Category: Archive – 2011

The Cleaner Technology Center is launching the 6th Edition of the Environment Award for Enterprise with the aim of acknowledging the contribution of industry in favour of sustainable development.The aim of these awards is to give recognition to industries or organizations which, through their policies, practices and processes help bring about, social and economic development while reducing the impact of their operations on the environment. 

 

 

 

 

Another aim of the awards is to act as a spur for more organizations to take measures in favour of the environment.

The environment award will be given in three categories;

Category ‘A' – Management Award for Sustainable Development

Category ‘B' – Conservation Award for Sustainable Development

Category ‘C' – Environment Protection Initiative Award for SME's

The winners in the last edition were: The General Soft Drinks Co Ltd, Medichem Manufacturing (Malta) Ltd and Mater Dei Hospital. Honourable Mentions were given to HSBC Bank (Malta) Ltd, Intercontinental (Malta) Hotel, Yellow Pages (Malta) Ltd & The Hilton (Malta) Hotel.

During this event, another award namely ‘'THE WASTE MINIMISATION AWARD'' instituted by WasteServ Malta Limited in conjunction with The Cleaner Technology Centre will be launched. This award is intended to recognize businesses and organisations on the Maltese Islands that have implemented successful waste reduction, reuse and recycled product procurement programmes.

TIME LINE

Application Deadline: August 2011

Applications will be assessed by a special committee consisting of experts from various sectors. The winners in each category are awarded a specially commissioned trophy made by Mdina Glass and a certificate. The winners will also be assisted to compete in the European Environment Award Programme run by the DG Environment of the European Commission.

Further details and application forms can be obtained from the: Cleaner Technology Centre – E-mail: – Anton Pizzuto – Director – Cleaner Technology Centre

Not all Europeans and consular officials are aware of the EU dimension of consular protection. The European Commission has, for the first time, put forward a Communication on consular protection in third countries to take stock of the EU's contribution to effective consular protection in third countries and to present the way forward based on the experience gained and the renewed institutional framework.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Under EU law, all Member States must provide the same help to citizens without representation in non- Member States as they would to their own nationals. Emergencies might be rare, but the right to such consular assistance abroad is also available for more common problems such as stolen passports, serious accidents and illness.

Recent crises around the world have seen many persons not knowing where to turn to for diplomatic support. The EU wants to make its citizens aware of their right to turn to any Member State's consulate or embassy for protection or help should their own nation not be represented in the country where they happen to be.

The Commission will submit legal proposals within the next 12 months to improve the legal certainty regarding the scope, conditions and procedures related to consular protection and optimise the use of resources, including in time of crisis; and establish the coordination and cooperation measures necessary to facilitate day-to-day consular protection in crisis situations.

Source: MEUSAC News

L-Isforzi kollha li ghamlet il-GRTU matul dawn l-ahhar xhur biex il-Gvern u l-aktar l-MRA taddotta attitudni aktar ragonevoli u li taghmel sens ekonomiku ghall-operaturi serji, ghall-konsumaturi kif ukoll ghad-distributuri li dejjem offrew is-servizz taghhom b'fedelta' baqghet imferrxa fis-shab.

 

L-MRA ippreferiet li tghix fis-shab u insistiet li l-ewwel u qabel kollox u aktar mill-weghdiet zejda li kellha, kellha tara li min hu licenzjat ghandu il-kapacita' ta' produzzjoni u fornitura ta' cilindri u barra minn hekk li jwettaq l-obbligi li kienu sottomessi ghalihom u li mhux sempliciment ifixkel u jikkappara bla ma jimpurtah xejn bil-hsara li jkun qed ifajjar fuq min b'kapital u investimenti kbar qed jisgura li jaghqdi l-poplu Malti u Ghawdxi. L-Ebda kas m'hu qed jinghata ghal hsara ikkawzata lis-sistema' tad-distribuzzjoni ibbazata fuq organizzazzjoni ta' tletin distributur self-employed li b'investiment taghhom jaghqdu ta' kuljum lid-djar u lin-negozji Maltin.

Il-GRTU issa tappella lill-Prim Ministru biex jaqbez lil min b'inkompetenza gab din is-sitwazzjoni u jibda diskussjonijiet f'livell oghla mill-MRA biex dan is-servizz tant importanti ghall-Intrapriza u ghal bicca l-kbira tal-familji Maltin ma jkomplix jitkisser biex jitpaxxew ftit li lanqas jafu fejn jibda l-interess Nazzjonali.

Principju fundamentali maghruf huwa li kull meta min hu inkarigat u serju jdahhal riforma, hu li r-riforma ma titfanix lura imma l-quddiem u mhux tkisser dak li dejjem qdiena sew biex tohloq sistema' li hi aghar u konfuza b'dannu ghal min irid jinqeda. L-Awtoritajiet Regulatorji zelqu bil-kbir fuq dan il-Principju u jahtu bil-kbir ghal dak li qed ibatu l-konsumaturi u l-operaturi serji.

