General Assembly Meeting 2019

Last 27th of June, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg celebrated its General Assembly Meeting for the year 2018. The meeting took place at the Hotel NH Collection Brussels Grand Sablon and was attended by more than forty representatives of associated companies.

The Ambassador of Spain in Belgium, Ms. Beatriz Larrotcha Palma, and the Ambassador of Spain in Luxembourg, Mr. D. Bernardo de Sicart Escoda, both presidents of Honor of the Chamber, presided over the Assembly. The Economic and Commercial Counselor of the Embassy, Ms. María Palanca Reh, also attended the meeting.

At the beginning of the Assembly, the President of the Chamber, Mr. Juan Rodríguez-Villa Matons, thanked the members for their assistance and highlighted the importance of the support that the Chamber receives from the Spanish public administrations, and in particular from the Embassies of Spain in Belgium and Luxembourg. After this introduction, the word was given to the Secretary General of the Chamber.

Ms. María Catalán set the agenda of the Assembly and afterwards summarized the main activities and events organized by the Chamber during 2018. She also presented the programs managed by the Chamber such as the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs, ReActivate, EmprendeBelux and EmpleoBelux.

Then she presented the figures corresponding to the income and expense accounts, the income statement and the balance sheet for the 2018 financial year. After the approval of the annual accounts for the year 2018 and the Board of Directors’ management, the last point on the agenda, corresponding to the vote to fill the vacancies in the Board of Directors.

After a brief presentation of the ten candidates, the participants proceed to the vote, and the following members of the Chamber were elected to the Board of Directors  for a period of three years:

  • Iberdrola, represented by Eva Chamizo, director of the Brussels office
  • Gómez-Acebo & Pombo, represented by Miguel Troncoso, lawyer / partner
  • Joseba Arriortua, Personal partner
  • LaLiga, represented by Andrea Oriol, delegate BENELUX
  • Conle Finance, represented by Juan Rodríguez-Villa, delegate administrator
  • Atrevia, represented by Ángel Rebollo, director of the Brussels office

The Ambassador of Spain in Belgium expressed her gratitude to all the Spanish companies for representing a solid and fundamental business network for the Spanish economy. She also stressed that the heads of mission should support companies to overcome difficulties and expressed interest in keeping permanent contact with companies and support them in their activities developed in BeLux.

Lastly, the President of the Chamber thanked the Secretary General and her team for the work they have been doing. To close the Assembly, the attendees could enjoy a cocktail.

The Ordinary General Assembly 2019 documentation will be available to members through the Intranet of the Chamber.

The aircraft carrier Juan Carlos I stops over at the Port of Zeebrugge

 

The President of the Chamber, Juan Rodríguez-Villa Matons, participated the last June 24 at the reception organized by the Embassy of Spain in Belgium on the occasion of the stopover at the Port of Zeebrugge of the aircraft carrier Juan Carlos I of the Spanish Navy.

The event was chaired by the Ambassador of Spain in Belgium, Beatriz Larrotcha Palma, and the Commander of the aircraft carrier, and had the participation of civil and military authorities.

20/06 Breakfast-Debate with Román Arjona Gracia, Chief Economist, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission

Last 20 June the Chamber organized a breakfast-debate with Román Arjona, Chief Economist of the DG Research & Innovation at the European Commission, who presented “Horizon Europe and its scheme support for R&D and innovation”. To the event attended different representatives from companies and institutions.

Román highlighted that the new framework programme that will cover the period 2021-2027, it’s, with 100 billion euros, the biggest budget assigned to a R&I programme, not only at European level but also on a global level. The vision of the Commission is to encourage member state to continue reinforcing he budget assigned to R&D, to become an engine for growth and competitiveness.

Different novelties were also presented such as the creation of the European Innovation Council or the introduction of new financial instruments such as equity. All these modifications have been introduced with the final am to translate the European scientific excellence in innovation and entrepreneurship results.

