Author: SME Chamber

The Commission
has launched a consultation focusing on possible improvements of the EU Merger
Regulation contained in the White Paper "towards more effective merger
control". The proposals in particular include:

A light and tailor-made review of
those acquisitions of non-controlling minority shareholdings which could harm
competition.

Making case referrals between Member
States and the Commission more business-friendly and effective.

Making procedures simpler.

Fostering coherence and convergence.

To include your input or for further
information on the consultation, visit: http://ec.europa.eu/competition/consultations/2014_merger_control/index_en.html

The European Commission is set to adopt a communication encouraging
Member States to look for ways to improve protection of small food producers
and retailers against the unfair practices of their sometimes much stronger
trading partners.

ETC is currently running a Training Subsidy Scheme (TSS). The
scheme offers assistance in the form of a training grant to aid participants
with costs relating to training. 

The scheme is open for any Training Programme as long
as the following criteria are met:

Training Programme is not offered by ETC

Training
Programme leads to a valid certification as recognised by the Malta
Qualifications Recognition Information Centre (MQRIC)

Institution
delivering the training has to be licensed by the NCFHE.

The grant will cover 75% of training cost not exceeding Euro
1000

This scheme is eligible to:

Self employed
individuals

Individuals in
full-time employment in Micro Enterprise (organisations employing 10 people or
less).

Individuals over
40 years irrespective of their employment status

Unemployed
individuals registering for work

Individuals
earning less than €10,000 (Gross) per year.

Individuals
employed with Local councils or NGOs

Individuals
employed in vulnerable sectors.

For further information
visit, TSS link:

http://etc.gov.mt/Page/90/tss.aspx

Jean-Claude Juncker has been elected President of the European Commission
by a strong majority of 422 votes in the European Parliament plenary session.

After being proposed as candidate for
Commission President by the European Council on 27 June 2014, Jean-Claude
Juncker needed a majority of 376 votes in the European Parliament.

According to Jean-Claude Juncker during his presidency he will focus on ten policy
areas. The areas on the agenda focus on:

1. A new boost for jobs, growth and investment

2. A connected digital single market

3. A resilient energy union with a forward-looking climate change policy

4. A deeper and fairer internal market with a strengthened industrial base

5. A deeper and fairer economic and monetary union

6. A reasonable and balanced free trade agreement with the U.S

7. An area of justice and fundamental rights based on mutual trust

8. Towards a new policy on migration

9. A stronger global actor

10. A union of democratic change

Employment and Training Corporation (ETC) in collaboration
with the European Employment Services (EURES) in Malta is organising an
information session for Maltese employers.

This session aims to inform business owners about the
different services the ETC and EURES can provide in order to help your growing
business.  The topics
covered will include:

ETC Employers' Services

EURES Employers' Services

Sheltered Employment Training (ESF
3.113)

Man Power Records – Online Submission
of ETC Forms

Employment Licence Processes

ETC Training – Design and Quality
Assurance

The business breakfast will be held on Wednesday 23^rd July between 8.00am and
12.00pm at the Golden
Tulip Vivaldi Hotel, St Julian's.

If you wish to attend you are kindly requested to register by
sending an email on or by calling
on freephone 8007 6505 during office
hours by not later than Friday 18^th July.    A full programme will be sent upon confirmation
of attendance.   

Creditinfo, a
leading service provider of credit information and risk management solutions
worldwide, have recently launched a new brand identity.

Simon
Camilleri, CEO of Creditinfo Malta:

"Our new
brand identity illustrates Creditinfo's growth and transformation over the last
couple of years. Just as our company has evolved, so too must our brand, to
reflect the impact of our innovation and the value that our products and
services bring to our ever increasing customer base.

The new
Creditinfo logo is the primary element of our identity, it is modern and bold.
The symbol "I" stands for information. Just like the Creditinfo name, the new
logo will be internationally recognised as a symbol for inspiring confidence,
in line with our company's brand promise.

The
second element central to our identity, is our website. In addition to our new
logo, Creditinfo Malta has also updated its online web portal. The new look
mirrors our brand: professional and straight forward. The layout is designed to
help any person find information about us or our products and services
effortlessly.

Equally,
in the spirit of Creditinfo's core values, our new branding reflects our innovative
approach and thinking. We are unafraid to venture out of our comfort zone and
introduce new ideas. At the same time, this will ensure consistency and
professionalism throughout each of our 16 offices worldwide. Each company
within the Creditinfo Group benefits from shared global experiences, knowledge
and practices, and this will be reflected in one single brand image. All
Creditinfo offices globally will transition to the new branding in the coming
months.

In
addition, Creditinfo Malta has also updated its online credit reports. As part
of an ongoing process to provide the latest and most efficient data and risk
awareness products to the Maltese market place, the new enhancements will
further enable businesses and individuals to trade safely and securely both
home and abroad.

