In line with current law all commercial
premises located in Valletta may open for business up to 10.00p.m. on any day
from Monday to Saturday and up to 6.00p.m. on Sunday or any other Public
Holiday whenever a passenger liner is in the Grand Harbour.
(http://docs.justice.gov.mt/lom/Legislation/English/SubLeg/441/07.pdf)
Schedule for
the coming week: Sat 8, Mon 10, Tue 11, Wed 12, Thu 13, Fri 14, Sat 15
September
Imports from developing countries- more predictable
Companies importing from developing countries are now on safer ground. The Commission has announced the extension of the current Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) by two years to the end of 2013. The rules will remain unchanged, with one possible (advantageous) exception: Pakistan may be granted tariff-free imports under the so-called "GSP plus". The extension will give Commission, Parliament and member states time to formulate a new scheme and to publish details a year in advance.
Antidumping: New Treaty – new decision-making rules?
From December 2009, the European Parliament has had co-decision rights on international trade matters. However, special decision-making rules which omit the EP, and which include rules on EU trade defence instruments, continue to be valid. European institutions must now decide whether and how the rules should be changed. The Commission believes this is their sole decision, but some political groups in the Parliament believe they should also have a role. The debate is expected to be long and intense.
Following the publication of the Free movement of goods pack, the Commission has launched a consultation on the alignment of Decision 768/2008 with a number of product harmonisation directives, namely;
Low Voltage Directive: Directive 2006/95/EEC on the harmonisation of the laws of Member States relating to electrical equipment designed for use within certain voltage limits
Simple Pressure Vessels Directive: Council Directive 2009/105/EC on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to simple pressure vessels
Non-automatic Weighing Instruments Directive: Council Directive 90/384/EEC on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to non-automatic weighing instruments
Civil Explosives Directive: Council Directive 93/15/EEC on the harmonisation of the provisions relating to the placing on the market and supervision of explosives for civil use
ATEX Directive: Directive 94/9/EC of the European Parliament and the Council on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres
Lifts Directive European Parliament and Council Directive 95/16/EC of 29 June 1995 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to lifts
Pressure Equipment Directive: Directive 97/23/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning pressure equipment
Measuring Instruments Directive: Directive 2004/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on measuring instruments
Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive: Directive 2004/108/EC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to electromagnetic compatibility and repealing Directive 89/336/EEC
Pyrotechnic articles Directive 2007/23/EC on the placing on the market of pyrotechnic articles.
Among the questions addressed by the consultation questionnaire:ec.europa.eu/yourvoice/ipm/forms/dispatch?form=NLF1
are;
the introduction of obligations for distributors and importers,
introduction of traceability requirements;
and the implications of these on non-compliance with the directives, consumer health and safety, functioning of the internal market, competitiveness and administrative/operating costs.
The European Commission has launched a consultation on the revision of the General Product Safety Directive (2001/95/EC). http//eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32001L0095:en:NOT
The aim of the consultation is to improve the current system in order to deliver more rapidly, efficiently and consistently throughout the EU and which is in the same time flexible enough to adapt to the challenges of globalisation. The consultation focuses on different issues:
on the standardisation procedures under the General Product Safety Directive (GPSD)
on the harmonisation of diverging safety evaluations of consumer products.
on market surveillance framework in the product safety area
on the market surveillance coordination and cooperation, on the functioning of the Rapid Alert System for non-food products (RAPEX) and on the market surveillance of the safety of products sold on the Internet
on the alignment with the Free Movement of Products Package
GRTU is currently preparing to receive a business delegation from Italy of footwear manufacturers later on this year. These supply quality 'Made in Italy' footwear of different prices, styles and for different ages including child footwear.
The event is being coordinated together with the Italian Ministry for foreign affairs. The suppliers who will be coming will be offering better prices for their products to help start business cooperation.
Kindly contact Abigail Mamo on 21 232 881 / 3 or abigail . if you are interested in this delegation.
GRTU welcomed the vote on the adoption of the report at second reading on equal treatment between men and women for self-employed and assisting spouses at the European Parliament's plenary last week.
According to GRTU, the proposal presents a balanced outcome and will contribute to boosting female entrepreneurship, as well as ensuring a more equal treatment between self-employed men and women. Moreover, the European Parliament has taken into account the needs of SMEs providing a direct right to social security for assisting spouses, but refraining from making it mandatory by leaving it to Member States to decide on voluntary or obligatory measures.
