Category: Archive – 2011

Ecodesign requirements (minimum energy requirements) for Household Dishwashers and Washing Machines have been set and are due to come into force as per dates indicated below.

 

These regulations establish ecodesign requirements for the placing on the market of:

Electric mains-operated household dishwashers/washing machines;

Electric mains-operated household dishwashers/washing machines, that can also be powered by batteries;

Household dishwashers/washing machines sold for non-household use;

Built-in household dishwashers/washing machines.

Household combined washer-driers are exempt.

 

The following links may be used for further reference to the respective regulations:

Household Dishwashers

Commission Regulation (EU) No 1016/2010 of 10 November 2010 implementing Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to ecodesign requirements for household dishwashers http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2010:293:0031:0040:EN:PDF

Household Washing Machines

Commission Regulation (EU) No 1015/2010 of 10 November 2010 implementing Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to ecodesign requirements for household washing machines http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2010:293:0021:0030:EN:PDF

 

The ecodesign requirements listed shall apply in accordance with the following timetable:

Household Washing Machines

1 June 2011          

the essential information to be included in the booklet of instructions provided by the manufacturer;

1 December 2011 

minimum efficiency levels and the maximum water consumption have been set;

1 December 2012 

standard 40^◦C and 60^◦C cotton programmes are to be used for the calculation of energy consumption, and must be clearly identifiable on the program selection device or display;         

1 December 2013 

minimum efficiency levels and maximum water consumption shall become more stringent;

20^◦C programme shall be available and clearly identifiable.

 

Household Dishwashers

1 December 2011 

minimum efficiency limits have been set;

1 June 2012 

the essential information to be included in the booklet of instructions provided by the manufacturer;

1 December 2012 

‘standard programme' to be used for the calculation of energy consumption, must be clearly identifiable on the program selection device or display, and shall be set as the default cycle;      

1 December 2013 

minimum efficiency limits shall become more stringent;

1 December 2016 

the minimum efficiency limits shall become even more rigorous.

Please send any comments to Ing Elton Camilleri not later than 31^st January 2011 at noon. On

An EORI number is a number, unique throughout the European Community, assigned by a customs authority in a Member State to economic operators (businesses) or persons. By registering for customs purposes in one Member State, an Economic Operator (EO) is able to obtain an EORI number which is valid throughout the Community. The EO will then use this number in all communications with any EC customs authorities where a customs identifier is required for example customs declarations.

 

The implementation of EORI should ensure that the measures to enhance security introduced by the Security Amendment (Council Regulation 648/2005) and its Implementing Provisions will be more effective if EOs could be identified by reference to a common number unique to each EO within the EU.

EORI commenced across the EU on 1 July 2009.

This unique number will be used by EOs, for example, on the provision to the customs authorities of pre-arrival and pre-departure information on all goods entering and leaving the customs territory of the Community. The EORI number is also included on the customs declaration when you import your goods from or export goods to countries outside the European Union (EU). This includes if you occasionally buy items for your business from outside the EU for example machinery/equipment, goods for exhibition, samples, office supplies etc even though your business is not usually involved in importing or exporting.

In addition it will be used for the exchange of information between the customs authorities as well as between customs authorities and other authorities for example other government departments but only in respect of the movement of goods involving a customs procedure.

GRTU would like to inform its members that Malta has decided to keep the current VAT Number as the EORI Number.

All updated information can be found in the following link:

http://ec.europa.eu/ecip/documents/who_is/eori_national_implementation_en.pdf

It provides information regarding each Member State implementation and procedures. Malta can be found on Page 37 of this document.

GRTU would like to make its members aware of the possibility to fill in an online questionnaire on administrative burden.  The questionnaire is part of the ongoing effort of the European Commission to cut red tape.

 

Many SMEs, especially those in trade, suffer from the extensive obligations flowing from the Intrastat regulation. If the Commission receives sufficient responses that address this topic, it might cause them to amend the regulation. Therefore I would urge you to make use of this opportunity.

