Category: Archive – 2014

GRTU has this week met the Hon Christian Cardona as Minister
responsible for Small Businesses and presented GRTU's five priorities for
Budget 2015.

Minister Cardona welcomed GRTUs contribution to the discussion in
the run up to the Budget and said that the proposals presented merit evaluation
and serious consideration. The Minister discussed with GRTU Government's
financial limitations in changing certain policies however recognized the
validity of the arguments and emphasized that he will do his best to find
solutions or compromise where possible. GRTU explained that it is aware that
there will be important changes directly linked to GRTU's priorities in this
year's Budget and that we insist that discussions need to be held and an
agreement reached prior to any announcements.

GRTU this year has focused on 5 priorities for Budget
2015: Tackling Unfair competition, Removal of Eco Tax, Reducing the cost of
finance, Tackling high trade costs and Reducing high commercial licenses.

GRTU calls for immediate
discussions prior to Budget announcements – Whilst the draft plan presented
to the European Commission gave an overview of the overall economic direction
the next Budget will be taking, GRTU felt it lacked basic vital information to
help comprehend how the set targets will be met.

In the document Government has committed itself
to continue the shift from direct to indirect taxation. It mentions indirect
taxation on consumer goods and services and a revision in fees on market
output. The questions that we naturally pose are: How will these indirect taxes
be implemented? What is meant by market output?

During a business breakfast earlier this month
GRTU probed the Minister for Finance to take action, as was promised in Budget
2014, on Eco Contribution. In reply the Minister stated that, similar to the case
with the payment of Maternity leave, Government will be moving from direct to
indirect taxation. This means that businesses will still be footing the bill
indirectly instead of directly. What benefit to business this might result in,
in relation to Eco Contribution, is dubious.

Whilst GRTU welcomes Government's commitment
not to increase VAT it should be made clear that VAT is not the only tax
element that affects prices and competitiveness. Many businesses are today
forced to carry the burden of Eco Contribution, which is an unjust and
anti-competitive tax, and simply changing its name will not make it any more
just or competitive. The biggest problem with Eco Tax is unfair competition and
introducing more taxes, be it direct or indirect, will only continue to
aggravate the already precarious situation.

All social partners have had the opportunity to
raise their priorities and concerns for the next Budget at MCESD and GRTU
raised the issues, amongst others, of unfair competition and the eco-tax
problem on several occasions now and no concrete replies on this or discussions
on the plans were held. We unfortunately get the feeling that plans are in
place but Government is reluctant to discuss them.

GRTU calls on the Government to avoid at all
costs a situation where any plans on these highly sensitive issues are unveiled
only once the Budget speech is read. We reiterate, MCESD is not a talking shop
and it is evident which stakeholders have a clear interest in the issues.
Government should come to MCESD with the intent of really discussing the plans
or speak directly to social partners to make sure an agreement is reached
before any final announcement.

The objective
of this consultation is to gather information and views on the interplay
between standardisation and intellectual property rights (IPR) such as patents.

Standardisation
is the voluntary process of developing technical specifications based on
consensus among the interested parties. Standard setting takes place in the
European and International Standardisation Organizations (ETSI, CEN, CENELEC,
ITU, ISO, IEC) but also in other organizations and fora or consortia on
national, European or international level.
Many standards comprise technologies
that are patent protected. Public authorities and the standardisation community
have developed rules and practices to ensure the efficient licensing of these
standard-related patents.

The purpose of
this consultation is to allow stakeholders interested in standardisation
involving patents, to bring to the Commission's attention their views on

how the current framework governing
standardisation involving patents performs and on

how it should evolve to ensure that
standardization remains efficient and adapted to the fast-changing economic and
technological environment

The European
Commission has the task of ensuring that the European Union's internal market
functions efficiently. Therefore harmonisation standards are particularly
important for the EU. Furthermore, an efficiently performing standardization
system is crucial for the EU's objectives in the areas of industry policy,
innovation, services and technological development.

The
consultation will close on 31 January 2015

For further
information and to submit your contribution kindly visit:

http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/industrial-competitiveness/industrial-policy/intellectual-property-rights/patents-standards/public-consultation/index_en.htm

Further information can be found through the
Commission portal:
http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/taxation/vat/how_vat_works/telecom/index_en.htm#new_rules

The Local
Council of Had-Dingli has once again preferred
Green Mt as its  partner for the
collection of recyclables and packaging waste from the locality. The agreement
has been reached after discussions held between the parties during which it was
acknowledged that over the past five years, the locality has increased its
recyclables collection and has also increased its residents` awareness towards
further recycling.

The new agreement was signed earlier
this week by Green Mt's Chairman Mr Paul Abela and CEO Mr Joe Attard whilst Ms
Venera Micallef, Mayor of Had-Dingli Local Council and Deputy Executive Secretary Mark
Mallia signed on behalf of the Local Council.

