Category: Archive – 2009

The Competitiveness Council adopted conclusions on the 5th of March aimed at strengthening the EU's efforts to tackle the crisis of the car industry crisis and support the sector. 

The car industry is a key sector of the European economy contributing to employment, innovation and competitiveness in Europe. The industry must strive to continue developing the skills of its workforces. The focus should be on investment in innovative and green technologies. Renewal of the car fleet should also be encouraged to boost demand for new, safer and environmentally friendlier vehicles.  The Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have been invited to present proposals for supporting measures consistent with the principles of the internal market and the need to prevent distortion of competition. The Council lastly stressed the importance of avoiding protectionism and discriminatory measures in the global car market.

COM (2009) 117 – Proposal a regulation amendment on imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of certain castings originating in the People's Republic of China

By Regulation (EC) No 1212/2005, the Council imposed a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports into the Community of castings of non-malleable cast iron of a kind used to cover and/or give access to ground or sub-surface systems, and parts thereof, whether or not machined, coated or painted or fitted with other materials, excluding fire hydrants, originating in China.

Six companies have requested to be granted 'New Exporting Producer Treatment' (NEPT). Following investigations carried out by the Commission to verify whether these companies qualified for this treatment, it was established that one Chinese exporting producer, Weifang Stable Casting provided sufficient evidence to prove that it meets all the four criteria requested. In consideration of the findings of the investigation, it is concluded that the company Weifang Stable Casting should be added to the list of companies individually mentioned under Article 1(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1212/2005 with a duty rate of 28,6%. Hence this proposal to amend the Regulation so as to include Weifang Stable Casting in the list therein.

SWITCH OFF… !

To start off SWITCH OFF NOW all appliances and any other standby equipment such as: mobile chargers, external power supplies, modems, PCs, TVs, DVD players, satellite decoders / set-top boxes around you, which currently aren't being used.

With the stand by ‘red indicator bulb' on, the device is still consuming considerable amounts of energy – reason why standby devices still heat up. Switching off such standby devices from the main supply (and not just from the remote control) will easily save up to 5-10% on your energy bills.

Nowadays one can also find user-friendly Energy Meters & also Standby Power Socket / Extension Savers that work either automatically or at a touch of a remote button.

WATER

We all think that saving energy is all about lighting and electricity, but we keep forgetting that in Malta, water production is by far one of the largest energy consumers – this is due to the fact that we have very limited water resources on our island. Thus if we save on water, apart from the fact that we save money on our water bills, we are also substantially helping in reducing the local energy demand.

In our homes, the three areas where we use most water are:

• Flushing
• Washing
• Outdoor use

Nearly 35% of our water consumption  is taken up by flushing. Thus consider using a half flush system rather than a full one. If your flushing unit does not host this half flush option, you can use the older idea of filling up water bottles and placing them horizontally in the flushing unit.

As for Washing / Bathing, economising on water levels in baths is unhygienic, so there is no other way how to save water in this area other than just taking a shower. In fact it is much more economical to have a shower as much less water is used. If needed, rather than one bath, it is better to have two showers at different times of the day. On the other hand when having a shower, one should not stand under the shower for long – otherwise the whole scope of saving water is lost. Using low-flow showerheads and cut-off valves helps to further save on water bills.

We also need to try and reduce as much as possible outdoor water use, such as car washing and general outdoor cleaning. If this is necessary we need to make this efficient by using buckets and not hose pipe washing.

It is important that we do not let water run continuously whilst shaving, washing teeth or hair. Installing tap limiters can save 40% of the running water from taps. Also, where applicable, consider replacing worn out tap mixers with either Sensor Activated or Button Press ones.

Try to collect all the rain water possible and make good use of it.  Also, immediately report water faults at once.

By Ing, Stefan Demarco @ MRRA

GRTU Pharmacy section representative Mario Debono has on behalf of GRTU today written to The Medicines Authority on the issue in caption. Below is the letter that was sent.