During the presentation was also noted the importance that companies, and institution participate in the different info days organized by the European Commission, such as the  European Research and Innovation days, as well get feedback from the national contact points to get guidance on how to benefit from Horizon Europe.

Workshop on “Digitalize your Business”

Last 18 June, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg, in collaboration with Senda Consulting, organized the workshop “Digitalize your Business”. The purpose of the workshop was to provide an insight into the functioning and the utility of the digitalization for SMEs. The course, given by the entrepreneur of the Chamber, David Sánchez from Senda Consulting, was of great interest to the attendees, who were able to deepen their knowledge in the area. Sánchez began with an introduction to the term digitalization, its meaning and the reasons why it is presented as a point of interest for every business.

During the workshop, the necessary concepts to guarantee the security of the servers as well as the different online programs and platforms available for the management were tackled. The basic structure of the digital communication was also exposed and the mode of use and the characteristics of MailChimp, Google Analytics or Yoast, among others, were mentioned. To finish, Sánchez explained the benefits of digitalization for any business and resolved the doubts of the attendees.

 

 

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1st Edition doubles paddle tennis tournament

 Last 15th June the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg organized, in collaboration with La Casa del Padel, its first doubles paddle tennis tournament for the expat community in Belgium and Luxembourg with the aim of promoting professional networking among its contact network.

The event started with an introduction to paddle rules for all participants. After that, the division by groups was structured and the matches started. Among the 18 doubles teams, the winners of the absolute category were Ladislao Checa and Carles Giner, in the same way, Alberto Orsi and Stefano Delfino won in in the amateur group.

The participants enjoyed a nice evening of paddle followed by a networking cocktail and the awards ceremony, in which a Spanish food basked was given to the winners on both categories, and a raffle among the participants was made.

 

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IV edition of the Social Networking Night

Last 13th of June took place in Brussels the IV edition of the Social Networking Night, an activity organized by the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg in the framework of its program Empleo BeLux. The main objective of this activity is to optimize the tools available in BeLux for the job search. The event took place at the BNP Paribas Fortis facilities in Brussels.

First of all, the Secretary General of the Chamber, María Catalán, thanked all the attendees, speakers and sponsors BNP Paribas Fortis and Esade Business School for their presence, and presented the program of the event and the website Empleo BeLux.

Then Salvatore Orlando, Expat Manager of BNP Paribas Fortis, addressed some tips for expats in Brussels, emphasizing how to develop and where to expand their contact network.

The first presentation of the event was in charge of Andrés Álvarez, Project Officer at the European Commission, who presented the different possibilities and options that exist to work in the European Union. Álvarez explained the range of possibilities for having access to institutions, emphasizing the different options available without the need to access through EPSO competitions, such as contractual contracts.

For her part, Ursi Van der Herten, Associate Director International Executive Programs at ESADE, made a presentation on how to study an Executive MBA can help accelerate your professional career, highlighting the importance of the business school choice. Among the advices, she remarked to seek information through the alumni network for the choice of the school.

Francesc Cots, Financial Director at Eurofirms, underlined the importance of the Personal Branding to finding employment and placed particular emphasis on Personal Branding on social media and specifically on LinkedIn. Cots advised to share activities carried out by the company that you work through your personal profile.

In this edition, the success story of “Emprende Belux” was led by Paloma Cantero, CEO of YouthProAktiv and CWC Consulting. Cantero shared her experience as an entrepreneur in Belgium and explained the difficulties she had to face, as well as the satisfactions and motivation to undertake in a foreign country. Likewise, the entrepreneur participates in the Erasmus Program for Young Entrepreneurs of the Chamber, which Arturo Ibáñez subsequently explained.

Arturo Ibáñez and Soraya Bravo, Project Managers of the Chamber, explained the main features of two Chamber’s programs related to entrepreneurship: the Erasmus Program for Young Entrepreneurs (EYE), a European program of transnational exchanges that offers new entrepreneurs and people who want to create a business the opportunity to learn from experienced entrepreneurs who run small businesses in other participating countries, which the Chamber is a local point of contact, and the Emprende BeLux, a program to support Spanish residents in Belgium and Luxembourg on the long road to entrepreneurship and business consolidation.

