SFF Learning Solutions: Tax transparency and Exchange of Information training held

Last Thursday, 26th January, the second module of the “Compliance Requirements” Training was held, a Training which is part of the three SFF Learning Solutions training sessions. It took place at the Chambre des Métiers in Luxembourg. The module was taught by Álvaro Gómez, Manager in PWC and Robin Bernard, Senior Manager in PWC.

The two-hour course covered topics such as exchange of information (EoI) rationale and mechanism, recent EU / non-EU development and analysis of recent Luxembourg initiatives to improve tax transparency.

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

Luncheon-debate held with John Berrigan, Director General for Financial Services, Financial Stability and Capital Markets Union

Last Tuesday 24th of January, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium held a new luncheon-debate with John Berrigan, Director General for Financial Services, Financial Stability and Capital Markets Union, in the framework of its “Business Circle” tribune. The speaker talked about the priorities of DG FISMA for 2023.

Luncheon-debate with John Berrigan.The President of the Chamber, Pablo López-Álvarez, started the event with a brief introduction in which he highlighted the importance of the current year for Spain, as it will chair the Council of the European Union in the second half of the year.

Berrigan then began by stating that the world has changed a great deal since the beginning of the mandate, considering technological advances, the climate crisis, the COVID pandemic and the invasion of Ukraine. These circumstances have made sanctions one of DG FISMA’s main priorities for 2023.

In this regard, the director general stressed during his speech the need to focus on the implementation of sanctions, although he warned that it will be necessary to be careful. “We have to counter the narrative that sanctions negatively impact our economy,” Berrigan said. He also warned against overcompliance: “We don’t want sanctions to deny legitimate transactions”.

Energy crisis

The Ukraine crisis has also highlighted the EU’s dependence on fossil fuels. Luncheon-debate with John Berrigan.Berrigan recalled that the G7 and the EU agreed in December to put a cap on oil prices, a measure that, he said, “will mainly benefit third world countries”.

In addition to sanctions, Berrigan spoke during his speech of priorities such as sustainable finance and the regulation of the banking system to make it more stable. On capital markets, he spoke of the need to simplify access to markets for retail investors by rebuilding the investing ecosystem.

At the end of the presentation, there was a round of Q&A in which topics such as the regulation of crypto-assets or sustainable finance in the aviation sector were raised.

From the Chamber, we would like to express our special thanks to Bodegas Cornelio Dinastía, and to all the attendees for having contributed to the success of this luncheon-debate with John Berrigan.

The Chamber collaborates in the exhibition of Rita Martorell in Luxembourg

The Chamber has participated in the organisation of the exhibition of the Spanish painter Rita Martorell in Luxembourg, which takes place in the prestigious art gallery Schlassgoart.

The exhibition opened on 12 January as part of the closing events of the European Capital of Culture, and will be open until 4 February. It is the first exhibition by a Spanish artist at the prestigious gallery, which is located in Esch-sur-Alzette.

The inauguration was attended by a large number of members of the Chamber, Luxembourg personalities, as well as representatives of the organising and sponsoring entities, including ArcelorMittal, the host company of the exhibition, and the Spanish Embassy in the Grand Duchy. During the inauguration, the President of the Chamber met with the Mayor of the city and future collaborations were explored.

The Chamber celebrates its New Year’s Cocktail 2023 in Luxembourg in honour of José Gracia, “Pitu” and Antonio Corpas, recently deceased members of the Board of Directors

Last Thursday, 19 January, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg celebrated its New Year’s Cocktail in Luxembourg. The event was attended by numerous members, businessmen, senior Spanish managers and representatives of European institutions and other local bodies.

During the speech, Juan Rodríguez-Villa, Past President, Pablo López-Álvarez, current President of the Chamber, and Joseba Arriortua, Vice-President of the Chamber’s Delegation in Luxembourg, thanked the attendees for their participation and said a few words to honour the memory of Antonio Corpas and José Gracia Barba, “Pitu”, members of the Board of Directors of the Chamber who passed away recently. Margarita González was present at the event and received a gift from the Chamber’s directors.

