Board of Directors Meeting

On March 19th, the Board of Directors of the Chamber met telematically following the recommendations imposed by the different European governments regarding the spread of the Coronavirus.

During the meeting they discussed, among other topics, about the measures taken by the Chamber to deal with the current situation, the new Competition Commission that will be set soon, and the collaboration that the Chamber is about to start with the “Fundación Carlos” of Antwerp.

In addition, Marta González was appointed as the new general secretary ad interim during the meeting.

Finally, the President and the entire Board of Directors wanted to thank María Catalán for the great work done over the past 7 years as head of the Chamber’s general secretary.

The Chamber supports the Three Kings’ Day Celebration

On January 11th, the traditional celebration of the Three Magic Kings which is organized annually, took place at the Boudewijn Seapark (Dolphinarium) in the city of Bruges. The event was sponsored by Santander Consumer Bank, and counted on the support of the members of the Board of Directors of the Chamber and the collaboration of Churros Valyser.

The initiative of this event responds, certainly, to the interpretation of corporate social responsibility by the Chamber, as a voluntary contribution to the welfare of families who, because of emigration, run the risk of abandoning the tradition of the endearing celebration of the Three Magic Kings.

From a few years to this part, the event is also aimed at refugee families, hosted by the OCMW institution of the City Council of Bruges.

During the day, the children were able to enjoy a paella, a dolphin show and “indoor” attractions, and received the visit and gifts of the Magic Kings.

Moreover, Juan Rodríguez Villa, President of the Chamber, received a diploma as a special thanks for his annual dedication to this event.

It was a dream day for the little ones, who had been waiting for the Magic Kings to give them toys and candies for 12 months.

From the Chamber we would like to express our gratitude to Mayor De Fauw and Councilman Franky Demon for their participation and support for this endearing event.

 

The Chamber wishes you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2020

The Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg wishes you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2019.

We would like to inform you that the Chamber will be closed from Monday December 23rd until Friday January 3rd. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

The Spanish Chamber signs agreement with Taplingua to improve foreign language skills of employees of Spanish companies via their mobile phones

The Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg has signed an agreement with leading start-up Taplingua to promote the learning of foreign languages in Spanish companies with a special focus in the tourism sector.

Taplingua is the first industry‑focused language learning App that serves business customers. Through this agreement, Taplingua will offer Spanish Chamber members a free two-week language training module and a 30% discount. Additionally, the Spanish Chamber staff will also receive free ongoing language training through the App.

Juan Rodriguez Villa-Matons, President of the Spanish Chamber, welcomed the agreement: “An important part of our role is to help Spanish companies to improve their competitiveness. Language skills are critical in the global marketplace hence partnerships like this offer significant benefits to our members”. “At an initial stage our joint focus will be on the tourism industry, which represents 14% of the Spanish GDP, and if the agreement is successful, we expect to roll it out to other sectors”, he added.

“We are delighted to partner with the Spanish Chamber to help Spanish companies acquire and serve international customers more effectively. Taplingua already has successful partnerships with major Spanish players such as Accor Hotels, Autogrill and various global hotel chains, and we expect that this agreement will allow us to expand and further contribute to the competitiveness of the Spanish tourism industry as a whole, including SMEs”, said Taplingua CEO Santanu Dasgupta. “As in any sector, market needs and solutions evolve. It is no secret that traditional language courses are too academic and not aligned with work or job requirements. At Taplingua, we aim to solve the significant barriers that employees face while using a second language and thus help them do their jobs better.

Taplingua uses advances in language learning frameworks to teach relevant course content packaged in an intuitive easy to use App. The App is powered by the most cutting edge technology e.g. Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and Voice Recognition to optimize the learning experience”, he added.

MERCADONA receives the Company of the Year Award from FEDECOM

The Federation of Official Spanish Chambers of Commerce in Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania (FEDECOM), presented last October 7 in Lisbon its Company of the Year Award to MERCADONA. FEDECOM distinguishes every year with this recognition a Spanish company that stands out for its commercial and economic activity in one of the member countries of the Federation.

The award ceremony took place in the Sala do Arquivo da Câmara Municipal de Lisboa and was attended by the presidents of the main business associations of Portugal as well as the Economic and Commercial Counselor of the Embassy of Spain in Portugal, Pedro Moriyon. The award was given by Mr. Eurico Brilhante Dias, Secretary of State for Internationalization of Portugal and, was received by Elena Aldana Prize, Director of External Relations in Portugal and European Affairs of MERCADONA.

MERCADONA closed the year of 2018 with 1,636 stores, 85,800 employees in Spain, a turnover of 24,305 million euros and an investment of 1,504 million euros. It also has an economic impact on the Spanish economy equivalent to 1.9% of GDP and is responsible for 630,000 direct and indirect jobs.

