Dear Working Group Member,
The European Chamber is pleased to invite you to the next Maritime Transport Working Group meeting. It will be held on Monday, 13 February, 9am-11am, at the European Chamber Shanghai and Beijing offices via videoconference.
At this meeting, we will hold 2012-2013 Chair elections. The Maritime Transport Chair and Vice-Chair(s) play a crucial role in driving the Working Group, which includes a leadership role in the drafting of the Position Paper, communicating key messages to Chinese and European government authorities and steering Working Group meetings. The desired characteristics of a Chair and Vice-Chair(s) are a senior industry representative with relevant industry expertise and government contacts who has the time and willingness to support the Working Group. Previous participation in the Working Group is essential. Currently, we have Mr. Jens Eskelund, Maersk, as our Chair.
Should you be interested in putting your name forward for election, please, firstly, read the attached Working Group Chairs’ Code of Conduct and Roles and Responsibilities documents. To apply, please send a short biography and motivation letter, stating whether you intend to run for Chair or Vice-Chair, to Ms. Bettina Buck at bbuck@europeanchamber.com.cn by Wednesday, 8 February, 12noon. For the Maritime Transport Working Group, it is possible to have at most one Chair and two Vice-Chairs.
In accordance with European Chamber internal guidelines, another email will be sent to the Working Group prior to the election, with the biographies and motivation letters of all candidates attached. Voting for the election, one vote per company, must be conducted in person at the Working Group meeting, after each candidate has had the opportunity to give a short speech on why they would like to run for election. The duration of the term for both Chairs and Vice-Chairs is one year. All elected Chairpersons must sign the attached documents, following election.
We will also begin discussions on the 2012-2013 Position Paper. The Position Paper is the Chamber’s key lobbying document and is widely recognised by the Chinese and European governments, EU institutions, business associations and the media as the authoritative voice of EU business in China. It is used extensively for policy considerations, bilateral discussions, cooperation projects and background information. The value and importance of a well-written and well-represented Maritime Transport Position Paper cannot be overstated. Members are encouraged to review last year’s Position Paper and identify internally the key issues for this upcoming year. Keeping with the same structure as previous editions, members are requested to come to this meeting with recommendations that the Working Group should consider. Please find attached the Maritime Transport Position Paper 2011-2012.
Tenative Agenda
- 2011-2012 Chair conclusive remarks, including review of recent lobby activities
- 2012-2013 Chair elections
- Position Paper 2012-2013 preliminary discussion
- member feedback on WG events for 2012
As always, we welcome your suggestions for possible agenda topics and speakers for this and future meetings.
We encourage as many of our members as possible to attend to have their say in the leadership and representation of the Working Group in the year ahead. To participate in this meeting, please register with Mr. Marcus Tannenberg at mtannenberg@europeanchamber.com.cn by Monday, 13 February, 8am.
For more information on the Maritime Transport Working Group, please do not hesitate to contact Ms. Bettina Buck at bbuck@europeanchamber.com.cn in Shanghai or Ms. Anna Stalnacke at astalnacke@europeanchamber.com.cn in Beijing.