HISTORY
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY OF DODECANESE (CCID)
History of establishment and operation.
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Dodecanese (CCID) was established in June 30, 1949 (Greek Government Gazette I 142 of June 30, 1949) as “Central Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Dodecanese - CCID”, in an effort of the Greek state to harmonize the Regulatory Law in the region of the Dodecanese, which was officially integrated one year earlier (March 7, 1948). The CCID kept its autonomous activity until the April 12, 1988, when it was merged with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Kalymnos and Kos (Greek Government Gazette 67/ Presidential Decree 153).
Moreover, by decision of the Prefect of the Dodecanese (September 9, 1989), annexes of the CCID in Kalymnos and Kos were established. According to the Presidential Decree 278 of August 5, 1996 - Greek Government Gazette I 197 of August 27, 1996), CCID services are structured in one Directorate with three departments: Administrative & Financial, Registry & ICT and Industry & Commerce.
Since 2007 the CCID has ISO 9001:2000 Certificate for its operations and since 2009 Certificate of Professional Competence for Managers.
Finally, the Association for the Development and Progress of the Dodecanese - DETAP, the development agency of the CCID since 2000, is always on the side of CCID, supporting its operations and carrying out projects, studies and actions in accordance with its development character.
CCID IDENTITY
Address: Grigoriou Lampraki str. 8, postal code 85100, Rhodes, Greece
Tel. +30 22410 44200
Fax: +30 22410 44242
e-mail: info@ebed.gr
URL: www.ebed.gr, www.detap.gr
President: Ioannis Pappou
Number of members: 24.628 (31.12.2018)
Board of Directors: 51 members - Administrative Committee: 7 members
Departments: Trade, Manufacture, Touristic, Services
Short description of CCID-activities
At the initiative of the CCID, actions took place in order to attract low cost airlines to the area, with a view to extend the tourist season during the winter.
In its aim to highlight and promote the perspectives of every island of the Dodecanese in the field of developing alternative kinds of tourism, at the initiative of the CCID and DETAP, hard-copy and audiovisual material was produced for the promotion of:
• Diving Tourism in Leros
• Climbing Tourism in Kalymnos
• Religious Tourism in Patmos
• AegeanCuisine
CCID, in cooperation with EUROMEDICA Hospital in Rhodes, launched a health card, so that its members could have respective financial benefits.
Within its institutional operation, the CCID plays a key role intervening on local, national and European level for dealing with the issues concerning social partners and the local economy in general.
The CCID has made significant intervention relating to the Municipal Tax of Dodecanese, the abolition of reduced VAT rates for the Dodecanese islands, the introduction of compensatory measures for the Dodecanese, the energy problem of the Dodecanese, the coastline connection of the Dodecanese, the introduction of island policies, the licensing of enterprises, the subsidy of loan interest rates, the objective values with the preparation of a documented study in collaboration with the other Chambers of the County [the TEE (Technical Chamber of Greece) and Economic Chamber of Greece], the VAT of newly constructed buildings, and other institutional issues.
The CCID was at the forefront of the abolition of the Municipal Tax of Dodecanese, by having the plenary assembly of the Council of the Greek State, following several legal interventions, to come to a decision that saw the provision imposing the Municipal tax as unconstitutional, being then repealed by provision of law.
In addition, by a unanimous decision of the CCID Board of Directors, there was an Appeal to the Council of the Greek State for annulment of the Ministerial decision 0010707/ON/2015/29.09.2015, which abolished the reduced VAT rates in Rhodes, though the final answer from the Council of the Greek State was negative.
Participation in regional / local committees and boards.
The CCID takes part in a host of committees and meetings, promoting the interests of its members and contributing to the improvement of the Business Environment in the Dodecanese prefecture. For instance:
Regional Council and Monitoring Committee of the Regional Operational Programme of the South Aegean, Outdoor Trade Licensing Committee, Rhodes Tourism Promotion Organisation, Regional Investment Advisory Committee of the Dodecanese prefecture, Committee for Amicable Settlement of Consumer Disputes, Committee for Tourist Development and Promotion of the Municipality of Rhodes
Organisation and participation in activities and events
Numerous educational programs are implemented each year to ensure the high level of entrepreneurship in the Dodecanese prefecture, thus meeting the requirements of the CCID-members for the continued upgrade of products and services. The topics of the seminars vary and are targeted to the needs and perspectives of each sector of the local economy respectively.