It has been repeatedly brought  to the attention of GRTU that there is a large number of pharmaceuticals in Malta that do not have the necessary MA number that certifies that the products are licensed for sale in Malta. Indeed, this situation has been going on for quite some time, despite the fact that more than a year has passed since the Health Ministry deadline for all products distributed and sold in pharmacies to be numbered according to their MA registration.

We are concerned that whilst two of our member companies have been taken to the courts and asked to pay exorbitant fines for non compliance to the Medicines Act, some other companies have been flouting the law and acting with impunity by ignoring the law and not numbering their products according to their licence.

This is grossly unfair in respect to those companies that have invested in order to become legally compliant, and represents an element of unfair competition.

Technically, any pharmacy purchasing and dispensing  products that should have an MA number, but hasn't,  is breaking the law, and we cannot  run the risk of prosecutions against pharmacy owners because of this. Some pharmacies are also distributing medicines from the POYC system that in the majority do not have the required MA number. We expect the GHPS to lead by example and ensure that any medicines that should carry the MA number do so.

Our position regarding products that carry a licence according the Art.126A of the EU regulations is the same. We contend that there is no reason why these products should not also carry their 126A number. This is important due to any Pharmacovigilance issues that may arise, besides the fact that there is also an element of unfair competition against those who are compliant because they print the Maltese MA number on the packs.

As you know, the affixing of MA numbers is done under GMP, as it should, and at a not inconsiderable cost. There should be a level playing field as regards costs for all, be they MA holders, PLPI holders or 126A Licence holders.

There is also the language question. The MA must ensure that all pharmaceuticals dispensed have a PIL in the English language. There are quite a few products that don't. This is unfair to patients and proscribes, as well as pharmacists, who cannot or do not know that there is access to the English SPC and PIL  from the Authority's website.

We must therefore ask you to immediately enforce the current regulations and if this is not possible, to immediately recall all products not complaint with the law until they are.

As you know, we have verbally expressed our concerns numerous times, but whilst understanding that the resources of the Medicines Inspectorate are finite, the current situation has to be rectified.

Should you have any difficulty in identifying non compliant products, GRTU has compiled a list of products that do not comply with the current licencing regulations.

We are copying this letter to the appropriate Competition Authorities for any interest they may have in the matter

"In view of the current economic downturn, the Parliament is right in wanting to strengthen the purchasing power of European consumers as of this summer, which will encourage them to make even more use of their mobile phones", said Viviane Reding, the EU's Telecoms Commissioner, who had initiated the new roaming legislation and attended the Committee vote in Strasbourg on the 9^th of March.

The European Parliament, through a vote in its Industry Committee, gave strong support to the European Commission's proposals to reduce, as of 1 July, consumer roaming charges for sending text messages and downloading data in the EU. The Commission proposed in September 2008 to make sure that consumers in the EU do not have to pay more than €0.11 per roamed SMS in the EU (excluding VAT).  At present, SMS roaming charges in the EU are on average €0.28 per roamed SMS and can go up to over €0.80 in some countries. The Parliament's Committee also voted in favour of ambitious measures to reduce the cost of data roaming charges (the cost for surfing the web or downloading data via a mobile connection abroad). To pave the way for lower consumer charges, the Industry Committee voted in favour of a cap on inter-operator charges of €0.50 per megabyte of roamed data. The Commission had proposed such a cap, but at €1 per megabyte.  Finally the Industry Committee voted for an obligation of operators to charge roamed calls by the second from the first second of a mobile call abroad.  The Commission had previously proposed to charge from the 31^st second). The Commission had identified that consumers currently pay around 20% too much for roamed calls abroad because of imprecise billing methods.

Source: MEUSAC Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Sectoral Committee

The Education Strategy 2020 Conference organized by the National Commission for Higher Education last Friday 3^rd April was very timely. During a period of reduced economic activity due to the adverse international economic situation, government should be seeking how to move ahead faster than ever with the investments necessary to give the economy the revival stimulus it needs.

