UBC Executive Board at the 60th meeting in Lahti, 11 March 2011, made a decision about merger of the Commission on Business Cooperation and the Commission on Information Society.

Lead cities in 2011: St. Petersburg and Kolding  
Steering Committee: St. Petersburg, Kolding, Kiel, Tampere, Kaunas

The Commission on Business Cooperation was established at the General Conference of the UBC in Gdańsk in September 1997.

Background and ideas
Several members of the UBC prosecute an active networking today to promote business contacts with the cities they have a formal twin city cooperation with. Besides that many members participate in joint business arrangements like the Hansa Days in Kalmar, The Business Convent in Karlskrona and others. There are some ongoing multilateral projects with focus on the information technology and EU-association.

The organisation has a huge potential as the platform for mutual initiatives in the fields of business development and matchmaking activities in the Baltic Sea Region. Several arguments are put forward that this structure can efficiently be used as an initiator and applicant in projects with EU-funding within special programs such as PHARE Cross Boarder Co-operation. The Interreg-initiatives also open new possibilities to initiate and finance joint projects.

The Commission on Business Cooperation could be used to:Exchange experiences and information within th e field of business and trade

• Promote contacts between the business communities

Target:

• Arrange one meeting per year, where civil servants active in these field meet
• Organise a network of civil servants, all active with issues concerning trade and industry within the UBC member cities
• Build up an information network system on internet or intranet
• Exchange information about business activities within the UBC citiesWorking with these issues in a more organised way, in a specialised commission, gives the member cities a better possibility of exchanging experiences, bringing up new initiatives and creating impact on joint projects. It may improve possibilities to take part in the EU funding of large and small-scale projects with focus on internationalisation of enterprises and the developing of business networks in the region.

Meetings:

• Discover Sophia Antipolis - the original Science Park!, Meeting of the Commission in Sophia Antipolis, France, 17-19 November 2010 
• Seminar "Network of harbour cities: Sceneries, strategies and ideas for the re-planning of the Italia France Maritime Operational Programme", Florence, 22 June 2010

            - Info about the workshop ( 104.61 KB )
            - Report ( 67 KB )

• The 12th Meeting of the Commission in Kolding, 25 February 2010
  Minutes ( 95.5 KB )

• Roundtable "Subsidised jobs in Europe - ideology, legislation and practice", Tallinn, 29 April 2010.

                     -  Minutes ( 94 KB )
                     -  Baltic Sea Identity Project Information ( 57.47 KB )
                     -  Cooperation and Partnership: for a strong voice in Europe ( 186.5 KB )

• The 11th meeting of the Commission at the UBC General Conference in Kristiansand, 25 September 2009.

• The 10th meeting of the Commission in Kiel, 4 June 2009
  Minutes ( 38.5 KB )

                    Presentations:

                    -   Jyvaskyla ( 1.08 MB )
                    -   Kaunas ( 4.27 MB )
                    -   Kiel ( 4.34 MB )
                    -   Kolding ( 14.22 MB )
                    -   Tampere ( 4.29 MB )

• The 9th meeting was held in Turku, on 15-16 June 2006
• The 8th meeting was held in Tallinn, on 15-17 May 2005
• The 7th meeting was held in Växjö, on 11-12 June 2004
• The 6th meeting was held in Kaunas, Lithuania, on 16-18 May 2003
• The 5th meeting was held in Tampere, Finland, on 17-18 May 2002
• The 4th meeting was held in Liepāja, Latvia, on 19-22 April 2001
• The 3rd meeting was held in Kolding, Denmark, on 25-26 May 2000
• The 2nd meeting was held in Gdańsk/Gdynia, on 12-13 February 1999
• The 1st meeting was held in Stockholm, Sweden, on 13-14 March 1998

Project Proposal on:

• Developing a Technology Park/Business Incubator concept in Baltic area ( 35 KB )
• Science and Technology Parks overwiev ( 296 KB )