British Polish Chamber of Commerce

On 9 April, the BPCC invited CEOs of major firms located in Poznań and Wielkopolska for a BPCC Chairman's Dinner, which was a chance to discuss the Chamber's growth plans for the region.

The €170 billion of the EU's 2014-2020 budget perspective earmarked for the ten former communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe represents a huge opportunity for UK firms.

This week the new Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Rt. Hon. Philip Hammond MP visited the British Polish Business Centre to discuss the UK’s energy sector potential in Poland and to find out more about the work of the British Polish Chamber of Commerce and its new team helping UK SMEs, BPCC Trade.

The BPCC's Tax & Finance Reform policy group met on 26 June for a meeting held in collaboration with PNO Consultants, on the subject of EU funds. Subtitled "Who said that were no more EU funds available", the event was intended to prove otherwise. CEO of PNO Consultants, Thomas Hoffmann, presented the EU-funded programmes that were still currently available.

The BPCC's Transport Infrastructure and Logistics policy group met on 10 June at the British Polish Business Centre for a meeting with Zbigniew Rynasiewicz , under-secretary of state in the Ministry of Infrastructure and Development.

The BPCC joined British and Polish governments in celebrating 10 years of Poland's EU membership in London with a British-Polish trade and investment forum. The two-day event, which started at the Guildhall on 21 May, with opening addresses from Fiona Woolf, the Lord Mayor of the City of London, and Poland's deputy foreign minister Katarzyna Kasperczyk.

The latest in a series of networking seminars aimed at Polish entrepreneurs took place in London on 25 September, on the premises of money-transfer company MoneyGram. Attracting over 65 participants, the event, focusing on finding funding for business growth, was opened by the Polish Ambassador to the UK, Witold Sobków.

Finance minister and deputy premier Jacek Rostowski had to cancel his address to the BPCC breakfast at the last minute, having been called away to an urgent meeting with premier Donald Tusk. In his place came no fewer than three senior officials from the Ministry of Finance, ensuring that BPCC members received full value for money!

The Polish-British Parliamentary Group, at whose meetings the BPCC has often participated since 2005, turned to the Chamber for help in organising a PPP study visit to London for its members.

The BPCC's HR Policy Group met at the Chamber's headquarters to discuss the labour market for specialists and managers. At the meeting, Artur Skiba, CEO of Antal International, presented the results of the 13th edition of the Antal Global Snapshot report. Special guests were Jacek Męcina, secretary of state in the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, and Agata Mężyńska, director of the Department of Economic Information PAIiIZ.