Luncheon-Debate with Rosario Silva de Lapuerta, Vice President of the Court of Justice of the European Union

On November 27th, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg organized in Luxembourg a luncheon-debate with Rosario Silva de Lapuerta, Vice-President of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), under the title of ‘The Court of Justice of the European Union, as the guarantor of the respect of the EU right”. The event included the participation of different Spanish company executives and various representatives of public bodies, both Spanish and European. It was the President of the Chamber, Juan Rodríguez Villa-Matons, who welcome all the attendants, and the Vice-president of the Chamber in Luxembourg, José Luis Rodríguez Álvarez who introduced the event reviewing the relevant professional career of Rosario Silva de Lapuerta.

The Vice-president of the CJEU started with a brief presentation of the institution, describing its history, since its creation in 1952 as the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) with the Treaty of Paris until 2009 which was renamed Court of Justice of the European Union with the Treaty of Lisbon. Since then, this institution consists of two courts, the Court of Justice and the General Court with the specialized courts which operates in the first instance in specific cases.

After it, Rosario Silva de Lapuerta described the main competences of the court. Among others, she highlighted that the CJEU is a decentralized system with intergovernmental competence because it is shared by all member states. At the present, the Court of Justice is composed of one Judge from each State, who is proposed by each State and elected by mutual agreement. These Judges have a 6 year term which is renewed every 3 years. The court of Justice can act in 3 ways: in Plenary, in which all the judges from every member State participate, for the most important cases, such as Brexit; in Grand Chamber, in which the president and vice-president take part with 15 judges, and in Chamber of 3 or 5 judges in which the Court sets the competences of each chamber for specific cases.

Silva de Lapuerta explained the principal functions of CJEU: guarantee the respect of the law by the institutions, encourage the active participation from all member States in the treaties and rights of the CJEU and achieve the unity in the interpretation and application of all the Treaties.

The intervention of Rosario Silva de Lapuerta ended by reminding that the 28 member States must accomplish the functions assigned in order to guarantee the right of the European Union that the institutions and themselves composed. After her speech, there were a round of questions where participants could present their doubts about the court.

Eduardo Ozaita, President of the Board of Directors of Bankinter Luxembourg, closed the event by thanking the participation of Rosario Silva de Lapuerta in this luncheon debate and reviewing Bankinter’s position, highlighting that is the only Spanish bank with a branch office in Luxembourg.

The Chamber thanks Bankinter Luxembourg for its collaboration in the organization of the event.

Event sponsored by:

 

Workshop on “Preparation of technical offers for European tenders”

On November 21st and 22nd, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg held a workshop on “Preparation of technical offers for European tenders”, which aimed to train the staff of the participating companies to allow them to have the knowledge to start preparing tenders in accordance with the procedures of the European Union. The course was held by Karine Brück, founding partner of Karine Brück International (Ecosolve SL).

During the first day of the training, the participants had the opportunity to prepare a technical offer, analyse and understand the tender conditions and terms of reference or learn about work plans and the strategic approach common to all offers, as well as, good practices and recommendations in the writing of the technical offer.

The second day of the course was focused on the preparation of an economic offer and the analysis of its strategic context, as well as the preparation of different types of economic offers. The participants also received recommendations for the preparation phase of the economic offer.

During these two days, all attendees had the opportunity to learn about different tools, which will help companies to detect opportunities and improve the preparation of technical offers. At the end of the course, Brück answered questions and clarified the doubts of the participants. The workshop was developed in a participative and dynamic environment in which attendees could understand the necessary knowledge to winning offers.

Presentation of the services and programmes of the Chamber at the University of Antwerp

On November 19th the Secretary General of the Official Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg, María Catalán, participated in a conference organized by the University of Antwerp.

During the conference, which was aimed at the Spanish students from different university degrees, María Catalán presented the bilateral commerce figures between Belgium and Spain and the role that the Chamber plays for Spanish companies in Belgium.

Moreover, the Secretary General informed students about the projects that the Chamber develops in relation to employment and entrepreneurship, highlighting the European programme Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs, in which the Chamber acts as local contact point in Belgium and has as objective the promotion of exchanges of experiences between entrepreneurs in Europe.

 

The President of the Chamber participates at the award ceremony of the XXV Premio Marqués de Villalobar

On 28th October, the Chamber of Commerce of Belgium and Luxembourg in Spain and the Spanish-Dutch Business Forum awarded their XXV Premio Marqués de Villalobar to the Prado National Museum during a gala dinner in the Muses room of the Madrid art gallery.

This Award is a recognition to the professional excellence that is given to a personality or institution that has stood out remarkably contributing to a better understanding between the nations that the association represents, promoting and deepening the economic, political, scientific and cultural relations, always with the idea of a united Europe.

