Czech Business Today

On May 26, the XXIII General Congress of the Czech Chamber of Commerce met in Litoměřice (CZ). It was an opportunity to review not only the activities of the Chamber of the last year but also the whole 3-year period since the congress elected the governing bodies of the Chamber for the coming three years. 

The Congress took the note of the further strengthening of the Chamber as the largest entrepreneurial representative organization in the Czech Republic. Chamber consolidated its ranks internally, improved its economic performance and cooperation between its regional and sectoral structures. Thanks to this the Chamber managed to enforce many of its improvement proposals of the business environment. The Congress mentioned also the issues where the Chamber has not been successful enough so far such as taxation, technical and vocational education and training and pension reform. Mr. Petr Kužel, President of the Chamber, stressed that it is not enough to defend the interests of entrepreneurs on the national level only. Now when more than 70% of the regulation originates in the EU institutions the Chamber must be active in this direction as well. Thanks to its membership in the EUROCHAMBRES, UEAPME and the European Economic and Social Committee the Chamber contributes to the consultations of the EU legislation. Through its Brussels representation CEBRE supported by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and its agency CzechTrade the founding members Czech Chamber of Commerce, Confederation of Industry and Confederation of Employers and Entrepreneurial Associations got excellent access to the first hand information and contacts necessary to lobby for the interests of the Czech businesses. 

There were many critical remarks from the delegates to the Congress about the EU bureaucracy and uncoordinated approach of different European institutions and services that caused excessive administrative burden to the entrepreneurs. An example to mention: a list of forbidden chemical substances in products was published too late, thus manufacturers were unable to react on such list. Czech entrepreneurs criticize also uneven conditions in the internal market distorted by hidden subsidies to companies in many countries. An unfair competition comes especially from third countries. The Congress adopted a call to enforce the thorough controls of the products entering the internal market from third countries by checking if and how these products comply with the EU regulations and standards. The certification bodies issuing the certificates should undergo also strict and regular check-ups to avoid non-compliance of imported goods to the EU standards. The President of the Czech Associations of Cleaning Industry, Vice-President of the European Cleaning Association Mrs. Bartoňová Pálková replied that by active engagement in the European umbrella organization they managed to take care of the interests of their sector.