In addition to marking an important celebration, seeing so many people from different nationalities come together and celebrate, felt like another great achievement.

Coming from Kosovo as a master’s student here in Brussels,  I had the honor of meeting Ambassador, Bernard Nikaj, as well as the rest of the staff of Kosovo’s Embassy in Brussels.

After having paid tribute to Kosovo, Belgium and the EU by playing the national anthems, Ambassador Nikaj prepared for his speech.

« In the greeting speech, Ambassador of Kosovo, Bernard Nikaj mentioned the achievements, challenges and difficulties faced by Kosovo over the past 11 years. Among other things, Ambassador Nikaj emphasized the progress achieved in fulfilling the criteria for visa liberalization, economic growth of the country, advancements in the field of law and order, as well as the transition of the KSF to a modern army that will contribute to peace and stability in region. »

The event was hosted at the Cultural Center of Woluwe-Saint Pierre, where guests also had the chance to enjoy some delicious traditional food accompanied by local wine and beer.

Being in the capital of one of the biggest exporters of local beer, it was an amazing experience to have international friends and colleagues try out our local products. Their appreciation and show of interest in these goods, proves once again Kosovo’s potential to reach European markets.

The post Celebration of Kosovo’s 11th anniversary of independence in Brussels appeared first on Brussels Express.

The main attraction is the 96 m high City Hall building. For those who haven’t had the chance to get a closer look, the City Hall was built in the Gothic style during the 15th century and it is covered with a collection of delicate facade statues.

It is estimated that around 750,000 people pass through the Grand Place every day. What’s struck me with awe is that not many people notice or question the City Hall’s asymmetry.

If you look closely you would immediately notice that the high tower is not positioned in the middle or center of the building.

Legend has it that when the architect realized the mistake, he climbed to the top and  jumped to his death. The spot has ever since been marked with a star.

Legends aside. The real reason why the building is asymmetrical is probably due to « the fact that during the 15^th century the building was designed over a longer period by a series of different architects, each of whom was forced to consider the very boggy foundations. »

And the star represents the point from which the distance to the capital is measured or the zero point in Brussels.

The post The legend behind the asymmetry of the City Hall on the Grand Place appeared first on Brussels Express.

This record marked the Climate March as an extraordinary mobilization.

The demonstrators arrived at Cinquantenaire at 15:00 and, as planned, started at the Gare du Nord. Cyclists on the other hand, took a different path from the pedestrians.

The outstanding turnout of 65,000 people makes the gathering the biggest Belgian climate march to be ever organized.

 

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The march ended at around 17:00 as planned at the Parc du Cinquantenaire.

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The event, which took place at BnP Paribas’s headquarters, brought together numerous expats who felt they were in similar situations. They are often on business trips abroad or they have to work in two or more countries.  Several of them had also been temporarily posted from one country to another. The seminar was of special interest also to corporate representatives (HR, financial) who have responsibility over those employees who have to travel often. What does this imply?

These situations have obvious implications regarding these expat’s tax status, social security and labor law issues, as well as formalities that need to be observed in order to avoid criminal liability. Participants heard how to find the best solution for their situations by Sophie Maes, international employment lawyer at Claeys & Engels, and Marc Verbeek, tax consultant at Crowe.

Major points of discussion were social security regulations which pertain to Europe, tax considerations, European Health Insurance card, and the Limosa declaration. Mrs. Maes stated: « Nowadays, it has become very easy for employees to work internationally. However, that does not necessarily mean that no formalities must be observed. For example in case of business travel to Belgium, a Limosa declaration must be made for meetings exceeding 20 consecutive days per meeting or 60 days in total per calendar year. Heavy criminal penalties may be imposed to both the foreign employer and the Belgian end-user in case of non-compliance. »

Considering that Belgian social security is the second highest in Europe — second only to France’s —  it is only understandable that expats try to find legal ways around it.

The overflow of commuters in Belgium made commuter agreements another major point in the discussions. Mrs. Maes discussed employment law considerations to consider in case you are working under a company in a foreign country, but you have a contract with a company back home. Sophie Maes added: « Expats often have commuter arrangements according to which they e.g. work 2 days from home abroad and 3 days in Belgium. However, organisations should be aware that such arrangements may also have an impact on applicable social security and employment laws. For example, in case employees work in 2 or more countries, they are subject to social security in their residence state if they work at least 25 % in their residence state. »

In addition to getting tips on international tax, social security and labor law issues, participants got to network with peers and exchange ideas over a glass of wine during the light reception.

The event was sponsored by BnP Paribas Fortis, Claeys & Engels, and Crowe.

The post Expats get employment and tax advice from the experts appeared first on Brussels Express.

The symbol of Brussels folklore will be honoring Albania on the occasion of their national holiday.

Background Information

Albania proclaimed its independence on the 28th of November, 1912 in the town of Vlora (Vlorë). After 50 decades of Ottoman domination, an independent Albania was declared by Ismail Qemali, who was the first head of state.

