austria |
| 2015 | 2016 | José Luis Velasco Escudero/LOEWE/Spain Dr. Gerald Sendlhofer / University Hospital Graz/Austria Torgeir Halvorsen /Jaeger Automobil AS/Norway Patrick Mongillon /AQM Conseil/France |
| 2014 | 2015 | Dr. Uwe Schweigert/Robert Bosch Eisenach/Germany |
| 2013 | 2014 | Pieter de Kroon/Netherlands |
| 2012 | 2013 | Constantinos Evripides, GENESIS Pharma/Greece |
| 2011 | 2012 | Antonio J. Cobo Ruiz, General Motors/Spain David J. Kelly, AFQM/Austria |
| 2010 | 2011 | Jean-Paul Teyssen, Carglass/Belgium |
| 2009 | 2010 | Prof. Milan Hutyra,Technical University of Ostrava/Czech Republic |
| 2008 | 2009 | Jos Corstjens, Tbp/Belgium |
| 2007 | 2008 | Steve Burnell, Augusta Westland/UK |
| 2006 | 2007 | Ben Barbé, Janssen Pharmaceuticals/Belgium |
| 2005 | 2006 | Malcolm Bird OBE, Estelle Clark, Marijke Korteweg/UK |
| 2004 | 2005 | George A. Sarris, Managing Director Entreprises Shipping & Trading S.A./Greece |
| 2003 | 2004 | Paul Efmorfidis, General Manager of COCO-MAT/Greece |
| 2002 | 2003 | Nicolas Vitantzakis, General Director of the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (O.T.E. S.A.)/Greece |
European Quality Week
| Year | November Days | EOQ Slogan |
| 2023 | 6-12 | Quality for the Future |
| 2022 | 7-13 | New Europe – New Quality |
| 2021 | 8-14 | Passing the Next Frontier with Quality |
| 2020 | 9-15 | Quality as Competitive Advantage in an Uncertain Environment |
| 2019 | 11-17 | Make Quality Great Again! |
| 2018 | 5-11 | Quality is Success! |
| 2017 | 6-12 | Quality Transforms! |
| 2016 | 7-13 | Quality for Results |
| 2015 | 9-15 | Quality – Emotion – Inspiration |
| 2014 | 10-16 | Winning through Quality |
| 2013 | 11-17 | Made in Quality – Made for Success |
| 2012 | 5-11 | Key Factor – Quality |
| 2011 | 7-13 | Quality for best impact |
| 2010 | 8-14 | Quality: a success factor |
| 2009 | 9-15 | Quality makes the difference! |
| 2008 | 10-16 | Quality is back – Back to Quality. No Quality. No Business |
| 2007 | 5-11 | Innovation and Care |
| 2006 | 6-12 | Best experiences for a better life |
| 2005 | 7-12 | Innovation and transformation – The way to sustainability |
| 2004 | 8-13 | Quality through diversity |
| 2003 | 10-15 | Make It Happen |
| 2002 | 11-16 | Driving the change |
| 2001 | 5-10 | Sustainable Quality for the new century |
| 2000 | 6-11 | Building the twenty first century |
| 1999 | 8-13 | Best practices for success |
| 1998 | 9-14 | Sharing responsibilities, sharing benefits |
| 1997 | 10-15 | At the service of society |
| 1996 | 11-16 | Winning together |
| 1995 | The way towards excellence |
