The Annual ECRF Conference was held in Belgrade on 19-20 June. By number of participants – 130 delegates from 35 countries in Europe, America, Asia and Africa – it surpassed all Forum conference to date.

In addition to representatives of European commerce registers, participating in the work of the conference were also delegates of the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD Investment Compact for South-East Europe), the European Business Register (EBR), the Asia Pacific Corporate Registers Forum (CRF), as well as the International Association of Commercial Administrators of North America (IACA).

The Conference included various topics, such as: “The role of commerce registers in preventing money laundering”, the “Doing Business“ methodology in analyzing the effects of business registration procedures, „Comparative analysis of the registration systems in more than 50 European and non-European business registers, etc., while several national registers shared their experiences (Implementation of the online one-stop-shop registration system in Estonia).

The ECRF Conference is behind us. Judging by the reactions of the participants, this has been one of the most successful conferences, both when it comes to choice of topics and supporting programme.

At SBRA’s initiative, the ECRF admitted two new national representatives – the registers of Guernsey (Channel Islands) and Montenegro, and thus, as of June 2008 the family of European commerce registers numbers 31 members from 30 European countries.

Pictures from Conference

Video clip from Conference

World Wide Registers

Snezana,

Can I thank you and your colleagues for organising such an eventful and valuable conference in Belgrade.  The standard of hospitality and welcome belies such a lovely county.

Many thanks once again!

Regards,

Shaun M Roberts
Director of Information Communication & Technology
Jersey Financial Services Commission

Thank you very much Snezana, it was a great pleasure to be in Belgrade! It was perfect!

Many greetings from Holland,

Bram Stoutjesdijk
Bureau Handelsregister
Kamer van Koophandel Nederland

Fantastic conference Snezana! Thank you so much for your fantastic Serbian hospitality.

Thanks!

Mark Whiteley

Dear Snezana,

Thank you BELGRADE! You were fantastic. What a lovely trip, and what a successful conference. Thank you very much for all you did.

Best wishes!

Phil Balderson
Webreality

Dear Snezana,
 
Thank you for your e-mail. The pleasure was entirely ours and I am very grateful to you, Zvonko, Andreja and the rest of the SBRA team for the perfect organisation and such warm hospitality.
Once again, I have returned to Jersey praising Belgrade and its wonderful people!
 
With very best wishes,
Nick

 
Dear Snezana,

I would like to express our thanks to you and the whole SBRA team for the very nice welcome and good organisation of the event. Hopefully, you will be able to get some free time now and to enjoy the summer!

Regards,
Dr. Bernd Hammermann
Director
Office of Land and Public Registration
Vaduz

Dear Snezana,

Thank you very much for this email. I would like to thank you and all your colleagues at SBRA for such a well organised conference and for such a warm welcome to Serbia. I think the conference was very useful with people sharing their experience very openly. I have a great deal to tell colleagues back here in Cardiff.

Very best wishes for the future!

Paul

Dear Snezana,
 
Just a quick email to say thank you for your kind hospitality in Serbia. The event was organised and run very well. My best regards to you, Zvonko and all your colleagues in Belgrade.
 
Yours sincerely
 
Jon Allo
Advertising International

 
Dear Snezana,
 
Thank you for some very nice days in Belgrade! You made the Conference to a great success!
 
Annika Bränström
Generaldirektör / Director General

 
Dear Snezana,

It was such a great forum thanks to your and your colleagues incredible efforts. I truly wants to thank you for the incredible organization and hospitality. It was great to meet you and your colleagues and get to know a little of Belgrade. I came back with very good memories and I hope to come visit back soon.
Thank you again and really looking forward to staying in touch.

Best regards,
Yara Salem
Doing Business Project
Financial and Private Sector Development Vice Presidency World Bank and IFC

 
Thanks to you, everything went well. Your hard work paid off and I really enjoyed the venue and the conference. Please pass on my regards to Zvonko.
 
Take care!
 
 
Richard G. Shaw
Director General/Directeur général
Corporations Canada

Snezana,
 
I would like to thank you and all other hosts for the superb organization of the conference! It has been a real pleasure to participate!
 
