[1] Members are drawn from all sectors of the German economy including banking and finance, insurance, the automotive and chemical industries, healthcare and high-tech.
[2] Although the organisation is both financially and ideologically independent it has traditionally had close ties to the free-market liberal wing of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of Chancellor Angela Merkel.
"[5] An additional aim of the original founders and board members in setting up the council was to act as a counterweight to the increasingly influential employee committees within the CDU party itself.
The Economic Council is present at all levels of government with a main federal office in Berlin, so called Landesverbänden or state associations in the provincial capitals (which themselves are divided into regional sections), and more recently with representations in Brussels (2000) and New York City (2006), in recognition of the important role played by international institutions in the decision making process.
Key events in the Economic Council’s calendar are the annual Wirtschaftstag, an event which brings members together with high ranking guest speakers from the political and economic worlds, the so-called Kompetenz Zentrum which provides a platform for companies to showcase new technologies and innovative ideas, and the Europe Symposium held in Brussels.