The European Single Market still has many shortcomings

A recent survey of their members by Chambers of commerce shows that 70% of companies believe that the European Single Market is not yet sufficiently integrated. This survey is part of a larger project conducted by all European chambers and coordinated by Eurochambres.

This Eurochambres report provides an overview of the obstacles faced by companies operating in the European single market. For Belgian companies, these obstacles are first and foremost the complexity of administrative procedures, followed by difficult access to information on the regulations in force and, finally, differences between national laws on products and services.

The companies that were polled also proposed a number of solutions to overcome these obstacles. While the drastic reduction of administrative formalities is the most common measure proposed, the provision of information on procedures and formalities in the different Member States on a common EU-wide portal follows directly. Another major simplification measure would be to make it possible to carry out as many procedures as possible online. In addition, the Commission and the Member States must work better together to implement and enforce European legislation.

The full Eurochambres report is available here
The Factsheet is available here

Eurochambres survey: EU Free trade agreements not sufficiently exploited

A survey among Belgian Chambers of Commerce shows that their members are positive about the free trade agreements concluded by the European Union. Belgian companies are also generally better informed about the existence of a free trade agreement than their counterparts in other European countries. The main advantages they see are the reduction of import duties and better access for service providers.

But there are also important points of attention. There are insufficient accompanying measures to involve our SMEs in international production chains and to train or retrain employees. Furthermore, the free trade agreements rules of origin are often quite complex and differ from one agreement to another, which means that companies do not know them well enough and therefore do not make use of the tariff preferences.

This survey was part of a larger survey by EUROCHAMBRES and by the Committee of the Regions. The full results, findings and recommendations of this study can be found here.

ARCHIPELAGO: the second call for proposals is now open!

ARCHIPELAGO is an inclusive economic development programme run by CPCCAF, EUROCHAMBRES and sequa, with financial support from the European Commission in the framework of the Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF). The programme aims at increasing the employability  of young people and vulnerable groups in society by raising their technical and entrepreneurial skills. The programme will cover 12 African countries in the Sahel and the Chad Lake region.

As the first call for proposals came to an end, we were happy to learn that the authorities in charge of the Archipelago programme had granted a subsidy to a project in which CCI Wallonie is involved. Now that the second call for proposals is open, don’t hesitate to take your chance and be a part of this programme!

Learn more…

Compliance Pro Training cycle: save the date!

A cycle of five seminars between December 2019 and April 2020.

The training cycle of 5 small-scale high-level afternoon seminars offers a practical and in-depth experience for professionals who are committed to driving meaningful ethics and compliance management within their companies. Our expert speakers provide participants with a helicopter view on the most relevant compliance topics, from anticorruption to trade compliance and data protection, in order to provide them with more depth for risk analysis, efficiency for key compliance activities and a higher value in the management process.

The five topics and dates (Thursday afternoons) of the 2019-20 edition are:

Foster compliance with behavioural science

 
5 December 2019
Breaking silos of regulatory compliance

 
16 January 2020
Data-driven monitoring of compliance

 
20 February 2020
Cyber threats: challenge for compliance

 
19 March 2020
Compliance investigations preparedness

 
16 April 2020
To register, click here.
To download the pdf flyer, click here.

Sign in and get a free, tailor-made export research!

Would you like to get a clear vision of your export possibilities to Belgium and to the Netherlands? would you also like to get in touch with potential customers in these countries?

Second year students in Global Marketing and Sales at Hogeschool Rotterdam and Artevelde Hogeschool Gent want to help you with an export survey.

These students will carry out a free export survey to find out about sales opportunities in the Netherlands or Belgium. Based on the results, they will draw up a sales plan. This sales plan contains advice on how to sell your products in the most efficient way. In addition, they will get you in touch with potential customers at sales fairs organized in Rotterdam and Ghent. An export research not only gives you insight into a new market, but also gives you a fresh look at your business.

So don’t hesitate and register as soon as possible!

 

Deadline for registration:
15/11/2019
Price
Free
More information:
Via the NKVK website
Sign-up:
Send an email to: tom.vansteenkiste@nkvk.be

Second Connects Workshop: what did we think of it?

CCI Wallonie engaged in a training project in Senegal

The authorities in charge of the Archipelago programme have just granted a subsidy to a project in which CCI Wallonie is involved. This project aims to develop a “work-linked training – professional integration” scheme in four regions of Senegal. It is managed by APEFE (cooperation operator for Wallonia Brussels International) and also includes in the consortium the Senegalese Chambers of Commerce of Dakar (already in partnership with CCI Wallonie), Jourbel, Kolda and Louga, as well as the Aquaculture Research and Education Centre (CEFRA) of the University of Liège and the Senegalese national office of vocational training (ONFP Sénégal). This project will last 28 months and represents a budget of 600,000 euros.

