Credit: Chronicle.lu
On Friday 6 December 2024, the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) in Luxembourg held its annual Christmas Luncheon event at the Hémicycle in Luxembourg-Kirchberg.
As people started to arrive, they enjoyed a welcome cocktail in the venue's foyer and were entertained by the choir from St George's International School who sang a series of Christmas carols and songs.
BCC Chairman, Andrew Notter, welcomed the 230+ members and fiends who attended the chamber's last event before the Christmas and New Year holiday.
He talked about 2024 being a very busy year for the British Chamber which organised 25 events attracting 1,500 attendees, including the Luxembourg Business Summit and the entertainer John Courtenay, as well as its Leadership Forum on Psychological Safety. He mentioned also the energy and commitment of the chamber's committees in organising the events, and collaboration with other organisations. Looking ahead to 2025, he said that the business landscape is changing and the chamber's events will be more focussed, providing value for membership. He remarked on the chamber being a community supporting each other, and thanked its sponsors and partners, as well as Becky and Louise in its secretariat.
The dinner menu comprised a smoked salmon starter, turkey main course and chocolate dessert, followed by tea and coffee. Christmas crackers were also provided on all tables for attendees to enjoy.
Guest speaker, Nicolas Mackel, Luxembourg's Permanent Ambassador to the EU, talked about the gloomy economic forecast; despite Luxembourg having a stable government compared to our geographic neighbours, he said there is a nuanced view from talking with people in Brussels. Talking about US President-elect Donald Trump's threatening of substantial tariffs on global trade, he described this as setting out bargaining positions; looking back at Trump's first presidential term, threatened tariffs on steels, etc., did not materialise.
Nevertheless, he said "we must work with Mr Trump". He also referred to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Despite Trump being transactional, he said that he is good at listening to valid arguments, and added about what Trump has said about European not being good on security (contributing 2% of defence by NATO members; with Poland reaching 4.5% this year as an example). On Ukraine, European support is stated as "continued support as long as it takes"; he said that for Trump to broker a deal on Ukraine soon after entering office, Europe would have to lift sanctions which is difficult to imagine.
He reported that the Americans are also gearing up for more negotiation with China, which will lead Europe to examine its position with China which has developed closer ties with Russia in recent months.
On European competitiveness of the financial services sector, the figures do not read well. He referred to the new European Commission and the loss of competitiveness and regulatory burden which President Ursula Von der Leyen has promised to reduced by 25%. He also stated that many (Commissioners') mandates are urged to have results within the first hundred days of their terms, so it will be interesting to see what happens by the end of February, regarding migration, security and climate change, with implementations expected mid next year.
On EU-UK relations, he concluded with good news in that the mood has completely changed, initially under the leadership of Rishi Sunak but more so now under the leadership of Keir Starmer, with the recent visit by David Lammy, Britain's Foreign Minister, resulting in good vibes for the future. Yes, there are certainly some challenging issues which will need to be addressed; however, overall, the atmosphere is conductive to building a more mature and sophisticated relationship for the future.
A special Carne Christmas raffle was held with a number of bottles of champagne being presented on the basis of tickets drawn.
A KPMG gin bar at the end of the meal meant that networking continued after the formal part of the event.
