Since June the BPCC board has devoted time to review of our strategy at structural and operational levels In terms of structure we have announced an extraordinary meeting of members to share our plan for changes to our legal structure. The arrangements set up over 25 years ago no longer meet the Chamber’s and members’ needs. The new structure we are proposing will simplify our operations and significantly reduce our costs. More about this at the Extraordinary General Meeting. On the operational side, our brand-new initiative Get connected with Poland will kick off in October – stay tuned and indeed get connected!
Brexit continues to be a key issue for us all. Internal British governmental wrangling, a finely balanced political situation in the UK, and EU positioning makes it impossible to foresee the eventual outcome. The BPCC is actively engaged in communicating with members on the Brexit process by explaining the potential impact of various scenarios on Polish businesses. Our chief advisor, Michael Dembinski has spoken at two industry summits (airports and automotive manufacturers) and will appear at two more (road transport and automotive supply chain) to share his views. In early September, Paweł Siwecki and Michael Dembinski attended a consultative meeting at the Ministry of Enterprise and Technology where the impact of a possible no deal Brexit on Polish exporters was discussed. Subsequently, a short guidance manual for Polish firms was published (short manual in Polish).
Michael also travelled this summer to several of our manufacturing members to learn first-hand about the key issues that our industrial members are facing. Manufacturing matters to our Chamber; we have over 30 members making a diverse range of products from jet-engine gearboxes to tea; from continuous velocity joints and driveshafts to bin-bags; from e-bicycle batteries to cigarettes and whisky. You can read about how they are doing in this issue of Contact Magazine Online.
We would like to extend a warm welcome to Hanna Pieńczykowska who is our new Policy Group leader. Hanna has experience working in Brussels, in the Bundestag and in the Sejm. We encourage members to contact Hanna (email) to discuss future proposals for policy group events. We would also like to thank Marta Chmielewska, whom Hanna has replaced, for her four years’ hard work for the BPCC and now pursuing an alternative career.
Last but not least, please pencil in 23 January 2019 in your diaries for the BPCC Robert Burns supper. This traditional and well-loved event for this year will replace our autumn gala. By the end of November we’ll share with you the list of VIP guests attending and the many attractions of the night.
Kind regards
Tony and Paweł