Minister Albares outlines the priorities of the Spanish Presidency of the EU at an event co-organised by the Chamber
On Monday 20 February, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg and the Spanish Chamber of Commerce organised a dinner-colloquium attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Spain, José Manuel Albares, who outlined the priorities of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which will take place during the second half of 2023.
The event brought together more than 100 business representatives, senior European officials and MEPs, including the heads of the Socialist and Popular Party delegations in the European Parliament, Javier Moreno and Dolors Montserrat.
After the welcome cocktail, the President of the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg, Pablo López-Alvarez, thanked the Minister for his attendance. In a brief introduction, López-Alvarez stressed the importance of seizing the opportunity of the upcoming Spanish presidency of the Council of the Union to project the “Marca España” throughout the continent, describing its preparation as “the most meticulous” of the Spanish presidencies to date. He also offered the support of the Chamber of Commerce and business world in what he defined as “a country project”.
Minister Albares then took the floor and began his speech by thanking the Chambers of Commerce for organising the event, in a year in which “many things are changing”. “This week marks one year since Russia’s brutal aggression against Ukraine“, the Minister recalled, stressing that the Ukrainian conflict is “a challenge” that directly affects Europeans, because “what is at stake are the values of Europe“.
“In Ukraine there are two models in dispute: one that looks to the past, to the darkest decades of Europe, of limited sovereignty, of the use of force, of walls and barbed wire; and another that proposes pluralism, diversity, the rule of law, sovereign equality,” Albares said.
The value of unity
As a result of this conflict, the Minister said that Europe is rediscovering the value of working together and of shared solutions: “These are lessons that we already learned during the pandemic, but which are now going to remain anchored in
the heart of Europe“.
According to Albares, Spain will approach its presidency with the conviction that “we have to cooperate whenever we can” and that Europe “has to increase its defense capacity” and “reduce its dependence on third parties” in energy matters: “We cannot go back to this situation”.
Following the presentation, the attendees were able to enjoy dinner in a relaxed atmosphere. To conclude, a round of interventions and questions was opened, beginning with the intervention of the President of the European Affairs Commission of Camara de España, John Rutherford, who presented the Minister the document “The Opportunity to Strengthen Europe”, recently published, which includes the business priorities for the Spanish Presidency of the European Union. During the colloquium, the minister provided further information on topics such as current and future relations between the European Union and Latin America and the training crisis in Europe and possible solutions within the framework of the European Year of Skills.
From the Chamber, we would like to thank the Radisson Grand Place Brussels, Pernod Ricard, sponsor of wine and cava, and all the attendees for having contributed to the success of this dinner-colloquium.
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.
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. 
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 presents its activities to 50 students from the Mondragon University
Last Wednesday 23rd November, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg participated as a speaker in a conference for 50 students of the first year of the degree in Business Administration and Management of the Mondragon University.
In the presentation, which took place in the Delegation of the Basque Country for the European Union, Sara Sánchez, Business Development Manager, and Víctor Lloret, commercial department, explained the functioning and services offered by the Chamber to Spanish, Belgian and Luxembourgish companies. Additionally, they presented the organised events and the European and international projects coordinated by the Chamber.
During their intervention, they also talked to the university students about their interests, their knowledge about the Chamber and about exports and imports between Belux and Spain.
From the Chamber, we would like to thank the Mondragon University for having counted on our institution and the attendees for the interest shown in the presentation.
Conference «Supporting the Next IPCEI European Champions in Solar Industry»
On Monday 21st November, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg organised the conference “Supporting the Next IPCEI European Champions in Solar Industry”, in collaboration with the Chamber’s member company Schuman Associates. More than 20 companies from the solar and photovoltaic energy sector from all over Europe participated in the conference, that took place online.
The key speakers were Víctor Marcos, Director of Renewable Energies at the Spanish Government’s Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE); Demos Spatharis, Head of Unit IPCEI, Environment and Innovation at the European Commission’s Directorate for Competition; Žygimantas Vaičiūnas, Executive Policy Advisor at the European Solar Manufacturing Council; and Anca Wlizlo, Head of Investment, Financing and Strategic Consulting (specialised in IPCEI, H2 and PV projects) at Schuman Associates.
To open the conference, Víctor Marcos explained how the project would fit into component 3 of the Recovery Plan (Just and Inclusive Energy Transition), talked about the Strategic Project for Economic Recovery and Transformation (PERTE) for renewable energies and the importance of the EU Solar Strategy and the REPowerEU Plan, as well as Spain’s growing role in the solar and photovoltaic sector.
Characteristics
Demos Spatharis then detailed, from a more technical perspective, the process of approval by the European Commission of an IPCEI, referring to past projects and their characteristics, with particular emphasis on meeting the requirements of transparency, ambition, competitiveness, and cross-border cooperation.
Later, Žygimantas Vaičiūnas explained the position of the European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC) on the IPCEI PV, discussing the key objectives of the project, the possibilities for its financing, its timeframe, as well as the main challenges. In addition, Vaičiūnas mentioned existing projects in the PV sector.
Finally, Anca Wlizlo focused on the steps to be taken to prepare the proposal to set up the photovoltaic IPCEI, explaining the importance of the project and listing the different points to be taken into account: ambition, innovation, cooperation and dissemination.
At the end of the conference, participants had the opportunity to ask questions and share their interests and opinions with the four speakers.
With the support and recognition of