This day coincides with the day on which Skanderbeg (Skënderbeu) raised the Albanian flag in Krujë (1443).

The 28th of November is celebrated annually as Albania’s Flag Day (Dita e Flamurit) or Independence Day (Dita e Pavarësisë). It only makes sense that this historic public holiday is celebrated by the ceremonial raise of the flag in Tirana, Albania’s capital, with the presence of all public authorities. Oblivious of the cold temperatures every year Albanians flood the main square wrapped up in flags to take part in celebrations and activities.

As with every other major holiday, the peeing boy of Brussels will wear his costume of Albania from 9 am to 4 pm.

The post Manneken Pis will wear his traditional Albanian costume appeared first on Brussels Express.

The list of attendees included expatriates, accompanying spouses as well as corporate mobility managers.

Brussels Express, as one of the media partners, attended the event and had the chance to meet many of its readers. It was exciting to meet people from various countries around the world, such as Hungary, Germany, U.S and even New Zealand.

Guests were inspired by the keynote speaker Robin Kleer, who gave a speech Industry 4.0: the impact of digitization on the factory of the future.

 

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Next edition in 2019?

The next expat event will take place on Wednesday 13 November 2019 at Vlerick Campus Brussels. Don’t forget to mark this date in your agenda!

The post Vlerick Expat Event in 2019: An experience you shouldn’t miss appeared first on Brussels Express.

Be Angels is one of the two networks in Belgium which provides business support and smart early stage financing to start-ups. In order to familiarize Brussels Express’s readers with the concept of a business angel as well as the work of Business Angels Belgium, I have conducted an exclusive interview with Claire Munck, the CEO and administrator of Be Angels.

Could you please tell our BE readers about Be Angels? What is the impact of your association and business angeling on women in Belgium?

Be Angels is one of the two networks in Belgium which provides business support and smart early stage financing to start-ups. In order to familiarize Brussels Express’s readers with the concept of a business angel as well as the work of Business Angels Belgium, I have conducted an exclusive interview with Claire Munck, the CEO and administrator of Be Angels.

Over the years, we have supported close to 300 companies in several investment rounds and our members have invested about 45 million Euros in those companies with a leverage effect of 2 to 4; which means that for every Euro invested by a business angel, the company will be able to attract 2 to 4 Euros of co-financing from banks or co-investment funds and the like. This has been the impact, and about 70% of the companies we have invested are still alive and functioning. Today, about 20% of our member base (which is 300 members strong) are women investors.

In 2012, we created the Women Business Angel Club to help women become business angels and this enabled us to evolve from having very few women business angels to about 20% of our members being women through different mechanisms. What we had to change in order to increase the number of women investors in our groups is as follows:

• We had to change the time of the meetings, as they were too early in the afternoon and did not enable women who have a full time job and are also generally in charge of the family to come back home and get organized to head back out.
• We have diversified the source of deal-flow for our members, so the source of projects in order to have some new sectors in the pool of projects such as social entrepreneurship projects or impact investment projects.
• We have also diversified out selection committee, so we started integrating women in the selection committee.
• We also introduced training programs which were directed towards attracting women investors who prefer to go through courses and learn how to become a BA and then practice after that, rather than learning by doing.
• And finally, we also created investor groups which enabled investors including women to invest smaller amounts in a collective pot of money to invest in a group so as to try and see whether they liked being business angels with a more reasonable amount invested.

What proved to be the most effective tool in increasing the participation of women in angel investing?

The key is communication. Communicating about the angel group is just as important about communicating about role models, profiles of women angels to whom other investors can relate to.

Training is the second most important element, followed by investment solutions that are more tailored towards women investors.

Could you introduce us to the WA4E project? What is your role in it? According to you, what does the project foster in terms of female investment?

The WA4E is a consortium of several countries – such as UK, Italy, Spain, France, Portugal and Belgium- working on the same challenge which is: How do we increase the number of women investors in our angel groups and how do we make that sustainable?

We face the same difficulty and challenge, which is that we all find that there is not a sufficient number of women investors around. The idea was to share the situation of women angel investing in every country and share among ourselves some of the solutions that we have found in our eco-system to help women invest and then work on common tools that we have found appropriate; whether it is to bring women entrepreneurs to apply to business angel groups, so as to raise capital, but to also help women join angel groups and professionalize their approach to investment.

Who is a business angel?

A business angel is someone who has a career as a manager or a career as an entrepreneur. They have to have a background and most importantly an interest in the entrepreneurial sector. Someone who will be able to dedicate about 5-10% of their wealth to invest in capital in start-ups, this means that there is high-risks involvement and this is money that they can afford to lose. They need to have some time available to help entrepreneurs, even though the time can vary, it is important that as a business angel you join an angel group because you have the willingness to invest but also to provide support through committing your time and your network of contacts.

If you fit the profile we have just discussed and if you are passionate about entrepreneurship Be Angels organizes several events in Brussels for those who are interested. You are invited to get involved through their website: http://www.beangels.eu/contact/

The post Business support and investment opportunities with Be Angels appeared first on Brussels Express.