Category: Archive – 2012

On January 1, Denmark assumed the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the seventh time since the country's accession to the EU in 1973.  The Danish Presidency is the second of the "trio presidency" that also includes Poland and Cyprus. The three successive presidencies work together over an 18 period to accomplish a common agenda with the current president continuing the work of the previous "lead-president" after the end of its term.  

Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt's recently stated that "Now more than ever, we need to work together in the EU. We must dare to make difficult decisions. We must restore confidence, security and optimism. We must, therefore, work towards a responsible Europe." 

The four main priorities of the Danish Presidency will be to contribute to:

• A responsible Europe
• A dynamic Europe
• A green Europe
• A safe Europe

To present and discuss the programme and priorities of the Danish Presidency, the Embassy of Denmark and the Malta-EU Steering & Action Committee would like to invite you to a Public Dialogue that is being held:

 Venue: University of Malta, Valletta campus in St Paul's Street, Valletta

Date: Thursday, 19th January 2012

Time: 3.00pm

 Coffee will be served at 2.30p.m.

The programme and priorities of the Danish Presidency will be presented by Birger Riis-Jørgensen, Ambassador of Denmark to Malta. A discussion, moderated by PBS journalist Keith Demicoli, will follow in which Francis Zammit Dimech MP (PN), Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign and European Affairs, George Vella MP (PL), Opposition Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs and Vanni Xuereb, MEUSAC Head, will take part.

It is our great pleasure to invite you to this event. Kindly confirm your attendance by contacting Brian Pace, MEUSAC on e-mail . It would be appreciated if your confirmation reaches MEUSAC offices by not later than noon of Wednesday, January 18, 2012.

Malta Enterprise is inviting businesses wishing to explore business opportunities in South Africa to participate in a Trade and Investment Promotion delegation to the cities of Johannesburg and Cape Town, between the 18^th and 25^th of February, 2012. Application form and draft programme of visit attached for your perusal. Closing date for application is Wednesday 18^th January, 2012.

Coinciding with the business delegation is the HedgeNews Africa Symposium 2012, being held on 23^rd of February in Cape Town. Further information about this event may be obtained from FinanceMalta or from the website: http://www.hedgenewsafrica.com/page/conference/index

A member of the Commonwealth of Nations and with English as the official business language, South Africa has a growing economy blossoming with opportunities within sectors such as financial and professional services, ICT, transport and logistics, food and beverage, real estate, energy as well as travel and tourism.

As part of its assistance Malta Enterprise will set up one-to-one meetings for participants through its institutional networks. Malta Enterprise will also refund eligible participants up to 60% of flight costs and a per diem allowance. Refund is for one representative per participating company.

Should you require the Application form and draft programme of visit feel free to contact us

Brussels, 11 January 2012 – Carrying a virtual train ticket or repaying a friend with your mobile phone, buying your groceries online, paying with your debit card abroad – the way European citizens shop and pay is radically changing. A secure and transparent integrated payments environment throughout the EU could create more efficient, modern and safer means of payments – for the benefits of consumers, merchants and payment providers. Based on the Green Paper consultation adopted today, the Commission seeks the views of stakeholders as to which obstacles hinder further market integration and how these could be resolved. The deadline for submitting contributions to the consultation is 11 April 2012.

Electronic payments are essential for every consumer, either when buying something at the points-of-sale or while shopping on the internet. Throughout the EU, more than 700 million payment cards are in use, e-commerce is offering tremendous opportunities and the number of smart phones is increasing at a dramatic rate. The Green Paper analyses the obstacles which hinder European market integration in these promising payment technologies.

Internal Market and Services Commissioner Michel Barnier said: "Europe has an opportunity to be at the cutting edge of what ‘making a payment' could mean in the future. However, we will not be able to reach this goal with the current level of market fragmentation. Secure, efficient, competitive and innovative electronic payments are crucial for consumers, retailers and companies to fully enjoy the benefits of the Single Market as well as to drive the growth of e-commerce. The consultation we are launching today is fully in line with the Commission's mandate focusing on growth and job creation and building on the achievements already made in the field of retail payments".

Vice President Joaquín Almunia added: "Inefficient payments systems within the European Union unduly raise transaction costs; undermine the global competitiveness of the European economy and limit its potential for growth. Europe's consumers, merchants and companies deserve payment services in tune with the 21st century: transparent, with genuine value-added and making the best use of our technologies."

