The Chamber in BeLux and the Spanish Chamber of Commerce sign an agreement to promote the internalization of Spanish companies

The Spanish Chamber of Commerce and the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg have signed an agreement with the aim of stablishing a stable framework of information and collaboration between both institutions to promote the internalization of Spanish companies.

Spanish Chamber of Commerce’s president, José Luis Bonet, and the president of the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg, Juan Rodríguez-Villa Matons signed the agreement.

The agreement determines 12 areas of collaboration, including:

  • Country’s information: The Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg will share with Spanish Chamber information about the situation in both countries and the business opportunities available, in order to present them to the companies interested.
  • Arbitration: The Spanish Chamber will engage the Chamber in Belgium and Luxembourg in the promotion and development of institutional arbitration and other alternatives to controversial issues resolution.
  • Portfolio: The Chamber in Belgium and Luxembourg offers Spanish companies a quality portfolio with the aim of encouraging the business activity of the Spanish companies in both countries.
  • Chamber of Spain’s program: The Spanish Chamber will inform the Chamber in Belgium and Luxembourg about the various programs it initiates and coordinates with the Chambers in Spain that may need support at the destination in order to determine the collaboration possibilities and its implementation.

Furthermore, both institutions will maintain mechanisms of sharing of information, particularly in relation to the International Cameral Plan.

The Spanish Chamber of Commerce is signing agreements with each of the 35 Chambers abroad to offer support to Spanish companies that participate in international promotion activities.

Meeting between the Spanish Chambers abroad and the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Madrid

The Spanish Chamber of Commerce and the Spanish Chambers abroad will work together to strengthen the presence of the Spanish companies in new markets. This collaboration will focus especially on giving support to the enterprises in the target destinations.

That is what it was done in the event that gathered the highest representatives of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce and the 35 Spanish Chambers Abroad the 2nd March in Madrid. The President of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, José Luis Bonet, opened the event together with the General Director, Inmaculada Riera, and the Secretary General, Adolfo Díaz-Ambrona.

“The network of the Spanish Chambers of Commerce abroad plays a key role in our actions on the promotion of our companies’ internationalization processes, and even if we are collaborating in different initiatives, there is still an enormous scope for improvement and potential we should explore”, said José Luis Bonet.

This collaboration should focus especially in the execution of the 2017 Chamber Internationalization Plan, in which the Spanish Chamber will invest 17 million euros from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) that supports exporter SMEs, allowing to take 369 promotion actions, 115 training activities and 42 information activities in the five continents.

During the session, several projects were presented for the collaboration of the Official Chambers of Commerce abroad in the programs and activities of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, including these:

  • Collaboration in the International Promotion Plan and the Xpande Program.
  • Entrepreneurship promotion and youth employment plans in Latin America from the INCYDE Foundation.
  • International Expansion Plans of the Spanish fairs in Madrid (Ifema) and Barcelona (La Fira).
  • Diffusion of the 1785 Project
  • International promotion of the Spanish Soccer League
  • Planes de promoción de emprendimiento y empleo juvenil en América Latina de la Fundación INCYDE.

Likewise, various successful experiences developed in the Chambers abroad were displayed. The Secretary General of the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg, María Catalán, presented the European financing possibilities for the execution of projects, highlighting the COSME programs, the Enterprise Europe Network and the Al-Invest programs.

Finally, representatives of the national network of the Spanish Chamber discussed about the support given in the destination states by the Spanish Chambers of Commerce in their international activity. The round table was moderated by the President of FEDECOM, Juan Rodríguez-Villa Matons, and the President of FECECA, Rafael Roldán.

Ordinary General Assembly of FEDECOM

The Federation of Official Chambers of Commerce in Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania (FEDECOM) celebrated the past 1st of March in Madrid its Ordinary Gereral Assembly.

The meeting took place in the facilities of the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness and had the participation of representatives from all the Chambers members of FEDECOM. Enrique Fanjul, technician in the Sub-Directorate General of Analysis and Strategy of the Internationalization of the State Secretariat for Commerce, also attended the Assembly as the institutional spokesman.

During the meeting, important issues were embraced as the functional link between the network of Official Chambers abroad and the Chamber of Commerce in Spain, the added value of belonging to the FEDECOM network and the collaboration between its Chamber members, among other issues. The activity report and the annual accounts of 2015 from the Federation were approved during the Assembly. Furthermore, a statuary reform according to the comments received by the State’s legal counsel was approved.

