Europe Business Assembly

Europe Business Assembly (EBA) is a privately held limited company established in 2000 with headquarters in Oxford, England. It is best known for presenting various awards.
Activities
Describing itself as an "independent corporation for development and management of .. collaboration", its main activity appears to be holding conferences and social events at which a wide range of awards is presented to individuals and institutions. Some of these include a "European quality award", a "Name in Science" award, a "Queen Victoria Commemorative Medal", several types of "International Socrates Awards", and a "Knighthood Order of the Grand Master La Valette."
Organisation
According to its website, EBA is associated with these organisations:
* International Club of Leaders ("association of top-managers of the world’s leading enterprises")
* Club of Rectors of Europe ("an association of rectors, professors and academics from the major university and academic centres of Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa"): A limited company founded in 2006, registered at the same address as EBA.
* The Knights of the International Order of Grand Master La Valette (a self-styled order "of leaders … that advocate for the triumph of universal human values, humanism and patronage")
* International Socrates Committee ("help in determining the International EBA Award-winning nominations")
Leadership and Owners
For most of EBA's activities and sub-organisations list above, John W. A. Netting and Wil Goodheer (formerly president of International University Vienna) are listed in the functions of "president", "chairman", or "grand master". Ivan Savvov is listed as EBA's sole shareholder.
Award Holders
Dozens of individuals and organisations - a majority from Eastern Europe and Asia - are listed by EBA as award recipients or claim to be such, including:
* Azerbaijan State Economic University
* Alfred Nobel University, Dnipropetrovs'k, Ukraine
* State University of Tetovo
* Slobomir University
* Vladislav Malkevich
Criticism
Journalist Viktor Posudnevsky characterised the awards as "obviously pretty worthless … vanity awards which the recipients had paid for themselves", reporting that nominees - mostly from developing countries - were contacted by EBA and asked to pay several thousand Pound sterling to actually receive an award. Florian Bieber, a professor of South-East-European studies, noted that "the International Socraties Committee … in charge of 'determining the International EBA Award-winning nominations' includes few academics".

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