Presentation « Art, alternative investment »

Last March 30th, took place in the FREEPORT premises, the conference on the thematic « Art, alternative investment » presented by FIDUCIAIRE PREMIER LUXEMBOURG S.A. and IN ART S.A. both members of MM INTERNATIONAL GROUP S.A.

This event co-organised by the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg got together with about sixty decision-makers of banks, family offices, art collectors, institutions and business lawyers.

The achievement of the event and the high level of the audience attest the future of the twosome of Art and Finance in the future world ‘s economy and more specifically for the Luxembourg’s one.

Workshop on the VAT on intra-community and e-commerce operations

On  February 16th, the Chamber, in collaboration with its member Spanish VAT Services, organized a conference on the “VAT on intra-community and e-commerce operations”. The event gathered representatives of different Spanish and Belgian companies, members of the Chamber, representatives of European institutions and Spanish regional delegations.

The speaker of the conference DSC_0127Fernando Matesanz, Managing Director of Spanish VAT Services, who began his speech thanking the participation of the attendees and the Chamber for the organization of the event.

To begin with, Matesanz gave a brief introduction on intra EU supplies of goods. To do this, he provided examples of possible transactions between European countries (such as Belgium and Spain), specifying in which cases it would be necessary to include the Value Added Tax (VAT), and where it should be charged.

Regarding EU supply of goods, the speaker underlined the importance of Article 44 of the European VAT Directive. As a synthesis, he proposed three keys that every service provider should consider: if the recipient of the service is a taxable person, if the taxable person acts as such and where the recipient is established. For each case, there are different conditions and standards, for which Matesanz addressed the possible situations to which the companies are exposed and how to manage them.

Subsequently, Matesanz briefly mentioned the characteristics of non-EU trade between EU countries and countries that are not part of the European Union, which are exempted from this type of tax.

To conclude, the speaker remarked the importance of e-commerce nowadays, given the high number of transactions that are carried out through the Internet daily. For this reason, he dedicated a section of the speech to differentiate between B2B e-commerce goods transactions (which work in the same way as EU supply of goods) and B2C goods transactions, more typical of Internet sales, in which companies must take the VAT into account in all coDSC_0097untries including the transaction.

The future of e-commerce services transactions generated a space for debate on two issues raised by the speaker: the introduction of the MOSS system as a new tax regime for electronic commerce and the management of transactions with the UK after the Brexit, as it will be out of the EU’s transactional framework.

Matesanz encouraged the intervention of the participants, who raised specific doubts regarding the scope of the VAT Directive, changes in the interpretation of legislation and specific cases of transactions between countries inside and outside the European Union. The Managing Director of Spanish VAT Services answered each of the issues and concluded by emphasizing the importance of the correct application of VAT rates in each case, exemplifying it with three cases in which the price was exactly the same, varying the percentage corresponding to the supplier.

New Year’s Cocktail 2017 Celebration in Luxembourg

Last January 19th, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg celebrated the New Year’s Cocktail in Luxembourg. Between the assistants, there were the Ambassador of Spain in Luxembourg and the President of Honor of the Chamber, Carlos María de Lojendio y Pardo Manuel de Villena. There were also many members of the Chamber, entrepreneurs, senior Spanish managers and representatives of European institutions and other local bodies.

Juan Rodríguez-Villa, President of the Chamber, thanked the participation to the assistants and remarked the evolution of the activity of the Luxembourg delegation since its opening in 2013. Furthermore, the Ambassador of Spain in Luxembourg thanked the Chamber for its work in the development of commercial relations between Spain and the Great Duchy, and expressed his best wishes on this duty in 2017.

The event was celebrated in the Meliá Hotel and more than 60 people attended. The Chamber wants to thank the sponsoring and colaboration of Bodegas Salferso Wine and Luxair in the organization.

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AIR EUROPA celebrates the 30th anniversary of the airline company in the Spanish Embassy in Belgium

The airline company Air Europa celebrated on the 15th December its 30th anniversary in the Spanish Embassy in Belgium. The event were attended by the Ambassadors of the countries where the company operates, as well as by members of the diplomatic body, representatives of the chambers of commerce and colleagues from the tourism and press sector.

During his speech, the Director General from Air Europa in France and Belgium, Alcino Ribeiro, undertook a brief overview of the beginnings of the company, whose success is the work of the president of the Globalia Group, Juan José Hidalgo, who emigrated to Switzerland at the age of 19. Thanks to the savings earned from working as a painter, a waiter and a builder, he bought a Mercedes that he used to transport migrants who wanted to enter in Spain. Soon after, he bought a bus and, afterwards, the acquisition of a bus fleet came to his mind. According to Ribeiro, that is how he founded the Halcón company, a travel agency he bought later.

Then, as Ribeiro reminded, Hidalgo started up a flight between Madrid and Zurich, which was his first experience in the airline sector.

The origins of Air Europa as we know it nowadays comes back from 1986. “It was called Air España at the time”, as the Director-General in France and Belgium indicated. This company was created by an English businessman to flight between Spain and the UK. The first commercial flight went from Tenerife to London the 21st November 1986, 30 years ago, the reason why this anniversary took place in Belgium the 15th December.