Furthermore, the new right to maternity leave is adapted to the specific needs of self-employed and assisting spouses, thus avoiding in particular a compulsory part of leave and "a one size fits all" approach.
Finally, GRTU welcomes that the Parliament has insisted on the cross-sectoral nature of the text, which is highly relevant to SMEs and crafts.
The vote represents an important step aimed at encouraging and supporting female entrepreneurship. Based on the equal treatment principle the proposal for a new directive would substitute and modernise the current rules by repealing the 86/613/EEC directive.
On the creation of a new direct right for social security for assisting spouses, including for life partners, we are pleased to see that Parliament has decided to leave it to Member States to decide according to subsidiarity whether to make it mandatory or voluntary.
On maternity provisions for self-employed and assisting spouses, GRTU supports the creation of a new right at European level of maternity leave specifically adapted to the needs of self-employed and assisting spouses. This includes a maternity allowance to cover work interruptions. We welcome in particular that the direct and explicit link to the pregnant workers' directive for employees has been removed avoiding a compulsory part of leave which would not have been in line with entrepreneurial activities.
For obvious reasons it is also important to keep the cross-sectoral nature of the proposal and not to solely limit it to the agricultural sector and therefore water it down, as recommended by Council. This horizontal approach is crucial for crafts and SMEs.
The proposal is indeed very pertinent in today's difficult economic climate, for enterprises and job creation and to fostering long-term growth.
The European Commission has adopted new competition rules for agreements between vehicle manufacturers and their authorised dealers, repairers and spare parts distributors. The new rules will increase competition in the market for repair and maintenance by improving access to technical information needed for the repairs and by making it easier to use alternative spare parts. They will allow the Commission to tackle manufacturers' abuse of warranties when they request that cars are serviced only in authorised garages. The new rules will also reduce distribution costs for new cars by eliminating overly restrictive rules.
The new rules introduce a 30% market share threshold above which agreements between car manufacturers and authorised repairers will no longer be block exempted, aligning the rules with the general framework (Vertical restraints block exemption Regulation 330/2010 adopted on 20 April, see IP/10/445 and MEMO/10/138). This will make it easier for the Commission to tackle possible abuses to the detriment of consumers, such as the refusal to grant independent repairers access to technical information. It will increase competition between authorised and independent repairers.
The new rules will strengthen repairers' access to alternative spare parts which can represent a big share of the repair bills. Car manufacturers will no longer be able to make the warranty conditional on having the oil changed or other car services only in authorised garages. Of course, manufacturers may request repairs covered by the warranty – and paid for by the manufacturer – be carried out within the authorised network. All this is important for consumers because repair bills account for an estimated 40% of the total cost of owning a car and costs have been rising in recent years.
Regarding the distribution of cars, the Commission's evaluation has shown that car sales markets are highly competitive. Margins for vehicle manufacturers and dealers are slim, and for several years production over-capacities and technological improvement have led to consumer benefits in terms of falling real car prices and increasing choice. The financial crisis has added to the downward pressure on prices.
In this context, the existing rules are clearly overly complicated and restrictive and have had the indirect effect of driving up distribution costs, which make up on average 30% of the price of a new car. The Commission therefore proposes to simplify these rules and treat the distribution of cars like any other market. The current distribution model will continue to be exempted in most cases, but certain sector-specific clauses which have proven ineffective or counter-productive will not be carried forward. The new regime will give carmakers more flexibility to organise diverse networks in which multi-brand dealers co-exist alongside dealers fully committed to promoting the brands of a single manufacturer.
The new rules will come into force on 1 June 2010 as concerns the repair and maintenance markets, and on 1 June 2013 with regard to the vehicle sales markets and will be valid until 31 May 2023. The Commission will monitor developments and take appropriate remedial action if it detects problematic behaviour or changed competitive conditions, as it has done in the past.
Background
Block Exemption Regulations exempt categories of agreements that comply with their provisions from the EU ban on restrictive business practices (Article 101(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union). The old rules for the car sector (Regulation 1400/2002) were adopted in 2002 and expire on 31 May. Before adopting the new rules the Commission conducted an extensive and lengthy consultation process.
In the past few years, the Commission has brought four cases against DaimlerChrysler, Fiat, Toyota and GM to ensure that they allow independent garages adequate access to repair information (see IP/07/1332). However, other potential problems involve access to spare parts and the refusal to honour warranties if consumers have work done outside the authorised repair networks. The Guidelines and block exemption adopted today give detailed clarification for stakeholders on how the Commission intends to apply the rules in these areas.
