Category: Archive – 2010

UEAPME, the European association representing national business representatives, representing also GRTU, is looking for SME associations to participate in a European ICT project, BRITE, aiming at creating "the browser for the Internet of things".

In computing, the "Internet of things" refers to the networked interconnection of everyday objects, ranging from very small such as cell phones, keys' batteries etc. up to several meters big like cars buses and buildings. Most of these objects are not interconnected to each other and even fewer are connected to the internet infrastructure. In the "Internet of things", the internet is used as the underlying facility providing the communication channel.

The project will extend the current browser interface to the internet to include finding and presenting information from "things" across infrastructures, communication technologies and addressing schemes, or multiple descriptors of the "things". It will also allow the discovery and composition of services related to the connected objects, by processing, combining and presenting the results emanating from the multiple data streams related to the object(s).

The planned duration of the project is 30 months and the total budget would amount to 3 million Euros.

You are kindly invited to send your expressions of interest by the 13th of December to Timea Czirner:

Please find further information at http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ and http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ict/.

For the project abstract kindly contact Abigail Mamo at GRTU.

GRTU has received an invitation for its members from Canton Universal Fair Group Ltd., the Organizer of Interwine China 2010.  Interwine China 2010 Guangzhou International Wine and Spirits Exhibition, will be held from Nov 30th –Dec 2nd, 2010 at Guangzhou International Exhibition Center Pazhou Complex.

They wrote to us saying that even though Malta is a small island country it produces good quality wines which are praised by many countries such as France, Italy etc.. They also said that it is a pity that Chinese people are not familiar with Maltese products and they hope to raise the awareness through the participation of Maltese wine makers in this fair.  

Interwine China is the short name of China (Guangzhou) International Wine & Spirits exhibition. It mostly constitutes a prestigious showcase for wine and spirit production, trade, relative products and services from abroad, responding to the need of professionals in the field for a trade-fair with strong international appeal and a strict Business to Business formula.

According to the statistics of 2009, the total consumption volume of China is of more than 250 billion RMB, in which Guangdong province alone takes up 35 billion RMB. In 2005, there were a total of 8,000 wine and spirits importers, agents and distributors. Since the tariff fell from 40% to 14% from January 1st, 2005, spirits agents and merchants` interest in importing foreign wines has drastically increased.

Wines are becoming more and more popular and well-received in China. Due to the geographical advantage of neighboring Hong Kong & Macau and being the business hub between China and East Asia, Guangdong has become the largest circulating centre of imported wines. If you want to get more information about Interwine please click the link: www.interwine.org/ 

Q: Please briefly describe the main laws that govern real estate in Romania.

The Romanian Constitution provides the main principles that govern the real estate regime in Romania.

Other main laws governing real estate in Romania are:

The Romanian Civil Code.

Law No. 18/1991 on lands.

Law No. 7/1996 regarding cadastre and real estate publicity.

Law No. 247/2005 regarding the reform in justice and property domains.

Law No. 312/2005 regarding the obtaining of ownership right over land by foreigners, stateless individuals and foreign companies.

Special laws regarding the restitution of real estate abusively taken over during the communist regime.

Q: What is the impact (if any) on real estate of local common law in Romania?

The Romanian legal system is civil law based, and, consequently, there is no impact of local common law on real estate in our country.

Q: Are international laws relevant to real estate in Romania?

As a general rule, international laws are not relevant to real estate in Romania.

As an exception, the provisions of the international treaties concerning the protection of fundamental human rights (e.g. ownership rights) signed by Romania may have preference over domestic law.

Q: Are there legal restrictions on ownership of real estate by particular classes of persons (e.g. non-resident persons)?

Romanian law does not provide for any restrictions regarding the ownership right of foreigners and stateless persons over buildings.

As regards land:

the citizens of EU countries, stateless persons domiciled in an EU country or in Romania and companies established under the laws of an EU country, which are resident in Romania, may acquire land in Romania, other than agricultural land, forests and forester land, immediately after Romania's accession to the EU, under the same conditions as Romanian citizens and companies.

