BULGARIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

ADDRESS
of the General Assembly
of the Association of the Balkan Chambers (ABC)
to the governments of their countries
Sofia, 8th Decemer, 2004

The Association of the Balkan Chambers during the 10 years of its existence proved to be one of the main promoters of the economic collaboration in the region, particularly within the context of EU enlargement. The member-chambers of the ABC are not only representatives of the business community on the Balkans but also speakers of the entrepreneurs in the area. As a representative organization of the Balkan Chambers, the ABC applies flexible approaches to the encouragement of the economic development in the region in conformity with the new realities and developments in the regional business environment. The new EU membership of Cyprus, the forthcoming EU accession of Bulgaria and Romania and the expected beginning of the negotiations of Turkey with the EU outline the new tendencies in the development of the region and hence - the new priorities of the ABC member-chambers. The successful integration of the Balkan entrepreneurs in the EU is of paramount importance. In order to further continue and accelerate this process, we, the Presidents and Representatives of the Chambers/Unions of Chambers of the Balkan countries on the occasion of the General Assembly of the Association of the Balkan Chambers (ABC), gathered in Sofia on 8th December, 2004, agreed on the following proposals and resolutions:

• The Trade Registers in the Balkan countries shall be organized and maintained with the Chambers of Commerce and Industry, due to the availability of expertise and capacity on the part of the Chambers and because these registers, in their nature, are data bases belonging to the business communities in the respective countries.
• More active dialogue between the governments and the Chambers as legitimate representatives of the business, aimed at the improvement of the business environment at a national and regional level.
• Encouragement of foreign direct investments – the Balkans shall become a very attractive area for the foreign investors.
• Creation of a stable regional market on the Balkans by strengthening of the bilateral and multilateral economic relations within the region. By the creation and strengthening of such an internal regional market we’ll overcome the difficulties due to the comparatively low standard of living and wage levels, and hence – low level of consumption, insufficient investments, not well developed domestic markets and not completed transition to market economy, etc.
• Participation in joint projects, and encouragement of projects in the fields of transport, communications, etc.
• Reconstruction and strengthening the capacity of the existing 6 cross-border check-points – it had been discussed for 6 years now, but there are no practical results in the end.
• Unification of the cross-border documentation.
• Training of the entrepreneurs in the region for raising their awareness of the EU requirements and standards, so that they’ll be able to enter successfully the Internal EU market.
• Promotion of business cooperation and partner search, collaboration between the branch associations in the region, setting-up of clusters, etc.
• Sustainable efforts of the Balkan Chambers of Commerce and Industry for the alleviation of the bureaucracy.
• Particular attention to the SMEs being the most dynamic and flexible economic subjects, not only in the Balkan countries, but also in the EU.
• The main priority of the activities of the ABC member-chambers for 2005 will be the improvement of the corporate preparedness of the Balkan entrepreneurs for EU accession and assistance for the integration of the business in the region in the Internal market availing of the rich experience of Greece as a member state and the experience of Cyprus as a newly accepted country.
• The ABC member-chambers of the member-states and of the candidate countries will share their experience with the member-chambers of the associated and new candidate countries and will help them to be more directly involved in the process of negotiations with the EU for better presentation and defense of the interests of the local entrepreneurs.
• Enhancing the role of the Euro Info Centres, hosted by Chambers of Commerce and Industry in the Balkan countries for the improvement of the preparedness of the business in the region for EU accession. Enlargement of the Euro Info Centre network on the Balkans by increasing the number of the Euro Info Centres, hosted by CCI, so that they may achieve a better coverage of the business territory of the Balkan countries.
• The ABC member chambers will carry out researches on the corporate preparedness of the companies, and predominantly SMEs, for EU accession and will regularly exchange information about the state of preparedness of the entrepreneurs in their respective countries and will share “good practices”.

  The achievement of these objectives requires sustainable and strenuous effort on the part of the all ABC member-chambers, so that the Balkans continue to be an area of stability and will become an area of prosperous states, ready to cope with the challenges and avail of the opportunities of EU accession, aimed at the successful integration in the in near future of the whole region in the European Union.

  Agim Bufi
  Union of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Albania

  Bojidar Bojinov
  Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry

  Dimitrios Gundapoulos
  Union of Hellenic Chambers of Commerce and Industry

  Ljupco Kovcegarski
  Economic Chamber of Macedonia

  George Cojocaru
  Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania and Bucharest

  Goran Vlaovic
  Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Industry

  Vladimir Vukmirovic
  Chamber of Economy of Montenegro

  M.Melih Yurter
  Union of Chambers and Commodity exchanges of Turkey Sofia, 8th December 2004
  

  22 December 2004