Investment in Higher Education is an important way forward for a small economy like Malta. Malta will survive and have a higher quality of life, and hopefully close the gap between our economic well being and that of the EU 15 in a shorter time, only if we succeed to have higher quality labour. Higher quality manpower means more investment in Education. Higher quality manpower means higher value added employment – people earn more, they produce a higher value of goods or services, the economy grows more and our specializations make us less subject to the whims of ongoing economic turbulences overseas.

More investment in higher education is a must and we must shorten the time-span. What can be done now should not be left for ten years down the line. If government has €50 million to spare all of us who genuinely  love this country and want a better future for our children, we would rather see Lawrence Gonzi spend this money on expanding our higher Education facilities than on some refund scheme invested by Joseph Muscat for people who bought cars at the then going market prices.

Higher Education is costly. To reach the targets set by the strategy plan aiming at 2020 Malta will have to fork out moneys in the region of €1.2 billion. These  funds will primarily come from our own taxes but they will also include substantial EU funding. The point, however, is that quality education is expensive. Some income will be forthcoming by turning our institutions into income generating enterprises should we make them attractive enough to local businesses willing to buy university research and development services that are increasingly important if University is to be liked to the practical business and environmental needs of the country. Post – doctoral and other research is essential if you want to place our University to research departments at the hearth of the countries economic engine. Income should also be forthcoming as our institutions learn to sell more to foreign students and to foreign organizations willing to use our higher and further education facilities. The bulk of the expense will however remain one of a national investment prerequisite.

The Further and Higher Education Strategy 2020 document is available on http://www.nche.gov.mt/.  It is essential reading for all those who want to understand what the role of higher education in our economic development  will look like in the years ahead.

The plan aspires that the Government charts on effective and sustainable educational strategy with this provision of an adequate regulatory framework so that education becomes relevant in meeting the nations long term aspirations in an efficient operational system. The strategy drafters also expect government to provide for adequate institutional funding to meet both capacity and quality targets as set in this extensive plan. Government is also expected to provide students with support for fair access, adequate information, effective guidance and choice. On the other hand the institutions in further and higher education are expected to be fully committed to enable individuals to adapt and learn, consistent with the needs of a flexible knowledge based economy and life-cycle requirements.

The strategy as drafted cannot be faulted but the budget necessary to implement the strategy needs much more thought. The concept of our educational facilities being given funds and then allowed to perform under the sole guidance of other state bureaucrats institutionalized in the form of  Public Regulators is a system that needs to be also revisited. The concept of the Public Regulator with power to intervene on behalf of the general public and ensure that Budgets and performance standards are met and objectives achieved has not been developed enough in Malta and definitely so in education. In education we continue to pump millions of Euros yet public accountability is very poor. We are expected to measure by the many figures published in educational statistics. This is simply not good enough. The concept of education delivery and the Public Regulatory function has not been developed in education. Elsewhere it has not proven to be successful and it is time that in Malta we think of newer forms how to ensure that the operators in Higher and Further Education are accountable in a much more measurable method.

I believe that the time has arrived for the public, whether as parents, students or as enterprises and taxpayers, to be involved in a contractual relationship. This is a process that has been successfully proven in the USA and I believe that in small country like ours it make sense for a contractual relationship to be developed whereby effectively consumers buy, or albeit through public moneys. The educational services that are on offer and the sellers i.e. the educational establishments will provide the services according to the standards and the performances and targets contracted for. Educational establishments will have to meet not only the their obligations and their responsibilities according to the agreed plans, but also suffer the consequences for failure to meet agreed performance. Government will have the obligation to provide the public as consumers with the necessary organizational set-up to enable them to enter into contractual obligations with the higher and further education establishments. One cannot overstress how important it is that performance, standards and budgets are effectively controlled. Failure by the higher and further education establishments to take us to the promised land as drafted in the strategy agreed with the stakeholders will be the failure of a nation. There will be no way to bring back the years lost and the people damaged.

