Virtual breakfast-debate with MEPs José Ramón Bauzá Díaz and Isabel García Muñoz: Priorities of the Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN)

On Wednesday November 25th, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg organised a new conference as part of the “Breakfasts with the European Parliament“, a meeting platform between Spanish companies and the European Parliament, on “The priorities of the Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) for the new legislature”. The event was attended by MEPs José Ramón Bauzá Díaz (Renew Europe) and Isabel García Muñoz (S&D).

Pablo López Álvarez, Vice-President of the Chamber and moderator of the event, welcomed and thanked the speakers for their participation and made a brief presentation.

José Ramón Bauzá began his speech by highlighting the radical change in the priorities and perspectives of all the European institutions following the Covid-19, including the Committee on Transport and Tourism. If in an early stage of the legislature the main priority was the Green Deal and the commitment to climate neutrality by 2050, in the wake of the pandemic, the absolute priority has become the urgent recovery of the two sectors most affected: transport and tourism. The MEP also stressed the need to achieve a safe and clean transport sector by providing sufficient funding for innovative decarbonisation technologies such as liquid gas, electric motors and hydrogen. With regard to tourism, Mr. Bauzá highlighted the enormous importance of the tourism sector for Spain, as it means around 15% of the GDP as well as millions of jobs, and the close relationship between the tourism and transport sectors. Despite this importance, there is no budget allocation at European Union level for investment in tourism, although the Parliament is working to achieve this.

During her speech, Isabel García Muñoz explained the strategic importance of the transport sector as a mechanism for territorial cohesion, external competitiveness and promoting economic growth. In the current framework of transition towards climate neutrality, a fair transition is necessary, which will involve sustainable, intelligent and inclusive mobility for everyone. Therefore, the European Commission is working on a new “white book” on transport and will promote certains means of transport such as inland navigation or railways through the single European railway area. The MEP also highlighted the need to achieve a full recovery of the tourism and transport sector through a commitment to digitalisation, retraining of workers and the interoperability and intermodality of transport.

During the question time, the participants were able to ask several questions on various topics. Thus, topics such as the Horizon Europe programmes or the single european airspace, the viability and transformation of airlines, investment funds in infrastructure or accessibility for people with disabilities in the air or rail sectors were discussed.

From the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg we would like to thank José Ramón Bauzá and Isabel García Muñoz and all those present for their participation.

Online Breakfast-Debate with Francisco Casalduero, Project Manager, Defence Development Programme, DG DEFIS: “The European Defence Fund: the European Commission’s view on the opportunity for Spanish industry”

On Thursday 19th November 2020, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg organised a new virtual breakfast debate in the framework of its “Business Circle” platform. The breakfast focused on “The European Defence Fund: the European Commission’s View on the Opportunity for Spanish Industry” and Francisco Casalduero, Project Manager, Defence Development Programme (DG DEFIS), European Commission was the guest speaker.

Pablo López Álvarez, Vicepresident of the Chamber and event moderator, welcomed and thanked the speakers and all the attendees.

Afterwards, on behalf of the member company and sponsor of the event, SENER, Fernando Horcada, Head of the Representative Office in Brussels, Director EU and NATO Programmes, took the floor and thanked the speaker. Horcada highlighted SENER’s long history in the field of defence both at a national level and through NATO. First of all, he wanted to clarify that the future European Defence Fund (EDF) will not be part of the European recovery mechanism (Next Generation EU) but of the multiannual financial framework (MFF) 2021-2027. The EDF will mean that for the first time European Union funds can be devoted to the defence sector due to a change in the position of the Member States as a result of the need to generate greater strategic autonomy for the EU as a result of geopolitical changes such as Brexit or the position of the US administration with respect to the financing of defence in Europe.