Juan Rodríguez-Villa Matons and María Catalán, President and Secretary General of the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg, occupy as well the Presidency and General Secretariat of FEDECOM.

The Secretary of State of Commerce receives the representatives of the CAMACOES network

Representatives from the 35 Official Chambers of Commerce abroad (CAMACOES network), were convened by the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness the 1st of March in Madrid, in order to attend a seminary about “The internationalization fund of Companies”.

The Secretary of State of Commerce, Mrs. María Luisa Poncela, made a welcoming speech of the event emphasizing the task of the Chambers abroad in the internationalization processes of Spanish companies.

Subsequently, representatives from the Economic and Commercial Offices (Ofecomes) and from the Chambers of Commerce of France, Morocco, Brazil and China; participated in a round table in which cases of good practices between both entities and examples of conflict resolutions were exposed.

During the day, several themes were issued such as the access of the Spanish credit system to the internationalization, support for investment, corporate financing and the co-financing of FIEM with other financial instruments of support for the export. In addition, the instruments of internationalization that ICEX (España Exportación e Inversiones) and Cofides make available for Spanish companies, were also embraced.

The President and the Secretary General  of the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg, Juan Rodríguez-Villa and María Catalán, respectively, participated in the event.

The State Secretariat for Commerce is the organism which protects the CAMACOES network.

The Spanish Chamber of Commerce’s Plenary session

The Spanish Chamber of Commerce has the determined support of the Spanish Government to achieve the goals inspired by its president, José Luis Bonet, from the time of its creation, in November 2014. The report presented by the President to the Plenary session at its meeting on February 21st referred to the fulfillment of a visits program to the highest-ranking personalities of the Administration.

Likewise, the continuous support of the business world to the Spanish Chamber of Commerce responds to the efforts that the direction is carrying out.

During the Plenary Session, the incorporation of new collaborating members was approved, and the signing of agreements between the Spanish Chamber and the network chambers (inside and outside) was announced. They also made a report about the Training Commission‘s activities and on the need of changing the model into one that motivates the need to adapt the training of young people to the new evolutionary model of the labor market.

The Spanish Chamber assumes the coordination of the territorial Chambers, as well as the external network. Juan Rodiguez-Villa, president of FEDECOM Europe-Africa-Asia-Oceania, also underlined the need to establish ways of collaboration between the metropolitan network and the external network.

 

Pablo García-Berdoy, Permanent Representative of Spain to the European Union, receives the Board of Directos of the Chamber

On February 17th , the Board of Directors of the Chamber met in Brussels with the new Ambassador Pablo García-Berdoy, the Permanent Representative of Spain to the European Union.

The President, along with the Vice-President in Belgium and the Secretary General of the institution, presented to the Ambassador the activity that the Chamber carries out and the services it provides to Spanish companies within the framework of the European institutions.

The new Ambassador expressed great interest in the work of the House and expressed its intention to continue with the close cooperation that the Chamber has with REPER.

The Chamber’s Yearbooks 2017 are already available

The Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce of Spain in Belgium and Luxembourg already has its Yearbooks 2017.
We encourage you to pick up your copy at our Brussels headquarters and the Luxembourg delegation.
The yearbook includes a detailed description of the services that the Chamber offers to its members, the activity report of 2016 and a directory of members by activity sector.
From the Chamber, we want to thank the support of all the associated companies, which allow us to continue improving and responding to the needs of our members.
Likewise, we would like to thank the advertisers for their collaboration in the Yearbook 2017, which allows us to finance this publication:

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To view and download our Yearbook 2017 click here.

The new Ambassador of Spain in Belgium receives the Board of Directors of the Chamber

Cecilia Yuste Rojas, recently named Ambassador of Spain Belgium, received on 2nd February a large representation of the Board of Directors of the Official Chamber of Commerce of Spain in Belgium and Luxembourg, headed by its President and accompanied by the Chief Counsel of The Economic and Commercial Office and the General Secretary of the institution.

The new ambassador showed great interest in the work of the Chamber. Cecilia Yuste assured her personal support and proposed a close collaboration with the different ministries.

The Ambassador expressed her satisfaction with her title “ad honorem” as President of Honor of our entity.

The Board of Directors appreciated the willingness of the Ambassador.

First Administrative Board meeting of the Chamber

Last January 12th the first Administrative Board of the Chamber took place in Brussels.

During the meeting, the members list was approved and the different projects the Chamber will start up this year were presented. The President of the Chamber reported about FEDECOM’s activity and the upcoming CAMACOES event in March, which will be promoted by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness and the Spanish Chamber.



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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