Kind regards,

Dirk Tuymans
National Bank of Belgium

Dear Snezana,

On behalf of my colleagues and myself we wish to say You and all your team - this was the best ECRF conference!
PS. I know what I'm talking about - I'm the only person who has participating in all ECRF conferences.I'm a reserved Nordic, so if i said this was the best conference then it wasn't a compliment but just mention of fact :) Communication, organisation, content and entertainment - all was very good. And we realised that You was the spirit and soul of the all show! You even managed successfully the roll-call session and kept it under control,which was a real moderation test! We have the best memoirs from Belgrade and I remain always at your disposal, if You should need for any exchange of ideas. But in meanwhile i guess You need for a good vacation, as i'm already enjoying!

Viljar Peep

 
Hello Snezana,
 
It was a pleasure for us to attend this conference! It can be used as a good practice model for a really well organised event. Belgrade is charming --- mostly because of its great people!
 
Hvala!!! :-)
 
Boryana & Kalina

Dear Snezana, dear colleagues,
 
Thank you again for the warm and friendly welcome in Belgrad and this very good conference.
 
Best regards
Carsten Schmidt
Ministry of Justice of NRW

Dear Snezana,

Thank you so much more for arranging with such a style the succesful conference in Belgrade. It was a priviledge to be able to take part in a conference so well organized, and the social programme was also a success. Thank you again and give my best regards to your colleagues which took part in the organization of the congress.

Kveðja,
Skúli Jónsson 
  
Ríkisskattstjóri - Fyrirtækjaskrá
Forstöðumaður -  
Internal Revenue - Register of Enterprises
Director 
  
 
Hi Snezana,

Thanks again for your superbe organization, we had great fun and hope to see you in Luxembourg next year.

C U soon!

Sincères salutations

Dan Neuhengen

Registre de Commerce et des Sociétés
Centre administratif Pierre Werner
Luxembourg

Good morning!
 
First of all let me once again congratulate SBRA for the excellent and professionally organised 11th Annual ECRF conference of last week. May I also thank you for the wonderful hospitality that we were all given. I certainly do not regret at all coming over to Belgrade!
 
Kind regards,
 
Dr. Anton Bartolo
Director
Registry of Companies / Corporate Services Unit Malta Financial Services Authority

Dear Snezana,

Thank You for Your kindness, You are welcome to Estonia!

With best,

Aili from Estonia

Dear Snezana,

I really want to thank you for this both very professional and friendly ECRF conference in Belgrade. Thanks to you we have been able to check that the heart of Europe was beating strongly in Serbia. Thanks again to all your team! They can be proud of their success! During the visit I have been very pleased that the guide reminds the old brotherhood that exists between Serbia and France. When I came back to France I‘ve said this to my young daughters that is not enough written in the historical book!

I hope to see you next year in Luxembourg!

Best regards

Marc Binnie  

 
Hi Snezana,

I would like to say congratulations and well done to yourself and your colleagues from SBRA for the thoroughly professional and enjoyable ECRF Conference last week in Belgrade. My first visit to Serbia  was certainly a very enjoyable and memorable one. We hope to see you in Ireland sometime.

Many thanks and best wishes,

Gerry Doyle
Assistant Registrar
Companies Registration Office
O'Brien Road
Carlow
Ireland

Dear Snezana and other colleagues,
Thank you very much for such an excellently organized event.
We will stay in touch.

Andrei Mikhnev, World Bank

Dear Ms Tosic,

I would like to thank you and your colleagues for the warm welcome in Belgrade and the perfect organization of the conference. The ECRF Conference has been a great success.

Best regards, 

Antonio Fanelli
OECD/PSD/DAF

Dear Snezana,
 
many thanks for your the warmth an friendly hospitality and the very professional organisation of the conference.
 
