The Federation of Official Spanish Chambers of Commerce in Europe,Africa,Asia and Oceania, FEDECOM, renews its Boards of Directors and announces new incorporations

The Ordinary General Assembly of the Federation of Official Spanish Chambers of Commerce in Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania (FEDECOM) unanimously approved in a virtual meeting a second term of President Eduardo Barrachina, who is also the President of the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in the United Kingdom. Similarly, the vice presidencies of Europe, Africa and the Middle East and Asia and Oceania were elected. For Europe José Miguel García was elected, who will combine the vice-presidency of Europe with the Presidency of the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in France. For Africa and the Middle East Guillermo Cobelo, President of the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in the United Arab Emirates, and for Asia and Oceania, María José Rodríguez , President of the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Australia has also renewed her position.Yolanda Gimeno, Secretary General of the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Italy, joins the General Secretariat of the Federation.

For the first time in the history of the Federation, three vice presidencies have been constituted to energize FEDECOM and address the challenges that the Board of Directors has set. Regarding the new Board of Directors, Eduardo Barrachina said that “It is enough to see the trajectories and profiles of the three Vice Presidents and the Secretary General to realize in the act that it is an extraordinary team of professionals with extensive experience in the international chamber system”.

With this new Board of Directors, FEDECOM adopts a much more strategic and sophisticated stance when it comes to coordinating all initiatives in a Federation of Chambers that covers four continents.

The opening in the last two years of four new Official Chambers in India, the Czech Republic, Singapore and Senegal, reinforces the work and the important support that FEDECOM and the Official Chambers that compose it, provide for the benefit of the general Spanish interests in the country where it lies and in promoting Spanish exports and investments in key markets for Spain. With the new additions, FEDECOM now brings together 23 Official Spanish Chambers of Commerce, recognized by the Spanish State and established in Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania: Germany, Australia, Belgium and Luxembourg, Casablanca, Qatar, Czech Republic, Korea, United Arab Emirates, Philippines, France, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Malta, Portugal, United Kingdom, Senegal, Singapore, South Africa, Tangier and Tunisia.

FEDECOM reflects the dynamism of Spanish enterprises and is a key economic intelligence instrument in the internalization of Spanish companies and the foreign action of the State. The main mission of FEDECOM, an international non-profit association, consists of defending the general interests of its associated Chambers and companies that compose them, information on adequate instruments for the proper development of its activities, collaboration with the Chamber of Spain, as well as relations with other international institutions. The Spanish Chambers of Commerce abroad belong to the global network of Chambers of Commerce promoted and coordinated by the Chamber of Spain.

“Our dialogue and coordination with the Chamber of Spain and the Secretary of State for Commerce is very close and constant. The creation of the three vice presidencies will allow us to work in a more efficient way”, said Barrachina.

With the election of the new FEDECOM Board of Directors, Barrachina highlighted the extraordinary relationship that exists between the Government (through the Secretary of State for Commerce), the Chamber of Commerce of Spain and the rest of the Foreign Chambers of Commerce. The President of FEDECOM has taken the opportunity to remind those present, of the future projects in which the Federation is working: the digitization of these institutions to bring the network of Chambers to all its users, the development of a map of services to collaborate with the Spanish Public Administration in its foreign action and the improvement in communication and visibility to value the work that the institution does and create more opportunities.

At FEDECOM we work for Spanish companies from Lisbon to Sydney via London, Rabat, Dubai, New Delhi or Manila. So many things have never been done, but, above all, never with such coordination and in such a way aligned with the needs of Spain, which it inevitably means, that internationalization will once again be a motor for the recovery of the Spanish economy.

 

 

FEDECOM General Assembly 11th February

Among the issues discussed during the General Assembly of FEDECOM, held on 11 February, it is worth mentioning the interventions of Cristina Olazabal, representing the Secretary of State for Trade and Jaime Montalvo, International Director of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce.

The announcement made at the previous GA on subsidies, through the General State Budget, is pending the approval of the Recovery and Resilience Funds. The subsidies will be for the digitalisation of the external network of the chambers of commerce (CAMACOES). Work is being carried out on the possibility of funding under different headings, including: adaptation of technical resources (bandwidth, intranet, etc.), adaptation of physical facilities, investment in technical and human resources.

Agreements will be signed between the Secretariat of State and the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, or with the CAMACOES. The timetable being studied for the implementation of improvements in digitalisation covers the three-year period 2021-2023.

On the other hand, the aim is to position and consolidate the CAMACOES network. The objective is to enhance its current qualities, promoting network projects, designing joint strategies with OFECOMES and the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, sharing software equipment.

There is a lot of work being done to optimise the website of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce by means of a link with the CAMACOES, presenting a map of services. A microsite will be created with maximum visibility, which will be a place for companies and institutions. Moreover, a chamber intranet will be opened, at the disposal of the CAMACOES and the Secretary of State for Trade.

