Webinar on “Covid-19: analysis of the economic measures for businesses in Belgium”

On April 15th, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce of in Belgium and Luxembourg, organized a webinar on “Covid-19: analysis of the economic measures for businesses in Belgium”, in collaboration with SPF Finance, Flanders Investment & Trade, Brussels Invest & Export, Invest in Wallonia and its member Paterna Professional. The webinar was attended by more than 50 companies.

This webinar was aimed at Spanish companies stablished in Belgium, in order to help them identify the different financial and economic measures they can apply both for the regional (Brussels, Flanders and Wallonie), and federal levels.

The webinar was presented by Juan Rodríguez-Villa, President of the Chamber, who thanked the speakers from the different organisms and all the participants from different companies for their collaboration and mentioned the difficult and unprecedented situation that we are going through that means a great challenge for everyone.

The webinar started with Michela Ritondo, International tax expert from SPF Finance, who explained the measures taken by the Belgian federal authorities in relation to the payment of taxes and detailed other business support measures.

Then Antonia Macías, Enterprise Creator Advisor and Julie Chandellier, Legal Officer in Social Law, of Partena Professional summarized the measures taken at national level to help the self-employed in issues regarding social security. Likewise, they also mentioned the different procedures and temporary unemployment benefits for companies and their employees.

After it, the General Secretary of the Chamber, Marta González, introduced the representatives of the organizations of the different regions in Belgium. From the Brussels Region, Ariane Leonard, Economic and comercial Advisor, Representative of the Government of Brussels in Spain, and Aurore Boraczek, Inward Investment, hub.brussels, explained the measures taken in the Brussels Region such as the single bonus of € 4,000 for companies that have had to compulsorily close or the suspension of the so-called “city tax” for hotels. From Flanders Investment & Trade, Peter Verplancken, Deputy Director, Inward Investment & Aftercare, explained, among others, the financial incentives offered by the Flemish government or the postponement for the filing of taxes. Finally, Michel Winniczek, Project Manager from Invest in Wallonia (AWEX), informed about the different measures offered by the Walloon region to companies, the procedures for requesting these grants and the postponement of payment of fees.

After the presentation, a round of questions was featured where the participants could ask their doubts about the measures explained.

The Chamber wants to sincerely thank the SPF Finance, Flanders Investment & Trade, Brussels Invest & Export, Invest in Wallonia and Partena Professional for having participated in this initiative.

 

In collaboration with:

The Chamber promotes the participation in the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs program in Belgian universities

Last March 12, the Chamber had the opportunity to present the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs (EYE) program at the University of Antwerp. The session was addressed to students who want to learn from experienced entrepreneurs from other EU countries.

The Chamber presented to the students the possibilities that Spain offers to young entrepreneurs, as well as some of the companies already registered in the program and ready to host them.

The students also had the possibility to present their business ideas to the project manager of the Chamber, Soraya Bravo, who gave them individualized recommendations to improve their business plans.

In addition to the University of Antwerp, the Chamber actively collaborates with the University of Mons and the Catholic University of Leuven.

 

04/01-02 Webinar on Communication for EU projects

On April 1st and 2nd, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce of in Belgium and Luxembourg, will organize in Brussels a webinar on “Communication for EU projects”, in collaboration with its member Vision Communication.

Communication plays a central role in today’s world, acting as the glue factor that enables technology transfer, connects innovations with funding, businesses with customers or policy-makers with civil society.

This course will guide the participants on how to effectively design and manage communication in projects granted by the EU, as it’s a fundamental work package in all EU-funded projects.

This workshop will be divided in two days, of 4 hours duration each and will be held in English. During the first session an introduction to communication in European projects will be made and it will be explained the different types of European projects and how to design and manage communication in projects granted by the EU. In the second session, the attendees will have the opportunity to discover more about communication management in depth through a practical exercise.

You can sign up for this workshop through this reply form.

For more information about the program click here.

Conference on companies act and liability of managers

On February 25th, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg, in collaboration with Philippe & Partners & Estudio Legal Muñoz Gonzalo, organized a conference on “The companies act and the liability of managers. A comparative vision with the Spanish corporate law“ at Cercle Munster in Luxembourg.

The conference had about twenty participants, including the H.E. Ambassador of Spain in Luxembourg Bernardo de Sicart Escoda. During the conference, the speakers, Ernesto Muñoz (Estudio Legal Muñoz Gonzalo) and Denis Philippe (Philippe & Partners), presented the different types of companies in Spain and Luxembourg, as well as the liability regime of company managers.

Finally, it was made a comparison through the similarities and the differences between both countries in this area, and the speakers could answer the questions raised by some of the participants.

 

In collaboration with:

Breakfast-conference: “Digitalize your non-profit organization”

On February 13th, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg hosted the breakfast conference “Digitalize your non-profit organization”. The training was taught by the director and ERP & CRM consultant David Sánchez Martín, an entrepreneur and member of the Chamber through Senda Consulting.

During the session, participants were able to acquire the necessary tools to understand the functioning and usefulness of digital communication, the different CRM programs and some advice on choosing the best software for a non-profit organization. The topic of data security was also discussed, with an special mention to the available resources and their practical application in the day-to-day running of an organisation.

The workshop’s attendance was completed with almost twenty representatives from very diverse sectors such as cultural industries, volunteer centres or official European agencies.

The Chamber collaborates with the training sessions of the program «Diputación Europa»

On the 30th of January, the Chamber organized a training session for the students of the program “Diputación Europa”, an internship program for future project managers of the province of Cáceres.