Background information

This Green Paper assesses the current landscape of card, internet and mobile payments in Europe, identifies the gaps between the current situation and the vision of a fully integrated payments market and the barriers which have created these gaps. The objective of the Green Paper is to launch a broad consultation process with stakeholders to validate or contribute to the Commission's analysis and to help identify the right way to improve market integration.

The main issues identified in the paper concern:

• Market access and entry for existing and new service providers
• Payment security and data protection
• Transparent and efficient pricing of payment services
• Technical standardisation
• Inter-operability between service providers.

An additional crucial issue, overarching all the aspects above, is the one of proper governance. In other words, how can the remedies for the obstacles identified be best put in place so as to ensure that the benefits materialise in a reasonable time frame.

While the Commission has been active on card payments previously, mostly in the framework of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) and by applying competition law (see the Commission's Decisions addressed to MasterCard and Visa), internet and mobile payments are relatively new policy fields at European level. When preparing the Green Paper, the Commission has therefore looked at a very broad range of policy areas that are potentially relevant to these fields.

Responses to the Green Paper are welcome until 11 April 2012. On the basis of a thorough analysis of the consultation feedback, the Commission will announce the next steps to be taken before the summer of 2012.

More information

http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/payments/cim/index_en.htm 

The EU's Intelligent Energy – Europe (IEE) programme has become the main EU instrument to catalyse the spread of the efficient use of energy, greater use of renewable energy sources and more efficient transport. All legal entities, public or private, from the member states and a number of associate countries that have the financial, technical and operational capacity to completed the action to be supported can participate in a consortium.

Actions that will be supported are the promotion of increased energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources by overcoming non-technological barriers (legal, financial, institutional, cultural and social barriers) as per objectives set in the IEE work programme 2012. The project has to have clear objectives, high impact and clear European added value. The consortium has to consist of at least 3 partner organisations from 3 different eligible countries. The project budget is usually between € 0.5 – 2.5 million and the funding for the project is maximum three years. Under the IEE the EU can co-fund up to 75% of the total eligible costs.

The 2012 call is currently out. The deadline is 8 May 2012, 17:00 CET. 

For more information kindly visit: http://ec.europa.eu/energy/intelligent/call_for_proposals/index_en.htm

The application forms and guide for proposers available online. You will need these resources to submit or participate in an IEE project.

Please find them here: http://ec.europa.eu/energy/intelligent/call_for_proposals/call_library_en.htm

FUNDING PRIORITIES FOR 2012

1. SAVE: Energy efficiency   

2. ALTENER: New and renewable energy resources   

3. STEER: Energy in transport  

4. Integrated Initiatives   

Were you ever about to sign a contract for a personal loan, credit card, or other consumer credit and discovered that it was all working out more expensive than you had first expected? An EU-wide investigation of websites offering consumer credit took place to check whether consumers are receiving the information to which they are entitled under EU consumer law before signing a consumer credit contract.

National enforcement authorities checked more than 500 websites across the 27 Member States plus Norway and Iceland. They flagged 70% (393) of sites for further investigation in relation to the following main problems: the advertising did not include the required standard information; the offers omitted key information that is essential for making a decision; the costs were presented in a misleading way. National enforcement authorities will now contact financial institutions and credit intermediaries about suspected irregularities and ask them to clarify or take corrective action.  The sweep operation checked in particular how business is applying the Consumer Credit Directive (recently transposed in Member States), which aims to make it easier for consumers to understand and compare credit offers.

EU Consumer Commissioner John Dalli said "When people look for credit they sometimes discover that this credit turns out to be more expensive than it had originally appeared, because important information was sometimes unclear or missing. Consumer credit is not always easy to understand, which is why there is European legislation in place to help consumers make informed decisions. It is therefore very important that businesses provide consumers with the correct and necessary information. And it is the role of the Commission to work together with national enforcers to make this happen."

A "sweep" is an exercise to enforce EU law. It is led by the EU and carried out by national enforcement authorities who conduct simultaneous, coordinated checks for breaches in consumer law in a particular sector. The national enforcement authorities then contact operators about suspected irregularities and ask them to take corrective action. The Consumer Credit sweep took place in September 2011.

Six countries conducted a deeper investigation "Sweep Plus" of 57 sites to check compliance with consumer rules including payment arrangement, complaint handling and terms and conditions.

The market under scrutiny is used by consumers every day.  In 2010, financial institutions in the eurozone had more than €600 billion outstanding consumer credit.