The agreement includes for a twice a
week collection of the grey recyclable bag from the Local Council and includes
also the emptying of the existing bring in Sites in Had-Dingli with an option
to increase these sites if smaller bring-in-Sites on wheels are put in place.
Experience has shown over the years that the large dome shaped bring in Sites
were not very manageable and also attracted more abuse then the smaller 1100 litre bring in Sites on wheels. In
addition the new agreement sees the introduction of a co-mingled collection
from the said bring-In-Sites, thus paper, carton, plastic and metal will now be
collected together in these bring in Sites making recycling simpler to the
community and increasing economies of scale.

The agreement includes an ongoing
education campaign within the Locality which would reach across various sectors
of the community from the younger to the elder generations. The agreement
allows also for any modifications that would need to take place due to the
future implementation by Government of the Waste Management Strategy Plan
2014-2020 currently in its early stages.

Speaking at the signing event, Mr
Paul Abela Chairman of Green Mt thanked the Local Council of Had Dingli for
showing continued support to Green Mt and 
pointed out that the Scheme has worked very hard over the years, despite
an unfair level playing field, to make sure that morally our generations to
come will always remember the good work. Mr Paul Abela continued to state that
the environment should always be at
heart to everyone as it is there for each and everyone of us to take care off
as we all use it every day wherever we are, be it at work or where we spend our
free time.

Ms Venera Micallef, Mayor of
Had-Dingli noted that recyclable collection has increased over the last two
years and the Scheme and the Local Council have now agreed on a new benchmark to be reached by the end of 2015.
She also stated that Had-Dingli is one of those Local Councils who is not
effected by demographic changes and as such could be handled in a more
constructive manner to make sure that even more community residents come on
board to recycle not only to reach legal obligations but to also meet moral obligations.

Had-Dingli Local Council currently
collects 2.6 tons of recyclables weekly with a new target now set at 3.6 tons
weekly. In 2013 The Local Council of Had-Dingli reached a per capita collection
of 35.58kg annually. It is also to be noted that in the year 2013 residents
have also sent to landfill 893 tons of mixed waste which is under the
allocation set by Wasteserv Malta Limited, an allocation of 958tons. Such a
feat is only achieved by a few Local Councils only.

Green Mt is
an Authorised Packaging Waste Compliance Scheme, a fully owned subsidiary of
the Malta Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises, GRTU, permitted by the
Competent Authority MEPA, and set up with the aim of meeting environmental
obligations on behalf of its producer members 
within the Business Community. 

Green Mt can
be contacted during office hours on 21496965/66.

On 29
September, Commissioner Reicherts was pleased to report that, since October
2010, the share of women in boards of publicly listed companies had risen by
7.6 points, reaching the unprecedented percentage of 18.6%.

On Friday 10
October, the European Union justice ministers agreed on part of the data
protection regulation reform. This is great news for SMEs as the exemption for
businesses with fewer than 250 employees is in the text agreed on. As a result,
SMEs and microbusinesses will not have to appoint an independent data
protection officer or undertake privacy impact assessments.

The Malta-EU
Steering and Action Committee (MEUSAC), together with the Malta Environment
& Planning Authority (MEPA) and the Ministry for Sustainable Development,
the Environment and Climate Change (MSDEC) have organised a consultation
session on the Proposal for a Directive amending Directives:

2008/98/EC on
waste

94/62/EC on packaging and packaging
waste

1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste

2000/53/EC on end-of-life vehicles

2006/66/EC on batteries and
accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators

2012/19/EU on waste electrical and
electronic equipment

This
consultation session focused on how the EU is aiming to shift into a circular
economy, boost recycling, secure access to raw materials whilst also create
jobs and enhance economic growth. It will also take into consideration the
preparation of Malta's position on this EU proposal.

The main
elements of the proposal include:

Introduction of a definition on
Municipal Solid Waste;

50% preparation for re-use and
recycling target by 2020 to be extended to municipal solid waste according to
one harmonised calculation method and no longer to household waste based on
four different calculation methods;

Preparing for re-use and recycling of
municipal waste to be increased to 70 % by 2030;

Preparing for re-use and recycling of
packaging waste to be increased to 80 % by 2030, with material-specific targets
set to gradually increase between 2020 and 2030 (to reach 90 % for paper by
2025 and 60% for plastics, 80% for wood, 90%
of ferrous metal, aluminium and glass by the end of 2030);

Ban the land filling of recyclable
(including plastics, paper, metals, glass and other biodegradable waste) waste
in non hazardous waste landfills by 2025;

By 2025 the total amount of waste
(that is, any waste and not solely MSW) shall not exceed 25% of the total
amount of MSW generated in the previous year;

To introduce measures so that by 2030
only residual waste is landfilled in an amount that does not exceed 5% of the
total amount of MSW generated in the previous year;

Introducing an early warning system
to anticipate and avoid possible compliance difficulties in Member States;

Improving traceability of hazardous
waste;

Increasing the cost-effectiveness of
Extended Producer Responsibility schemes by defining minimum conditions for
their operation;

Simplifying reporting obligations and
alleviating burdens faced by SMEs;

Improving the reliability of key
statistics through harmonised and streamlined calculation of targets;

Improving the overall coherence of
waste legislation by aligning definitions and removing obsolete legal
requirements.