Over the last five years, there were numerous seminars about training in security techniques, as well as further training programmes entitled "Food Hygiene and Safety, certified by EFET (Hellenic Food Authority)", were held.
As extroversion is the key to the success of any business but also of our region in general, the CCID participates in international exhibitions and organisations, contributes to the development of the extroversion of local businesses, as well as to the approach of new markets and the promotion of exports. The CCID aims by all appropriate means to promote local products and services, as well as to increase local business competitiveness.
The Chamber has implemented and implements constantly definitive actions for the tourism development of the Dodecanese prefecture by participating in international tourism exhibitions, thematic exhibitions and conferences.
Participation in communal programmes and projects etc.
The CCID implemented during the period 2012-2015 the following projects:
• “Extroversion and Promotion Actions of the Insular Enterprises of the Aegean and Cyprus” with the acronym “SINPRATTO” within the Cross-Border Cooperation Program Greece-Cyprus 2007-2013.
• “Digital Services of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Dodecanese to Boost Business Competitiveness'' under Priority Axis 6 - "DIGITAL CONVERGENCE AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP OF THE SOUTH AEGEAN REGION''
• "View of the tourist product of the South Aegean Region" under Priority Axis 6 - "DIGITAL CONVERGENCE AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP OF THE SOUTH AEGEAN REGION'' [National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF): Regional Operational Programme of Crete and the Aegean Islands 2007-2013].
• "Integrated actions for the development of gastronomic tourism through the promotion of local food tradition, the exploitation of local products and the elevation of the local cuisine of the Dodecanese and Cyprus", with the acronym GASTRONOMY NET in the context of Cross-border Cooperation Programme “Greece-Cyprus 2007-2013”.
• "Integrated Action Plan for Active Policies of Support and Promotion of the Integration of Vulnerable Social Groups in the Labour Market of the Tourism Sector in the Dodecanese prefecture", by the Operational Programme "Human Resources Development 2007-2013".
• "Support for unemployed persons and farmers for the promotion of employment and entrepreneurship in the Dodecanese prefecture", by the Operational Programme "Human Resources Development 2007-2013".
International relations
The CCID encourages and demonstrates a strong presence in the international arena. The CCID actively participates in projects, programmes and in surveys carried out by the International Chamber Organisations (International Chamber of Commerce, EuroChambers, ASCAME, Network of the Insular Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the European Union - Insuleur). The CCID also collaborates with the Greek-Turkish Chamber of Commerce, Izmir Chamber of Commerce, Marmaris Chamber of Commerce and Mugla Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MUTSO), with the aim of promoting business cooperation.
The CCID organises and welcomes foreign business and trade missions from Turkey and Czech Republic to Philippines and China, while foreign diplomats, Ambassadors, Consuls and Commercial Attachés have direct contact and cooperation with the Administration of the CCID, in order to open channels of business communication.
Planning of new actions / activities
The new portal www.ebed.gr of the CCID was completed and received in December of 2015 in the context of implementation of subproject 1 ''Integrated Environment of Digital Services Creation for the Reduction of Bureaucracy and the Support for Digital Trade Exhibitions and E-Commerce Applications for the Members of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Dodecanese'' of the project entitled: “Digital Services of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Dodecanese to Boost Business Competitiveness''. This new portal has a lot of potential regarding the provision of high added value services to our members and could turn out to be an invaluable development tool for our region. It includes:
(a) Subsystems of targeted information to the members of the CCID, realization of administrative acts & payments, electronic communication of the members with the services. – New protocol. – Document management and linking these with the Registry.
(b) Subsystems to boost the extroversion of businesses:
1) Online product marketplace
2) Creation and update of a Business Guide.
3) Creation and update of a list with business opportunities.
4) Creation and operation of online exhibitions.
The new platform also contains a special multilingual subsystem for the tourism industry, with a great potential to support tourism industry and tourist businesses. This new platform - beyond a development tool - is a key contributory service to the CCID-members.
