Luncheon debate with Didier Reynders, European Commissioner of Justice

On 25 October, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg held a new lunch-debate within its “Business Circle” forum, in which the European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders spoke about the evolution of consumer rights in the digital transition.

The event was inaugurated by the President of the Chamber, Pablo López-Álvarez, who thanked all those present for their attendance and presented the vast career of Reynders, who held the position of Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium until he assumed the direction of the Department of Consumer Affairs and Justice of the EU Executive in 2019.

As the Commissioner rightly remarked over lunch, achieving effective enforcement of EU consumer policy is one of his top priorities, given that the legislation was adopted nearly twenty years ago, when the electronic market had barely developed.

The arrival of the pandemic has only further highlighted the need to adapt the legislation to the new era, with the aim of assuring 21st century consumers that they will have the same guarantees in their online and offline purchases.

Online purchases

To this end, major online sales platforms such as Amazon and AliExpress have already committed to adopting new practices to make the purchasing process more secure. For its part, the Commission will continue to promote and improve the action plan with China, created to improve the security of the thousands of products that the Asian giant sells every day online.

During its mandate, the Von der Leyen Commission will also promote the manufacture of products framed within the circular economy, work on the effective implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), or continue to cooperate with companies in the due diligence process on sustainability and human rights, among others.

Moreover, from July next year, it will work in close dialogue with Spain, which will hold the presidency of the Council during the second half of 2023.

After the speech, attendees had the opportunity to ask questions and enter into direct conversation with Commissioner Reynders.

From the Chamber, we would like to show a special thanks to Mastercard, sponsor of the event, and to Bodegas Maires, whose wines could be tasted by all the attendees, which made this lunch-debate a very successful one.

MobiliseSME, the opportunity to collaborate closely together to achieve innovation

Ehlen Boukje is the owner of Boukje.com Consulting, a Dutch consulting firm that advises companies and research institutes on funding acquisition, business development and communication about research & innovation. In 2020, driven by curiosity and an ambition to improve people’s resilience in health, Ehlen studied a master’s degree in Psycho-Neuro-Immunology (PNI) that sparked ideas for new business opportunities, which is now leading the company on a new path.

On the other hand, Dominic DeCaluwe, is one of the two owners of the Belgian company Crescendo MHP. He is a passionate triathlete that has turned his love for and knowledge about sports and physiology into his profession. With this attitude, he created the company MHP (Mastering Health and Performance) that focuses on supporting customers to become their own masters for their own desired situation.

Ehlen has stayed for 6 months in Belgium to exchange knowledge, expertise and practices with Dominic, and jointly set-up a knowledge bank for therapists and their clients.

During this period, they introduced each other their contact network and interviewed clients and therapists to understand their needs of knowledge. They managed to create the structure of the knowledge bank and took the time to develop and submit a joint grant application.

Both partners affirm that without the support of MobiliseSME programme they would not have had the opportunity to collaborate so closely together and to drive the innovation they were willing to achieve.

The Chamber is the coordinator of this EU initiative and the local contact point in Belgium and Netherlands for the programme.

Contact us to participate by sending an email to mobilisesme@e-camara.com.

The first training of the SFF Learning Solutions, Private Equity Fundamentals, has been held

Last Thursday, October 20, the first of the three SFF Learning Solutions training sessions took place at the Chambre des Métiers in Luxembourg. The module was taught by Gorka González, a banking professional with more than 20 years of experience in the sector.

The three-hour course covered topics such as an introduction to Private Equity, explained the fund, the investments, and their performance.

At the end of the event, participants received a diploma certifying their attendance and were able to attend a networking cocktail that allowed them to exchange ideas and opinions.

The Chamber continues its collaboration with Antwerp University within the EYE programme

On the 20th of October, the Chamber presented the workshop “Test your business idea with the EYE programme” to the students of the Spanish course for business and economics at the Antwerp University.

This session was organised in the framework of the annual collaboration between the Chamber and the University and aims not only to meet the students and discuss about entrepreneurship, but also to unlock their potential for innovation and help them to develop a business plan.

For one and a half hour, the students had the possibility to create their own “start-ups” and receive recommendations from the project manager of the Chamber on how to develop their business plans and test their entrepreneurial idea through the European programme Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs.

The Chamber thanks once again the invitation of the University of Antwerp, and specially to Lieve Vangehuchten, Head of Spanish Business and Professional Communication at the Institute of Academic and Professional Communication (IPAC) of the University of Antwerp and looks forward to continuing collaborating with them to promote entrepreneurship among university students.

If you would like to know more about the programme Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs, please contact Noelia Sánchez: erasmus4youngentrepreneurs@e-camara.com

Free online training “Active Job Search 2.0”

Last Monday, 17th October, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg organised the free online training on “Active Job Search 2.0” in collaboration with Philippe Schifflers, coach and consultant in Digital Marketing, in the framework of the Integral Programme for Qualification and Employment (PICE).

The training began with a brief presentation of the mobility and the grants programme called PICE, of which the Chamber is the coordinator in Belgium and Luxembourg. The Spanish graduates who attended had the opportunity to learn about the available opportunities for 3- or 6-month internships in companies from both countries.