 
Many thanks 
Cincerly,
Michael Hecker

Dobar dan,

Iako samo u svoje ime (nezvanično), hteo bih preko Vas Snežana-kao predstavnika organizatora konferencije (»event spiritus agens«) i svima, koji su radili na pripremama in realizaciji, zahvaliti na gostoprimstvu i odličnoj organizaciji ovog skupa. Postavili ste vrlo visoke kriterije kvaliteta, i (bojim se) očekivanja učesnika uoči budučih konferencija sa strane budučih organizatora če teško biti realizovana... Uz vrlo solidan zvanični deo su sve nas sudionike naročito impresionirali događaji  «nezvaničnog« dela, takođe vrlo interesantni, zabavni i na visokom nivou. Hvala za sve, lep letnji odmor, uspešnu selidbu u nove prostorije i (nadam se) do skorog viđenja,

Tomaž Žganjar 

Dear Snezana! Dear Zvonko!

I would like to express my thanks to you and your nice colleagues for giving us a warm reception and kind hospitality at the conference. Professionally it was quite profitable and I spent some really pleasant days in Belgrade. For your further work let me wish you a great success and good health. During the oncoming summer holiday have a pleasant break and a wonderful recreation. In the hope of meeting you next year, let me express my best wishes in the name of the Hungarian delegation. 

Dr. Klára Czene
President of the Csongrád County Court

Programme of the
11th Annual ECRF Conference
Republic of Serbia, Belgrade - June 18-20, 2008.

POWER POINT PRESENTATIONS OF THE 11TH ANNUAL ECRF CONFERENCE
REGISTER. WORK. SUCCEED.

• Ms. Annika Bränström, Director-General, Swedish Companies Registration Office, and Ms. Stefka Dabijeva, Statistician, Swedish Companies Registration Office, presentation of the “ECRF SURVEY 2007”

• Mr. Julian Lamb, Director Registry, Jersey Financial Services Commission, Mr. Philip Balderson, Managing Director, Webreality, Jersey, and Mr. Jonathan Allo, Managing Director, Advertising International, Jersey, demonstration of the “RE-DESIGNED ECRF WEB SITE” (www.ecrforum.org)

• Mr. Nicholas Troy, Head of AML Unit, Jersey Financial Services Commission “EMERGING MONEY LAUNDERING TRENDS AND VULNERABILITIES PERTAINING TO BUSINESS REGISTRATION”

• Mr. Anton Bartolo, Registrar of Companies, Malta Financial Services Authority  “THE ROLE OF BUSINESS REGISTERS IN THE PREVENTION OF MONEY LAUNDERING”

• Mr. Paul Reynolds, Head of Corporate Affairs UK Companies House, “COMBATING FRAUD IN THE UK”

• Ms. Tatjana Djurasinovic, Head of International and National Cooperation Department, Republic of Serbia Ministry of Finance - Administration for the Prevention of Money Laundering “THE ROLE OF FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE UNITS IN COMBATING MONEY LAUNDERING AND TERRORISM FINANCING”

• Dr. Viljar Peep, Head of Legislative Drafting and Development Division, Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Estonia “ONLINE ONE-STOP-SHOP THROUGH THE ESTONIAN COMMERCIAL REGISTER”

• Mr. Heinz-Jürgen Held, Legal Advisor, Bundesanzeiger, Deutschland “SIMPLIFYING BUSINESS FOR SMEs IN THE AREAS OF ACCOUNTING AND AUDITING”

• Mr. Michael Hecker, Head of Legal Affairs and Human Resources, Bundesanzeiger Verlag “UNTERNEHMENSREGISTER" WEBPAGE”

• Mr. Arthur West, Head of Customer Insight, UK Companies House “OPTIMISING THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE”

• Mr. Antonio Fanelli, Deputy Director, Private Sector Development Division, OECD “REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EUROPEAN CHARTER FOR SMALL ENTERPRISES IN THE WESTERN BALKANS, undertaken by the EC DG Enterprise and Industry and OECD’s Investment Compact for South East Europe”

• Mr. Andrei Mikhnev, Program Manager, Business Enabling Environment - IFC Advisory Services, Financial and Private Sector Development “REFORMING BUSINESS REGISTRATION REGULATORY PROCEDURES AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL”