By exception, farmers who exercise independent activities and who are citizens of an EU country and resident in Romania,or stateless persons domiciled in an EU country and resident in Romania or domiciled in Romania, are entitled to acquire the above mentioned lands (i.e. agricultural land, forests and forester land) as of the date of Romania's accession to EU;

the citizens of EU countries, stateless persons domiciled in an EU country or in Romania and companies established under the laws of an EU country, which are not resident in Romania:

may acquire land in Romania for the purpose of establishing subsidiary residences/subsidiary headquarters only five years as of the date of Romania's accession to EU;

may acquire the ownership right over agricultural land, forests and forester land within seven years as of the date of Romania's accession to EU;

foreign citizens, stateless persons and companies from a state that is not an EU member may acquire land in Romania under the terms of international treaties and subject to reciprocity, or by means of legal inheritance.

Q: what are the types of rights over land recognized in Romania. Are any of them purely contractual between the parties?

Romanian regulation provides for two main categories of property, each having a special legal regime:

(a) private property;

(b) public property.

The main types of rights over land are:

ownership right;

right to use (e.g. lease, use, usufruct, commodatum);

easements (e.g. right of way);

security rights (e.g. mortgages).

The rights over privately owned land are generally transferred/established on a contractual basis, but the Romanian law provides for specific imperative rules concerning such transfer/establishment. Consequently, we may not state that such rights are "purely contractual".

The public property right over land has a special and restrictive regime.

Q: Is all land in Romania required to be registered? What rights are unregistered?

All plots of land in Romania should be registered with cadastre authorities, fiscal authorities and the Real Estate Register.

Registration with the Real Estate Register is performed in order to enable third parties to verify the description, location, the owners of the land, and the existence of mortgages, encumbrances or rights of third parties regarding such land.

Registration with the cadastre authorities is performed only based on specific measurements executed by authorized topographic experts in order to establish the accurate surface of the land, the neighbors and the legal regime (agricultural/constructible, located outside/within the city boundaries) of such and in order to attribute a sole identification cadastral number to the land.

The main purpose of the land registration with the fiscal authorities is to enable the Romanian State to collect the local tax on land, irrespective of the nature of the right.

On 20 October, MEPs voted in plenary to adopt the report of MEP Edite Estrela (PES) on the revision of the directive 92/85/EEC on maternity leave. The revision will extend the minimum maternity leave period in the EU from 14 weeks to 20 fully paid weeks. It will also introduce a period of protection from dismissal after the end of maternity leave of at least 6 months and two weeks of paternity leave. Extending the minimum leave period to 20 fully paid weeks all over Europe will create additional costs in many Member States for public budgets and for employers, be it directly or indirectly.

Despite our repeated calls, the Parliament turned a deaf ear to the warning of SMEs. This is very worrying especially for small employers, all the more in the present economic climate.

The main aim of the current directive is to protect the health of pregnant women and of those who recently gave birth. We clearly support this goal, but we are afraid that today's vote will do little in this respect and will shift the focus away from the health and safety dimension. There is no clear evidence that extending maternity leave from 14 to 20 weeks as voted by the Parliament's plenary will significantly increase the protection of the health and safety of recent mothers.

GRTU sees the position of MEPs as somewhat one-sided. We take the view that these changes will not strike a proper balance between the needs of women in regards to their private and family life and the professional requirements of business.

Increasing maternity leave risks damaging not only public finances and SMEs' budgets but also putting a dent on young women's chances of finding employment, due to the additional costs and burdens for employers willing to hire women of childbearing age. Moreover, the issue of a better work-life balance for female workers cannot be solved by increasing maternity leave. Childcare facilities and flexible work arrangements are crucial and should also be part of the solution.