Below the link to the questionnaire.

http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/better-regulation/administrative-burdens/online-consultation/submit-an-idea/index_en.htm

The Questionnaire

The European Commission has launched a major Action Programme for reducing administrative burdens (2007-2012). This programme focuses on the information that EU businesses are obliged to provide to public authorities or private parties: information required for legal registration, certification, inspection, subsidy; filing statistical forms; energy labels for consumers or reports to stockholders; etc.

If you feel that you are obliged to provide unnecessary information or that the required information could be provided in a more efficient way, please use the questionnairs to submit your suggestion(s). If you have problems with several pieces of legislation, use preferably a separate form for each piece of legislation.

Each suggestion will be examined by the Commission. Every three months the Commission will prepare a summary of these suggestions and an overall feedback.

Your personal data are collected only to the extent necessary for processing your submission. More information on Personal

Questions and comments on this consultation should be sent to:

Il-GRTU din il-gimgha kitbet lill-Hon Pullicino u qaltlu hekk:

B'dispjacir kbir ninfurmawk illi jidher illi dak miftiehem mal-Ministeru ghar-Rizorsi u l-Affarijiet Rurali, wara process twil ta' konsultazzjoni li fih kont involut kemm inti personalment kif ukoll is-Segretarju Permanenti Dr. Cianter, gie skartat ghal kollox mill-Malta Resouces Authority. Dan l-atteggjament dispreggjattiv gie kristallizzat permezz ta' ittra mibghuta mill-MRA lill-membri tal-GRTU fl-4 ta' Jannar 2011, fejn filwaqt li intalab il-hlas tal-mizata ta' €200 fis-sena ghas-snin 2010/2011, ammontanti ghal €400, intalab ukoll il-hlas tal-etracking ammontanti ghal €425, u tal-level sensor ammontanti ghal €800 permezz ta' kopja annessa ta' ittra ohra datata 2 ta' Frar 2010, liema zewg hlasijiet kienu gew sospizi kif jidher mill-ittra ta' Dr. Ciantar tat-22 ta' Ottubru 2010 u li ad verbatim tghid "bis-sahha ta' din l-ittra, nixtieq nipprezenta l-pozizzjoni ta' dan il-Ministeru dwar il-punti pendenti".

 

Illi a skans ta' ekwivoci, l-ostinita' tal-MRA illi ma taghti kaz lil hadd, la tal-Ministeru u lanqas tal-GRTU bhala msiehba socjali skond il-ligi, giet verifikata mill-membri li marru fis-sede tal-MRA biex ihalsu l-mizata sabiex igorru l-ilma, izda li intalbu li jhalsu ukoll il-pagamenti sospizi ossija dawk ta' €425 u ta' €800, bi ksur tal-ittra ta' Dr. Ciantar.

Ghalhekk bil-prezenti ninfurmawk illi l-membri gew diretti sabiex ma jwettqu l-ebda hlas lill-MRA, sakemm ma tkunx iccarata l-pozizzjoni illi f'dan l-istadju l-hlasijeit li ser isiru huma biss dawk miftehma u patwita mal-Ministeru ghar-Rizorsi u l-Affarijiet Rurali, ossija (1) il-mizata ta' €200 fis-sena bhala mizata ghall-licenzja u (2) il-pagament ta' €110 ghall-module tal-ismart metering meta l-operaturi jissejhu biex jaghmlu dan il-hlas. Infakkruk illi skond dak miftiehem, is-sistema ta' level meter fuq it-trakkijiet gie sospiz; il-hlas tal-etracking gie sospiz u l-hlas ta' €100 ghall-wellhead cover gie sospiz.

Il-GRTU qeda tistenna risposta.

Dan ix-xahar il-GRTU kitbet lill-Hon George Pullicino u l-Hon Tonio Fenech dwar l-iskemi Godda Favur l-Energija Alternattiva. Il-GRTU esprimiet li temmen bis-shih li ghad baqalna hafna u hafna x'naghmlu biex niehdu l-vantaggi kollha li nistghu niehdu f'dak li hu investiment fl-energija alternattiva specjalment fil-qasam tal-energija mix-xemx.

