Bilateral chambers of commerce in Romania oppose draft bill that subordinates them to the National Chamber

A dozen bilateral chambers of commerce and business organizations active in Romania have issued a joint statement in which they protest a draft bill that would end up subordinating them to a National Chamber – Romania’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIR). Meanwhile, CCIR claims their worries are unjustified and that the bill's purpose is to remove the inactive bilateral chambers to make room for new ones.

The draft law, which was already adopted by the Senate and is currently being reviewed by the speciality committees in the Chamber of Deputies, imposes all such structures to register in a National Register managed by the National Chamber and submit an annual activity report proving the fulfilment of their purpose and objectives, under the penalty of dissolution.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Romania (AmCham Romania) says this is an attempt to place the chambers of commerce and similar associations under the control of the National Chamber. The organization, which represents the interest of US companies active in Romania, calls for the dismissal of this initiative arguing that it “distorts and restricts the associative environment in Romania.”

“AmCham Romania considers that this profoundly undemocratic and unfair approach by which a private entity is granted a privileged position and discretionary powers over other private entities sets a dangerous precedent, and negatively impacts even the stated purpose, that of supporting the business environment and attracting investments,” reads a statement issued by AmCham.

The organization also mentions that it has not identified a similar model in Europe, where the National Chamber has a supervisory and control role over other business associations. “In other countries, Romanian bilateral chambers of commerce are not subordinated in any way to national chambers,” AmCham said.

Among the organizations that oppose the draft bill are the German-Romanian Chamber of Commerce (AHK), the British-Romanian Chamber of Commerce (BRCC), and similar chambers representing Dutch, French, Italian, Belgian and Swiss companies, plus the Foreign Investors Council (FIC), Romanian Business Leaders, and the Association of Romanian Business People (AOAR).

In response to this initiative, Romania’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIR) claims that, under a Romanian law adopted in 2007, any newly-established bilateral chamber of commerce must get the National Chamber’s approval. CCIR also says that many organizations that call themselves “chambers of commerce” don’t fulfill their legal mission, which is to “develop Romania’s economic relations with the countries for which they have been created.”