The Chamber is grateful for the sponsorship and collaboration of Bodegas Palomillo in the organisation of the event.

Breakfast-debate with Lluis Saurí, Head of Unit of the Economists Team of the Directorate-General for Competition of the European Commission

On Thursday, 19 January, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg held, within the framework of its Working Committee “Competence Spain“, a hybrid breakfast-debate with Lluís Saurí Romero, Head of Unit of the Economists Team of the Directorate-General for Competition of the European Commission (DG COMP). The presentation was on “Competition policy, green transition and sustainability objectives”.

The breakfast-debate started with a brief introduction by Miguel Troncoso, President of the Chamber’s “Competencia España” Working Committee. Saurí then began his speech by contextualising the need to carry out a rigorous control of State aid that facilitates maintaining the criteria of efficiency and competition in the markets in a post-COVID era and in the current framework of the energy crisis.

The decarbonisation that the European Green Deal envisages for 2050 is one of the challenges that Saurí mentioned as an example of the need to emphasise resource efficiency through the control of State aid.

Market distorsions

With the successive crises of recent years, public investment has taken on a special role. As Saurí explained, this state aid must be duly audited to ensure that its impact is as intended by the institutions, as these injections of capital inevitably cause distortions in the market.

In this respect, the challenge lies, in Saurí’s words, in finding a balance that “facilitates the achievement of objectives while minimising risks”. The speaker also explained several of the criteria that make it possible to resolve this coexistence between economic incentive and distortion of competition.

During his speech, Saurí also gave a brief historical review of State aid control, analysed how this control must be adapted to the circumstances of each historical moment and defended the fact that, if carried out correctly, State aid control can be “a good instrument for designing intelligent industrial policies”.

After the speaker’s intervention, there was a Q&A session in which attendees were able to share their concerns on the subject under debate.

 

In memoriam – Antonio Corpas

It is with great sadness that we inform you that Antonio Corpas, member of the Board of Directors of the Chamber and CEO of OneLife, passed away last Saturday, 7 January, at the early age of 54.

Antonio joined the OneLife Group in 2008 as Head of Legal and Tax Affairs and Group General Counsel, bringing with him a long experience as a Qualified Lawyer and international legal advisor.

Antonio was instrumental in the development and expertise of OneLife in the areas of wealth structuring, investment fund services and non-traditional assets. He contributed significantly to the reorganisation and repositioning of OneLife thanks to his international profile, technical skills and business-oriented approach.

Antonio was a member of the Board of the Chamber since 2021 and actively contributed to the Chamber’s Working Committees in Luxembourg.

We at the Chamber send our condolences to his family, colleagues and friends.

MobiliseSME strengthens the European entrepreneurial ecosystem

Jeniffer and John are specialist in digital marketing and the founders of SocioFy, an agency from United Kingdom that creates marketing solutions for SMEs and supports them in their digitalization change.

On the other hand, Edgard is an entrepreneur who promotes growth, training and networking among entrepreneurs around the world through his Portuguese company International HUB Association.

With the support of the MobiliseSME programme, Jeniffer and John travelled to Portugal to collaborate with Edgard for 6 months, with the focus on developing new services, expanding their customer base, exchanging market knowledge, and exploring opportunities in the local market of this country.

Both companies aim creating fair conditions for SMEs to digitize their companies and processes, and during this time, they held several events that provided a rich professional exchange of services between entrepreneurs and marketing professionals.

Additionally, they have participated in the preparation of the Tech Job Summit celebrated in Portugal in May 2022 , creating a strategic marketing plan for this event, contacting sponsors and speakers, and assisting in carrying out the live online meetings.

This collaboration allowed them to partner up with other local companies and get over 3.000 potential clients while deepen the knowledge on the Portuguese ecosystem for an expansion in this country.

MobiliseSME is a mobility exchange programme for freelancers and SMEs staff, co-funded by the European Commission and Coordinated by the Chamber.

The Chamber is also the local contact point for companies stablished in countries as Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Denmark, and Malta among others.

For more information contact us sending an email to mobilisesme@e-camara.com.