The session was focused on “Stakeholders engagement, lobby, and monitoring of European action”. During the session, the fourteen participants of the program had the opportunity to learn the importance to promote stakeholders’ participation in their projects.

In addition, during the second part of the training, Francisco Ferrera, a government affairs consultant of our member company Politics Matters, presented his experience in political and regulatory influence at the European level.

Using case studies, the participants experienced how to become a project manager or a lobbyist.

2020 Ibérica Expo Amsterdam

The first edition of the 2020 Ibérica Expo Amsterdam fair, leading event on the food and wines sectors of Spain, took place on January 13th , 14th and 15th . During these three days, Ibérica Expo brought to the Netherlands a selection of Spanish companies from the agri-food sector with the objective of giving them visibility and putting them in contact with potential distributors in BeNeLux. The Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg collaborated in this initiative identifying and coordinating the participation of the importing companies of BeNeLux.

In addition, on Tuesday 14th a debate about the opportunities and challenges of the import and distribution of food and beverages for the BeNeLux market took place in which Mathias Verbeke, commercial of the member company JOKA and The Cortador Academy, participated.

ABOUT IBÉRICA EXPO

Ibérica was created with the objective of promoting the Spanish food and drinks industry on a global level through different fairs and events. The events by Ibérica Expo, worldwide leaders in the commercial fairs sector, help with the promotion of the Spanish manufacturers that represent the Spanish gastronomic excellence.

 

 

 

Networking dinner with Diego Ávalos, Vice President of Original Content in Spanish of Netflix

On December 11th, Netflix, in collaboration with the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg, organized a networking dinner with Diego Ávalos, Vice President of Original Content in Spanish of Netflix to celebrate the opening of the company’s new offices at the European quarter of Brussels.

The event, which was aimed at a select group of guests among the Spanish community in Belgium, included, among others, the participation of the Ambassador of Spain in Belgium, Hon. Mrs. Beatriz Larrotcha Palma, business executives, representatives of European institutions and Spanish public entities.

The President of the Chamber, Juan Rodríguez-Villa Matons, welcomed the attendees and reviewed Netflix’s career and the evolution of the creative industries sector in Spain during the last few years. Subsequently, a trailer was screened with a preview of the upcoming Netflix productions in Spanish.

Then, Esperanza Ibáñez, Director of Public Policies for Spain and Portugal of Netflix, moderated an interview with Diego Ávalos.

Ávalos began by briefly reviewing his professional career to explain how he had joined the Netflix team. After its introduction, the Vice President of Netflix explained what is the company’s position regarding Spain. Indeed, the country is positioned as the main production hub of Spanish contents for the company, due to the fact that, since its arrival in the country, Netflix has made 26 original productions and has participated in 40 Spanish co-productions, such as “Elite”, “Cable Girls”or “Money Heist”. This is largely thanks to the great wealth found in Spain, not only in an artistic sense, but also in the diversity of cultures and landscapes.

The presentation continued with the introduction of the new European Production Hub in Madrid, which opened last April in the city of Tres Cantos. Ávalos highlighted the importance of the investment of the opening of this new center in Spain, as it translates into economic and social benefits for the country: only in 2018, 13,000 actors, technicians and extras participated in original Netflix projects and, in 2019, this number will increase by more than 50%, reaching the figure of 25,000.

To end his speech, Digo Ávalos spoke about the future challenges of the audio-visual sector. On the one hand, the need to boost female talent in Spain, a challenge that they want to face by developing specific programs for directors and screenwriters, as well as projects that aim to promote a greater diversity of stories and people who work in front and behind the camera. On the other hand, the focus on the challenge of promoting quality work opportunities. Ávalos emphasized the shortage of professionals in certain fields (eg post-production) and showed Netflix’s goal to boost the audio-visual content production sector in Spain to generate new job opportunities.

After the presentation, a round of questions began in which attendees asked about the film industry, the commercial opportunities that Netflix could offer to other companies or the magnitude of the impact of the company at a local level.

The event closed with a walking dinner in which participants had the opportunity to taste Spanish products and network.

 

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14 young interns will enjoy a professional stay in Brussels thanks to the “Diputación Europa” grants

A total of 14 young interns from the province of Cáceres will enjoy a professional stay in Brussels thanks to the “Diputación Europa” program, a new iniciative of the provincial government of Cáceres that aims to facilitate labor integration of young people in companies and institutions related with European affairs.

On November 28th, coinciding with their first week in the European capital, the young recipients of the “Diputación Europa” grant took part in a welcoming day at the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg. The internships will last 6 months and will count with a permanent formative programme that will allow them to improve their knowledge in foreign languages and European affairs.

The provincial government signed a technical assitance contract with Sulayr, a company with wide experience in management of European programmes and international mobility. The Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg acts as collaborating entity in the management of this programme in Brussels, offering constant support to the trainees during their professional stay and organizing formative sessions.

Precisely, the first session was taught by the Secretary General of the Chamber, María Catalán, and it dealt with the role that Spanish institutions in Brussels play with different organizations of the European Union.

Presentation of the services and programmes of the Chamber at the University of Antwerp

On November 19th the Secretary General of the Official Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg, María Catalán, participated in a conference organized by the University of Antwerp.

During the conference, which was aimed at the Spanish students from different university degrees, María Catalán presented the bilateral commerce figures between Belgium and Spain and the role that the Chamber plays for Spanish companies in Belgium.

Moreover, the Secretary General informed students about the projects that the Chamber develops in relation to employment and entrepreneurship, highlighting the European programme Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs, in which the Chamber acts as local contact point in Belgium and has as objective the promotion of exchanges of experiences between entrepreneurs in Europe.