Celebration of the National Day of the Spanish Embassy in Luxembourg 2023

On October 11, the Spanish Embassy in Luxembourg collaborated with the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Luxembourg in the celebration of the Spanish National Day.

The event, which took place at the Cercle Cité in Luxembourg, was sponsored by Adepa, Banca March, Bankinter, Banque du Luxembourg, CaixaBank Asset Management, Indosuez, Intertrust, Portobello and PwC, and was attended by local authorities, businessmen and Spanish representatives of European institutions, as well as numerous members of the Chamber.

The Spanish Ambassador in Luxembourg, Mr. José María Rodríguez Coso, thanked during his speech the attendees for coming, as well as the sponsors of the event and the Chamber, for making all this possible.

Spanish wine tasting in Luxembourg

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SFF Learning Solutions: Principles of international taxation and fund structuring in Luxembourg took place

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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.

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.

The Chamber presented the EYE and MobiliseSME programmes at the SME Open Day in Luxembourg

On November 30th, the Chamber participated in the SME Open Day 2022, an annual initiative organised by the Chamber of Commerce of Luxembourg during the European SME week.

This year, the event was focused on the three key areas of entrepreneurship, development and financing. More than 200 attendees had the opportunity to discover the actions and support programmes that the European Union provides to small and medium-sized enterprises.

The Chamber had a stand where participants were informed about the existing support services for enterprises and entrepreneurs. Noelia Sanchez, project manager, participated in the “Demo Pitch” explaining the practical and financial support that the MobiliseSME and Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs programmes provide to SMEs and entrepreneurs in Luxembourg.

The event counted with different thematic conferences regarding entrepreneurship and funding, and with keynote speeches, as the intervention of Lex Delles, Minister for the Middle Classes and Tourism of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and Bonifacio Garcia Porras, Head of Unit of the Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs.

The Chamber thanks the invitation to the Chamber of Commerce of Luxembourg, and the opportunity to inform companies and entrepreneurs from Luxembourg about the support services from which they can benefit.

If you want to know more about the European programmes that the Chamber coordinates, please, contact Noelia Sanchez, project manager:

The first part of the training on “Compliance Requirements” was held within the framework of the SFF Learning Solutions.

Last Thursday, November 24, the first part of the training on “Compliance Requirements” took place at the Chambre des Métiers in Luxembourg. This session dealt with the topic of “Combating money laundering and terrorist financing” and was given by Dorit Hornung, manager at PWC and expert in this field, and by Álvaro Gómez, manager also at PWC Luxembourg.

The two-hour course covered topics such as an introduction to anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism, the emerging pressure at the international level, its application in Luxembourg and the sanctions in this area, and introduced the concept of the beneficial owner or ultimate beneficial owner (UBO).

At the end of the event, participants received a diploma certifying their attendance and enjoyed a networking cocktail that allowed them to exchange ideas and opinions.

In memoriam – José Gracia Barba

Last Saturday, 19 November, José Gracia Barba, member of the Board of Directors of our Chamber, unexpectedly passed away.

Three days earlier he attended the event organised with President Jean-Claude Juncker.

Ingenious, generous, friendly, and witty as always, nothing made us think about the outcome.

He always wanted to be known as “Pitu” and, to our very dear Pitu, goes our tribute.

It is difficult to use the past when writing these lines. The imprint of his presence in the Chamber’s life will live on. Undoubtedly.

Kindness, generosity, intelligence, commitment. His service to Spain, from his position as administrator of our Chamber, highlights these qualities.

In 2012, he played a decisive role in integrating the (private) Spanish Chamber in Luxembourg into the current Official Chamber, and from 2017 to 2020 he was its Vice-President for the Grand Duchy.

Pitu was an Industrial Engineer. His professional experience led him to be part of different companies, among them Inespal (Empresa Nacional del Aluminio), before starting his career on his own.

Since 1995, Gracia Barba had developed different projects in the financial and energy sector, holding various positions in companies such as EUROSIGMA, Metrovacesa, Gecina, CTI, or Banco Pastor. He currently held the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors of EBN (Banco de Negocios S.A.).

“Death is not real when the deed of life has been well done”, said the Cuban philosopher and poet José Martí. This quote becomes a reality in the person of Pitu.

Margarita, Pitu’s support, has our affection and love. With her, Pitu remains among us.

Dear Pitu, thank you for everything.

Luncheon-debate with Jean-Claude Juncker, former President of the European Commission

Last Tuesday 15 November, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg held a new luncheon-debate sponsored by the Royal Bank of Canada, in which the former Prime Minister of Luxembourg and former President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, spoke on “The future of the EU in the face of tomorrow’s uncertainties”.

The presentation began with the introduction of Pablo López-Álvarez, President of the Chamber, who thanked the participants for their attendance and gave a biographical review of Juncker. Afterwards, after the intervention of Fernando Valenzuela, Chief Financial Officer of RBC, Juncker took the floor. He spoke about the different challenges that the Europe of the future will have to face, where challenges such as climate change, the war in Ukraine and the situation with Putin, inflation, Brexit, or those derived from the pandemic stand out. He also attached great importance to international trade, as well as the treaties with Canada and the Mercosur countries.

The presentation continued with a round of questions and answers, where the participants were able to ask Juncker about issues such as the political and fiscal reforms that the EU will have to face, how the EU will have to position itself in the face of the US-China trade war, or what role Spain will have in its future presidency of the EU vis-à-vis the rest of the world.

From the Chamber, we want to express our special thanks to the winery Pradorey blanco, to RBC, and to all the attendees, who made this lunch-debate a very special one.