Luncheon-debate with Věra Jourová, European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality

The past September 28th, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg, organized in collaboration with the General Board of Abogacía Española, a luncheon-debate with Věra Jourová, European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality. Among the attendees there were several members of the Chamber, business executives, and representatives of Spanish and European companies and institutions.

Juan Rodríguez-Villa Matons, President of the Chamber, said a welcome word, introduced the Commissioner, highlighting her professional career and thanked her for her collaboration with the luncheon-debate.

Afterwards, the Commissioner took the stand and introduced briefly the main challenges her Commission is currently dealing with such as promoting entrepreneurship in Europe, the digital markets, the insolvency, data protection, consumer rights, digital content, gender equality and justice against crime.

Jourová emphasized the importance of creating a digital single market, explaining that currently there are only a few small companies which are selling products online cross borders. In Spain, only a 19% of companies do so. The main barrier to increase online commerce at international level is that there are different legal systems for online and offline worlds.

Afterwards, she showed her concerning about the lack of a regulatory law related to online sales of digital content (except from United Kingdom and The Netherlands) and mentioned that from theCommission they are working on a proposal for all European countries.

About data protection, she expressed the need of investing more money on new measures and tools that allow institutions to know what companies actually do with consumer’s personal data. On the other hand, she stressed the need of making a bigger effort on explaining the EU citizens about their new rights concerning data protection and privacy and how to use those rights.

During her speech, Jourová also talked about individual consumers’ rights, very numerous in the European Union, but about which there exists a very poor public information. In a time frame where big companies are becoming bigger, and small companies are tend to be smaller, from March 2018, the Commission for Justice is working on a plan which will provide individuals and small companies with the right tools to defend their rights related to trade and consumption.

The main topics discussed during the question time were related to gender equality at work environment and cybersecurity.

Finally, Marta Cerro, President of the Council of Bars of Castilla la Mancha, presented the Bar, and highlighted the role of lawyers in the European Union environment and how they contribute directly to citizens defense. She pointed out the need of respecting the citizens and providing them with a high quality service. In addition, she thanked the commissioner for her hard work and commitment with gender equality, and showed her her support in terms of promoting values related with the recognition of women in work environment.

Juan Rodriguez-Villa and Marga Cerro awarded Commissioner Jourová with a symbolic present to thank her for her participation in the luncheon-debate and her hard work in charge of for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality in the European Commission.

The president also wanted to thank Bodegas Yuntero, wine sponsor for this event.

Sponsored by:

 

[AFG_gallery id=’100′]

Circular Economy: European and local aid for the development of sustainable projects

Last 27th of September, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce organized, in collaboration with BECI (Chambre de Commerce et Union des Enterprises de Bruxelles) and Enterprise Europe Network, a conference under the topic “Circular economy: European and local assistance for the development of durable projects”. Among the participants, there were executives from companies related to circular economy, start-ups, representatives from European Institutions, members of the Chamber and representatives of Spanish autonomous delegations in Brussels.

The event, which took place at GreenBizz Brussels (an incubator for sustainable projects), started with a welcome word from Juan Rodríguez-Villa Matons, President of the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce and from Jean-Philippe Mergen, Export Director in BECI.

Amandine Sellier, Coordinator of the Circular Economy program in Brussels Environment, explained the PREC (Programme Régional en Economie Circulaire). The main goal of this program is to revitalize the economy in Brussels during the next ten years by using 111 different measures. Their aim is to transform the environmental goals into economic opportunities, to produce in a local level, to reduce the movements, to optimize the territory utilization and to create employment. This program is focused in five different action sectors: commerce, logistics, resources and waste, construction and nutrition.

Afterwards, María Rincón Lievana, Policy Officer at the Directorate-General for Environment at the European Commission, highlighted that economy and environment are two concepts that are related to each other and that is the reason why the circular economy is a priority for their institution. This is not only because of the benefits that the circular economy reports to the companies, but also because they are concerned about the damage that all waste causes to our ecosystem. The European Commission is carrying out several actions such as: offering help to consumers and institutions when making the decision of choosing sustainable products and services, legislative proposals, the promotion of water recycling and the inspection of fertilizer regulation.

Finally, the Director of Zabala Innovation Consulting, Marie Latour, detailed the existing European helps in the circular economy sphere. She highlighted the Horizon 2020 and the current programs: Life, EFSI, Innovfin, ESIF, COSME, among others.

Afterwards, three companies presented their successful cases. The first one was Pierre Romain, founder and CEO in Greensolution.pro. He showed how to renovate and clean the urban furniture and real state patrimony through biotechnological products. Subsequently, Antoine Dubois from Brussels Beer Project explained how their new beer is elaborated by reusing the leftovers of non-sold bread at the supermarkets. In the last case, Karapet Chatchatrian from Tridea explained how their company reuses waste in order to create new products through 3D printing.

As a closing, Jean-Marc Bryskere director of GreenBizz, presented briefly the services that the incubator offers in terms of developing sustainable projects in Brussels Region.

First afterwork with members

The past 21st September, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg organized the first afterwork with members of the Chamber at the restaurant Hispania Brussels. The afterwork is an initiative of the Chamber which aims to encourage networking among members and the generation of new business opportunities.

Members from different companies associated to the Chamber participated on the afterwork. Once all the attendees arrived to the venue, the Secretary General of the Chamber, María Catalán, said a welcome word, thanking the attendees participation. Afterwards, she introduced the translation company Lextrad.

After that, Marina Lanckmans, Founder – Director of Lextrad, introduced the company and its services. During her intervention, she explained the responsibilities every translation company has and she highlighted the importance of owning an exhaustive knowledge of the working languages, their cultural, sociological, economic and political contexts with the aim of providing an excellent translation service.

