Luncheon-Debate with Karmenu Vella, European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries

Last June 22nd, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg organized, in collaboration with ECOEMBES, a luncheon-debate with Karmenu Vella, European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.

Mr. Daniel Calleja, Director-General at DG Environment, also attended the event.

Between the participants, there were several members of the Chamber and representatives of Spanish and European companies and institutions.

Juan Rodríguez-Villa Matons, President of the Chamber, introduced the speaker and thanked for his contribution to the dialogue between the EU Executive and civil society and remarked the common interest on achieving the main goal of Circular Economy.

Under the title “CIRCULAR ECONOMY: THE ROLE OF BUSINESS IN DEVELOPING GREEN ECONOMY”, Commissioner Vella underlined the importance of applying the principle “nothing is lost, everything is transformed”, premise that concerns circular economy and the need to implement it globally.

The speaker referred to the legislative package on Circular Economy presented by the Commission a year and a half ago, which he described as ambitious and responsible, emphasizing on the global approach and more practical measures which benefit environment and increase sustainability.

 

On the other hand, the Commissioner underlined the great potential identified in Spain by the biannual “Environment Implementation Review” report, which presented several examples of Spanish pioneer companies in innovation. According to Mr. Vella, innovation is the key to a Green Economy, which needs investment and, in most of the cases, it is afforded by the private sector, either big firms or SMEs.

To conclude, he expressed the European Commission’s will to establish an easily compliable regulation for the private sector, highlighting the importance of continuous collaboration between all actors.

The wide experience of Commissioner Vella, in high responsibility positions in the private sector, shows the realistic criteria which aims to avoid the obstacles in the application of the legal requirements that are projected.

The speaker recognized the excellence of General Director of Environment, Daniel Calleja, and congratulated the human team he leads.

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The event was sponsored by ECOEMBES. Its CEO, Óscar Martín, thanked the Commissioner and all the participants for their presence, assuring the position of ECOEMBES in favor of the legislative package. Martín remarked the importance of EPR –Extended Producer Responsability- as a very important step towards a Circular Economy, which has also had a large social impact.

Moreover, he weighed on the need to promote eco-design and innovation, not only to protect the environment, but also to raise its awareness.

To conclude, a round of questions was posed and answered, a time during which participants had the opportunity to interact with the Commissioner.

Mr. Juan Rodríguez-Villa joined Óscar Martín to give Commissioner Vella a symbolic present to thank him for his participation in the luncheon-debate and his work related to the circular economy.

The President also made a special mention to the firm La Buena Vida, for contributing with excellent wines to the luncheon.

You can check the full speech of the Commissioner here.

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In collaboration with:

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Luncheon-debate with Pablo García-Berdoy, Ambassador Permanent Representative of Spain to the European Union

The Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg hosted last June 13th a luncheon-debate with Pablo García-Berdoy, Ambassador Permanent Representative of Spain to the European Union, on “European Agenda”. At the event, we had the presence of Ms. Cecilia Yuste, Ambassador of Spain in Belgium, and there were chamber members of the Chamber, business executives, members of the Spanish and international diplomatic bodies, as well as representatives of European institutions.

Juan Rodríguez-Villa Matons, president of the Chamber, thanked the Ambassador for its presence, highlighting his diplomatic career in representations like Bonn and Manila, Cabinet Chief of the Secretary of State of External Policy and for the European Union, Cabinet Chief of the President of the Congress of Deputies and Ambassador of Span in Rumania and Germany, between others. Plus, he underlined the importance of the Official Spanish Chambers of Commerce in different countries as a tool to contribute in economic diplomacy.

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Afterwards, Íñigo de Palacio, Global Director of Institutional Relations of Indra, made a consideration -from the big company’s perspective– about the current European framework. De Palacio underlined that we are in a decisive moment, in which trust in European institutions and its integration project are a key for society and for companies, despite the uncertainty and the economic recession.

On the other hand, the representative of Indra proposed two important challenges for Europe: security and migrations, for which international cooperation and humanitarian aid are essential. Furthermore, he underlined the importance of globalization and the process of digitalization in the current political framework. At last, he pointed out the need to provide shared security services, through connectivity of European economies, technological innovation and mobility.

Pablo García-Berdoy, Ambassblankador Permanent Representative of Spain to the European Union, after thanking all the participants for their presence, he started his intervention considering globalization as one of the main current challenges, mainly in the technological sector, but also in terrorism and migrations.  To face it, he explained different EU policies regarding interoperability and borders’ improvement.

 

As a second challenge, Berdoy mentioned about how to face competitiveness and to maintain our social model, underlining the importance of integration measures and the White Paper of the European Commission, in which different scenarios for the future of Europe were presented.

In a third stage, he focused on the Brexit subject, assuring all member-states should get prepared, especially in the company sector, besides negotiating financial perspectives in an economical context which reduces our spending capacity. At last, he wanted to highlight the requirement of consideration by the European Union in the security field, given Russian policy and the new North American administration.

Pablo García-Berdoy finished his speech with conciliating words, remarking the importance of national and European politicians to work together and share projects.

To finish up, there was a question and answers turn, in which the participants could ask their questions to the ambassador, mainly about the post-Brexit political scenario and EU exportation policy.

Juan Rodríguez-Villa gave an award to the Ambassador as a thank you for his participation in the luncheon-debate and his work as a head of the Permanent Representation of Spain to the EU.

The president also wanted to make a special mention to Bodegas La Emperatriz, sponsors of the event’s wine.

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Event sponsored by:

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