Ribeiro related that five years later, in 1991, Juan José Hidalgo bought the company, after the bankruptcy of the English stakeholders, and changed its name to Air Europa.

Some of the key dates on the history of the company:

  • 1993: Air Europa, charter flight Company, transforms to a regular Company and starts to operate in the domestic Spanish flights.
  • 1995: International flights started like the London or the New York
  • 1996: Air Europa reaches 750 weekly flights and initiates another symbolic one: Madrid-Paris.
  • 1998: Creation of the Globalia Group, integrated by companies such as Halcón or Travelplan, of which Air Europa is the main subsidiary.
  • 2000: Close to 6 million passengers reached on board of Air Europa.
  • 2007: Air Europa joins SkyTeam Alliance and suggests Flying Blue.
  • 2008: Air Europa asks for 8 Boeing 787 that it is receiving currently.
  • 2012: Air Europa performs a record year in terms of creation of new flight lines, Brussels-Madrid line deserves a special mention.
  • 2015: It is the beginning of the modernization plan of the fleet, the exclusive on board services and the release of a new corporate image. Air Europa reaches over 10 million passengers.
  • 2016: This year Air Europa opens new long distance flight lines: Bogota (Colombia, 28th June) Guayaquil (Ecuador, 16th December) Cordoba (Argentina, 18th December).
  • Air Europa disposes of a 51-plane fleet: 11 Embraer 195, 20 Boeing 737-800, 15 Airbus 330 and 5 Boeing 787 Dreamliners.
  • 2017: two new routes are expected: San Pedro Sula (Honduras) in April and Boston in June.

The event was supported by the Spanish Tourism Office in Belgium, the Tourism Office from the Dominican Republic, and the Tourism Office from Peru. The Hispania restaurant also contributed to the success of this celebration.

Air Europa received in 2013 the Company of the Year award of the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg, in recognition of its quick commercial positioning in Belgium.

COCEF celebrates its 130th anniversary and delivers its 2016 awards

The Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in France (COCEF) celebrated its 130th anniversary on 15th December. The Spanish Ambassador in France, his Excellency Ramón de Miguel and the President of COCEF, Mr. José Michel García, handed the prizes of the 2016 COCEF awards.

Among the prizes awarded, SAICA received the Company of the year award, CT Ingenieros the the SMEs award and Mrs. Teresa Ribera (IDDRI director and former Spanish state minister for climate change) received the 2016 Person of the Year award.

During the event held in the prestigious Opera salon of the Paris le Grand Intercontinental Hotel, the president of the COCEF talked about the parallelism between the second industrial revolution and its enormous socio-cultural transformations that took place in 1886 (when COCEF was founded), with the current period, given the revolution taking place in the technological field and the new environmental challenges.

The Ambassador of Spain in France, his Excellency Ramón de Miguel, highlighted the close collaboration between COCEF and the Economic and Commercial Office of the Spanish Embassy in France. He also emphasized the effectiveness and the importance of the role of COCEF in the international trade, for the companies’ services and congratulated and showed his admiration to the COCEF President.

Close to 200 people attended the event, including members of the Spanish diplomatic body and the executives of the most influential companies of both Spain and France.

The President of FEDECOM Juan Rodríguez-Villa Matons and the Secretary General of the Official Spanish Chamber in Belgium and Luxembourg, María Catalán, participated in the celebration supporting the activities developed by COCEF in France.

The Chamber meets with a group of entrepreneurs of Extremadura

The Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg received last 16 December a group of entrepreneurs from the region of Extremadura. The visit was part of an institutional agenda organised by the Cáceres and Badajoz Provincial Councils and developed for the entrepreneurs on 14th, 15th and 16th of December in Brussels.

The Secretary General, María Catalán, presented the particularities of the Belgian and Luxembourgian markets and the support offered to new entrepreneurs in both countries. Thus, the group, some of whom had started to run their companies in incubators of Extremadura and others had just won an entrepreneurship award, got to know the programme Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs (EYE), in which the Chamber participates as a local contact point in BeLux.

The entrepreneurs, one of whom is going to take part in the Erasmus For Young Entrerpreneurs next January, had the chance to talk to the Secretary General and to solve their questions about the Belgian and Luxembourgian markets.

Gala Dinner 2016 | December 1

The Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg hold on the 1st December its Annual Gala Dinner in the NH Collection Hotel Grand Sablon in Brussels, which the participation of the mayor of Brussels, Yvan Mayeur, as a guest of honor. Furthermore, it brought together senior executives from both Spanish and international firms, as well as members of the Spanish diplomatic corps and European institutions.

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The dinner, sponsored by AECOM company, started with the welcoming words of the president of the Chamber, Juan Rodríguez-Villa Matons, who thanked all the guests for joining the dinner and went through the bonds of union between Brussels, Belgium and Spain throughout history in his speech. Also, he highlighted the “excellent collaboration” that the Chamber and the public organizations from the city currently maintain.