 

 

 

Il-GRTU tirrikonoxxi li permezz tal-hidma taghna u ta' hafna ohra u bl-impenn shih ta' diversi  Awtoritajiet u Ministri  tal-Gvern u b'uzu ghaqli ta' fondi ewropej Malta irnexxiela  thaddem skemi ta' agevolazzjoni favur it-tkattir tal-uzu ta'panelli fotovoltajici li ghalkemm hemm lok ghal titjib, taw rizultati tajbin u wara hafna qtiegh il-qalb hadmu. Wara l-ahhar skema tal-panelli issa wiehed irid jara x'ser isir. Il-GRTU talbet direzzjoni ghas-settur tas-solar thermal (solar water heaters).

Il-GRTU talbet li issa titwettaq l-iskema imweghda fl-iqsar zmien possiblli ghaliex is-settur li jforni il-prodotti issa hu iggerjat sew ghal dan in-negozju u dan fih innifsu hu sinjal tajjeb.  Pero is-settur issa jixtieq jara impenn kontinwu biex ir-ritmu ta' xoghol ikompli u l-intraprizi f'dan is-settur ma jaqghux kull darba f'livell ta' attivita' li tkissrilhom ir-ritmu ta' xoghol u impenn li issa lahqu, b'dannu ghall-investiment taghhom u ghall-livell ta'  mpjiegi li issa lahqu. Dawn l-intraprizi assolutament ma jistghux jiffunzjonaw fuq livell ta' l-fuq u l-isfel jistennew skema ghall-ohra ghax is-suq bla skemi mhux b'sahhtu li jista`jsostni l-livell ta' investiment li sar s'sissa.

Ghalhekk il-GRTU qed tappella  biex jithaffef il-process ta' implimentazzjoni u jibdew bla dewmien aktar  id-diskussjonijiet dwar dawn li skemi l-godda.  Nappellaw li din id-darba ma jigux mahduma affarijiet bla ma tkun saret diskussjoni dettaljata mall-GRTU halli mhux biss ikun assigurat li d-dettalji jkunu korretti u miftehma imma wkoll ma jkunx hemm min jikkapparra d-diskussjoni b'intenzjoni kapricjuza. Il-GRTU dejjem resqet lejn dawn diskussjonijiet b'mod oggettiv u ghalhekk nistennew li din id-darba l-GRTU tkun centrali ghad-diskussjoni qabel jittiehdu d-decizjonijiet.

Il-GRTU ghandha l-akbar rispett lejn il-professjonisti tal-Awtoritajiet f'dan is-settur pero mil-lat prattiku u kummercjali l-GRTU tibqa' fundamentali. Dan sabiex l-iskemi jigu mfassla b'mod li jahdem u li jkunu gusti. Jekk ma jsirx hekk u l-iskemi jigu mfassla ghal darb'ohra minn professjonisti wahedhom bla pariri teknici ta' mizura kummercjali nibzghu li jerga jkollna hafna telf ta' zmien bi skemi mhux prattici u li ma jahdmux mija fil-mija tajjeb, jew skemi li wara li jibdew u jsir hafna xoghol jitwaqqfu hesrem. Dan kollu l-esperjenza urietna li ma hu qed jiswa ghal xejn hlief biex:

In-nies li jkunu ser japplikaw jaqtghu qalbhom quddiem it-turrun karti li jridu jimlew,

In-negozjanti jaqtghu qalbhom u nifishom jghazqu fl-ilma u hafna minnhom jispiccaw ifallu,

Il-gvern jittardja milli jilhaq il-miri tieghu,

Jintilfu l-impjiegi ta'nies teknici li jaqtghu qalbhom mis-settur u jsibu impjieg f'setturi ohrajn,

Jiehdu isem hazin l-MRA li tamministra l-fondi, il-ministeru u l-gvern li jniedu skemi li ghal ragunijiet differenti ma jahdmux.

Il-GRTU temmet billi spjegat li qed nitkellmu car ghax nifhmu li l-ghanijiet taghna huma simili u li irridu li it-targets nazzjonali jintlahqu u li l-fondi disponibbli ghal dan jithaddmu bl-aktar mod efikaci.