Francisco Casalduero began by summarising the history of some pilot programmes such as the Preparatory Action on Defence Research and the current European defence industrial development programme (EDIDP). Both these pilot programmes and the future European Defence Fund (EDF) are devoted exclusively to research and development of military capabilities, never to training or the acquisition of assets by Member States. Furthermore, these European projects are distinguished from other European programmes in that they are based on exclusively military requirements and aspects. These defence sector projects are based on innovation and cooperation between entities from several Member States, which is at the same time their greatest asset and challenge. The development of the EDIDP 2019 has yielded interesting figures that invite optimism regarding the future EDF: an average of 14 entities from 7 Member States take part in the projects, including a significant number of SMEs, in which Spain plays a very important role with a success rate of approximately 60%. The speaker detailed the status of negotiations on the future European Defence Fund (EDF), which will form part of the multiannual financial framework (MFF) for 2021-2027 and is therefore pending agreement between the European Parliament and the Council. The future EDF will be based on a work programme planned for the spring and will go beyond the classic military areas (land, sea, air) and will also integrate new areas such as cyber security, space and digital clusters.

During the round of questions, the attendees were able to put forward their doubts and comments on several areas of interest. Topics such as the eligibility of technologies and civilian technology centres for programmes in this field, the orientation of the programmes towards the Commission’s political priorities (Green Deal or digitalisation), the position of NRBC technologies in the future EDF, the facilities for applying to calls for proposals or participating in consortiums, and the continuity of projects between the various defence programmes were therefore addressed.

From the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg we would like to thank Francisco Casalduero, our partner company SENER Aerospace for sponsoring this event and all those present for their participation.

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Virtual breakfast-debate with MEP César Luena López: Priorities of the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI)

On Friday 13th November 2020, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg organized a new conference as part of the “Breakfasts with the European Parliament” cycle, a platform for meetings between Spanish companies and the European Parliament. The breakfast focused on “The priorities of the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) for the new legislature” and was attended by MEP César Luena López, vice-president of the Committee.

 Pablo López Álvarez, Vice-president of the Chamber and moderator of the event, made a brief introduction of the speaker to whom he thanked for his participation as well as all the attendees.

César Luena López began his speech by emphasizing the recent approval of the European Parliament’s position on the European Climate Law. This position includes a series of binding targets for Member States and the Union as a whole with the aim of reducing emissions by 60% by 2030, establishing intermediate targets for 2040 and finally achieving climate neutrality on the continent by 2050. The speaker also wanted to highlight from this draft legislation, which now moves to negotiations under trilogues, the implementation of a budget linked on carbon and a European council on climate change. The rapporteur on the European strategy for biodiversity gave a few insights on the dossier that will establish binding targets, generate a paradigm shift in consumption or adaptation of agriculture and fisheries with appropriate budget support. This biodiversity strategy must be based on funding of at least an additional 10% apart from the existing climate funds and address issues such as legal protection of soil and the management of invasive alien species in our ecosystems.

During the question time, the attendees were able to present their doubts and comments on many issues of interest. Thus, topics such as improving collaboration between sectors involved in animal health, the strategy “farm to fork”, the latest trends in Brexit or the potential impact of U.S. elections on environmental issues were discussed.

From the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg we would like to thank César Luena López and all those present for their participation.

 

Online Breakfast-Debate with Cristina Lobillo Borrero, Director of Energy Policy at DG ENER of the European Commission: The role of European energetic policy in achieving the objectives of the Green Deal

On Tuesday 10th November, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg organised a new virtual breakfast debate within the framework of its “Business Circle” platform. The breakfast focused on “The role of European energetic policy in achieving the objectives of the Green Deal” and Cristina Lobillo, Director of Energy Policy at DG ENER of the European Commission was the guest speaker.

Pablo López Álvarez, Vicepresident of the Chamber and moderator of the event, welcomed and thanked the speakers as well as all the attendees.

Afterwards, on behalf of the member company and sponsor of the event, Repsol, its Director of Institutional Affairs Spain & Europe, Marta Camacho Parejo, took the floor and thanked the speaker. Camacho highlighted the groundbreaking commitment of Repsol to the fight against climate change, as demonstrated by the fact of being the first energy company to commit to climate neutrality by 2050 or to sign the Kyoto Protocol. In order to achieve this ambitious goal, the enterprise is committed to a change of paradigm that involves the circular economy, technological neutrality, and the concept of the ‘refinery of the future’, based on hydrogen and synthetic fuels. Marta also pointed out urban fuels and biofuels as the necessary path for a relatively rapid decarbonisation of our economies, that will allow us to meet emission reduction and climate neutrality targets. Finally, she concluded by highlighting the value of industrial hubs in order to generate an innovative European industry that is a source of employment and economic value.