The VAT Department in collabotaion with the GRTU helped organise a meeting for software programme providers held during this week to which Council member Marcel Mizzi attended. The meeting was mainly targeted at software developers who are involved in the development and deployment of computerised Point of Sale (POS) systems.

 

The VAT Dept explained that a campaign is going to be lauched shortly to promote the advantages being offered to traders who post their VAT returns online.  He also said that the department is planning to push the idea of standardised electronic invoicing that would be indispensable in B2B business. A working group will be set up with members from the constituted bodies to discuss these initiatves.

The new measures that were going to be introduced with the intention of curbing VAT fraud were explained. The department is aware that there are software based POS systems on the local market that are specifically designed to allow the user to change or delete transactions after they have been posted. This would usually be through a hidden function that would enable the shop owner to remove or change a transaction once it has been posted which is of course highly illegal. Changes that have been made recently in the VAT Act which make this a criminal offence and that are harsh penalties stipulated within the law. The software supplier that knowingly supplies software with these loopholes is committing a criminal offence himself and would be held criminally liable. The department is going to start investigating these abuses. Developers who are found to be involved in the provision of software with these loopholes will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Even in cases where computerised stock control systems are used together with a fiscal cash register, if the audit trail on the computer system is tampered with, it would still be a violation of this law.

Numerous developers present during the meeting, pointed out that data can be manipulated outside of the POS application and this surely would not be the responsibility of the suppliers. Mr. Sammut stated that from now on before an exemption is awarded the software is going to be examined to ensure that it is difficult if not impossible to tamper with the data outside of the POS application. He also said that it is up to the department to prove complicity and this would not be the case when there is none.

These exemptions allow shop owners to use a computerised POS systems instead of a fiscal cash registers. Many of those present agrued voiciferously that they could not be held responsible for the user's actions. They said that if this law were to be enforced most of the POS systems on the market would not be deemed legal and would have to be replaced. Although this would ensure a steady stream of new business for the developers, the business owner would have to invest in news systems which come at a considerable cost. The VAT Dept was adamant about this and maintained that the law is clear enough.

GRTU Council Member Marcel Mizzi participated in a meeting concerning the revamping and restructuring of apprentice schemes. This was a consultation meeting which aimed to get the GRTU's feedback together with that of other bodies.

 

The aim of this meeting was to get our feedback and the feedback from other bodies regarding the restructuring of the current apprenticeship schemes. In attendance were Mr. Cutajar (CEO of ETC) and several representatives from employers. The meeting was hosted at MCAST by Prof Maurice Grech.

MCAST is looking into the restructuring of the current schemes, which were in fact working but not up to expectations, with the aim of increasing the number of sponsors willing to take on apprentices. The main problem is that some of the practical experiences that students required were not being met by the employers. This was usually because the employer in question could not provide the experience in that subject matter due to their business model. It was suggested that the way forward would be to define exactly what type of practical experience is required and when looking for sponsors. A number of sponsors might be required in order to cater for all the experience required.

Mr Mizzi on behalf of GRTU enquired on how many of the apprentices were being taken up by micro and small enterprises. ETC said that more than half were being employed by SMEs with less then 10 employees. GRTU suggested that as part of the restructuring the scheme would be packaged in such a way to increase its attractiveness to SMEs. In GRTU's opinion the idea of listing the practical competences and having apprentices change employers may in fact further discourage SMEs from participating.

GRTU suggested closer cooperation with SME organisations such as GRTU and to set up an effective channel of communication so that MCAST would be aware of their competences and needs. Thought must be given to designing apprentices which are more responsive to SME needs. SMEs would not be comfortable with having their apprentice change employers as they would fear leaks about sensitive information. MCAST understood this point and would welcome further input in this direction for the re-design.

MCAST are currently looking into the possibility of acquiring EU funding for the newly designed scheme. A pilot project is planned dealing with a different areas and the performance of the new changes would be assessed in this way.

A follow-up meeting is being planned shortly and a half day workshop will be organised soon to discuss a way forward.

The new traffic arrangements being proposed for Mellieha have been the cause for serious discussion for the Mellieha Local Council for years. The new public bussing system has now brought the issue to the top of the agenda.

 

The issue concerns the general public residing in Mellieha who seek a better service and circulatory flow of traffic that ensures that the main shopping area in Borg Olivier street is adequately reachable through the bussing service and also by private cars and that Mellieha continues to function as an important retail and entertainment location for the large number of people, Maltese an tourists who visit Mellieha or pass through Mellieha.

