Download The leaders of the international economic Hanseatic League who

The leaders of the international economic Hanseatic League who recently
visited Pskov are sure - business shouldn't depend on politics.
And they made rather flattering remarks about Pskov enterprises – as if they are as
good as their western colleagues. And the New Hansa greeted the special economic zone
"Moglino" the same gladly, which, by the way, became a member of the renovated
"merchant" union.
Hansa bygone and new
The Hansa goes far back to the Middle Ages, and is an example of one of the most
durable international trade and economic blocks. To some extent, it was a prototype of the
modern European Union, which had successfully existed for about four centuries.
Thirty-four years ago on the initiative of a number of German cities the Hanseatic League
of New Time (New Hansa) was re-established. Today, it brings together more than 180
cities from 16 European countries which have historical links. This includes the Russian
section of the Hanseatic League, which represents 13 cities, Veliky Novgorod, Kaliningrad,
Smolensk,
Tver
and
now
Pskov
are
among
them.
The purpose of the organization is to promote economic, cultural, social and municipal
unity in Europe. It may sound a little pompously, but to the point. In any case, in order to
achieve the given tasks, International Hansa Days events take place annually in one of the
League cities. In 2009, they were held in Veliky Novgorod. Next time Russia will host
Hansa only in 2019, and Pskov has been elected the capital of the holiday.
The economic "sub-league"
If the New Hansa has existed for almost 35 years, the International Hanseatic Economic
League is a relatively young organization. This year it celebrated its first birthday.
The Economic League emerged as a kind of "a daughter" of the New Hansa to develop not
only culture, arts, crafts, exhibitions and festivals, but also joint businesses, as if to remind
that, historically, the major basis for the Hanseatic League to appear was, first of all, trade
between countries.
"We’ve just come back to the historical past. Now they are two separate organizations,
which complement each other and work under one brand "- the deputy chairman of the
Economic Hanseatic League Manfred Schürkamp explains.
A year may seem a short period of work, but 100 companies have entered the New League
within this period. And, by the way, it’s not that easy to enter the League, the selection
process is rigorous. European quality standards and environmental safety, and, by all
means, impeccable business reputation are necessary for that.
+ Pskov
How far can Pskov be involved into the new merchant union? The Round table discussion
participants tried find it out. The Round Table session was devoted to the prospects of
economic cooperation within the New Hansa. The meeting was held on the main investment
site of the region, in the building which houses the administration of SEZ "Moglino" and
the Investment Development Agency of the Pskov region. Regional officials fondly call it
just "Pskov House of investors."
The delegation of entrepreneurs from Estonia and Germany, representing different areas
of business, arrived in Pskov together with the chairman and co-chairman of the Economic
Hanseatic League. For the Russian part, the executive branch authorities and the SEZ
"Moglino" CEO as well as business community representatives and the Chamber of
Commerce of the Pskov region took part in the Round table.
“We are certainly very pleased that we came over to see you, - the Vice-Chairman of the
Economic and Hanseatic League Manfred Schürkamp assured. – Today we came here
from Veliky Novgorod, where an economic conference was successfully held. We already
established contacts with some Novgorod entrepreneurs and made ambitious plans for the
future. This is a great start for the Business Hansa in Russia."
It didn’t go without its traditional presentations, typical to such meetings. Investment
opportunities of the region (presented by the first deputy of the Pskov regional state
committee on economic development and investment policy Tatiana Kirilenok) were
introduced to the guests. They also learnt about the main hope of the regional authorities
for capital inflow into the region - a special economic zone "Moglino" ( CEO Olga Torbich
shared the information about the details of the site).
There’s a lot to show and to see.
The meeting also included presentations of a number of Pskov enterprises and PskovSU.
In addition, each of the European entrepreneurs in a detailed way presented features of
their work and the prospects for the development of enterprises on the territory of Russia
to the participants.
In particular, German company HTT Energy GMBH, specializing in gas, electric and
technology boilers, energy efficient thermal oil installations for heating industrial processes
was presented to Russian participants.
Estonian company Oshino Electronics specializes in design and assembling
electronic goods, especially for automotive industry. Its representative is also interested in
finding Russian partners.
Consulting company Kreislauf Partner, specializing in pickup, sorting and
recycling of waste and optimization of closed production cycles, then law firm Wolter
Hoppenberg, which focuses on private sector support, as well as on investment and
international law, offered their services to Pskov entrepreneurs. A representative of the
business-development center of Pärnu assured that his organization is ready to assist to
start
up
and
develop
new
businesses.