Cristina Lobillo Borrero began by outlining the strategy followed by the Commission over the last decade in terms of reduction of greenhouse gases, such as the reduction targets for 2020, the energy regulatory packages since 2007, and the Paris Agreement.Today, we face a scenario of renewed climate ambition.As a result of this ambition, the current European Commission made an ambitious commitment to reduce emissions by 55% for 2030 and achieve climate neutrality for the continent by 2050 through the Green Deal. Also, in this regard, the Commission launched the proposal for a Climate Law, currently under negotiation, as well as the implementation of a fair transition mechanism to assist with investments and adequate funds for those sectors that need more renovation or will be most affected.

Lobillo also put emphasis on the work being done by the Commission. They are working to propose in the work programme for 2021 a whole range of legislation that also includes the revision of some energy directives.  All this from a realistic approach based on impact studies. The speaker also explain the link between the recovery fund (Next Generation EU) and the Commission’s priorities, since obtaining these funds will be linked to the objectives of the Green Deal, the digital transition and the European semester. Finally, Lobillo highlighted the international reality in which it is more necessary than ever for the EU, which produces barely 9% of global emissions, to remain active in international forums in order to ensure that the major economic centres also commit to climate neutrality.

During the round of questions, the participants were able to express their doubts and comments on many areas of interest. Thus, topics such as the capacity of Member States to absorb all recovery funds given their volume, the proposals for the border adjustment mechanism with regard to carbon or the European hydrogen strategy or the renewal of the gas sector were discussed.

From the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg we would like to thank Cristina Lobillo Borrero, our member company Repsol for sponsoring this event and all attendees for joining this event.

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Online-Breakfast Debate: “European Recovery Plan: Current situation and future perspectives”

On Thursday 5 November, the  Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg organised a new virtual breakfast debate in the framework of its “Business Circle” platform, which focused on the “European Recovery Plan: current status and perspectives” and featured Enrique Verdeguer Puig, Counsellor of Economy in the Spanish Representation to the EU, Marta Marin Sanchez, Delegate of the Basque Country to the EU and Patricia Cirez Miqueleiz, Permanent Delegate of the CEOE to the EU.

Pablo López Álvarez, Vice-president of the Chamber and moderator of the event, welcomed and thanked the speakers and all those present for their participation.

Next, on behalf of the partner company and sponsor of the event, Ruth Estrada, partner in Schuman Associates, took the floor. Estrada initially stressed the unprecedented scale of the recovery funds under the Next Generation EU funds for a total of 750.000 million euros, of which Spain will be the second country to benefit most with 140.000 million, which represents 1.8% of the European Union’s GDP and around 70% of the 2020-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework. These investments, which are eminently public, must go hand in hand with public-private collaboration in order to immediately face the economic consequences of the current pandemic and, in the medium and long term, comply with the Union’s strategic objectives regarding the decarbonisation and digital transition of our economies. Estrada also wanted to highlight the fact that these European investments will be managed at the level of the Member States through national budgets.

 

Enrique Verdeguer Puig began his speech by describing the latest developments in the Next Generation EU’s negotiation, which are part of a broader debate with the Multi-annual Financial Framework and are complicated by certain sensitive points such as the rule of law or its link with other European programs. From the Council of the European Union, Member States have already concluded the appropriate agreements and everything is on track for the imminent opening of negotiations with the European Parliament through the trilogues. Despite the progress made in the negotiations and the general optimism, there are some specific points which are causing concern among the Union’s partners, such as the governance of payments in complex administrative contexts such as Spain, and the European Commission’s audit and control mechanisms over these funds. In this particular context, the Spanish administration is in constant dialogue with the European Commission through the competent task force. Finally, the Counsellor of Economy wanted to highlight the approval scheme that the Member State will have to go through before receiving the payments, such as the presentation of the national plans (until April) that will have to be linked to the recommendations of the European semester and the medium-term objectives of the European Union.