It is planned to update the services by creating a catalogue for companies and government institutions.

Finally, information was provided on the development of the Global Network project, whose objective is the creation of the “Community of Spanish business managers in the world“, in which both OFECOMES and CAMACOES play an important role.

Online Breakfast-Debate with Pablo Fábregas Martínez, Member of the Cabinet of Adina Vălean, Commissioner for Transport

Last Wednesday, February 24th, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg organized a new virtual breakfast-debate in the framework of its “Business Circle” platform. Pablo Fábregas Martínez, Member of the Cabinet of Adina Vălean, Commissioner for Transport, participated in the debate. The breakfast focused on: “The European Commission’s priorities for mobility and transport in the context of deconfinement”.

Pablo López Álvarez, Vice President of the Chamber and moderator of the event, welcomed and briefly introduced the speaker, thanking him, along with all those present, for his participation.

Pablo Fábregas Martínez began by thanking those present for their attendance and the Chamber for organizing the event. During his speech, the speaker explained the new sustainable mobility strategy that the Commission presented at the end of last year. This working plan is structured around three main areas: sustainable, smart and resistant mobility, which in turn is divided into ten emblematic initiatives.

In terms of sustainable mobility, Fábregas pointed out that no mode of transport should be excluded, although in some sectors it is more difficult to achieve decarbonisation and emphasized the importance of alternative fuels. Other issues that the Commission is working on, aligned with the Green Deal, are the increase in charging points and the review of the trans-European transport networks.

In relation to intelligent mobility, which is closely related to the Green Deal and the technological transition, he pointed out that the vision of a resilient and fair mobility must be reinforced. Faced with a crisis such as that of Covid-19, in which airlines have canceled much of their services, the safeguarding of travelers’ rights must be prioritized.

Finally, he stressed the importance of increasing traffic safety in order to reduce the number of deaths on the roads. Another point on which they are working is the review of the infrastructures so that they age better and prevent possible accidents.

During question time, attendees were able to express their doubts and comments on numerous issues of interest. Thus, issues such as the reactivation of the tourism sector for the summer, the importance of the railroad in recovery plans or the revision of Co2 standards were discussed.

From the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg we would like to warmly thank Pablo Fábregas Martínez and all those present for their participation.

Workshop on “Communication for EU projects”

On February 18th and 19th, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg, organized an online webinar on “Communication for EU projects”, in collaboration with the member company Vision Communication Consultancy.

This webinar enabled professionals tasked with branding, public affairs, marketing communications, or community engagement to plan, execute and assess a comprehensive and effective social media campaign for their European agencies, organizations, programs and projects.

During the first session, an introduction of the communication for EU projects was made with an explanation of the different existing EU projects. The reality of the consortiums in European projects was explored as well as the need to adapt the communication strategy of the project to the different contexts.

In the second session, deeper look toward the European projects’ communication was done by exploring the social media management, the different communication products, and the need for an appropriate management of the events.

All along both journeys, participants had the chance to get to know cases of success and failure of communication in various European projects and how to effectively design and manage communication in projects granted by the EU.

Breakfast-debate with Beatriz de Guindos Talavera, Director of Competition of the CNMC

Last Wednesday, February 17th, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg organised its second event within the framework of the Working Commission “Competencia España”, with the purpose to address specific issues of competition law and policy that may affect the member companies of the Chamber.

The virtual breakfast-debate counted with the participation of Beatriz de Guindos Talavera, Director of Competition of the CNMC about “the Competition law reform”.

Miguel Troncoso, managing partner in Brussels of Gómez-Acebo & Pombo and Chairman of the Commission, introduced Beatriz de Guindos Talavera and gave an overview of her extensive professional career and thanked her for her participation in this second Commission event.

De Guindos spoke about the imminent reform of the Competition Law as a result, among other aspects, of the transposition of the ECN+ Directive.

Within this reform, the speaker mainly highlighted the four amendments that affect the law.

During the question-and-answer session, the attendees were able to express their doubts and comments on numerous issues of interest.

These meetings are intended to be a platform for debate in “neutral territory” between companies, lawyers and consultants associated with the Chamber with officials from DG Competition, the CNMC and members of the Spanish and European judiciary.

Virtual meeting of members domiciled in Luxembourg

On February 18th, the first assembly meeting of Luxembourg-based members took place. During the meeting, a review of the main activities carried out by the Chamber’s delegation in the Grand Duchy was made, and the next actions to be carried out were detailed.