Small employers should not be weighed down with more burdens and costs, and the same is true to a very large extent for national public finances. We hope that the European Council will realise what is at stake, reject the re-quests made by the Parliament and revert to a more reasonable solution.

When it comes to health and safety at the workplace, we are by no means against minimum standards at European level. However, when it comes to maternity leave, the interests of all parties must be taken into account.

Many different measures such as paternal and parental leave are already in place and available. There is a danger that further requirements on employers, could, in the long-term, harm business and so disadvantage the working mothers they employ. For this reason, we regard this vote as counterproductive for our workers and our sector.

The directive on combating late payment in commercial transactions is aimed to give better protection to creditors, in most cases SMEs, while respecting the freedom of contract. Public authorities will have to pay within 30 days, or else pay an interest rate of 8%. This measure is expected to result in an extra €180 billion of liquidity being available to businesses.

European Commission Vice-President Antonio Tajani, Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship said: "Who works must be timely remunerated. This is a basic principle of fairness but plays a crucial role in relation to the solidity of a company, its treasury, its access to credit and to finance. Therefore, the new directive will help the entire European economy."

The new provisions of the directive include, among others:

Harmonisation of period for payment by public authorities to businesses: Public authorities will have to pay for the goods and services that they procure within 30 days or, in very exceptional circumstances, within 60 days.

Contractual freedom in businesses commercial transactions: Enterprises will have to pay their invoices within 60 days, unless they expressly agree otherwise and if it is not grossly unfair. 

Enterprises will automatically be entitled to claim interest for late payment and will also be able to obtain a minimum fixed amount of €40 as a compensation for recovery costs. They can claim compensation for all remaining reasonable recovery costs.

The statutory Interest rate for late payment will be increased to at least 8 percentage points above the European Central Bank's reference. Public authorities are not allowed to fix an interest rate for late payment below.

Enterprises can challenge grossly unfair terms and practices more easily before Courts.

More transparency and awareness raising: Member States will have to publish the interest rates for late payment so that undertakings have easy access to these rates.

Member States are encouraged to establish prompt payment codes.

Member States may continue to maintain or to bring into force laws and regulations which are more favourable to the creditor than the provisions of the Directive.

Next steps

The Directive will have to be transposed into national law within 24 months from its adoption.

GRTU welcomed the vote at the European Parliament. MEPs approved a directive that regulates transactions between public authorities and businesses as well as B2B relations, setting a 30-day time limit for both that will be very beneficial for European SMEs if properly enforced.

The approved text is the best possible compromise, although it is long overdue. The new rules must be now quickly put into practice and properly enforced. MEPs committed themselves to closely follow the implementation process – we will certainly do the same, and we hope that the new rules will reign in the plague of payment delays. Public authorities routinely exceed payment terms to the detriment of small enterprises. On average, the public sector is the worst payer time wise. With all the recent talk of economic stimulus and at a time when businesses are clearly struggling, Government could inject money into their economies simply by paying private enterprises on time. After this vote, public authorities at all levels cannot refrain from acting any longer.

B2B relations will also be better regulated, which strikes a reasonable balance between contractual freedom on one hand and the right to prompt payment on the other. Payment terms longer than the norm will only be possible if both parties agree and if the arrangement is not grossly unfair. This is crucial for smaller companies, which tend to be owed more than they owe.

Ship passengers will benefit from greater rights to compensation and assistance in the event of delays or cancellation of their journey.

Disabled persons and those with reduced mobility will be protected against discrimination and will receive appropriate assistance at embarkation and disembarkation as well as on board. These are the main elements of a new regulation adopted by the Council of the EU on October 11.Passengers will be offered the choice between re-routing or reimbursement of their fare if the departure of a passenger service or a cruise is cancelled or delayed for more than 90 minutes.

In such cases, the carrier will also be bound to provide assistance, including refreshments or meals and, where necessary, accommodation to the value of up to 80 per night for a maximum of three nights. However, the right to accommodation does not apply if the delay or cancellation is caused by bad weather.