CCI Wallonie is involved in the following aspects of this project:

  • The implementation of a short training course in entrepreneurship,
  • The set-up of “train-the-trainer” sessions for the Senegalese Chambers of commerce,
  • The creation of contacts between of entrepreneurs, notably from Senegal and Wallonia, as well as between Chambers of commerce,
  • The identification of new services aimed at young companies and potential entrepreneurs,
  • The support needed to implement these new services;
  • The support it can give to clustering.

This project therefore represents a local action in an emerging country.

To know more about Archipelago…

The Archipelago programme, financed by the European Union under its Emergency Fund for Africa, aims to support the creation of jobs, both qualitative and sustainable, in countries in Central and West Africa (Burkina Faso, Cameroon,
Ivory Coast, Chad, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Nigeria).

It thus aims to respond to the difficulties created on the continent by economic and social exclusion, marginalisation and structural situations of inequality that lead to irregular migration. Its goal is to increase professional capacities, employability and local employment opportunities thanks to the development of capacities answering the needs of the private sector. The Archipelago programme thus supports Euro-African partnerships between business support structures and vocational and technical training institutions.

The financial resources of the programme are 15 million euros for a period of 48 months, starting in December 2018, with a target of 10,500 young people and entrepreneurs involved. The allocated budget of the projects involved in this programme must be between €400,000 and €600,000.

The desired results are as follows:

The private sector and young people are informed and made aware of the opportunities offered by vocational training;

The training provided enables young people to acquire skills corresponding to the needs of the private sector and the economic potential identified;

Local economic development and entrepreneurship are encouraged and public-private dialogue is improved.

The partners in the Archipelago management consortium are SEQUA (German private sector development agency), EUROCHAMBRES and CPCCAF (Standing Conference of African and Francophone Consular Chambers).

Belgian Chambers and FPS Economy sign a partnership agreement

During an official celebration held  at the Antwerpen-Waasland Chamber of Commerce on 13/09, the Federation of Belgian Chambers  and the FPS Economy confirmed their cooperation, which dates back to 1999. What began as an initiative to create greater uniformity in the issue of certificates of origin and to improve the exchange of information between the FPS Economy and the business community, has resulted 20 later in a broad partnership described as such: “Strengthening the competitiveness of Belgian companies in the world economy: creating the conditions for a competitive, sustainable and balanced operation of the goods and services market in Belgium”. The new agreement focuses on digitisation, administrative simplification and on tackling trade barriers.

The celebration was also an ideal moment to look ahead to the new version of DigiChambers, the online application used by businesses and chambers of commerce to issue certificates of origin. DigiChambers was launched in 2009 and is currently undergoing a complete overhaul. The official launch is scheduled for 21/10. Pictures of this event are available on this webpage.

Expand your horizons with the International Business Week!

Form November 25th to 29th, discover 5 new markets with the International Business Week. This year, Spain, Turkey, Japan, Singapore, Panama & Colombia are in the spotlight. 

Turkey

As a bridge between Europe and Asia, Turkey is and remains a very attractive export destination. The engine is sputtering now, but that makes it interesting to see how you can best deal with the situation, because there are many indicators that show that Turkey can recover quickly.

Spain

Spain is an attractive country to export to. In 2018, for example, more than 8 billion euros were exported from Flanders to Spain.

Japan

On 1 February 2019, the economic cooperation agreement between the EU and Japan entered into force. Its aim is to facilitate bilateral trade, and exports to Japan are expected to continue to grow strongly in the near future.

Singapore

Singapore is one of the most business-friendly countries in the world. GDP is the 3rd highest with a very low tax rate and the EU is the 3rd largest trading partner alongside China and Malaysia. During this information session you will get an interesting mix of macro-economic presentations and practical testimonials from companies operating in Singapore.

Panama & Colombia

In 2018, Flanders exported more than 106 million euros to Panama and almost 300 million euros to Colombia. The World Bank predicts a growth of 6% of the Panamanian economy for this year, which can be explained among other things by expected investments in infrastructure.

For more information, click here or check our Activities section.

Visit of the Ambassador of the Republic of Benin to the CCI Brabant wallon

On Tuesday 24 September, CCI Brabant wallon had the pleasure of receiving the visit of H.E. Mr Zacharie Richard Akplogan, Ambassador of the Republic of Benin to the Benelux, accompanied by Mr Tchokodo, Head of the Embassy’s Trade Mission, for a meeting to analyse cooperation paths and development opportunities for our two countries.

This meeting is a reminder of the excellent relations that Belgium and Benin have maintained for many years and is part of a series of events such as the economic mission taking place next November.

For more information, visit the website of CCI Brabant wallon.