Finally, the Chamber offered the attendees an appetizer, allowing them to interact a bit longer and enjoy an ideal environment to generate new business opportunities. The afterwork was a complete success and the Chamber wishes to continue this initiative regularly.

[AFG_gallery id=’59’]

In collaboration with:  

 

Board of Directors of the Chamber meeting

The Board of Directors of the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg held a meeting last 7th September in the headquarters of the Chamber in Brussels.

During the meeting, the Board named Mr. Miguel Ángel Arrimadas García as Treasurer of the Chamber for a period of three years and Mr. Rafael Chamorro Marín, Director of the Spanish Tourism Office was officially introduced as the new Institutional Vocal of the Board.

The Secretary General informed about the Chamber’s upcoming events, highlighting the organization of the DS Brussels Fashion Days- Spanish Edition and the annual Gala Dinner, which this year will be organized in collaboration with Leading Brands of Spain Forum.

Breakfast-debate with Félix Fernández-Shaw: Global strategy of the EU. Europe in the world

The past September 14th, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg hosted in its Brussels’ headquarters a breakfast-debate with Félix Fernández-Shaw, Expert Member of the Federica Mogherini’s Cabinet, about “Global strategy of the EU. Europe in the world”. Among the participants, there were members of the Chamber, ambassadors of Latin-American countries, business executives and representatives of Spanish autonomous delegations in Brussels.

María Catalán, Secretary General of the Chamber, and moderator of the event, started by saying a welcome word and introduced the speaker, highlighting his broad professional career related to the European Union. Member of the Spanish Diplomatic Career since 1993, he is currently working as an Expert Member of the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of European Commission Federica Mogherini, in charge of Africa, Sustainable Development, Multiannual Financial Framework and climate change.

Félix Férnandez-Shaw then took the floor and started a small debate to encourage the attendees’ participation. The main goal of this short discussion was to clarify some concepts related to the different organisms of the European Union and its roles.   

Afterwards, Félix explained the mission of Federica Mogherini’s Cabinet as a part of the European Commission and described the decision-making process and its final implementation. He highlighted this Cabinet constitutes the “voice” of the European Union around the world. Its main responsibilities are the management of foreign policy instruments, foreign affairs and foreign defense and security of all country members.

The speaker underlined the importance of the inclusion of all the country members of the European Union as a part of a common Foreign Policy, since every decision is made at global level. He stressed the importance of an internal cohesion among all its members to strengthen the EU’s presence at international level. In order to achieve a correct global management is necessary to use two principles: strength and order.

On the other hand, Félix talked about how our world has changed at global level since 1989. During this period of time, three different revolutions have occurred: democratic, ideological and technological, which have allowed that the world is a better place than two decades ago.

Félix has also showed his concern about the environmental situation of our planet and he has remarked the importance of working towards a sustainable development and the need of a strong alliance among countries. The European Union has a very important role within the global situation, and that is why it is necessary to work towards a more united Europe, which transmits a “unique voice”. 

Finally, he has made a call to raise awareness about this problem and he has encouraged all the attendees to promote the cooperation and development in their own companies. He also suggested them to work in sustainable development goals, and promote help towards the African continent.

After Fernández-Shaw’s intervention, the secretary general of the Chamber opened the debate, which was marked by a high participation of the attendees. Among the main issues, the most remarkable topic was the cooperation to public-private development in the African continent.

[AFG_gallery id=’58’]

Business centre in the heart of Brussels

The Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg presents its business centre located in the European quarter of Brussels. Through this service, the Chamber seeks to support the process of expansion and internationalization of companies.

We offer different types of services, depending on the specific needs of each company: domiciliation, spaces for rent and co-working spaces.

Domiciliation

The Chamber offers different possibilities to domicile your business in Brussels: headquarters (with sending and receiving mail/parcel), virtual office and meeting rooms (with the option of combining both).

Spaces for rent

The Chamber offers the possibility of renting different types of spaces according to your needs: meeting rooms, offices and garages.

The meeting room can accommodate up to 40 people. It has a front desk assistant, air conditioning, LCD 47” screen, photocopying service and receipt of documents and Wi-Fi Internet.

The offices are totally furnished and allow you to settle in Brussels in a permanent or occasional way.

Co-working spaces

The Chamber offers Spanish companies a co-working space in the European quarter of Brussels.

This modality allows you to access the following services:

  • Registered office/ headquarters in the center of Brussels
  • Access 24/24. You own your own workspace
  • Phone line and Internet connection
  • Locked cabinet
  • Access to meeting rooms 5h / month
  • Use of public areas

We also offer formulas adapted to the specific needs of each company.

All these facilities are situated in the famous Rue Belliard, in the European quarter of Brussels. The proximity to the train station Brussels-Luxembourg, metro (Arts- Loi / Kunst Wet and Trône / Troon) and buses (MIVB), provide easy access.

Check all the rates here.

For any questions or queries please do not hesitate to send an e-mail to info@e-camara.com.

Satisfaction survey for members of the Chamber

One of the main objectives of the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg is to always offer the best quality in the services we provide to our members, permanently seeking to adapt ourselves to their specific needs.

Our main source of information on the degree of satisfaction and opinions of our members is our staff, who always provides a personalized service regarding any suggestion, comment or eventuality coming from our members.

However, said information is incomplete; we would therefore like to obtain direct and anonymous feedback from our members.

As a result of this willingness to improve, we have designed a brief survey regarding different aspects of our institution so that members may rate them and, in case they would wish to do so, make any personal comments. The data resulting from this questionnaire is completely anonymous and will help us to keep improving every day and provide the members with the best service possible. Your opinion is very important for us.

We would certainly appreciate it if you could complete the survey in the following link.

In case you encounter any problem when logging in the Intranet, please do not hesitate to contact the Chamber: info@e-camara.com