A meeting was held for all Gozo Pharmacy owners at the NGO centre in Gozo. This meeting was held in conjunction with the Kamra tal-Ispizjara and the POYC Department of the Ministry of Health. The well attended meeting was addressed by officials from the POYC and MITA, who explained what the POYC is all about, and who also introduced two persons who will be co-coordinating POYC from the Gozo office of the Ministry Of Health.
The Meeting was also addressed by the President of the Pharmacy Section of GRTU, Mario Debono who said that despite the initial difficulties that pharmacies will face in the run-up to the POYC, it will ultimately be of benefit to both Pharmacy owners as well as Pharmacies in Gozo, as Gozo is the ideal place for patients and their pharmacists to really make it work well. He also said that GRTU will be offering its full support to all its member pharmacy owners, a sentiment echoed by the President of the Chamber of Pharmacists, Mary Anne Sant Fournier.
Mr. Debono and Mrs. Sant Fournier also answered questions by the Pharmacy owners related to tax credits, operational purchases, the actual mechanisms of how POYC works, and other questions related to operational matters. It was agreed that GRTU and the Chamber of Pharmacists, would organize more seminars in Gozo for pharmacy owners.
Mr. Debono also said that GRTU had insisted with the Medicines Authority so that its Malta seminar regarding pharmacy licencing would be repeated in Gozo. In fact the Medicines Authority has already agreed to such a proposal and this seminar will be held, in conjunction with GRTU and the Chamber of Pharmacists, on the 23rd July at Gozo General Hospital at 12.30 pm.
Mr. Debono also asked pharmacists to register for their essential E-ID registration in order for pharmacists to be able to operate the POYC system. The meeting was concluded with all present expressing the need to have more regular meetings in Gozo on pharmacy related issues. In attendance for this meeting were also Mr. Joseph Grima and Mr. Alfred Barthet, from GRTU's pharmacy committee.
Death of Mrs. Olga Felice.
On behalf of the GRTU Pharmacy Section and its members, the President of the section would also wish to express their heartfelt condolences to the President of the Malta Chamber of Pharmacists, Mrs. Mary Anne Sant Fournier, her brothers and all her family, on the sad loss of their mother Mrs. Olga Felice.
The proposed Qala Marina and tourist Village comprising a 5 star hotel top notch apartments, a yacht marina, a new top class water front and new facilities for entertainment, beach and water for the public enjoyment is more than commendable. The original design proposed in 2002 was met with strong opposition because it was too dense and very unfair on the facilities available for the general public.
Following more than €2 million in expense by the promoters in evaluating all the aspects of the project to ensure that the project achieves development sustainability based on economic viability, environment protection and social cohesion. The new development is now highly acceptable. In an island like Gozo where hardly any new investment is taking place because so many have taken it upon themselves to shoot down any investment primarily on environmental grounds, the creation of new jobs for Gozitans within the private sector is becoming increasingly problematic. Gozitans cannot continue to depend on public sector employment and the trend is and will remain for this to diminish. The way forward is private investment.
"I can confirm as Director of Malta Enterprise that inspite the efforts and attractive schemes specifically designed to promote investment, foreign investors are hesitant to promote investment in Gozo. The same is true for Maltese investors. Many in Gozo are fortunate enough to scare away Gozitan investors from investing in their own beautiful island. Serious Gozitan investors like Victor Borg of Ta` Cenc, Dr Victor Bajada of Qala Marina and Tourist Village and Dr Michael Caruana, just to mention 3, are finding it increasingly hard to push forward with their ambitious plans to engage Gozo's tourism attractions as too many armchair critics are too eager to invent issues that discourage any genuine investor.
It has now reached the stage where public hearing on multi-million projects like the one held this week at Qala are becoming nothing but a farce, or worse still a tragedy. Serious investors cannot be given the treatment that the Qala Tourist Village promoters have received this week. GRTU believes in Gozo, strongly supports Gozitan investors and does all it can to also help attract new foreign investors that could help make the Gozitan economy more sustainable. Gozo needs action not words. Gozitan investors need support, without them Gozo is poor and poor indeed. That is why I stood up at Qala and boldly supported the Qala Marina and tourist Village project" concluded Vince Farrugia, GRTU Director General.