Secondly, Marta Marin Sánchez took the floor and referred to the need for the Autonomous Communities to be features within Spain’s national plan in those areas of their competence such as health, employment and education. The Basque Government Delegate in Brussels wanted to highlight how part of the recovery funds should be channelled to the Autonomous Communities through transfers from the state level and then implemented under programs or tenders that fit in with other strategic projects. In this scheme, it is also important to take into account the local level in order to try to adapt investments as much as possible to the terrain, and this is where opportunities for public-private partnerships can arise.

Thirdly, Patricia Cirez Miqueleiz made an intervention, presenting the business perspective on the Next Generation EU. The permanent delegate wanted to highlight the effort being made by CEOE to disseminate the opportunities presented by these funds for the private sector through the opening of a technical office and the creation of a digital platform to address the concerns of Spanish companies. In order to efficiently optimise these funds, it will be necessary to reform the administrative regulations in Spain to limit or shorten the deadlines and requirements of some administrative mechanisms given the size of the investments and the short time frame for their execution. Cirez also highlighted the fact that these funds must go hand in hand with structural reforms in areas such as the labour market, maintenance of pensions or ecological and digital transformation in order to comply with the recommendations of the European semester. Furthermore, these funds must not lose sight of recovery in the short term and must therefore be urgently directed towards the most affected sectors by the Covid crisis.

During the time for questions, the attendees were able to express their doubts and comments on numerous issues of interest such as the reduction of the administrative burden for companies that participate in these mechanisms, the different sensitivities present in the negotiations, the possibilities of public-private collaboration that includes the third sector, as well as the objectives of convergence and integration of the European Union in the recovery funds.

From the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg we would like to thank Enrique Verdeguer Puig, Marta Marin Sánchez and Patricia Cirez Miqueleiz for their participation, and our partner company Schuman Associates for sponsoring this breakfast debate and all those present for their attendance.

Online Breakfast-Debate with Clara Martínez Alberola, Deputy head of the ‘Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom’ (UKTF)

Last Friday, October 23rd, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg organized a new session of its online Breakfast-Debate in the framework of its Business Circle platform. This event featured Clara Martínez Alberola, Deputy Head of the United Kingdom Task Force (UKTF) of the European Commission. The topic of the debate was “Brexit: where are we heading in the future commercial relationship between the EU and the United Kingdom?“. 

Pablo López Álvarez, vice-president of the Chamber and event moderator, welcomed and thanked the speaker and all the attendees for their participation.

Then, on behalf of the partner and sponsor of the event, Van Bael & Bellis, Pablo Muñiz, partner of the Brussels office, took the floor and thanked the guest speaker for her participation in the Breakfast-Debate despite her busy schedule. Mr. Muñiz highlighted the growing importance regarding many customs law issues, that were thought to be forgotten, because of Brexit but will surely affect the future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union.

Clara Martínez Alberola began by thanking the invitation as an ideal opportunity to continue learning first-hand about the concerns of Member States and the various economic sectors in the Brexit negotiations. The speaker admitted that the negotiating teams are at a critical stage to achieve an agreement given that the transition period after the formal withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union ends on 31 December 2020, with the aggravation of the Covid-19 crisis as a background. Despite the tight deadlines, the EU negotiating team is working tirelessly to reach a fair agreement for both parties based in coherent rules and effective mechanisms for dispute resolution. Martínez outlined the various issues that present more difficulties to reach an agreement as well as the issues where there is greater consensus such as British participation in research programs funded by the EU or police cooperation. Finally, the deputy head of the UKTF stressed that the no-deal scenario would not imply the impossibility of reaching such an agreement in the future in different areas, although it is certainly a much worse scenario than reaching a full agreement on time.

During the question time, the attendees were able to present their doubts and comments on many issues of interest such as the controversy surrounding the internal market protocol for Northern Ireland, the rules of origin in the post-Brexit era, the uncertainty regarding standardization and public procurement, financial supervision or the complexity of customs controls in the future relationship between the United Kingdom and the EU.

