The Chamber will be closed from 23 December to 3 January

The Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg wishes you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2023!

We would like to inform you that the Chamber will be closed from 23 December until 3 January due to the festive season.

We apologise for the inconvenience.

Bankinter Luxembourg, chosen as “Company of the year 2022”

The Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg recognises, in the VIII Edition of its “Company of the Year” awards, the great track record of Bankinter Luxembourg, which landed ten years ago in the Grand Duchy to complement its private banking strategy.

Through this award, the Chamber aims to contribute once again this year to the promotion of Spanish economic and business development in Belgium and Luxembourg, rewarding the experience and demonstration of leadership and competitiveness of companies in their sector of activity.

Thus, the Chamber has highlighted the international presence of a company that was the first Spanish bank with a banking licence to operate in Luxembourg, the country with the highest credit rating by the three rating agencies and which holds, among other achievements, second place in the world ranking in terms of both the volume of investment funds deposited and the highest GDP per capita ratio.

Bankinter chose Luxembourg because it is a country that fosters a solid culture of investor, economic and regulatory protection. The regulatory environment and the quality of supervision are two of the main reasons why financial firms choose Luxembourg as their EU headquarters.

For Héctor Esteban, General Manager of Bankinter Luxembourg, this award is “recognition of our activity in this country, where we were the first Spanish institution to set up our own bank. From this jurisdiction we have been able to offer a global and clearly differentiated financial proposal to our high net worth clients, as well as having a much more in-depth perspective of the international financial markets, which has been enormously useful for us”.

You can read the full article here.

The Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg has approved its new proposal of statutes

The Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg has held this Tuesday, 13th December, an Extraordinary General Assembly.

The meeting had only one item on the agenda: the approval of the proposed new statutes, adapted to the new Spanish Royal Decree 1179/2020, which establishes the framework for the official recognition of the Spanish Chambers of Commerce abroad, as well as to the renewed Belgian Code of Companies and Associations.

After the introduction of the president of the Chamber, Pablo López, the secretary general, Marta González, summarised the general lines of the reform to adapt the statutes to the new legislation.

The members of the Chamber unanimously approved the proposal, although the decision is conditional upon the subsequent approval of the Secretary of State for Trade of the Spanish Government.

The Assembly was also attended by the Spanish Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium, Alberto Antón, who highlighted the work of the Chamber in strengthening trade relations between Spain, Belgium, and Luxembourg.

Prior to the event, a minute of silence was also held in honor of José Gracia Barba, “Pitu”, member of the Board of Directors of the Chamber who passed away recently.

At the end of the Assembly, the Chamber’s Christmas Cocktail took place, where the members could enjoy appetizers and drinks, as well as the opportunity for networking.

The Chamber presented the EYE and MobiliseSME programmes at the SME Open Day in Luxembourg

On November 30th, the Chamber participated in the SME Open Day 2022, an annual initiative organised by the Chamber of Commerce of Luxembourg during the European SME week.

This year, the event was focused on the three key areas of entrepreneurship, development and financing. More than 200 attendees had the opportunity to discover the actions and support programmes that the European Union provides to small and medium-sized enterprises.

The Chamber had a stand where participants were informed about the existing support services for enterprises and entrepreneurs. Noelia Sanchez, project manager, participated in the “Demo Pitch” explaining the practical and financial support that the MobiliseSME and Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs programmes provide to SMEs and entrepreneurs in Luxembourg.

The event counted with different thematic conferences regarding entrepreneurship and funding, and with keynote speeches, as the intervention of Lex Delles, Minister for the Middle Classes and Tourism of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and Bonifacio Garcia Porras, Head of Unit of the Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs.

The Chamber thanks the invitation to the Chamber of Commerce of Luxembourg, and the opportunity to inform companies and entrepreneurs from Luxembourg about the support services from which they can benefit.

If you want to know more about the European programmes that the Chamber coordinates, please, contact Noelia Sanchez, project manager:

Online training on “Communication for EU projects”

On the 30th of November and the 1st of December, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg organised an online training on “Communication for EU projects”, in collaboration with its member Vision Communication Consultancy, whose Director, Ramón Vila, led both sessions.

This online training, focused on professionals in branding, public affairs, marketing, communications, or community engagement, offered the keys to execute and assess a comprehensive and effective communication campaign for their European agencies, organizations, programs, and projects.

During the first session, an introduction of the communication for EU project was made with an explanation of the different existing European projects. The reality of the consortiums in European projects and the need to adapt the communication strategy according to the type of project and the context were explored. More technical issues such as the requirements and obligations of companies within a project of this type were also discussed.

In the second session, deeper look toward the European projects’ communication was done by exploring the social media management, the different communication products, and event management, as well as the need to create powerful messages. Finally, the importance of measuring impact was emphasised, as well as having clear objectives and analysing results.

Throughout both journeys, participants had the opportunity to learn about examples of good and bad practices of communication in various European projects and they learnt how to effectively design and manage a communication strategy in projects granted by the European Union.