The real issue however is the narrow stretch of street from the Labour Party club on top of the hill to the nationalist party club at the bottom of the hill. Shop owners in the area are complaining heavily that not enough information has been made available and the plans on which the local council and Malta Transport have been working on have not been sufficiently explained. GRTU representatives in discussions with the Mayor and the Local Council have made it clear that while supporting all initiatives to give Mellieha a better circulatory traffic management scheme they are against any scheme that would effect the earnings of the business community which has heavily invested in the main thoroughfare of Mellieha.

"Shop owners calculations are very simple, they take their Z readings and know precisely what is their income and profitability per day. They can very quickly tell the mayor and the Council whether any scheme has brought better returns or worse. Many shop owners believe that what is currently being proposed would lead to a lower Z reading. The questions is very simple.  If the earnings fall as a result of the change who will be compensating shop owners for the loss of earnings? It is easy for salary earners to propose and implement because at the end of the month their income is the same. For shop owners if consumers are scared away and income falls their take-home pay is simply reduced and for them hardly anything else matters." stated GRTU president Paul Abela.

Paul Ablea on behalf of GRTU demanded a clear economic impact assessment and a clear responsibility to compensate shop owners if whatever is implemented turns out as a loss of business.

One very difficult issue that GRTU, as the true representative of Maltese enterprise, had to face over the last decade, was  the implementation of the EU waste management directives. A small country like Malta who's economy highly depends on tourism and an essential part of the infrastructure for us Maltese and all visitors is a healthy environment is how to successfully operate the polluter pays principle.

 

 

Effectively the importer and the producer is at law the "polluter" as he is directly responsible for the importation of most materials that end up in the waste stream. Waste simply does no materialise from nowhere.

Whether it is packaging waste, electrical or electronic waste or any other waste material the basic truth remains that when a product or a material is no longer in use it is thrown out with the rest of the waste stream. Somebody must be made responsible for its collection and for its eventual processing as recycled material, reusable material or whatever, the cost has to be born by somebody. Whichever way you look at it the cost ends at the door of the citizen, either as a consumer or as a tax payer. Traditionally Government handled all waste which means the tax payer had to pay for all the expense. Today most materials are captured and the cost is included in the service or product placed on the market and at the end of the road it is the consumer who pays.

Under EU regulations our Government has to meet specific targets. On waste collection, recycling and reuse and adopt specific policies to ensure this is done.

GRTU is the one national organisation that rather than talk, preach and expect others to do has instead shouldered  the responsibility on behalf of Maltese enterprises to carry the tremendous burden of organizing a National Waste Management Compliance Scheme so that, by economies of scale and central cooperative management, we reduce the cost for waste management compliance that would otherwise bear heavily on each entrepreneur.

GRTU, who's members come primarily from small enterprise and a large ratio of whom are retailers, ensured that the burdens would not fall on retailers but would rather be part of the whole burden of importation and production. This essentially entailed a massive organisation to collect recyclable waste on a door-to-door basis from all of the Maltese and Gozitan territory. Through the GRTU's 100% subsidiary Green MT this exercise now covers 70% of Malta and Gozo and the scheme managed by GRTU is responsible for 78% of the recyclable waste taken to the national waste facility at Sant` Antnin.

This is a scheme that makes us all extremely proud. The Maltese commercial sector represented primarily by GRTU is not only providing jobs for up to 78% of the Maltese labour force and substantially contributing to Malta's GDP but this sector is now also the major contributor to Malta's National Waste Management compliance

The serious problem that arose over these last years was one of enforcement. While a substantial number of enterprises belonged to Green MT or its competitor GreenPak, and these entrepreneurs carried the burden of financially supporting the 2 schemes that specialise in waste management compliance, many other entrepreneurs preferred to disregard all and to plod on in spite of the serious dis-leveled competitive market structure to which they were contributing.

MEPA, the national regulator on this issue remained practically aloof and failed to provide an effective enforcement that ensured that all polluters paid their due contribution to the schemes. Now MEPA came bang into action and importers and producers who had been evading their responsibility on this matter are being forced to comply. The issue facing business representatives is either to act responsibly and accept that the best way forward is for the responsibility to be shared by all, thus minimising the cost per entity or to ignore and allow the persistence of a state where the honest pay and the dishonest just evade.

GRTU has opted for the correct way forward and is in fact providing all the support necessary to entrepreneurs and business owners in general to help them come in line and comply with the waste management regulations

The European Commission has presented its proposal to overhaul the outdated rules on the taxation of energy products in the European Union. The new rules aim to restructure the way energy products are taxed to remove current imbalances and take into account both their CO2 emissions and energy content. Existing energy taxes would be split into two components that, taken together, would determine the overall rate at which a product is taxed. The Commission wants to promote energy efficiency and consumption of more environmentally friendly products and to avoid distortions of competition in the Single Market.