From the Official Chamber of Commerce of Spain in Belgium and Luxembourg we would like to thank Clara Martínez Alberola for her conference, our partner company Van Bael & Bellis for sponsoring this Breakfast-Debate and all those present for their attendance.

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Online Breakfast-Debate with Alejandro Cainzos, Member of Cabinet of Margrethe Verstager, Executive Vice-President for A Europe Fit for the Digital Age

On Tuesday October 6th, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg organised a new session of its online Breakfast-Debate in the framework of its Business Circle platform. This event featured the participation of Alejandro Cainzos, Member of Cabinet of Margrethe Vestager, European Commission’s Executive Vice-President for a Europe fit for the digital age and focused on “EU Technological challenges for the next 5 years”.

Pablo López Álvarez, Vice-President of the Chamber and moderator of the event, welcomed and thanked the speaker as well as all the attendees.

Following this, David Luengo, director of the Brussels office of Indra, partner and sponsor of the event, took the floor and thanked the guest speaker for his participation in the Breakfast-Debate. Luengo made a brief presentation of the speaker along with a general description of the agenda for the digitisation that is managed from the Office of the Vice President Vestager. He also wanted to highlight Indra’s commitment with new international markets in this new wave of digital innovation.

Alejandro Caínzos began by presenting the digital agenda planned by the Commission for the current legislature, which aims to develop a common technology strategy based on the European model of digital transformation in which European citizens and civil society are expected to participate. Even if the European Union was late for the first wave of digital innovation based in the extraction of personal data, the Commission is working to make the next ten years the European digital decade based on industrial data through the appropriate regulatory framework together with productive investments that encourage the digitalisation of our economies and societies. For this strategy, it will be essential to have clear milestones on a number of topics such as connectivity, 5G, modernisation of public services, use of data to help SMEs and adaptation of the education system to digitisation. In all these areas, cyber security will be crucial. In the particular context of economic recovery in which we find ourselves, the speaker underlined the importance of the European digital development as 20% of all aid linked to the EU recovery fund (Next generation EU) will be used for the digitisation and modernisation of our economies. Finally, Cainzos highlighted the particular case of Spain, which will be one of the economies that will benefit from a greater volume of investment, given the impact of the pandemic. These funds will be the ideal opportunity to make decisive progress in digitisation by investing in the right technologies in this new wave of digital innovation.

During the round of questions, the participants were able to express their doubts and comments on various issues of interest such as the non-discrimination of people with disabilities in the use of new technologies, the portability and transfer of individual data, the role of professional training, the role of standardisation agencies or the establishment of horizontal rules in the regulation of state aid.

From the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg we would like to thank Alejandro Caínzos, our partner company Indra for sponsoring this breakfast debate and all those present for their attendance.

 

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Virtual Breakfast-Debate with María Teresa Fábregas, Director Recovery and Resilience Task Force at the European Commission

On Thursday 1st October, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg organised a new virtual breakfast debate in the framework of its “Business Circle” platform. The breakfast focused on “Recovery plans: sustainable growth” and María Teresa Fábregas, Director Recovery and Resilience Task Force at the European Commission was the guest speaker.

Pablo López Álvarez, Vicepresident of the Chamber,  welcomed and thanked the speakers as well as all the attendees.

Afterwards, on behalf of the member company and sponsor of the event, Iberdrola, its Director of European Public Affairs, Eva Chamizo, took the floor and thanked the spekaer and the entire team of the European Commission’s Working Group for Recovery and Resilience, for their great work in contributing from the European institutions to economic recovery. Chamizo stressed the need to commit to a green and sustainable recovery linked to the objectives of the Green Deal and allows private investment in clean energy. She also highlighted Iberdrola’s long career in prioritising investment in green energy, which made Iberdrola stand out among the leading companies in the sector.

María Teresa Fábregas began by outlining the key points of the future Recovery and Resilience Mechanism, which forms part of the Recovery Plan for Europe proposed by the European Commission. The intention of this mechanism is to contribute to the repair of the economic and social damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic without forgetting the great strategic challenges facing Europe.

