The Chamber receives a delegation of agri-food enterprises from Teruel

Nine agri-food enterprises, together with the Chamber of Commerce and the Provincial Council of Teruel, travelled to Brussels last week, from 25 to 27 September, in order to promote and sell their products on the Belgian market.

The companies participating in this project are producers of olive oil, peaches, ham, and cold meat, saffron, cava, wine, cheese, and truffles. During the three-day trip they visited different gourmet shops: Freshmed, Great Market and Rob The Gourmets’ Market. In these visits, they were able to meet the managers and sales directors, who explained the current situation of their products and competitors, while the enterprises presented their products, with the aim of entering this market in the near future.

In addition to the gourmet supermarket visits, they had the opportunity to attend the Taste of Tavola fair in Kortrijk. There, they were welcomed by JOKA, one of the leading importers and distributors of gourmet products. After exploring the fair, a showcooking was held, led by Hispania Brussels chef Adrián Mancheño, who prepared various tapas that the distributors in attendance had the opportunity to taste.

To complete their stay in the European capital, they attended meetings with representatives of different institutions, to whom they expressed their problems and needs: Miguel Galante from the Office of the Government of Aragon to the European Union; Pedro Yenes, coordinating advisor for Agriculture in the Permanent Representation of Spain to the European Union; Pilar Ruiz, director of the delegation of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce to the European Union; and Pablo Arias and Gabriel Mato, two MEPs who received them in the European Parliament.

Online training on “Advocacy in the European Union: how to kickstart your campaign” held

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 bids farewell to Ambassador Larrotcha and thanks her for her great service

Last 21st September, a reunion was held at the Official Residence Ambassador Marqués de Villalobar between representatives of the Chamber and the Ambassador of Spain in Belgium, Beatriz Larrotcha Palma, to bid farewell to the former Honorary President of the Chamber during the last four years.

During the encounter, which was attended by other diplomats of the Embassy, a review of the fruitful collaborations carried out between the Embassy and the Chamber was made, and the future actions that could be carried out to continue defending the interests of the Spanish companies in Belgium, as well as to promote the “Marca España” were discussed.

During the meeting, the President of the Chamber, Pablo López-Álvarez, handed a gift to Ambassador Larrotcha as a sign of gratitude for her “great work during the last four years and for her support to the Spanish companies”.

Virtual breakfast-debate with Sergio Baches Opi from the EC Legal Service

The Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg has hosted on Wednesday 29th June a new virtual breakfast-debate with Sergio Baches in the framework of the working group “Competition Spain”, a committee in which member companies of the Chamber address specific issues and aspects of European Competition Law and Policy that may affect them; or in which they are interested in deepening with the aim of positioning Spain as a leader in this field within the european sphere.

The event, followed by almost 20 companies, was led by Sergio Baches Opi, member of the legal service of the European Commission, who reviewed the recent jurisprudence of the Court of Justice on cartels and presented the most relevant cases of the last two years in this area: from the condenser cartel or the electrical cable cartel to the ‘Sumal case’.

Miguel Troncoso, President of the working group “Competition Spain”, acted as moderator during the webinar; in which he also encouraged participants to reflect on the scope of responsibility for the actions of the different parties that integrate a sanctioned company.

After an intense year of CJEU jurisprudence, Baches Opi has summarised the arguments used by the Executive of the European Union to determine whether or not there is bid rigging by the companies accused, and when the subsidiary can be held liable for the conduct of its parent company “directly” involved in the infraction.

14/06 Interview with Pablo Múgica FRIME

07/06 Interview Innside Luxembourg – Javier Segura

The Chamber participates in a new edition of the EYE Network Meeting

The 28th edition of the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs (EYE) Network Meeting took place at the Thon Bristol Stephanie Hotel in Brussels on 11 and 12 May, which was once again held in person after years of pandemic.
This event brought together all the entities involved in the EYE Programme (Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs), funded by the EU and for which the Chamber is the Intermediary Organisation for Belgium and Luxembourg.
The various workshops, meetings and symposia served to strengthen the links between the different participating organisations, with the aim of increasing the quantity and quality of exchanges between entrepreneurs from different European countries.
This year’s event featured a session focused on the inspirational practices of the EYE programme to support Ukrainian entrepreneurs in the wake of the Russian invasion.
All those who manage a small or medium-sized business in Belgium can participate in the programme, as it is free of charge and involves the support of a young entrepreneurin the day-to-day running of the business, providing innovative ideas and expanding the network of contacts in other countries.
Both young entrepreneurs and potential host entrepreneurs can find more information on the following link.

Conference on “Changes that may affect your HR management”

Next Thursday 19th may from 12h30 to 13h30, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg organises a online conference on “Changes that may affect your HR management” in collaboration with its partner company SD Worx.
During this conference, Valérie t’Serstevens, legal consultant in national and international law at SD Worx, will inform about recent changes that may affect the human resources management of companies.
Among other issues, the speaker will address topics such as the recent agreement reached by the government on the labour market reform, the new threshold for tax credits, the support for teleworking or the change in the legislation for company cars. Chamber ‘s members will be able to submit their questions in advance if they have a particular interest in any topic so that they can be addressed during the conference.
We invite you to register for this session in the following link.
The conference will be held in English.
In collaboration with:

Interview with Enric Comabasosa i Esqué and Francisco Ríos Viñuela, Linklaters LLP