Democratic institutions though their Public Regulatory structures are not proving adequate enough to safeguard the public interest. We need therefore to devise contractual obligations with penalties for failure to achieve targets and reach performance standards. Higher and Further Education is one good area where to start. Hospital and medical services are a good other second option.

Malta is too small a country to leave things to chance, people in public office must learn to be more accountable to the public. Failure for a small country like ours is too costly.

According to Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, the EU27 generated 522 kg of municipal waste per person in 2007.   Municipal waste can be treated in several ways: landfilling, incineration, recycling or composting. In the EU27 in 2007, 42% of treated municipal waste was landfilled, 20% incinerated, 22% recycled and 17% composted. 

 

More than 750 kg per person was generated in 2007 in Denmark, Ireland and Cyprus. Luxembourg, Malta and the Netherlands had values between 600 and 750 kg per person and Austria, Spain, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France, Estonia, Sweden and Finland between 500 and 600 kg. The next group of Member States included Belgium, Portugal, Bulgaria, Hungary, Greece, Slovenia and Lithuania with values between 400 and 500 kg of municipal waste per person. The lowest values of below 400 kg per person were found in Romania, Latvia, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

Source: MEUSAC Environment Sectoral Committee

 

Source: MEUSAC Employment Social Policy and Health Committee

This project is the third step in the simplification of accounting rules for SMEs and other companies in the scope of the "Accounting Directives".

This was preceded by the fast-track adoption in 2008 of a first series of amendments simplifying disclosure requirements for medium-sized companies and clarifying the obligation to draw up consolidated account. In a second step, the European Commission has decided to introduce a Member State option to create a new "micro" entity category that will be exempted from the accounting requirements under the Fourth Directive. A proposal to this end will be tabled at the same time as the launch of this stakeholder consultation.

The current consultation addresses issues relating to the modernization and simplification of the Accounting Directives. Positive effects of the review will include a reduction of burden mainly for small enterprises ("think small first") as well as qualitative improvements for all enterprises in the scope of the Directives. An additional objective is to increase the clarity of the text for lawmakers and users in general.

Following an analysis of the comments received to the consultation paper a legislative proposal will be presented before the end of 2009.

Stakeholders are invited to comment on the questions raised in this Consultation Paper.

Comments should be submitted by 30 April 2009 by filling the word document and sending it to  

For a copy of the consultation paper contact Abigail Mamo @ GRTU on 21232881/3 or .

Received contributions will be published on the Internet.

 

 Stakeholders are invited to comment on the questions raised in this Consultation Paper. Ideas presented by the Commission Services in this paper are preliminary and may be changed in view of the comments received.

 

Comments should be submitted by 30 April 2009 by filling the word document and sending it to  

Received contributions will be published on the Internet. It is important to read the specific privacy statement attached to this consultation (link via cover page) for information on how your personal data and contribution will be dealt with

The European Commission and the European retail sector have launched a Retail Forum to promote more environmentally sustainable consumption patterns. The creation of the Retail Forum represents a significant contribution in the implementation of the EU Action Plan on sustainable consumption and production and sustainable industrial policy. The Forum aims to reduce the environmental impact of the retail sector and its supply chain, promote sustainable products and inform consumers on 'green' purchasing opportunities.

Over time the result should be greater availability of environment-friendly and energy-efficient products in the shops and better information to consumers on how to use products most ecologically.

Participants will share best practice, discuss how to promote sustainable consumption and tackle barriers that hinder it, and obtain scientific information from relevant bodies to help evaluate environmentally sound products.

Membership and participation

Membership of the Forum is voluntary and open to all retailers who join the Retailers' Environmental Action Plan (REAP) which includes many company-specific environmental commitments. The Commission's DG Environment will monitor the retailers' achievements.

Participation in the Forum is open to all relevant stakeholders wishing to contribute to its work, such as producers, suppliers and consumer and environmental organisations. The Forum will be co-chaired by DG Environment and the two EU-level organisations representing the retail sector, EuroCommerce and the European Retail Round Table (ERRT).

Source: MEUSAC Competitiveness and Consumer Affairs Committee