World Customs Organization (WCO), intergovernmental organization established as the Customs Co-operation Council (CCC) in 1952 to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of customs administrations worldwide. In 1948 a study group of the Committee for European Economic Cooperation, a precursor of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC), created a customs committee to study the possibility of creating one or more inter-European customs unions. This committee, formally established as the CCC in 1952, enjoyed decades of growth, including the addition of new members outside Europe. In recognition of its global membership, the CCC was renamed the World Customs Organization in 1994. Headquarters are in Brussels.