Parliamentarians adopt Bern Declaration on promoting small business in the OSCE region

BERN, 15 May 2003 - After discussions from 14-16 May in the Swiss Parliament in Bern, more then 80 parliamentarians from 30 OSCE participating States adopted the Bern Declaration on Promoting Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the OSCE region. The Declaration calls upon OSCE participating States to create legal and regulatory environments favourable to the development of SMEs along with attractive taxation systems and guaranteed access to various infrastructures.

The Bern Declaration urges the OSCE to raise awareness by making parliaments and governments more sensitive to the interplay between economic factors and security in the OSCE region. Recognizing the importance of SMEs as a backbone and driving force for a sustainable economy, the parliamentarians called upon governments of the OSCE to provide technical assistance services on legal, tax and licensing requirements, as well as access to information on market data and trade and investment opportunities. The Bern Declaration also appeals to the OSCE to identify areas and sectors under development and in need of reconstruction in order to bring them to the attention of international and governmental organizations as well as NGOs with the resources to assist SMEs.

The Bern Conference, chaired by OSCE PA Vice-President Barbara Haering and organised at the invitation of the Swiss Parliament and the Swiss Delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, was addressed by prominent officials including Bruce George, President of the OSCE PA; Yves Christen, President of the Swiss National Council; Micheline Calmy-Rey, Foreign Minister of Switzerland; Samuel Schmid, Defence Minister of Switzerland; Gian-Reto Plattner, President of the Swiss Council of States and Marcin Swiecicki, OSCE Co-ordinator for Economic and Environmental Activities.

The Conference in Bern was the third conference organized by the OSCE PA in the field of sub-regional economic co-operation following those held in Monaco (1997) and Nantes (1999). The next conference will be held in Norway in 2005.

For information please contact either Mark Stucki, Press Officer of the Swiss Federal Assembly, Tel: + 41 (0) 31 322 97 27, Fax: + 41 (0) 31 322 53 74, e-mail: mark.stucki@pd.admin.ch or Jan Jooren (see panel below).