• Ms. Yara Salem, Team Leader, Doing Business Project, Financial and Private Sector Development Vice Presidency World Bank and IFC “A LOOK INTO ‘DOING BUSINESS’ REFORMERS”

• Ms. Andreja Marusic,  President of the SBRA Management Board, Secretary of the Council for Regulatory Reform ”STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT IN BUSINESS REGISTRATIONS REFORMS: LESSONS FROM TEN COUNTRIES Country Case Studies on Business Registration Reform”

• Mr. Branko Radulovic, Senior Economic Advisor to the Council for Regulatory Reform of the Republic of Serbia “THE APPLICATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT ASSESSMENT IN THE BUSINESS REGISTRATION REFORMS”

• Ms. Annika Bränström, Director-General, Swedish Companies Registration Office and Ms. Lynn Lynch, Marketing Director, UK Companies House “WORLD CLASS”

• Mr. Piero Milani, Project Leader, InfoCamere BRITE Update - “HARMONIZED COMPANY DOSSIERS FOR E-PROCUREMENT”

• Ms. Simona Boscolo Bragadin, Product Manager, EBR “EUROPEAN BUSINESS REGISTER – EBR, NETWORK UPDATE”

• Mr. Richard G. Shaw, Director General, Corporations Canada and Chairman of the 2008 CRF Conference “UPDATE ON THE CRF 2008 CONFERENCE, Vancouver, BC Canada, March 31 - April 4, 2008”

• Mr. Julian Lamb, Director Registry, Jersey Financial Services Commission and IACA International Relations Section Chair “UPDATE ON THE IACA 2008 CONFERENCE”, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA - May 18 - 22, 2008.



• Mr. Branislav Dobrosavljevic, CIO, SBRA, ”UPDATE ON THE 3RD XBRL ECRF CONFERENCE”

• Mr. Yves Gonner, Managing Director Registre de commerce et des Societes – RCS ”PRESENTATION OF THE LUXEMBURG REGISTRE DE COMMERCE ET DES SOCIETES – RCS, NEXT PRESIDING ECRF REGISTER”.

Dear Colleagues,

It gives me great pleasure to invite you to participate in the 11th Annual Conference of the European Commerce Registers’ Forum (ECRF) that will be held in Belgrade on the 19th and 20th of June, 2008.

The Serbian Business Registers Agency (SBRA), as 2007/2008 presiding ECRF register, is indeed privileged to have the opportunity to organize this most important annual ECRF event, and I would like to express my sincere thanks to all ECRF members for giving us the opportunity to be your hosts.

We would be very grateful to all of you for taking the time off from your busy schedules and participate in the Conference, in order to discuss the priority issues on various business registration activities that will contribute to further development of ECRF and our friendly ties.

Hoping that you’ll find the conference rewarding, I wish you to go from our country with fond memories, not only of the city of Belgrade but also of the friendliness and the welcome of the Serbian people!

WELCOME TO SERBIA, WELCOME TO BELGRADE!

Zvonko Obradović,

2007/2008 President of the ECRF Steering Committee

Director of the Serbian Business Registers Agency.

The Serbian Business Registers Agency (SBRA), as 2007/2008 presiding ECRF register, is privileged to organize and host the 11th Annual Conference of the European Commerce Registers’ Forum, in Belgrade, on the 19th and 20th of June, 2008 (Invitation Letter of Mr. Zvonko Obradovic, SBRA Director and 2007/2008 President of the ECRF Steering Committee).

European Commerce Registers’ Forum is a non-profit, self-financing interest organization for co-operation in Europe, established eleven years ago by the European commerce registry authorities. Its purpose is to increase the competitiveness of the European business and industry, and to encourage and assist improvement in the administration of technical and practical procedures, laws and regulations administered by the business and commerce registers, through mutual cooperation, education, benchmarking and exchange of ideas, conferences and working groups.

At the present moment, it includes 29 European institutions that are in charge of business registration in the following countries: Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Jersey, Hungary, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, The Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and United Kingdom.

More information: http://www.ecrforum.org