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Formation of the Danube Chambers of Commerce Federation

The Danube Chambers of Commerce Federation as an independent legal entity was officially formed in Bucharest on 23rd September 2018 at the Bucharest’s General Assembly. The organization has been operating since 2011 as a Danube Chambers of Commerce Association, but for establishing the Danube Chambers of Commerce Federation, it has been reached a higher level, and become an independent legal entity registered by the Registration Court in Hungary in August 2020.

The members of the Danube Chambers of Commerce Federation:

The DCCF is one of the most important international co-operations in the Danube region. As an international association it can promote the aims of the EU and contribute to development of the single market and of the cross bordering social and economic co-operations. Extending these programs to the non-EU member countries will contribute to stabilization and development of the Eastern and South-Eastern European regions. In connection with the Danube Strategy’s aims the organization can assist with its activity for recovering from the economic crisis as well. The new type of dual training programs has an important function for its development and implementation, furthermore for increasing the competitiveness of enterprises. As a result, it can be said, during today’s economic challenges one of the most important key issues are through networking, which has prominent opportunities among the chambers. This is particularly true for the joint forces collaboration of the cross-bordering and the border areas. Therefore, it is essential for each territorial chamber to recognize their common interests and missions and with it help for expanding the opportunities of the small-and medium-sized enterprises in the Danube-area. It is important to realize the chambers have a community building function in the micro-region and for the macro-regions the mediator function between different actors (governments, businesses, associations) is essential. It is unambiguous if chambers belong to the civil sector or not, because they have manifold links with the state creating them and its administration structure. However, it is not only their right but their duty to always operate autonomously and independently from the power, therefore their perspectives and views often coincide with those of social and civil organizations. All this – besides their extensive structure and century-long experience – almost predestines them to take an intermediary role between the state and community institutional systems and the civil sector (which is closer to citizens). This may open new alternative perspectives for the political power and the various representatives of society. More and more people in Europe notice that a greater involvement of non-political organizations into opinion-forming and decision-preparing processes is needed to preserve, or possibly, increase the credit of a democratic state system and to find ways out of the recent crisis. To solve today’s difficulties the assistance of civil organizations and the partial enforcement of their views is needed, because these measures could bring about a greater social acceptance of sometimes painful decisions. It seems that the European Union has also shifted towards this direction as various supra-national umbrella organizations The Danube Chambers of Commerce Federation’s activity of interest groups now give voice to their opinions in a wider range of forums. Furthermore, methods allowing the articulation and consideration of the opinions of communities affected by EU decisions have developed (and are still developing). In this regard the work of the DCCA, which has started yet, seems important and successful in the future. (Source: Péter Krisztián Zachar: The Danube Chambers of Commerce Association’s activity for recovering from the economic crisis and increasing the competitiveness of enterprises in the Danube Region page 116-122 www.researchgate.net )

The DCCA and its history

The Danube Chambers of Commerce Association – DCCA – was an important chapter in the European institutional macro-regional cooperation. The creation of the alliance was being planned for several years, but for the implementation, the necessary kick was provided by the adoption of the Danube Strategy. The founding of the organization occurred in June 2010 at Budapest, where the chambers of Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria decided to cooperate with each other. The president of the Budapest Chamber of Commerce was elected to be the first president of the organization. The vice-presidents of the organization, according to the founding assembly, were delegated by the Vienna and Belgrade Chambers of Commerce.

The purpose of the DCCA was to coordinate the functioning of the chambers in the Danube region with supranational instruments, especially in favour for the implementation of the Danube Strategy. The organization aligns to the traditional mesosphere role of the chambers: it intends to act as an intermediary between the civilian initiatives and the decision-making organs of the Danube Strategy. Therefore at the first assembly after the Budapest founding, they have given high priority for the collection and summarization of the proposals and economic stimulus plans related to the Danube Strategy. The first assembly was held in Pécs, the European capital of culture, where they have adopted the final constitution.

This was signed by the representatives of the chambers of:

In the following period the chamber of

(Source: Péter Krisztián Zachar: The Danube Chambers of Commerce Association’s activity for recovering from the economic crisis and increasing the competitiveness of enterprises in the Danube Region page 116-122 www.researchgate.net )

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