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Autumn 2011
Howard Rosen CBE,
COBCOE President
COBCOE (www.cobcoe.eu) is an
independent, not-for-profit organisation
representing British bilateral chambers
of commerce throughout Europe.
Acting as an umbrella organisation,
we work with our member chambers
to advance international trade and
business with the United Kingdom. As
such, we represent 40 British chambers
of commerce in 37 countries across
Europe and give a voice to over 10,000
businesses from all sectors of trade and
industry involved in business with the UK.
Our aim is to protect and promote the
interests of our constituent chambers,
and their business members, through
representation, cooperation and trade
stimulation. To do this, we liaise closely
with governments and other like-minded
organisations to ensure that our members’
needs and concerns are addressed.
COBCOE represents the British Chambers
of Commerce in Albania, Austria,
Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria,
Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark,
Estonia, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel,
Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, FYR Macedonia,
Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Serbia,
Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the
United Kingdom.
continued from front cover
A crisis of confidence
This is not just of academic interest to our chambers and their members
across Europe. Business requires trust on two levels. However much
contracts are important, business is done, in the vast majority of cases,
without resort to law, based on the personal relationship and trust
between business partners. Indeed, it is one of our member chambers’
key roles to facilitate networking and personal contacts in order to create
the security that in turn leads to business opportunities.
But our success is also predicated on confidence in both national
and international institutions. The fabric of a free and honest press,
an independent police and judiciary, and an impartial executive are
fundamental components of a successful commercial environment. Our
confidence in this today is badly shaken. People in public life either will
not, or cannot, see the appalling damage they are doing by tearing at
this fabric.
Legislation only gets you so far
Both in the public and in the private sector, legislating for values will
only get you so far. It can even be a distraction, lulling us into a false
sense of security. No amount of regulation will help if the culture is
wrong. If people want to avoid the rules, they will always find a way to
do so, fudging decisions or concealing the truth. What we need is a long,
hard look at the culture of public life. Public servants should be lauded
for their integrity (even if they do not always make the correct decisions)
but should have the decency to jump, before they are pushed, when they
step over onto the wrong side of propriety. We also need a genuine and
honest partnership between the public and private sectors.
Within the business community, we need to press for this more
vociferously, whilst ensuring that we do not fall into the same traps. We
may be fascinated by power but must not be mesmerised by it. We must
play our role to ensure that the culture changes, so that mistakes are not
repeated.
The current malaise has a direct effect on our ability to create wealth
in a global market that is ever more competitive. We do not need to
look far to see how easily corrupt governments kill entrepreneurship
and development. And sadly we must view the world with a degree
of scepticism. The second sentence of Lord Acton’s dictum is not so
well known. “Great men” he added “are almost always bad men”. Great
government, like great business, is all a matter of trust.
President’s Perspective
COBCOE President Howard Rosen writes a monthly article for COBCOE’s
website on a topical business issue.
Recent articles have covered topics such as changing attitudes to the
bonus culture; regulation of the banking industry; over-bureaucracy
for business; the challenges faced in Eurozone countries, particularly
in relation to stability of the Euro currency; the role of the press in
maintaining a culture of democracy; the effect of the latest wave of
austerity measures taken by the UK Government, and Europe’s path
to recovery. Howard Rosen has also voiced COBCOE’s concerns about
the proposed cutbacks at the BBC World Service which is an important
part of “Brand Britain”, a key political tool, and a major source of
information for the British business community outside the UK.
To read his articles go to
http://www.cobcoe.eu/publications/presidents-perspective/