This plan is aimed first and firstly at the ecological transition of the European Union towards a climate-neutral Europe by 2050 in line with the Green Deal. The speaker also highlighted as the second key of the economic recovery, the digital transition to adapt our economies and societies to new technologies. Fábregas went on explaining that it will be up to the Member States to present their national recovery plans to the European Commission from 15 October, which will ensure that they are properly implemented through the auditing and control mechanisms that are being applied to all European funds. The Director of the Working Group for Recovery and Resilience explained that the management of the mechanism’s funds will have to be done in accordance with the constitutional order of each country and in accordance with the distribution of competences in the case of decentralised Member States. However, national governments will have a certain margin to determine how they will manage them, either through transfers to sub-national entities (federated states, autonomous communities, etc.) or through central agencies.

During the round of questions, the participants were able to express their doubts and comments on many areas of interest. Thus, topics such as eligibility criteria and the mechanism for allocating funds for recovery, the social economy or more specific measures for the cultural and audio-visual sector were discussed.

From the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg we would like to thank María Teresa Fábregas, our member company Iberdrola for sponsoring this event and all attendees for joining this event.

 

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Virtual breakfast-debate with MEPs Pilar del Castillo and Lina Gálvez: Priorities of the Committee on Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE)

On September 22nd, the Spanish Official Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg hosted a new event within the cycle “Breakfasts with the European Parliament”, a platform for meetings between Spanish companies and the European Parliament, on the “Priorities of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) for the new term”. The event was attended by MEPs Pilar del Castillo (PP) and Lina Gálvez (PSOE), who belong to the Commission.

Pablo López Álvarez, Vice President of the Chamber and moderator of the event, welcomed and thanked the speakers for their participation and made a brief presentation.

Pilar del Castillo began by explaining how the energy sector is facing a wave of innovations related to the application of green energies and the decarbonization of the economy. The Commission has launched several communications on this subject, but has not yet published any legislation. The MEP also stressed the importance of innovation and research, as they are crucial for the whole economy and each of its sectors.

Del Castillo also emphasized the need for the legislative proposal made by the Commission to take into
account the entire value chain of the different industrial sectors. Finally, the speaker addressed the issue of digitization, highlighting that it was already an important issue before the coronavirus crisis, but now more than ever it is an indispensable element since it was the new technologies that sustained the economy and society during the toughest months of the crisis and continue to do so today. These new technologies also have to be applied as added value to the European Union in order to optimize their potential. The new technologies imply very important scales of investment, but they are even more necessary for the evolution of the SMEs.

As a member of the Artificial Intelligence Commission, the MEP also referred to AI as a central element that will revolutionize daily life and the economy, allowing for the optimization of investments and improving the competitiveness of companies. Del Castillo also referred to the importance of data in this process of digitalization, despite the fact that in Europe they are very compartmentalized. Therefore, a common space for European Union data would be necessary, which would be very useful to face, for example, health crises such as the one we are experiencing. All this without forgetting the crucial importance of privacy in this area.

Lina Gálvez took the floor talking, firstly, about the modification of the priorities of the ITRE committee as a result of the crisis of the COVID as well as the energy and digital transition (twin transition), mentioning the decrease in commitment to research and renewal by the EU in the latest budget negotiations, which she considers a big mistake. The MEP also explained how in Europe there has never been a single industrial strategy, although it is clear that there should be as a result of this crisis. Gálvez also stressed the importance of green energy, with the horizon of climate neutrality for 2050 to which not all member countries are at the same point. He also referred to how climate and energy legislation have a central weight in the regulatory agenda of the coming years: hydrogen, electric batteries and the long-term commitment to green energy are some of the items on the agenda.

Gálvez spoke of the power of the EU’s commitment to data strategy to benefit the industrial sector, along with the importance of the spirit of the European Union in the processing of this data, creating a common data strategy for all member countries to use for their benefit. Finally, the MEP stressed the importance of implementing a system so that citizens have rights and knowledge about the use of their personal data.

During the question time, the participants were able to ask several questions on various topics. Thus, topics such as the cuts in EU budgets and their impact on industry, the European Renovation Council, the preparation of the National Plan for Recovery and Resilience, the hopes and priorities of the new Commission on Artificial Intelligence, and finally on the ITRE Commission and its proposals to address the crisis were discussed.

