Official company registration offices have a key role to play for registration (start-ups) and maintenance of reliable company information. As business in Europe has become more and more integrated and previous boundaries have disappeared, this has increased the need for international cooperation also between authorities responsible for registering business enterprises.

The first initiative to establish a wider contact and a deeper co-operation among the European Registration Authorities was taken by the Register of Enterprises of the Republic of Latvia, which in 1998 invited to the First Annual Conference for the Commerce register of Europe. This initiative was followed in 1999 by the Second Annual Conference for the Commerce Registers of Europe, held in Sweden and hosted by the Swedish Companies and Patents Office: delegates from 21 European countries (including some representatives of emergent Central and Eastern European economies) attended that conference, which offered registrars a chance to explore common issues and to exchange idea and expertise. At that time, the idea was expressed by a number of participants that the foundations laid by this conference should be built upon by establishing more formalised mechanisms for cooperation between registries. Thus, some people prepared proposals that have been presented to the Third Annual Conference in Cardiff (October 2000).

The organisation for the Commerce Registers of Europe, the European Commerce Register's Forum (ECRF), has been established in Cardiff (with the participation of 21 countries), for the first year, with a Steering Committee that consists of representatives from the Registers of Italy, United Kingdom, Norway and Sweden.

The European Commerce Register's Forum was born with the purpose to improve the Commerce Registers services to the trade and industry and to the business life in general. Main goals of the Forum are:

• Creating an efficient environment for starting-up and developing innovative businesses, especially SMEs

• Preparing the associated Countries of Central & Eastern Europe for integration into the internal market of the Union

• Creating an open and transparent environment for business throughout Europe

• Simplification of regulatory environment in order to reduce the administrative burdens on businesses.