 

 

The proposal will help Member States to redesign their overall tax structures in a way that contributes to growth and employment by shifting taxation from labour to consumption. The revised Directive would enter into force as of 2013. Long transitional periods for the full alignment of taxation of the energy content, until 2023, will leave time for industry to adapt to the new taxation structure.

Taxation of energy products is to a certain extent harmonised at EU level. The Energy Taxation Directive already now sets forth minimum rates for the taxation of energy products used as motor fuels and heating fuels as well as electricity. However, the Directive has become outdated and inconsistent. Taxation based on volumes of energy products consumed cannot address EU's energy and climate change targets. It also fails to set economic incentives to foster growth and stimulate job creation. Taxation of energy products must better take account their energy content and their impact on the environment.

Key elements

The revised Energy Taxation Directive will allow Member States to make the best possible use of taxation and, ultimately, support "sustainable growth". To do so, it proposes splitting the minimum tax rate into two parts:

One would be based on CO2 emissions of the energy product and would be fixed at €20 per tonne of CO2.

The other one would be based on energy content, i.e. on the actual energy that a product generates measured in Gigajoules (GJ). The minimum tax rate would be fixed at €9.6/GJ for motor fuels, and €0.15/GJ for heating fuels. This will apply to all fuels used for transport and heating.

Social aspects are taken into account with the option for Member States to completely exempt energy consumed by households for their heating, no matter what energy product is used.

Long transitional periods for the full alignment of taxation of the energy content, until 2023, will leave time for industry to adapt to the new taxation structure.

The benefits of revising Energy Taxation

his proposal will favour renewable energy sources and encourage the consumption of energy sources emitting less CO2. At the moment, the most polluting energy sources are, paradoxically, the least taxed. On the contrary, biofuels are amongst the most heavily taxed energy sources in spite of EU's commitment to increase the share of renewable energies in transport. The new proposal will remove these inconsistencies.

The new text will also provide for a more coherent approach on energy taxation across the EU by preventing a patchwork of national policies and help to create a level playing field for industry across the EU. It is also an opportunity for Member States to redesign their tax policies in a way that promotes jobs and employment.

As regards the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the revised Directive aims to complement the existing EU ETS by applying a CO2 tax to sectors that are out of its scope (transport, households, agriculture and small industries). These account for half of the EU's CO2 emissions; it is therefore important that they should also be covered by a CO2 price signal.

Finally, this initiative will help the EU meeting its targets on energy and climate change, as requested in the March 2008 European Council conclusions. It also echoes the results of the UN Climate Change Conference held in Cancun, Mexico, in December 2010.

Next steps

The proposal will now be discussed by the European Parliament and the Council and is expected to enter into force as of 2013. It foresees, where appropriate, a gradual introduction of the new taxation system.

For more information:

http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/index_en.htm

Road toll prices for the haulage industry as capped under the Eurovignette directive were originally intended to cover only infrastructure costs. In future they will reflect the cost of noise and air pollution as well. The EP Transport and Tourism Committee approved the new rules designed to strike a balance between the economic interests of the countries on the EU's periphery and environmental needs.

 

All the political group leaders in the Transport Committee gave their backing to a compromise drafted by Said El Khadraoui (S&D, BE). However, differences between Member States on the periphery and those at the centre of Europe weighed heavily in the debate before the vote on Tuesday 12 April. "This is the very least we need to ensure the 'polluter pays' principle is introduced into the haulage industry", argued Mr El Khadraoui.

Greater flexibility

The draft text approved by the Transport Committee at second reading takes account to a large degree of the Member States' wishes. It allows exemptions for lorries between 3.5 and 12 tonnes provided the Member State can give a justification. To encourage fleet renewal, it provides for staggered exemptions that are limited in time for heavy vehicles with the cleanest engines (EURO 5, 6), including in sensitive areas such as mountain regions.

Toll prices will also be able to vary according to the time of day but must remain revenue-neutral.

The aim is to encourage lorries to avoid certain road stretches during peak hours (to be limited to a maximum of 8 hours a day), without generating additional revenue for toll administrators.

Using toll revenue to optimise transport

In exchange, the Transport Committee wants national finance ministers to declare toll revenues as well as the use made of this money, to be reinvested in transport infrastructure, without distinction between different modes of transport, say MEPs. And 15% should be earmarked at the outset for transeuropean TEN-T projects.

As in the past, the introduction of distance-based tolls for lorries will remain optional. However, in four years' time the Commission must examine the effectiveness of this measure and the possibility of adapting it for other forms of pollution and vehicle categories.

Armed with the result of the Transport Committee's vote (26 in favour, 1 against and 11 abstentions), Mr El Khadraoui will now ask the Council to support his text before it is submitted to the full Parliament and put to the vote at the June plenary session.