Among the different interventions, the attendees had the opportunity to participate in three workshops. In the first one, Asier Marquina, from Arcelomittal, highlighted the techniques to enhance networking and contact network, through a dynamic and participate intervention. In the second one, the life coach Marta Cela gave the keys to successfully answer the cheating questions in a job interview and she outlined the self-confidence and attitude when facing the interview as a candidate. In the last workshop, Victoria Martinez, HR Talent Acquisition Consultant in Everis, developed the importance of social networks as a jobs search tool and provided useful advices for making an attractive curriculum for the employer.

Finally, the attendees enjoyed a networking cocktail, in which they could interact with the speakers and other participants in a relaxed atmosphere.

Introductory tasting of Spanish Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

On June 12 the Chamber organized, in collaboration with Alma Cervera, an “Introductory tasting of Spanish Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)”. Alma Cervera has recently launched her business focusing on the tasting and distribution of Spanish EVOOs, selecting products with the best varieties.

EVOOs from different Spanish regions were tasted, learning about the different tasting techniques and the principles of oil making.

Alma Envero was one of the tasted oils, 100% virgin extra, cultivated, picked and processed through traditional techniques and environmentally friendly. The crop is located in the north east of Murcia, with centenary olive trees and from the varieties of Picual and Arbequina.

The oil SUCUM, from the company Dehesa Frías S.L., was also tasted. From this “finca” located in the north of Seville, the oil is extracted from the first crop from olives of the variety Picuda from Baena.

The oils were tasted with innovative pairings, such as preparation of potato and cod, melon and cucumber cream and different charcuterie such as jamon serrano, manchego cheese and cecina.

For more information we invite you to visit Alma Cervera’s website: www.almaove.com

Conference about “new Companies and Associations Code”

The Chamber, in collaboration with Estudio Legal Muñoz Gonzalo SLP and Philippe & Partners, organized next Tuesday June 11th  a conference in Brussels about “new Companies and Associations Code”.

To the event attended different entrepreneurs form the EmprendeBelux program, an initiative which aim is supporting Spanish entrepreneurs in Belgium and Luxembourg, serving as a platform for ongoing training and generating new contacts.

Among the main novelties of the new Companies and Associations Code that came into force last 1st May 2019 and were presented at the conference we can highlight:

  • The replacement of the «Société Privée à Responsabilité Limitée» (SPRL) by the «Société à Responsabilité Limitée» (SRL). 
  • The requirement of a minimum capital disappears.
  • The requirements for the financial plan are reinforced.
  • Limitation of the administrator’s responsibility.
  • English is allowed to be used in different statutory documents.
  • The rule of the distribution of dividends is linked to a dabble test:

      Balance test: The distribution of dividends will not be allowed if the net equity is negative.

      Liquidity test: The distribution of dividends will not be allowed if the company can not comply with its actual and future debts.

This new modification will imply a simplify and give greater flexibility to the new societies, with a diminution of the societal form; the Belgian code reduce from 17 to 9 the total amount of societies.

The companies have now until 1st January 2024 to adapt their statutes to the new regulation. However, since 1st January 2020 the new changes will apply to all companies.

 

  

Kick-off meeting of the financial Commission of the Chamber in Luxembourg

Last 6th June, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg organized the kick-off meeting of the Financial Commission in the offices of EY in Luxembourg.

Twenty partner companies from the Chamber participated in the meeting with activity related to the financial sector.

With this working group, the Chamber aims to create a space for opinion and debate on economic and financial issues where professionals working in companies related to the provision of financial services, can share experiences, establish collaborations and exchange information about the sector trends.

During the meeting, the objectives of the Commission were discussed, as well as the internal functioning and the proposal of events.

In the coming weeks, the Chamber will present a project of activities and the Commission’s strategy in the medium term.