From the Spanish Official Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg we would like to thank Lina Gálvez, Pilar del Castillo, and to all attendees for joining this event.

Virtual Breakfast-Debate with Clara de la Torre, Deputy Director-General of DG CLIMA and Nicolás González Casares, MEP of the ITRE Committee

On 16th July, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg hosted a new session of its Breakfast Debates, a platform aimed for bridging Spanish companies and European Institutions. The event featured Clara de la Torre, Deputy Director-General of DG Clima and Nicolás González Casares, MEP of the ITRE Commission and shadow rapporteur for the European Climate Law, under the title: “Green Deal: Towards a carbon neutral economy for Europe”. Given the exceptional circumstances due to the spread of COVID-19 in Belgium and the social distancing measure in place, this breakfast debate was held online and was attended by representatives of member companies of the Chamber, European affairs director, members of multinational companies and Spanish Regional Delegations.

Pablo López Álvarez, Vicepresident of the Chamber,  welcomed and thanked the speakers as well as all the attendees. He began by presenting the background of the speakers and made a brief introduction. The event was moderated by Igor Idareta from Zabala Innovation Consulting, member company and sponsor of this Breakfast-Debate.

De la Torre began by mentioning the enormous importance of the upcoming European Council meeting to be held this weekend and its links with the “Green Deal”. After the crisis that all countries are experiencing as a result of the COVID-19, the Deputy Director General highlighted the importance of the Green Deal as a growth strategy and a key tool in the recovery of the European Union, without forgetting the goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050. The economic recovery must be green to achieve a sustainable digital transition based on innovation and new technologies. In this same line, she pointed out the importance of public-private investments to boost a fair transition towards a circular, clean and sustainable energy that will allow our economies to be transformed. In this context, it is important to clarify the taxation of green investments in order to give certainty to companies in their financing. There are encouraging aspects in this context since the economic recovery is not directly linked to polluting emissions as shows the fact that since the 1990s emissions have been reduced by 20% to 30% but our economies have continued to grow. In the same sense, she pointed out that the European Union is the only region in the planet where a legal framework has been established that makes it compulsory to reduce emissions for the next ten years. This regulation is based on the commitment of the Member States to reduce up to 55% polluting gases emissions in order to comply with the Paris agreements. This European initiative has led many countries in the Union to adapt their legal frameworks to this ecological transition. One example would be Spain, that has already published a Climate Law. Finally, the speaker pointed out how this Green Deal is funded on joint action at European level, the support of the Member States and consistent legislation that will make possible to guide this change and achieve the ambitious objectives set.

González Casares emphasized how essential achieving a coordinated action by all Member States is in order to create an European fund for recovery from the pandemic that will enable us to boost the economy again. During his speech, the MEP highlighted the great challenge that the Green Deal still has ahead, a deal that will serve as a multi-tool in the fight against climate change towards ecological and fair sustainability. This agreement also has the support of the European Parliament which is confident that the Green Deal will lead to change in economic, technological and digital policies. The rapporteur also highlighted the need to support innovation as the driving force behind this green transition, through the electrification of transport and, especially, through the promotion of renewable energies. As an example of this new transition, he highlighted the closure of thermal power plants in Spain as a first step towards the decarbonization of the economy. He also stressed the need to protect workers in the impacted sectors so that they are not left out of this ecological transition. To tackle this problem, González Casares mentioned the creation of the Community’s Just Transition Fund, which will make possible a balance between sustainable economic growth and job losses.

During the Q&A time, the participants were able to present their comments and questions on many issues of interest. Thus, various topics were discussed, such as the taxation that will encourage sustainable investments and serve as a reference for the financial sector; the Horizon Europe Initiative; emissions traffic and its impact on the Climate Act; job protection and its consequences on the future remodeling of the labour market or the importance of fossil fuels and the circular economy.

From the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg we would like to thank the speakers Clara de la Torre and Nicolás González Casares as well as to all the participants in this session and our member Zabala Innovation Consulting for sponsoring the event.

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