Likewise, a new structure of the Management Committee of the Chamber of Commerce of Luxembourg, the management body of the Chamber’s delegation in the Grand Duchy, was voted. Finally, the appointment of the four members, representing their respective companies for a period of four years was unanimously elected:

  • Hector Esteban Moreno (Bankinter)
  • Mónica Hortelano (Quintet)
  • Álvaro Laorden (RBC Investor & Treasury Services)
  • Jesús Vicente (Vicente et fils)

These four partners will join the four members of the Chamber’s Board of Directors who are domiciled in Luxembourg and are full members of this Committee.

Lastly, H.E. Mr. Bernardo de Sicart Escoda, Ambassador of Spain in Luxembourg, took the floor to congratulate the new members of the Committee and to wish them good luck in their work.

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Online Breakfast-Debate with María Martin-Prat, Director, Directorate-General for Trade (DG Trade), Chief Negotiator for EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI)

Last Wednesday February 10th 2021, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg  organised a new virtual breakfast-debate in the framework of its “Business Circle” platform. María Martin-Prat, Director, Directorate-General for Trade (DG Trade), Chief Negotiator for EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) participated in the debate. The breakfast focused on “the new agreement between the European Union and China in investments: implications for businesses” and was organized in collaboration with Van Bael & Bellis.

Pablo López Álvarez, Vice President of the Chamber and moderator of the event, welcomed and thanked the speaker and all the attendees for their participation.

To begin with, Philippe De Baere, partner in Van Bael & Bellis, took the floor to thank the speaker for her presence and for leading the negotiations on the agreement. Following that, he briefly presented the main challenges that the treaty is facing because of the existence of numerous detractors and the lack of a disputes resolution mechanism for investors.

Maria Martín-Prat began her speech by thanking all the attendees and the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce for the possibility of holding this event. During her intervention, the speaker began presented in detail the content of the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) recently reached with the Popular Republic of China. Firstly, the CAI stands out for not being a regular investment protection treaty nor a free trade agreement. The Chief Negotiator explained that the objective of this agreement is to help investors from EU Member States to enter the Chinese market and prevent the problems of arbitrariness and discrimination that they may face, as well as updating the investment legal framework that is currently governed by a multitude of bilateral agreements between the different Member States and China. María Martín-Prat highlighted the enormous relevance of the Chinese market for European businesses with a level of accumulated investments of the EU in China of up to 140 billion euros in the last years in a market of 1.400 million inhabitants with huge investment capacity. It also needs to be taken into account the particularity of the Chinese model and the problems that numerous European businesses have faced in the country regarding access barriers, forced joint ventures and other disadvantages.

Regarding the content of the agreement in itself, the speaker explained that one of the principal objectives is to achieve a level playing field for accessing the market for European investors and acquire from the Chinese side a series of commitments to assure the maximum access under equal conditions in some agreed sectors, always in accordance with the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The CAI is part of a much bigger strategy of negotiation with China and of protection of the strategic autonomy of the European Union in the international scene. With this new agreement, China commits to open to the new European investors specific sectors that were, until now, practically closed such as telecommunications, aerial, private health, financial services, research or automobile. Martín-Prat also distinguished as the most important points of the agreement the existence of obligations to prevent the forced transfer of technology, the existence of a rapid reaction mechanism at the highest level, the improvement of transparency in state aid and the labor obligations that China will undertake through the ratification of certain World Labor Organization (WLO) rules. Lastly, the speaker presented the decision process that the agreement will need to follow in the next few months. It will start by publishing the full treaty, then go through legal scrutiny, translation and finally, its submission to the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. Although discussions with European co-legislators and civil society are complicated and the fate of the agreement may depend on subsequent political or geopolitical developments, María Martín-Prat was optimistic that it could be quickly validated and put into operation. 

During question time, attendees were able to express their doubts and comments on numerous issues of interest such as anti-dumping regulations, the timing of the agreement, the current and future relationship with the United States in trade, as well as clauses related to copyright and the cultural sector were discussed.

From the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg we would like to warmly thank María Martín-Prat for her participation, our member company Van Bael & Bellis  for their collaboration in organizing this event and all the attendees for their presence.

Event sponsored by:

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Internal meeting in the framework of the Spanish Financial Forum

Last Wednesday 27th of January took place the first internal meeting of the year of the Spanish Financial Forum (SFF).

José Luis Rodríguez Álvarez, the Vice-President of the Chamber in Luxembourg and President of this working group, welcomed all the attendees and made a positive balance of the first year of life of this Committee.

Then, María Catalán, delegate of the Chamber in Luxembourg, took the floor. She made a summary of the activities developed during 2020 by the SFF. This working group has raised a lot of interest among the members and, currently, it is made up of more than 85 professionals from different sectors. Seven well-attended webinars were also organised over the past year.

Subsequently, the strategic plan for 2021 was presented, detailing the main objectives for this year. Finally, a debate was opened among the members to set out the next steps to be taken by the Committee.

More information on the Spanish Financial Forum can be found here.