The
display of the online financial reports module will change as we increase the
number of financial entries. These changes may not be evident for every
company, as this depends on the type of financial statements prepared and
filed. The financial content will remain the same, but it will now be more
descriptive so that our customers will have a clearer picture of the status of
the company they are reviewing. Furthermore, the online reports will also
include the availability of information such as undecided claims.

In
summary, the reports will contain more information, confirming to our vision of
being at the forefront of new and innovative products and services within the
credit risk and management sector."

GRTU's Tourisms Hospitality and Leisure President Philip
Fenech welcomed the announcement made by the Government that Malta is fully
committed to the implementation of the Single European Sky.

GRTU is a prime
supporter of this EU proposal and feels that Malta has a lot to gain both as a
country and in businesses terms through its implementation. The Government
stated that Malta continues to affirm its ongoing commitment to tangibly
contribute to the realisation of an efficient and effective Functional Airspace
Blocks (FABs).

This follows a request by the Commission for Austria,
Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy,
Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and United
Kingdom, members of six different FABs to improve their FABs, a common airspace
arranged around traffic flows rather than state boundaries. FABs are a crucial
step towards a more efficient, less costly and less polluting aviation system
in Europe.

Philip Fenech already made GRTU's position clear
during consultation meetings held on the subject that this is the way forward
and that implementing the Single European Sky would result in savings in both
time and costs which should positively impact tourism flows. This especially
for an island state like Malta.

GRTU has this week met MIP CEO Joshua Zammit and raised a
number of important issues which our members find problematic with the MIP EOI
for the installation of Photovoltaic Panels on factory roofs in Industrial
Parks in Malta and Gozo. This is not the first time GRTU had raised its
concerns on this EOI both with MIP and Minister Chris Cardona.

GRTU explained that a section meeting for the sector
was held and all the representatives present felt that they could not
participate because the cost to simply express their interest was too high, the
project has a high risk element and a number of important elements that impinge
on the cost of the service given were still too vague. GRTU emphasized that it
is very worrying that the absolute majority of the sector feel they cannot
participate.

Amongst the issues raised by GRTU was the study, the
performance bond, the one-time upfront payment, the feed-in-tariff and the end
of life of the system.

GRTU stated clearly it is not against the EOI because
the EOI presented a very important opportunity, especially considering Malta's
limited market and space but it needs to be adjusted to give local businesses a
real chance at benefitting from it. GRTU explained how with some adjustments
the EOI could improve drastically.

Mr Zammit informed GRTU that he had listened to all of
GRTU suggestions and will be giving each its required consideration and that we
will hear from the side of MIP. As GRTU now we look forward to a positive
response in everyone's best interest.

In a round table meeting organised by the European Commission
Representation Office in Malta GRTU CEO raised a number of important issues
which the Commission cannot ignore when it is highlighting certain deficiencies
that are hindering Malta's competitiveness.

One of the issues highlighted by the Representatives
of the Commission was tax compliance and curtailing evasion. GRTU CEO argued
that in saying this the Commission cannot disregard the situation of rampant
tax evasion that is occurring in Malta. Ms Psaila Mamo argued that a
significant amount of goods are coming into Malta through various channels and
totally avoiding the dues such as VAT, Excise Duties and Eco Contribution. The
representative of the Commission said that it is aware of the plight of the
GRTU but the Commission at this stage cannot intervene directly.

He stated that the Member State is obliged to ensure
that VAT is paid and take necessary actions to address problems but the method
of implementation is up to the Member  State.
The Commission also outlined that it is not in its interest to make it
difficult for the Member States to introduce measures to tackle abuse if the
measures are genuinely targeted at this scope and not at creating obstacles to
the single market. He further stated that the Commission is always open to help
Member States and provide guidance.

Another issue included in the CSRs for Malta was
Access to Finance and the Commission mentioned specifically that ‘the lack of
alternative debt financing leads to a high cost of funding for companies'. The
banks were very defensive on the issue saying that the their model was
different from that of the other Member States and it has worked for a very
long time and they see no reason to change it. They explained that there is a
risk involved and the banks calculate this risk, which is reflected in the
interest rates.

GRTU's CEO said that irrespective of the model used
and the way risk is calculated, the bottom line is that access to finance in
Malta is very expensive and this impinges heavily of the competitiveness of our
businesses compared to their counterparts in Europe. Malta is not the only
Member State that survived the crises well but the banks in most of the other
countries still manage to give finance at lower rates. Ms Psaila Mamo argued
that the banks should not exclude the possibility of changing their model but
because they are doing so well they do not feel the need to. She continued
saying that it would be beneficial to know how the banks calculate their risk
and that they would explain this to their clients so that the system is
transparent and the client would be able to understand how they can reduce
their risk potential and benefit from cheaper rates. The JEREMIE scheme was
also mentioned and that there must be a reason why it did so well. This in
itself is evident that lower interest rates and collateral requirements and in
high demand.