Results

Of the 562 websites originally checked, only 30% passed the sweep test for compliance with the relevant EU consumer rules and 70% of these sites (393) were flagged for further investigation. The main problems found were:

• Missing information in consumer credit advertising: advertising on 258 (46% of websites checked) did not include all the standard information required by the Consumer Credit Directive, e.g. i) the annual percentage rate of charge (APR), which is essential to compare offers, ii) information on whether charges on obligatory ancillary services (e.g. insurance) were included in the total cost, or iii) on the duration of the credit agreement;
• Omission of key information on the offer: 244 (43%) websites did not give clear information about all the different elements of the total cost, e.g. i) on the type of interest rate, (fixed, variable or both), ii) on the duration of the credit (if applicable), and iii) on some of the costs related to the credit (e.g. an arrangement fee);
• Misleading presentation of the costs where the cost of the credit is displayed in a way which is false or could deceive consumers, e.g. i) in the way the price is calculated, or ii) if the consumer is not informed that beyond the cost of the consumer credit itself there is an added obligatory insurance. 116 websites (20%) of the websites displayed this kind of problem.

Sweep Plus

Six countries (Italy, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Sweden) conducted a deeper investigation on 57 of the sites checked – the Sweep Plus exercise. The main problems related to pre-contractual information and contract terms.

What happens next?

The enforcement phase will now start: in the coming weeks and months business operators will be contacted by the national authorities and asked to provide clarifications or correct their websites. Failure to do so, depending on the national legislation which is applicable, can result in legal action leading to fines or even closure of the websites. The national enforcement authorities are asked to report back to the European Commission by autumn 2012. The Commission will report on the results.

For more information:

http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/enforcement/sweeps_en.htm
MEMO/12/02

Why did you become an entrepreneur? I was born into the business started by my grandfather. I had an interest in business for as long as I can remember. I always dreamt of having my own business.

How have you come to chose your line of business?

My grandfather used to sell medicine. I first opened a pharmacy and later started importing.

Where did you go on your last holiday?

Paris

What is your earliest memory?

When I formed a band.

If you could chose to be someone famous who would you be?

Pierre Cardin or Giorgio Armani

Kjarifikazzjoni dwar tariffi relatati ma' Heavy Plant Drivers u Spinelli – Il-Bord ghall-Haddiema tal-Port li jiddetermina t-tariffi relatati lill-haddiema tax-xatt kif huwa stipulat skond il-Port Workers Ordinance f'Kapitlu 171 jghid li:

L-Iskerjament ta' Heavy Plant Drivers kif huwa stipulat fil-Port Workers Regulations 171.02 se jkun skjerat waqt operazzjoni ta' dghajjes meta jkun hemm materjal bhal:

• Heavy Plant Machinery – Apparat li jintuza ghat-thaffir
• Other heavy vehicles – Ezempju trakkijiet

Il-Vetturi kollha li ma jkunux akkompanjati u li jaqbzu is-sebgha metri – Ezempju vetturi li jgorru karozzi izghar fuqhom

Il-Bord ukoll iddecieda li kull meta bastiment ikun ekwipaggat bi spinelli, id-decizjoni mehuda mill-Port Disputes Board fil-passat , li kull trailer marbut ma' din il-manjiera ghandu bzonn aktar attenzjoni se tibqa' applikabbli.

Ghalhekk VGT – Valletta Gateway Terminals tixtieq tavza' lill-agenti u lill-konsumaturi kollha li dawn it-tariffi adizzjonali kollha se jkunu iccargjati kif gej: – Heavy Plant Drivers li kienu jigu iccargjati minn agent tal-bastimenti, issa se jigu iccargjati ghal dawk il-konsenjaturi/bahhara li qed jimpurtaw/jesportaw il-materjal imsemmi hawn fuq.

L-Ispinelli ser jigu iccargjati mill-agent tal-bastimenti.

GRTU's Executive council, yesterday met Dr.Frank Weise, Chairman of the Managing Board of the Federal Employment Agency. The German Federal Employment Agency is the labour market's biggest service provider in Germany.

GRTU's Director General explained the role of the GRTU and what kind of enterprises does the GRTU represent especially in relation to their size and employment. He also explained how GRTU is involved in employment related fora both at national and EU level. Mr Farrugia emphasised on the importance for Malta to build on good quality labour not only in terms of productivity and flexibility but also in terms of training and trainability. He also pointed out that the employment within the enterprises GRTU represents withstood the crises so far as the smaller employers are less keen on putting off people.

GRTU members today are finding it difficult to find people in employment that are skilled in a certain area such as qualified renewable energy equipment installers and this happened before in the pharmaceutical sector.

