Council encourages local companies to ‘look east’

Belfast City Council (BCC) is encouraging local businesses to ‘look east’ and avail of the opportunities presented to them by the recent expansion of the European Union.

Ten Belfast companies are currently taking part in a series of workshops, complemented by a local and overseas consultancy process, to help them improve their exporting skills following the accession of ten new countries into the EU on May 1.

Participating companies in the council's ‘Exporting to Accession Countries’ initiative are from a variety of business sectors, ranging from graphic design to specialist restoration companies.

The first workshop sessions took place at the end of last month, culminating in the autumn, with the participants undertaking market visits to the accession country or countries of their choice.

Welcoming the delegates to the first workshop, held at Belfast Castle, Councillor Pat McCarthy, Deputy Chairman of Belfast City Council’s Economic Development Sub-Committee, said: “This programme goes a long way to identifying key business opportunities afforded by ten new countries joining the European Union.

"As a Council, we are delighted to offer this opportunity to local Belfast companies to look to these opportunities as ways to increase their business development throughout the ascension countries of Europe.”

Since 1990, UK exports to the accession states have increased by more than 400%, and some 15,000 UK companies currently are investing in or exporting to Eastern Europe.

When the ten accession countries joined the EU at the beginning of the month, it created the largest single market for trade and investment in the world – with approximately 450 million consumers, bigger than the United States and Japan combined.

(MB)