International and European Trade

The increasing economic importance of working in partnership with other European countries and fostering links with countries worldwide has meant that the Council has taken on a wider role in international matters in the past few years.  By increasing contacts and improving communication channels with both European and International partners we are able to develop trading possibilities and improve awareness of European issues. Existing European projects are principally concerned with developing our small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and our local economy.

 

Trading Abroad

 

Partenariat Events

The Council's Economic Regeneration Unit work with local Chambers of Commerce and Business Links to promote local companies to attend a series of international business networking events known as Partenariats.  These events are free of charge to attend and take place in different cities throughout the world providing businesses with the opportunity to hold face-to-face meetings with the decision-makers of thousands of international companies.

 

For information on this year's events please contact the European Information Service Centre on 023 80 20616 or click here|  for a list of current events.

 

International Trade Events

This year we ran two international trade events to assist local companies wishing to trade abroad as follows:

• International Internet Trading                                                                          Thursday 20^th September from 9.00am to 1.00pm at Bournemouth Library
• Financing InternationalTrade in a Challenging World                               Tuesday 4^th October from 9am to 1pm at Bournemouth Library

For more information, please contact Chris Kelu

christopher.kelu@bournemouth.gov.uk|

 

Brussels Office

The South West UK Brussels Office provides the Council's Economic Regeneration Unit with up to date information on European issues.  This includes:

• Consultation and information on new legislation
• Funding opportunities
• Partner searches
• Project proposals
• Seminars
• Latest developments from the European Community. 

Information is then disseminated to the appropriate departments within the Council to ensure awareness of relevant issues. This further enables the region to make its views known and have an impact on decision-making within the European Union.

 

Click here| for more information.

 

Romania

In 1998 Bournemouth Borough Council signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a town in Romania called Tirgu Mures.  The Council shares its knowledge and expertise in a number of areas including town waste management, modern computer networking, home care provision for the elderly and support for orphans. 

 

A visit to an orphanage for HIV-positive children resulted in a new charity "Can't Walk Away": this has successfully raised money to remove the children from the orphanage and provide a lovely family style home with carers. For more information or to donate to the charity, please contact Jilly Grower on 01202 396012.