In July 2019, the company opened its first supermarkets in Portugal, this opening of the supermarket chain abroad, entailed its first internationalization project. The company already employs 1,100 Portuguese workers. Today, the company has already opened 5 stores of the 10 planned for 2019. The opening of the stores, the offices in Porto and Lisbon, the Logistics Block in Póvoa de Varzim and the Coinnovation Center in Matosinhos, represent an approximate global investment of 260 million euros, since its announced entry into the Portuguese country in 2016.

Eduardo Barrachina, president of FEDECOM, said: “In a world marked by political, economic and social uncertainties, the international expansion of MERCADONA becomes a good reference that reflects the adaptability of our companies.”

For her part, Elena Aldana, Director of External Relations of Portugal and European Affairs, commented: “We thank to FEDECOM for the recognition given to Mercadona in this important year for us, in which the company has developed its first internationalization project. This award is a result from the effort of all of us who form Mercadona. Only in this way it is possible to create a great company with a great Model, just as Mercadona is.”

Juan Rodriguez-Villa Matons and Maria Catalán, President and Secretary General, respectively, of the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg, attended the event.

General Assembly of FEDECOM

The Federation of Official Spanish Chambers of Commerce in Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania (FEDECOM) held its General Assembly on October 8 in Lisbon.

The meeting took place in the facilities of the Portuguese-Spanish Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCILE) and counted with the presence of the Presidents of the Chambers in Portugal, United Kingdom, Belgium and Luxembourg, Germany and France, as well as the Secretary-General of the Chamber of Casablanca. The representatives of the rest of associated Chambers attended the meeting through video call.

Throughout the meeting, the beginning of the process of liquidation of the federation in Belgium and the opening of a new association with headquarters in Spain were decided.

The President of FEDECOM, Eduardo Barrachina, presented the medium-term strategic plan for the federation and proposed the production of the “FEDECOM Report”. During the session, among other subjects, the participants debated about the FEDECOM Award 2020 and the proposed candidates.

Juan Rodríguez-Villa Matons and Pablo López Álvarez, reelected respectively President and Vice President of the Chamber

The Board of Directors of the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg, in their meeting organized on September 26th in Brussels, reelected unanimously Juan Rodríguez-Villa Matons and Pablo López Álvarez as President and Vice President of the entity, respectively, for a period of three years.

The President thanked the trust of the Board and considered that the achievements of the Chamber are the result of the teamwork between this organization and the Secretary General. The renovation of the President and Vice President, he added, responds to the wish of continuating with the work carried out during the last years that has led to an important growth of the Chamber, both in terms of activities and services and member companies (currently 242).

The Vice President, during his intervention, reiterated his commitment to, together with the President and the Board of Directors, keep boosting the Chamber as a key platform in BeLux for Spanish companies and in the dialogue with European institutions.

During the meeting, it was also presented the report of activities of the Chamber during the last months and the program for upcoming events.

 

Kick-off meeting of the financial Commission of the Chamber in Luxembourg

Last 6th June, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg organized the kick-off meeting of the Financial Commission in the offices of EY in Luxembourg.

Twenty partner companies from the Chamber participated in the meeting with activity related to the financial sector.

With this working group, the Chamber aims to create a space for opinion and debate on economic and financial issues where professionals working in companies related to the provision of financial services, can share experiences, establish collaborations and exchange information about the sector trends.

During the meeting, the objectives of the Commission were discussed, as well as the internal functioning and the proposal of events.

In the coming weeks, the Chamber will present a project of activities and the Commission’s strategy in the medium term.

“Connecting you with the World of Finance” Seminar, organized in Madrid with the participation of Pierre Gramegna

The Vice-president of the Chamber, José Luis Rodríguez Álvarez, and the Secretary General, María Catalán, participated in the seminar “Connecting you with the world of finance” organized the 4th June in Madrid by Luxembourg for Finance.

The seminar was attended by Pierre Gramegna, Minister of Finance of Luxembourg, who presented his vision regarding Brexit, the challenges facing Europe and the respective positioning of the Grand Duchy.

Nicolas Mackel, CEO of Luxembourg for Finance,  and representatives from lhoFT, Luxembourg Green Exchange and Fondation de Luxembourg also took part in the seminar. They presented, from different points of view, the opportunities offered by the Luxembourg financial sector.

Thereafter, there were several discussion panels on wealth management, life insurance, alternative investments and private assets, among other topics.

The seminar had a wide audience mainly specialized in the financial sector.

Meeting of the Board of Directors

On April 16, a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Chamber took place in Brussels.

During the meeting, the appointment of Sophie Leconte as member of the Board of Directors on behalf Everis Belgium was confirmed, replacing Óscar Abril.

Hereafter, the President informed about the recent meetings of the Official Spanish Chambers of Commerce Abroad held in Madrid, and the change on FEDECOM´s presidency.

To conclude, the Secretary General presented the upcoming activities of the Chamber program, highlighting the Spain Means Innovation program and the events organized in the framework of the “Business Circle” Tribune.