Claudio Farrugia stated that the ETC opened courses in the financial services sector and these where overbooked 3 fold. The Director General said that this shows how keen the young generation is of doing something that is not traditional but the emerging, the one with more potential and well paid. He also said that Germany is more attune with the requirements of the market and the general economy, this is something Malta has a lot to learn from.

Dr Frank Weise stated that Germany has the same pattern of SMEs being the largest employers. Mr Weise and his colleague were surprised that at the hotel where they are staying almost every person they encountered that worked there speaks basic German.

Mr Farrugia mentioned what a problem we have in Malta is of business succession. Mr Weise said that when a  company is   passed to the next generation they are given 10 years tax free in order to encourage business succession.

Dr Frank Weise stated that in Germany there is less than 3 million unemployed people. He also mentioned 3 main reasons that would describe two thirds of the unemployed: no school qualifications, no work qualification and they are over 50.  He also pointed out that something that is not being done right in Germany is that companies they lay off people over 50 to keep the youngest ones and then spend a lot of money in retirement schemes.  The German Government is encouraging people to work longer and will be necessitating more years of work to be able to have a pension.

Marcel Mizzi GRTU Council Member and President of the IT Sector stressed that Malta is doing a lot of work in IT when it comes to education but we need to do much more as the industry needs more specialised skills which will need more time.

Noel Gauci GRTU Council Member and President of the GRTU Renewable Energy Sector pointed out that Renewable energy in Malta is still very young and so it is difficult to find able workers and they would have to train them themselves. Some work has started on this but we need much more as training employees is a problem in the sector which is costly and time consuming. The sector has not felt much mobility of Europeans coming to Malta to work in this sector.

Another point was raised from Philip Fenech GRTU Council Member and President of the GRTU Hospitality and Leisure Sector who said that the schooling in the hospitality industry is very intense and some are over qualified for the sector and the hospitality and leisure industry ends up employing Europeans to make up for this gap. From central eastern Europe mostly.

Road building, waste sector, kitchens and garages also have recruitment problems but these sectors employ 3^rd country immigrants. This is not because of the pay but because very few  Maltese are still interested in doing this kind of work.

For GRTU we have nothing against the employment of third country nationals as we do not look at the skin colour, religion, language, etc… We are interested in having people employed to be able to sustain themselves and trained in the work they are doing.

ETC CEO Claudio Farrugia stated that 65% of people who come to train at ETC are already employed and seeking to better their position and these are much more motivated than the unemployed who want to be trained.

Mr Claudio Farrugia also introduced another ETC representative who will be heading a new unit solely to assist the private sector. He also mentioned that a manager has been recruited and her task is to work closely with the GRTU on better responding to SME needs and skill needs.

Dr Frank Weise stated that there is a new law in Germany that following dismissal a person has to go to the German Employment Federation within 3 days otherwise the unemployment benefit will be decreased. He also said that they are also working on early intervention were they work with the still employed but soon to be unemployed.

The message from the Commission on the budgetary situation in Malta did not reach GRTU with surprise. Director General Vince Farrugia, who is also Rapporteur of EESC on Budgetary Surveillance in the Euro Area, stated most strongly on Budget Day 2012 that more action needs to be taken to address the Budget deficit.

"It can be done". The GRTU however warns, as the Commission is doing, that further unproductive investment as subsidies to Airmalta  and further increases in emoluments to public sector employees will further endanger Malta's internal financial imbalances.  We must now act with diligence. GRTU insists to further support micro, small and medium enterprises. They have suffered and carried the measure burden to sustain employment and investment in the difficult period of recession. They cannot now, once again be made to pay and suffer while the non-productive sectors continue to receive the hefty handshakes of Government hand-outs.

Government must act serioiusly in favour of the productive sector. Hands off the schemes in support of small businesses. We welcome the establishment of the new Minister for Small Businesses and the self-employed announced in the latest Government and reshuffle, but more than words we want action. GRTU

stresses no reduction in the Capital Budget expenditure. Indeed we urge Government to move faster on the planned capital investment programmes as it is essential that expenditure is increased in the first 2 or 3 quarters of 2012 as the end of the year may otherwise suffer from the impact of falling receipts due to the EU slow to negative economic growth.

This is no time for unnecessary political bickering. This is the time for decisive action on the economic front .GRTU appeals to our political leaders, Government, Opposition and all other to give the economy a chance. We in business want to work. We can work and we can do our utmost to get the economy moving in these difficult times. But do not create unnecessary problems. Government must keep small businesses top on its agenda.

The plea for our people is one and clear: "let us work" says Vincent Farrugia Director General GRTU and EESC Employers Board Member.