The Chamber of Chambers

Lobbying, in all its different forms, is a key activity in today’s business environment. Among the multitude of organizations designed to influence decision-makers, the United Kingdom boasts an original structure: the Council of British Chambers of Commerce in Continental Europe (COBCOE).The originality of this independent organization, which represents British Chambers of Commerce throughout Continental Europe, is that it has partnerships with a number of different bodies, working as closely as possible with British and European decision-makers and politicians. The COBCOE works with the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), the UK Trade and Investment Division (UKTI) and, naturally, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) network. It also strives to build up close relations with other organizations such as the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and the Institute of Directors (IoD).On the strength of this wide range of contacts, “the Council guarantees that its members’ voices will be heard at one stage or another. This is an excellent way of alerting politicians to the fundamental concerns of businesses and the different players in the economy. The Council is a relatively unique initiative, which is all the more important since a growing number of European companies are setting up in the United Kingdom,” underlined Neville Reyner, President of the BCC.The COBCOE has 28 member Chambers in 29 countries. It is managed by an Executive Committee made up of past and current presidents of the network’s member Chambers. Its role is also to promote international exchanges and trade with the United Kingdom. On the international scene, it voices the interests of around 7,000 companies in all the different sectors. COBCOE’s representatives maintain regular contacts with British Ministers and members of the European Commission. With a view to enhancing its services still further, the Council signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2003 with the UKTI and all the British embassies in Europe. Representatives of the different parties meet several times a year.Through the COBCOE, each Chamber can benefit from the resources of the 27 other Chambers and their respective networks. The Council has set up a platform of exchanges for the Chamber managers, which provides simple, real time access to information. It also publishes guides on best business practices, available for all its members. To promote good relations, all the members of staff working in the Chambers are invited every year to an annual meeting in London or Brussels. It also organizes training programmes for companies in a number of different areas, ranging from tax regulations to project management to inter-country relations.The network’s expertise and influence in international circles are a precious addition to the member Chambers’ local actions. For example, the COBCOE distributes sales surveys which can be used directly for market studies, thus providing considerable time-savings.In October, COBCOE fully approved the government reshuffle by British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, and particularly welcomed Peter Mandelson’s appointment as the new Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. COBCOE President Howard Rosen greeted it as a positive move. “His experience as EU Trade Commissioner and EU representative at trade negotiations gives him a key position in terms of economic and diplomatic relations.” However, not everyone in Great Britain agrees with this. For instance, Labour MP John McDonnell saw Mr Mandelson’s appointment to the government as “… an extraordinary step backwards into the worst elements of the Blair era.”