By the way, during the working trip the delegation of the Economic Hanseatic League
visited some Pskov companies to get to know the local business closer. The guests say they
are very content.
+ Moglino
The Round table meeting finished with good news. Special economic zone "Moglino"
joined the Economic Hanseatic League and became its hundredth, the milestone member.
The Accession Certificate was given to CEO of the SEZ "Moglino" Olga Torbich by the
chairman of the Economic Hanseatic League Marion Köhn, besides that, miss Köhn gave a
special company badge in the form of stylized sails, which is normally given only to
members of the organization. Another memorable souvenir was a company red bag with
the words Ich bin Hansa (I am Hansa).
“I'm sure we will be reliable partners in this union. Together we can help our "merchants"
to be closer to each other, because the Hanseatic League has always been a guarantor of
investment security, "- Olga Torbich said.
.
The CEO of "Moglino" also expressed a hope that students and qualified professionals will
not leave the region anymore, and they will be able to find a good job here. "We do not let
a single student go out of the region and will return those who left back! This is the aim of
all our hopes and expectations associated with the project "Moglino" - she said. At the
same time the official pointed out that thanks to Pskov state university the region is staffed,
and there is no deficiency in HR with the SEZ residents.
Olga Torbich said that the process on the site "Moglino" slowly but goes on. And soon the
staff recruitment for the investors will start. "We have a pool of five investors who are
ready to begin the construction next year. Companies from Denmark, Italy, Germany and
a local company will work on the site. A German partner has already registered their office
here, "- she said.
However, Olga Torbich did not want to share the information about the new partners.
Probably it can not be done in accordance with the directives of business secrets, or
perhaps the administration of "Moglino" simply does not want to speak too soon. Indeed, it
is not for the first time foreign companies want to offer themselves.
Without politics?
If we refer to the history again, the medieval Hanseatic League at the time was ruined with
political squabbles, maybe if not firstly, but including the Moscow State.
Veliky Novgorod by the XV century had become a kind of an outpost of the Hanseatic
League in the lands of the Slavic folks. However, its independent status came at odds with
the policy of Ivan III, who sought to unite fragmented Russian principalities. The
Hanseatic merchants in this confrontation if involved at all (helping, of course, the
opposition of Novgorod against Moscow), then secretly. Outwardly, their position was of
deliberately detached character.
Ivan III not only deprived the Novgorod republic of its independence, but also eliminated
the Hanseatic settlement. Since that time, the Hanseatic League had lost its control over
trade with Russia.
"At the same time Russians failed to take an advantage of this independent trade with the
north-eastern Europe. In terms of the quantity and quality of the ships, the Novgorod
merchantry could not compete with the Hanseatic League. Therefore, the amount of
exports declined, and Veliky Novgorod lost much of its income. But Hansa too could not
compensate for the loss of the Russian market ", - Dmitry Voinov, the historian, writes.
Does this ring any bells?
I could not resist asking the Deputy Chairman of the Economic and Hanseatic Union
Manfred Schürkamp the question, wether modern political realities, which are far from
being rosy, interfere with rosy plans of international business interaction in the framework
of the New Hanse.
He did not speak long on the subject, trying to steer the conversation into a positive
mainstream. But he made it clear that businessmen of both countries hope that any
political disputes can be solved primarily from a practical point of view. Entrepreneurs do
not want to mix up business with politics. As they say, let’s not confuse or put together
different things. Another question is how this can be possible and whether it is possible at
all.
Mr. Schürkamp finished the conversation on a positive note, saying that international
meetings, held under the auspices of the Economic Hanseatic League, will not be limited
with bravura speeches, and very soon Hanseatic members will move from words to deeds.
In addition, he made a compliment to Pskov business, pointing out that the companies they
visited in Pskov in the framework of the visit, are at the same level of the development as
the companies the Hansa have been cooperating for a long time.
Entrepreneurs usually have little to say and do a lot, because they know – many words
about future prospects will not fill a bushel. Time will show how particular the actions of
the Hanseatic Economic League will be. I want to believe that the structure that is close to
business environment and not pressed with bureaucracy will create a fertile soil for that.
Source: The Chamber of Commerce of the Pskov region.