Then, Philippe Schifflers gave a two-hour presentation on the tools and knowledge needed for an effective job search in Belgium, which will significantly increase the chances of success.

During the session, Philippe presented the steps to create an attractive and optimised LinkedIn profile for employers, practices and tips for preparing interviews, motivation letters, CVs… as well as a series of recommendations for continuous learning in each sector.

The Chamber of Commerce and the Brussels arts centre iMAL agree to collaborate to promote the Spain Brand

On 11 October, iMAL, the Art Centre for Digital Cultures and Technology in Brussels, and the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium signed a collaboration agreement.

The aim of the agreement is, on one hand, to raise awareness of Spanish artists, creators and creative industries in Belgium and, on the other hand, to serve as a platform for dissemination to other countries through the different European networks to which both organisations belong.

Likewise, the members of the Chamber will be able to benefit from free tickets for the centre’s exhibitions, discounts for the participation in workshops and festivals, and the rental of spaces for events.

In addition, during the meeting, the general director, Lucía García, and the artistic director, Ana Ascencio, gave a guided tour of iMAL’s facilities to the President of the Chamber and the general secretary, who were able to see its state-of-the-art FabLab workshop, and learn first-hand about the new project of the Spanish digital artist Félix Luque.

Celebration of the National Day of the Spanish Embassy in Luxembourg 2022

On October 12, the Spanish Embassy in Luxembourg collaborated with the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Luxembourg in the celebration of the Spanish National Day.

The event, which took place at the Cercle Cité in Luxembourg, was sponsored by Adepa, Banca March, Bankinter, Banque du Luxembourg, Besolux, CaixaBank Wealth Management, RBC, Sogelife, The OneLife Company and PwC, and was attended by local authorities, businessmen and Spanish representatives of European institutions, as well as numerous members of the Chamber.

During his first event, the Spanish Ambassador in Luxembourg, Mr.José María Rodríguez Coso, thanked during his speech the attendees for coming, as well as the sponsors of the event and the Chamber, for making all this possible.

Startcraft’s online learning platform is now available for students and entrepreneurs in the craft sector

The European StartCraft project, funded by the Erasmus+ programme, is coming to an end. After more than two years working on the initiative, vocational training students and new entrepreneurs in the craft sector can now benefit from its results.

In an open and modernised format, StartCraft has been developed into an online platform where you will find an e-learning section, teaching materials for trainers, and a tool to analyse your business idea.

The contents, reviewed by professionals and elaborated from market research and focus groups, offer all the necessary knowledge to create and operate a company in a context in which online shopping, promotion on social networks or the creation of a functional, attractive, and simple web space for your target audience, among others, are predominant.

In addition, access to the platform is quick and free (just register here) and will be configured in one of the six available languages: Spanish, English, French, Greek, Polish or Italian.

Last Friday 30 September, during the conference “Crafts, improve your business skills for the future“, some professionals from different sectors such as ceramics, jewellery or fashion already had the opportunity to attend the presentation of the platform and observe first-hand its operation and final results.

Those attending the event, which took place in the Fais-Le Toi-Même space, also made the most of the occasion to share experiences and weaknesses, and to provide solutions, new sales channels and greater commercial projection.

If you would like to find out all the news from the latest StartCraft meetings, access the newsletter.

Soft Improve project partners meet in Nice to further explore how to boost the soft skills of Europeans

On 4 and 5 October, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg attended the second transnational meeting of the European project Soft Improve in Nice, France.

During these days, representatives of each Consortium partner met to discuss the project’s management, quality and dissemination, aiming to achieve the best possible result.

Thanks to the return to face-to-face meetings, all attendees agreed on how important it was for the project, its communication, and the planning of the next steps, which will be shared soon on Soft Improve’s website and social networks.

The next meeting will take place in Madrid in March.

I edition of the Social Networking Night in Luxembourg

On October 4th, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Luxembourg held the first edition of the Social Networking Night in Luxembourg.

The objective of this event was to connect young Spaniards currently residing in Luxembourg with other Spanish professionals who have been settled in the country for years. In this way, those with more experience were able to share their advice and experiences with those who had just arrived in the country.

The event began with an introduction by the general secretary of the Chamber, Marta González Benguria, who thanked the participants for attending, as well as the company Select, for sponsoring the event. Subsequently, in order to increase the chances of finding employment, the Chamber presented its new SFF Learning Solutions training.

Then, Nathalie de Lira, Director of Select Luxembourg, and Michèle Pourigneaux, BELUX Sales Director, explained to the attendees how their company could help them to find a job and gave an overview of the current situation of the Luxembourg job search market.

The event continued with the participation of five Spaniards with extensive experience in the Luxembourg financial market who gave their perspective and advice to the young people. These were Paloma García Nieto Banca March Director; Rocío García-Santiuste Azcúnaga Counsel at Van Campen Liem, Vicente Garrido Mortes Director at PwC, Monica Hortelano López Director at Quintet Private Bank and Alvaro Laorden Head of Treasury & Market Services at RBC Investor Services Bank.

Finally, the event ended with a cocktail networking where newcomers to the Grand Duchy were able to talk, discuss their doubts and comment on the current situation with those who had more experience in the country.