Risposta

Il-Gvern minn dejjern kien u ghadu lest biex jisma s-suggerimenti u I-kummenti siewja li s-settur tan-negozju jkollu ghal skemi u inizjattivi li jkunu se jittiehdu biex fost l-ohrajn jghinu lill-familji u s-settur kummercjali u industrijali jinvesti fil-qasam ta' sorsi ta' energija li tiggedded.

Nassigurak kif sar dan l-ahhar, meta naslu biex inniedu l-iskema l-gdida li taghti ghotja ghal xiri ta' pannelli fotovoltajci u solar water heaters ghal uzu domestiku is-settur kumme rcjali jigi ikkonsultat.

L-interess tal-Gvern hu li jara li skemi bhal dawn ikunu success u li n-numru massimu ta' familji jkunu jistghu jgawdu minnhom.

This week negotiations continued with the Malta Resources Authority, Liquigas and Easygas to find practical solutions to the gas distribution problems caused by recent developments. The Prime Minister replied to GRTU on the points raised by gas distributors. Essentially the Prime Minister confirmed GRTU's position.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That the 1992 contract with Enemalta now binds Liquigas to utilise the gas distributors system of distribution and no other. The OFC decision on the other hand gives Easygas the facility to use the established system. Minister Pullicino on the other hand has stated publicly that Government will, for environmental and practical traffic management problems strive to have only one system of door to door distribution. GRTU believes that it is the responsibility of MRA to see that Government's objectives are satisfied.

The European Commission has proposed to ban the use of phosphates and to limit the content of other phosphorous containing compounds in laundry detergents.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The draft Regulation aims to reduce the phosphates found in waste water and to improve water quality. The draft Regulation does not affect detergents for automatic dishwashers or those used by professionals as technically and economically feasible alternatives are not yet available throughout the EU but the European Commission will review the situation concerning automatic dishwashers' detergents by end of 2014. However, Member States can regulate the phosphate content of these detergents in specific circumstances.

http://www.msa.org.mt/rad/chemicals/consultations/2010/Ongoing/

The link above gives access to the Commission proposal, the impact assessment summary and the information consultation document.

In view of the above kindly submit any comments by mail, fax or e-mail by Friday 21^st January 2011 to Audrey Anne Anastasi on

Following several meetings with Pet Shop Owners and the Authorities GRTU has won a number of essential amendments to the Animal Welfare Act- Protection of Animals offered in Pet Shops from what has originally been proposed.

 

GRTU emphasises that it is totally in favour of increased animal protection and condemns without reservation abuse, neglect and cruelty on any species. We felt however the need to intervene as certain aspects of the law would have heavily burdened pet shop owners making certain aspects of their business unsustainable. The GRTU representing pet shops has led the authorities to accept  amendments to the law without essentially reducing the level of increased animal protection for which was the aim of this law in the first place. The GRTU welcomes the new law as it will indeed mean an increase in the level of protection of animals and as the Authorities themselves confirmed most of the pet shops will only need to make minor amendments to facilitate inspection. The GRTU also welcomes this law as it will put anyone selling an animal, be it from a pet shop, a private residence and a website in a position of breach of law should they go against any part of it. This will establish a level playing field which till now was very lacking as pet shops were regularly inspected while other individuals selling animals were most of the time ignored.

The GRTU has first of all managed to postpone the date of the law coming into force by 12 months, to the beginning of next year, as discussions took long and it was practically impossible for the law to enter into force this year as both from the side of the authorities and the pet shops preparations and courses have to be undergone.

The most important change the GRTU has brought about relates to record keeping. Record keeping is important as it can shed light on repetitive problems within an establishment and provide a tracking system, should a problem with a particular species arise. Record keeping however is burdensome therefore GRTU proposed and saw accepted its proposal to limit record keeping to the species which need it most as some species enter and exit the pet shop too frequently to keep records of. In fact purchasing records (the invoice) would be kept but when it comes to sale records they would be kept only for cats, dogs, ferrets, horses, poultry and all other animals included in the Registration of Exotic Animals Regulations, 2010. This diminished the bureaucratic burden significantly and maintains record keeping where it is most needed. Another bureaucratic and costly burden that was alleviated was the requirement of having a VET verify all the mortalities. This now will be done only for mortalities in access of 10% of individual species. Had this requirement been maintained the veterinary inspection would cost much more than most of the animals themselves, jeopradising the sustainability of pet shops. One must also keep in mind that it is in the best interest of the pet shops to keep all pets alive as otherwise they would lose money.