The new rules also provide for compensation for late arrival. Excluded from compensation are delays due to weather conditions or extraordinary circumstances.

Passengers with disabilities or reduced mobility cannot be refused transport, except for reasons of safety or unsuitable ship design. However, to receive assistance they must inform the carrier of their needs at least 48 hours in advance. If the person needs to be accompanied, the companion is allowed to travel free of charge.

The regulation pertains to ships carrying more than 12 passengers. Services covering a distance of less than 500 metres are excluded, as are sightseeing tours other than cruises.

The new legislation will be applicable two years after its publication in the EU's Official Journal. The EU has already introduced similar legislation in the field of air and rail transport.

Source: MEUSACNews

A new report published by the European Commission shows that more than 330 trade restrictive measures have been taken by the European Union's major trade partners since the outbreak of the financial and economic crisis in 2008. Despite the economic recovery and contrary to the G20 commitment, a mere ten percent of those measures have been removed in the meantime.

EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said: "With the economic recovery still fragile, the world's major economies must remove the trade restrictive measures that put a break on growth. For the world economy to move forward, we have to roll back these barriers. The G20 summit in Seoul needs to demonstrate leadership in this respect."

The latest report is the seventh in a series of reports which the European Commission has been issuing on trade restrictive measures adopted by major trade partners since the beginning of the economic crisis in 2008. The monitoring mechanism has been an important tool to ensure vigilance during the crisis and prevent an escalation of trade protectionism.

The report covers thirty of the EU's trading partners over the two-year period from October 2008 to September 2010. The measures found range from classical trade barriers such as import bans or tariff increases to "buy national" and other behind-the-border policies. The report finds that many of the new barriers are rapidly becoming permanent features of the world trading system and risk undermining the economic recovery.

Background

At the Washington Summit in November 2008, the G20 committed to a self-imposed standstill in terms of new barriers to investment or to trade in goods and services, new export restrictions or WTO inconsistent measures to stimulate exports. At the London Summit in April 2009, G20 members committed to rectifying measures that have already been taken. Successive summits, including the latest G20 summit in Toronto in June 2010, extended the commitments until 2013 and provided an explicit mandate to the WTO, OECD and UNCTAD to monitor and to report publicly on the evolution of the situation on a quarterly basis.

The EU is firmly committed to this pledge. Its own monitoring report complements the monitoring exercise done by the WTO. The main conclusions of the new report are as follows:

Between May and September 2010, 66 new trade restrictive measures have been introduced by the EU's trading partners. This brings the total figure of measures in force to 332 since the beginning of the crisis. The economic recovery under way in many countries has therefore not yet translated into a reversal of the tendency towards new trade restrictive measures noted in past reports.

Only about 10% of the measures taken in the context of the crisis have been withdrawn or have expired.  This figure is clearly at odds with the repeated commitment made by G20 leaders and confirmed at the latest G20 Summit in Toronto to "rectify" such measures.

Among the countries investigated, Russia is once again confirmed as the trading partner with the most trade restrictive measures taken since the start of the crisis. This trend is further compounded by recent policy initiatives with a strong import substitution angle.

The 'Buy National' policy continues to give rise to concern with new measures taken by Brazil adding to the already very considerable body of existing measures.

The report covers measures from the following countries/customs territories: Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, China, Ecuador, Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Paraguay, Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, Ukraine, USA, and Vietnam.

Diesel Price Increases Putting Heavy Pressure on Distributors, Wholesalers, Waste Carriers, Construc. – Increased prices of diesel fuel and fuel oils continue to place increasing pressure on the business community. The price of diesel has increased by a staggering 15c per litre within the last month. The price today stands at Euro 1.12 per litre against a price of Euro .97 per litre in January 01, 2010. It appears that government is not realizing the tremendous pressure this increase is causing on all transporters and distributors and all fixed equipment operators depending on fuels to operate their equipment.

