Bruno Duthoit, chair of the French Chamber of Commerce talks to Krzysztof Pawlik.

¡ö You are the Chairman of the French Chamber of Commerce for the second time. Did your Chamber change over that period?
The French Chamber of Commerce in Poland was created 11 years ago and I had a chance to become its chair for the first time two years ago. During that time we did not introduce any revolutionary changes in the Chamber, but there were two evolutions that in my opinion are worth mentioning here. First of all, today we have more Polish members. Initially, our organization was created mostly by French or companies of French origin. Now due to the constant increase of the number of Polish member companies, we have a noticeable difference in the membership pattern, and it is a very satisfying factor, too. As for the second change, I would say that the Chamber has diversified its activities. Generally speaking, today we are much more active in the consulting area and in services.

¡ö What are the membership criteria at the Chamber?
We do not have any special membership criteria that the companies should fulfill before joining us. As a matter of fact, the only one that comes to my mind is rather obvious. To become a member of the French Chamber of Commerce, you need to be a company or an institution. In other words, we do not accept individual members.

We are very open as a Chamber. We welcome companies from all over the world, not only French and Polish. As long as someone has any business interest linked to French-Polish economic relations and represents any corporate body or institution, they are free to join our chamber. Of course, purely business interest doesn¡¯t have to be the only reason for a company to become a member of the Chamber. Some companies, even though they run their business independently from the chamber, feel a kind of corporate responsibility¡ªfor example, as a major French investor on the Polish market, they should be a part of an organization like ours, and so on. So the reasons for becoming our member range from a need for help in a foreign, new environment to a simple idea of being a part of such a ¡°common adventure.¡±

¡ö What kind of barriers do French investors have to face in Poland?
I don¡¯t think that there are now any special barriers for investors from France. Like with any other foreign market, it is usually the language that causes problems, especially at the beginning. But it is not only the problem of French investors.

If we take a little deeper look at difficulties that foreign investors have to face in Poland and compare the current situation with the one we had, let¡¯s say 10 years ago, I must say that there has been a lot of improvement. Looking back 10 or even five years, one of the foreign investors¡¯ major problems was the fact that the commercial code as well as some tax regulations were very difficult to understand. The most disturbing of all, especially for newcomers to the Polish market, was the problem of different territorial interpretations of laws and regulations, which was quite frequent in Poland. But now I can say that the problem has disappeared. It is probably due to the fact that Poland has become a part of the common European market and had to introduce common EU regulations. Today Poland is compliant with EU recommendations and as a developing market it is very investor friendly, so now I don¡¯t see any of the previous barriers.

¡ö Does the Chamber conduct any lobbying activities in the Polish government on behalf of French companies?
The answer is yes, in terms of institutional lobbying. When we have an obvious case or situation that needs that kind of support, we of course do our best. We visit the authorities or write them in order to fully explain the situation and our position. But in fact, we very rarely do it on our own. Usually it is done together with other institutions or a specific company that needs such action. What should be also made clear is that we do not only act in favor of French companies, but when there is a need, we as a Chamber support all the member companies.

¡ö In which areas is French-Polish cooperation weakest and strongest?
What is the most evident factor for me, in terms of weaknesses, is on the small business level. We have a satisfying situation with big corporations and medium-sized companies, France is the largest foreign investor in Poland¡ªbut there is still a lot to do in the area of small business cooperation. It is a real concern when we compare our situation with that of some other countries, for example Italy, where Italian small companies are very active on the Polish market. A more cautious attitude of small businesses might also result from tradition. Apart from that, one must remember that entering a foreign market is a far greater challenge for a small company than for an international corporation. But my advice for all hesitant small businesses is that now is a good time to invest or establish a branch in Poland.

In terms of strong points of cooperation, in my opinion the most important factor is the constantly growing commercial exchange between our countries. Exports are increasing on both sides. What is also important here is that many French or companies of French origin operating on the Polish market are now deciding to expand and diversify their activities in Poland.