For further
information kindly contact:

Eco
Contribution introduced in September 2004 should have been a stepping stone
towards instigating the extended producer responsibility. Today it has become
the business community's worst nightmare. It is a shame that at least two
Compliance Schemes are in place and cannot implement the conditions of their
permit in relation to at least one Directive, WEEE, because of Eco
Contribution.

As we have said many times in
the past, the business community should never pay double for a service. In this
case shouldering a responsibility for an environmental obligation should never
require a double payment. Government has since 2004 been receiving funds from
many companies and in the meantime expecting these companies to oblige to Legal
Notice 63 of 2007. It is just not acceptable under any circumstance whatsoever.

The former administration did
its very best to make sure it kept raking in funds with the blatant excuse that
Compliance Schemes operating other waste streams need to learn how to walk
before they start running. Absolutely absurd. The only real reason was that
funds were never hypothecated for the environment. They were used for any thing
else but that, and that is the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

We are informed that a
revision of the Eco Contribution is currently in vigore and will soon be
finalised. We hope it will be finished before the Budget comes to Parliament.
We hope the revision just says that Eco Contribution legislation will be
superseded once and for all by EU Directives, actually implemented and not just
transposed. The implementation of the WEEE Directive in Malta is well over six years
overdue, taking also a derogation into consideration. Those who were
responsible for this debacle should respond to the Maltese Community in
general. They have failed in implementing what has been implemented across all
other Member States ages ago..  They
should be ashamed of themselves and should shoulder the political responsibility.

Now that Malta's EU
Commissioner will be responsible for Environment and Fisheries we need to be
stalwarts with respect to the Environment. We need to be proactive not
followers or even worse, do nothing at all.. Following was the past, being
proactive is the future. We need to be able to get our act together today
before tomorrow unless we prefer facing infringements from the European
Commission.

One issue is a certainty, the
business community will never fiscally shoulder any infringement penalty for
this Directive. Now is the time to take the bull by the horns. There is still a
lot of work to be done to implement WEEE. We need to start, we need to finish,
we need to get the ball rolling.

It is after all a part of the
National Waste Management Plan approved by Cabinet earlier this year. A
European Directive is a European Directive. We either play ball or bear the
consequences. This time around the Business Community is no walk over. We will
not shoulder infringements. We cannot also take on half measures. In the
beehive someone recently came up with the
absurd idea that those items currently falling under the WEEE Directive but not
subject to Eco Contribution will now have Eco Contribution imposed thus meaning
Eco Contribution will now be spread over hundreds or thousands of items that
are not currently liable to Eco Contribution with the lame excuse that the
current products falling under the current legislation Schedule would be
decreased as the new items introduced would take a  part 
burden thus making sure that across the Board many would now fall within
the parameters of Eco Contribution.

This is not
acceptable. The Business
Community will not accept such a decision. The only acceptable decision is the
right one, abolish Eco Contribution and place the Maltese Business Community on
line with other EU counterparts in other EU Member states, implement the WEEE
Directive as revised and according to the Legal Notice issued earlier this
year. It is already unfair that in respect to the Packaging Waste Directive
that because one is exempt from Eco Tax a producer has higher benchmarks to
reach then EU producers in the same sector. In time this will also need to
change. We are, yes as a Business community, albeit smaller in size in all
proportions, so obliging Maltese Producers to reach a 70% overall collection
rate according to LN 84 of 2010 is already ridiculous, the next thorn would be
extending Eco Contribution instead of abolishing it once and for all!

The WEE
Directive LN 204 of 2014

The Business Community will still
find a hard task coming to terms with this piece of legislation which is by far
extremely onerous. But the Business Community has the guts to call a spade a
spade and wake up to the challenges. What we cannot accept is a double
challenge or a double payment for one service.

God forbids if one fine day the EU
had to place fines on Malta for not implementing the WEEE Directive to date!
What next, would Government take on the Business Community to pay the fine or
would they have the real guts to say that the Business Community has paid Eco
Contribution and so they need not pay again.

Decisions need to be taken now before
the budget plunge. Failure to take the bull by the horns now would only place
our EU Commissioner under duress from
Day One.

As always there is a light at the end
of the tunnel, we just wonder how long it takes a Government to see the light!
We have to however state that the past administration  has lived in darkness over this issue! A
total shambles, excuse after excuse as to why Eco Contribution was always left
the way it is! But enough time has passed now and the Government of the day
cannot continue to point fingers at the past. We are living today and we need
to wake up to stark realities.

One budget gone by during this
administration is already one too many. Coming budget needs to have action on
this issue and not small talk.

Article by
Joe Attard CEO of Green MT