"GRTU has been striving for direct support to small enterprise owners and self employed in these sectors, especially those related to the food chain, waste carriage and construction as these operators find it extremely hard to pass on extra costs to their clients as very few of these operators have a fuel price escalation clause in their contract with Local Councils, developers and other trade users of their services.  Most buyers of their services, including government and public service authorities, find it hard to accept to change contracts with the result that operators will have to suffer increases of fuel prices themselves. Where the cost is passed on the impact on the general level of prices suffered by consumers is relatively very hard. GRTU finds it very difficult to comprehend why during a stage of economic development when most small operators are still suffering from a depressed market, the Minister of Finance, who is also responsible for the Economy and for Small Businesses, inflicts such an additional burden on the distribution and transport sector."states GRTU Director General Vincent Farrugia.

Increase in the excise duty on fuels is illogical at this particular time and Government this time round cannot blame this excise duty increase on the EU as happened when excise duty was last increased. The additional increase of diesel and fuel oil prices by Enemata is once again not sufficiently explained by Malta Resources Authority which The exists to safeguard users' interest. The system adopted by MRA to approve increases of energy prices by looking at primarily at the cost of the suppliers of energy products and ensuring a decent mark-up for these monopolies to cover their own economic viability, including a lucrative return on capital, irrespective of the impact on the viability of all other business who heavily depend on the prices imposed by the state monopoly or, in the case of liquid gas, by the private dominant firm, is simply not acceptable to GRTU.

The combination of excise duty increase and the steady staggering increase in fuel prices is being felt in all sectors. GRTU is not satisfied that Government and the Public Regulator are doing enought to make sure that purchasing procedures by the suppliers are acceptable and convincing. The Malta Resources Authority should make sure that the price increases being put in place are only effective after making sure that procedures have been adhered to for the interest of the consumer and end user of this important fuel.

The distribution sector is being effected immensely and  in spite of GRTU pressure to cause operators in the sectors to make sure that an indexation formula is put in place where the use of services that highly depend on fuels are involved, the continued depressed state of the economy does not provide the right context for such contractual clauses to be implemented. "GRTU expects government to relieve pressures on small independent operators in transport and distribution and not to proceed heedless of the impact on small businesses.  Surveys by GRTU among its members in these sectors show that levels of earnings have fallen sharply and the level of  indebtedness of many of these operators with petrol stations  and other suppliers is very high and increasing and take home pay has fallen sharply. It is simply not correct that this sector continues to be singled out of continuous punishment" comments Vince Farrugia Director General GRTU.

In a sector where GRTU is heavily involved and where GRTU carries the representation of 95% of operator as in the case of waste carriers and skip loaders, GRTU is pleased to note that in the new contracts include an indexation formula for increases in the price of fuel (diesel), but regretfully GRTU notes that there are still a good number of Local Councils who have to date not finalised the new contracts of service. On this issue GRTU will be discussing with the Director of Local Government to make sure that a deadline for all Local Councils is set in order to make sure that new contracts are concluded in those Localities where a current contract for waste collection has expired.

"For many operators who use heavy transport this week's fuel increases represent loses of between Euro 30 to Euro 45 per week. The take-home pay of small operators in this sector is too much. GRTU seeks government support to ensure that fuel costs are indexed for distribution enterprises. The prices of fuels are too volatile not to have this item in service contracts not subject to an indexation clause. Without State intervention the acute competition in the distribution and some unfortunately seek means that are illicit to survive against contractors of their services who insist on prices that are below the cost of production of a genuine up-to-standards service. Unfortunately no Public Regulator is willing to safeguard the interests of the small operator in these sectors even though competition rules safeguard these operators from the malfunctioning of the market. It is high time that government seriously realizes that competition is not merely a question of prices only but also of standards and quality of service and that small operators need safeguards to ensure that standards and quality, including take-home pay of operators and their employees, need protection" insists Vince Farrugia.