Another heavy requirement in the law was the long acclimatization period for all animal species when entering the pet shop. These were considered too long and might have involved the pet shop needing a significant amount of extra space for quarantine. From 7 hours for any animal it was reduced to 2 days for birds and others, 12hrs for fish and 0hrs for chickens. A proposal accepted was to exclude hand reared parrots from the requirement of not selling animals that are not weaned this because there is a specific niche market that requires these birds before being weaned due to the bonding of the bird with its owner. Also accepted was the change of wording that was proposed which leads to less stringent cleaning impositions which are now more related to need. Similarly the working was arranged to replacing of food when needed which means that dry food can be kept for longer periods than soft food. GRTU also asked and saw accepted the inclusion of enclosure sizes  for other species of animals which were not yet included.

GRTU also questioned the adequacy of some inspectors following complaints by pet shops that certain inspections were carried out with an aggressive and rude attitude. GRTU emphasised the need to maintain the same level of cooperation we have managed to create between the public and private sector and therefore the cooperation of pet shops should not be lost by aggressive behaviour. The approach should be one to guide and teach. The authorities confirmed that inspectors were being coached into this attitude and invited and complaints in this regard so that the Authority could take immediate action.

Most of the proposals that were rejected are not as important as they related to diminishing the amount of time related to the issuance of a licence and the accepting modifications to the pet shops. A proposal which has still not been accepted and a minority of the pet shops are not willing to let go is the imposition that no person shall see or offer to sell an animal in open market or on the street. GRTU requested this proposal to exclude the sale of birds and that the sale on the market would be subject to the same requirements as any other pet shop. The authorities said that the proposal will be rediscussed however it is unlikely it will accept it.

The GRTU together with the relevant institutions will be working on establishing the relevant qualification requirements and ensuring that pet shops having years of experience are treated are assessed on their experience and given the necessary recognition. Work is therefore still ongoing however we would like to thank the authorities and more specifically Dr Anthony Gruppetta for the excellent consultation and openness to understand the different situations and requirements of the sector. It is unfortunately very rare that real consultations like this one are carried out.

GRTU's Director General Vincent Farrugia as EESC Rapporteur of the EESC Opinion on "Budgetary surveillance in the euro area" today at the first study group meeting presented his paper which was very favourably received.

 

I brief the paper stated that fiscal discipline is essential for long term economic growth but is often jeopardized by short-term considerations, which have recently been heightened by the need to counteract the recession. This represents a considerable threat to the eurozone, particularly due to asymmetric effects on the fiscal sustainability of different Member States and raises further questions regarding the suitability of the Stability and Growth Pact as an instrument of economic convergence.

The European Council in December 2010 proposed an amendment to the Treaty to establish a permanent mechanism to safeguard the stability and economic governance of the euro area by end June 2011. This is to be commended as it would contribute to the gradual restoration of credibility in the euro area. There however remains much work to be done in terms of the practical dimensions of the implementation of these conclusions.

The proposals put forward in the paper to reform the Stability and Growth Pact included:

a focus on the debt rather than the deficit criterion to help in the implementation of counter-cyclical fiscal policies, while ensuring a progressive drop in debt to GDP levels;

broader macroeconomic assessments;

a focus on annual expenditure growth in relation to that of GDP, backed by an enforcement mechanism in the form of an interest-bearing deposit;

country-specific recommendations in the case of emerging risks, with a corrective arm through a non-interest bearing deposit in case of an excessive deficit which may be converted into a fine;

numerical fiscal rules to govern national budgetary frameworks to meet the EMU fiscal framework.

These proposals are part of a broader reform of economic governance spurred by the objectives outlined in Europe 2020 strategy.

This week on behalf of EESC Vincent Farrugia also participated in the conference entitled "Towards integrated economic governance in the EU: The European Semester"