After him, the Mayor of Brussels, Yvan Mayeur, underlined the trade links between Spain and Belgium and emphasized “the excellent economic and institutional relation” hold by both countries. “2.000.000 Belgian citizens visit Spain every year”, commented Mayeur as he recognized that this type of relations among EU member countries “make Europe stronger and more united in front of the separatist movements”.

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Mayeur also insisted on the existing international presence in Brussels: “this city is an example of the diversity in Europe”. For that reason, the Mayor stated that it is necessary, despite adversities, to “look positively to the future”.

For its part, and in the same direction, the business representative of the Spanish Embassy in Belgium, Jorge Notivoli, also spoke at the event encouraging the attendees to work together to collaborate in the development of the city, after the negative events in Brussels.

Regarding the Spanish situation, Notivoli commented that the country is economically recovering: “we will reach the levels prior to the beginning of the crisis soon”.

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After these speeches, the attendees enjoyed a Spanish haute cuisine dinner offered by the Gastronomic Director of the new restaurant Hispania Brussels, Marcos Morán, who holds a Michelin Star and three “Soles Repsol”, served with the Spanish wines of La Buena Vida. Afterwards, Moran and his team presented the Hispania Brussels project, the new Spanish gastronomic restaurant located in the emblematic Sablon neighborhood of Brussels.

The resident group in the Cervantes Institute of Brussels, The New Baroque Times, lived up the dinner with a musical performance. The event finished with a raffle of our associated companies’ products and services, for which we thank their collaboration.

We would like to thank all the attendees for joining us.

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Meeting of the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce with ESNE students

The Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg received last 15 November a group of students from the Escuela Universitaria de Diseño, Innovación y Tecnología (ESNE). The visit was part of an institutional agenda developed for the students on 15th, 16th and 17th of November in Brussels.

The Secretary General, María Catalán, presented the particularities of the Belgian and Luxembourgian markets and the support offered to new entrepreneurs in both countries. Thus, the students got to know the programme Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs (EYE), in which the Chamber participates as a local contact point in BeLux. Catalán also reported on the employment programme which is managed right now by the Official Chamber of Commerce. Furthermore, the Secretary General discussed about job opportunities presented to young Spaniards abroad.

The students, many of whom have already entrepreneurial spirit in the creative industries sector, had the chance to talk to the Secretary General and to solve their questions about the Belgian and Luxembourgian markets.

 

Why and how to open a pop-up store in Brussels

The Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg took part last 28th of October in the conference organised by Atrium.Brussels (agency of the Brussels-Capital Region that promotes commercial development) about how and why to open a pop-up store in the city.

Due to the growing trend of this ephemeral commerce, Atrium developed a study to analyze the keys for success with a pop-up store. In particular, the project L’Auberge Espagnole, released in Etterbeek in May 2016, allowed it to corroborate the results of its study and communicate them to the attendees.

During the first part of the conference, Arnaud Tixer, Atrium.Brussels’ CEO, explained the reasons for this new business model growth. On the one hand, the change in customer’s behavior: that one has become much more demanding, looking for the unusual and unique at all times. On the other hand, the idea of a pop-up store is also useful for the traders, who can test their business idea reducing risks.

The second part of this workshop continued with some testimonies of the owners of pop-up stores in Brussels, who explained their experience and advised the future entrepreneurs. They all insisted on the need of previous preparation in order to open a pop-up store.

The CRO of Atrium.Brussels, Julien Bacq, highlighted the need to identify themselves with the neighborhood spirit and to maintain strong links with it when we open the pop-up store. These stores, in his opinion, modernize the neighborhood while they keep its essence.

Flore Frédéric, Project Manager of Atrium.Brussels, was the next one to speak. The rapporteur presented the study of Atrium and commented the most important factors to take into account to open a pop-up store. Among them, defining the business model and determining the duration and the purpose of the pop-up store. Besides, Frédéric focused on three key lines to get success: determining the flow and frequency of people, the needs of the target neighborhood and the rent to pay. Finally, she emphasized the importance of the promotion and the communication of the pop-up store, and the required administrative procedure.

The event finished with a round of questions in which the attendees could raise theirs questions. The speaker answered in detail and highlighted the creation of the Google + community to put the potential traders and owners in contact. Furthermore, she stressed the role of Atrium as a local adviser authority in the whole process of the establishment of a pop-up store in Brussels.

Check the study developed by Atrium.

The Chamber takes part in the Young Professionals Networking Night, held with success

The Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg took part in the Young Professionals Networking Night, which was last October 20 on the premises of BNP Paribas Fortis. The event was successful and over 150 participants took part in it. Most of them were young people who has just started their professional career and they could know some tips to do networking.

Young Professionals Networking

The attendees practiced their making contacts skills in the “speed networking”, which was useful in order to expand their social networks and meet other young professionals of different nationalities, careers and businesses. Thus, professionals of over 13 international and local chambers of commerce took part in the 4th edition of this networking night. Moreover, they also participated in a workshop about the advantages of the crowdfunding to set up a business.

The Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg helped in the organization of the event and advertised the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs programme, which is a contact point in Belgium.