The role of business councils is increasing

The Russian-Austrian Business Council (RAuBC), created at the initiative of the Chamber of Commerce of the Russian Federation, works closely with the RF CCI departments and committees. The Council has the status of a social organization and is not a legal entity. Details of the mechanisms of council plans’ implementation has given the RAuBC Executive Secretary, Anatoly Golovaty, the Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Samara region, the head of the office of the Government of the Samara region under the Government of the Russian Federation.  

The Russian-Austrian Business Council acts as a business club and aims to achieve maximum freedom of contacts in the sphere of cooperation between Russia and Austria. The Council brings together small and medium business enterprises as well as creates opportunities for interaction between business representatives and authorities of the two countries.

The supreme management body is the General Assembly of members of the Business Council. It determines the priorities, approves regulative documents on internal activities, elects a chairman who represents the Council at state, public and other organizations in Russia and abroad. The Chairman administrates a complex of measures to develop the strategic objectives of the Council and practical ways to implement them.

The Secretariat carries out the leadership of the Council in the periods between General Assemblies and panel sessions. The Executive Secretary is approved by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Chairman of the Council. His task is to organize follow-up activities on the General Assembly’s decisions. He is also responsible for the results and the legitimacy of the Council’s functioning.

The fundamentals of the organization, its goals and key activities are determined by the Provisions “On the Russian-Austrian Business Council”. The membership in the Council is voluntary; the decision on admission to the Council is made at a General Assembly.

Over 100 domestic companies and enterprises participate in RAuBC activities, including representatives of the Russian business elite: state company Russian Technologies, OJSC “AvtoVAZ”, OJSC “Russian Machines”, Basic Element, Renova Group of Companies, OJSC “Novolipetsk Steel”, OJSC “Gazprom”, LLC “GAZ Group”, OJSC “VTB”, Vnesheconombank finance companies, LLC “Novikombank”, CJSC investment company “Troika Dialog” in particular and many others. More than 50 regions of Russia have established trade and economic relations with Austria within the context of the Council.

The traditional partners of Austria are the Republic of Komi, Mordovia, Tatarstan, the Chuvash republic as well as the Vladimir, Kaluga, Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow, Penza, Samara, Tula and Yaroslavl regions and others.

In 2010 RAuBC actively promoted the development of bilateral business cooperation. Two joint meetings of the Russian-Austrian and Austrian-Russian Business Councils were held in Moscow in April and in Vienna in December. The meetings were attended by representatives of major Russian and Austrian companies.

Joint meetings of business councils are preceded by an extensive organizational work. Often, when a business council meeting is timed to coincide with a visit of high ranking officials of Russia or Austria, there are held meetings with officials responsible for the preparation of a business mission which accompanies the top level visit. For example, just before the visit of President of Austria Heinz Fischer meetings with Christoph Leitl, President of Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, were held to discuss the topic of the next session of the Business Council. It was determined that the forum within the scope of the enlarged meeting of the Business Councils will take place at the RF CCI on May 19, in participation with all representatives of the Austrian delegation and Russian business circles, interested in the dialogue.

The RAuBC members are also members of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and the regional Chambers, therefore, taking into account the recommendations of the Business Councils meetings, they actively participate in the preparation of proposals on behalf of the Chambers to expand bilateral business cooperation. The proposals developed at the joint meetings are forwarded for review to the appropriate committees of the RF CCI. Moreover, the Business Council annually submits reports to the RF CCI, including proposals to improve the investment climate between Russia and Austria.

As repeatedly mentioned by the heads of the Russian Government in their speeches, the role of business councils in the implementation of the foreign economic policy of the country is increasing.

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