This year the Jury unanimously considered that the Prado National Museum, which today celebrates the Bicentennial of its foundation, was the ideal candidate with whom to celebrate the silver jubilee of the Award for several important reasons: the museum houses the best collection of Flemish painting in the world; in these two hundred years, the Madrid art gallery has fostered the cultural ties that have united our societies throughout history; and finally, each time a painting from the Prado travels to another country to participate in an exhibition, it is also an ambassador of the best that our countries have: their rich culture, alien to political ups and downs. This is the extraordinary thing about Art, its universal essence and its capacity to transcend borders and languages.

The event was chaired by Mr. Yves Verhamme, President of the Chamber of Commerce of Belgium and Luxembourg in Spain and the Hispano-Netherlands Business Forum, and was attended by the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium, H.E. Mr. Marc Calcoen; the Ambassador of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, H.E. Mrs. Michèle Pranchère-Tomassini; the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain in Belgium, H.E. Mrs. Beatriz Larrotcha Palma; the former Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain in Belgium, H.E. Mrs. Cecilia Yuste Rojas; and the Illustrious Sir José Saavdera Ligne, Marquess of Villalobar. The President of the Chamber, Mr Juan Rodríguez-Villa Matons also participated in the event.

Before dinner, attendees enjoyed a private guided tour of the Museum’s fabulous Flemish painting rooms.

The President’s welcome speech, accompanied by a glass of crémant de Luxembourg, offered by the Grand Duchy Embassy, opened the award ceremony.

The award was collected by Mr. Miguel Falomir Faus, Director of the Prado National Museum.

Social entrepreneurs team up thanks to the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs

Riccardo Raffaele Bozano and André De Giorgi are two social entrepreneurs participating in the European program Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs (EYE) through the Chamber.

Riccardo Raffaele Bozano is the director of Ianus group, a consultancy group who supports innovative entrepreneurs, NGOs, public and private organizations to optimise resources and processes at disposal to maximise benefits and profits in line with the new global trends and needs. He is now working on the creation of an association to support children in Spain and in US.

André De Giorgi is an ambitious Portuguese entrepreneur who has the objective of launching his own football academy to help young adults, boys, girls with or without disabilities to be the best version of themselves. Few months ago, he decided to take part in the EYE program to put in practice all the knowledge he acquired in university.

They found each other through the platform of the program, and now their objective is to work together in Brussels in different projects, so André can better understand the different actors involved in the third sector. This exchange will also allow Riccardo to broaden his network in Europe and US and to get insights from the new entrepreneur.

The exchange between Riccardo and André will last 5 months. It will be an excellent opportunity for both entrepreneurs to share their experience, move forward with their projects and explore potential collaborations.

Presentation of JobYourself: become a freelancer without risks in Brussels Region

Within the framework of the program EmprendeBeLux, The Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg, in collaboration with JobYourself, a cooperative of activities of the Brussels-Capital Region, organized last 21st of November a presentation of said institution mainly aimed at unemployed people who have a business idea and complementary freelancers. The attendees had the chance to learn about this cooperative, which offers assistance in the development and testing of entrepreneurial projects in the market, as well as the other services that it offers.

Through the EmprendeBeLux Program the Chamber aims to support Spanish people in BeLux on their long way to becoming an entrepreneur and accompany them through the consolidation of their business.

 

Programme sponsored by:

Casa Valonia, an initiative to strengthen the relations between Spain and Wallonia

On November 6th and 7th, the Representation of the Wallon Region of the Belgian Embassy in Madrid organized the event “Casa Valonia” at the prestigious Carlos de Antwerp Foundation in Madrid. This initiative, with an extensive program of activities, had as its main objective to strengthen the relations between the Wallon Region and Spain in the cultural, social and business areas.

Among the planned activities, the General Secretary of the Offical Chamber of Commerce of Spain in Belgium and Luxembourg, María Catalán, participated in the seminar “Investing in Wallonia” and in the 2019 Wallonia Awards, both organized on November 7th.

Through the seminar “Investing in Wallonia” the region was presented as an investment destination in the logistic sector. The event, which had a high audience of representatives of Spanish companies was held by Pascale Delcomminette, General Administrator of AWEX, and Elsa Salvadores Janssen, Deputy Managing Director of the Official Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services of Madrid. The program was attended by Karelle Lambert, Director of the European area at AWEX, Franck Toussaint, Logistic Expert at AWEX and Rafael Álvarez Campa, Legal Partner of Everest Law. Rafael Álvarez Campa presented the tax incentives for direct investment and innovative entrepreneurship. Finally, the Commercial and Operations Director of CACESA. Rodrigo Peñas, presented his case of success in the establishment of his company in Wallonia.

During the dinner organized on November 7th, the 2019 Wallonia Awards were celebrated. Among the winners in the different categories, there were awarded El Corte Inglés, the Association of Former Students in Belgium and Belgian Friends and the company CACESA.