The Council of American States in Europe, which was founded in 1971 in Brussels by two co-founding members to promote the United States as a destination for foreign companies to expand their business, in order for them to become local companies, employ local people and boost the economic development of local communities. Today it has an active membership of 18 U.S. states with full-time offices in different European countries. It is the official state-supported organization in Europe, which provides initial information, answers questions and identifies professional service providers for those companies wanting to establish or expand business in the United States. Its members are the official European representatives of individual U.S. state governments.