Category: Archive – 2012

GRTU's Director General and EESC
Employers Representative Vincent Farrugia has this week attended the Single
Market, Production and Consumption Bureau and Section meeting. The European
Consumer Agenda was discussed. Mr Farrugia stated that customers are the
lifeblood of reputable, reliable businesses and meeting consumer needs is the
purpose of their business. For the most part, going well beyond the minimum
legal requirements is the key to retail success and plays an important role in
giving individual businesses a competitive edge in a highly competitive market
place.

GRTU's Director General and EESC
Employers Representative Vincent Farrugia has this week attended the Single
Market, Production and Consumption Bureau and Section meeting. The European
Consumer Agenda was discussed. Mr Farrugia stated that customers are the
lifeblood of reputable, reliable businesses and meeting consumer needs is the
purpose of their business. For the most 
part, going well beyond the minimum legal requirements is the key to
retail success and plays an important role in giving individual businesses a
competitive edge in a highly competitive market place. Competition helps
consumers get a good deal, and drives innovation and productivity. Strong
competition results in driving down prices and driving up quality and choice.
It must be stressed that ultimately consumers bear the cost of burdensome
regulation through higher prices.

As the closest link in the chain to
the consumer, any measure taken in the field of consumer protection/safety, has
an impact on businesses. Mr Farrugia highlighted the importance of a framework
within which businesses and consumers can work together and with the EU
institutions to meet the needs and address concern of both consumers and
businesses. Moreover, both consumers and businesses need to be educated and
informed so they are aware of their rights and duties, including providing
support for consumer groups and information programmes for businesses and
consumers.

An important point on the agenda was
State Aid. Some years ago Mr Farrugia had asked the then Commissioner for
Competition Neelie Kroes about the State Aid ratio between aid to SMEs and aid
to larger enterprises and she replied that SMEs only receive 1% of State Aid.
Mr Farrugia therefore welcomed the Commission recommendation that within 3
years the ratio is expected to improve to 90/10. Mr Farrugia congratulated the
EU Commission on introducing other elements in favour of SMEs such as the
simplification of procedures.

GRTU's EU Desk has last week participated in the
EESC's very insightful Media Seminar which addressed the topic of 'Freedom of
the Media'. Media experts from civil society organisations, European and
national bodies and business, as well as journalists, discussed freedom of
reporting and professional journalism in the EU and its neighbouring countries.

Important aspects discussed during the meeting were
the development of Social Media and the important role these play as an
alternative and effective way of engaging individuals. GRTU will in fact in the
coming month launch a facebook page  with
the intent of communicating itself better to members. Recent social and
political turmoil in Europe and beyond seems to have brought into focus the
role played by social media in helping people to organise, to stage protests
and to express their views. The conference spoke about the phenomenon of
citizen journalism.

The conference examined the increasing political and
financial pressure journalists are working under and the impact of that
pressure on the quality of journalism and on democracy.

Even though in Malta there is no real oppression to
journalists and journalism we do have the strong involvement of politics and an
issue with giving the people unbiased and non-politicised information. The
conference called for real and independent journalism and above all good
journalism. Good journalism is ethical, it is sensitive not to offend the
audience and tells the truth. It does not put unnecessary chaos and feeling of
unsafety. The conference called for journalists to acknowledged the power of
the media on people's perceptions and feelings therefore it called on them to
be sensitive in their reporting.

European
SMEs have moved from high uncertainty to downright pessimism as the economic
outlook has worsened towards a full-fledged recession, according to a survey
conducted by UEAPME, the European craft and SME employers' organisation, and
its members.

In
terms of economic indicators, the balances between positive and negative
answers are particularly worrying for the expectations on turnover (-10.8) and
orders (-15.3), explained UEAPME representative Gerhard Huemer. Prices also
turned negative, as SMEs were forced to lower them in order to stay on the
market.  Some timid improvements are
foreseen for the second half of the year for the overall situation, turnover
and orders, but no positive developments are to be expected for employment and
investments.

The
overall situation worsened for all size classes in the first half of 2012.
Small and medium-sized companies showed similar results, hovering around minus
7 points, but it is definitely micro enterprises employing fewer than 10
persons that are suffering the most at -10.5. The results for all the three
categories are even lower than the already negative expectations collected
during the second semester of 2011. A glimmer of hope can be seen in the
expectations of medium-sized companies, which foresee improvements in all indicators
for the second half of 2012, particularly for orders. "Larger SMEs are usually
faster movers in both directions, and these expectations can be the first signs
of a recovery", said Mr Huemer.

Finally,
as far as business sectors are concerned, construction, business services and
personal services recorded double-digit negative figures for turnover, while
after four semesters of positive results manufacturing also showed the first
downturn and a slightly negative performance (-2.2). "This is a textbook
example of a decrease in the aggregate internal demand", commented Mr Huemer.
"As European SMEs rely mostly on the EU markets, the recession will not be
overcome without a quick re-establishment of a new climate of confidence for
private households and private businesses."

ETC reply to GRTU article – ETC would like to reply to the above-captioned article
which appeared on the Business Weekly of 11th October and provide some clarifications
on issues that were raised in the said article.

The Employment Aid Programme (EAP) was a very effective
active labour market programme through which both Maltese businesses and
jobseekers, especially disadvantaged persons and persons with disability,
benefitted.  In 2011 the aid intensity
was increased from 26 to 52 weeks for 6 out of the 7 target groups earmarked
for the scheme. This further enhanced the success of the scheme as there was
drastic increase in both the number of applications submitted and also
subsequent placements.  This also had a
net positive effect towards achieving a higher employment rate, in spite of the
economic crisis that was affecting a number of EU member states and northern Africa.

The EAP scheme's successful take-up prompted ETC to
request an increase from original budget allocated for the scheme, which
amounted to €8.2 million, by an additional €4 million.  In spite of this substantial increase (almost
50%), this budget was exceeded and we were faced with a situation whereby
employers were not submitting claims for disbursement which were due.  A decision was taken to close the programme
temporarily.  This measure was announced
at the end of May and employers could submit their applications by 8th June.
Neither the over-subscription, nor the temporary closure of the scheme, was the
result of any mismanagement as implied in the said article. Moreover, though
employers initially delayed in submitting their claims for reimbursements, the
actions taken by the Corporation, together with the cooperation of employers
and their associations, resulted in the great majority of employers submitting
their claims.  This has resulted in a net
improvement in the amounts disbursed recently that are now in excess of € 2
million with another €1 million which are in the final stages of the
disbursement process.

It is pertinent to note that EAP is co-funded through
the European Social Fund and such projects are bound with a budget and with a
set timeline. The article published commends the programme, and this will be
considered by the Corporation as an encouragement from GRTU to propose similar
projects in the coming future. However, it is disappointing to note that rather
than promoting the benefits of such schemes the article was tainted with
unfounded allegation aimed at discrediting the work and efforts done by the
Corporation.

In the occasion of the SME Day, EuroCommerce gathered
entrepreneurs from all over Europe and from all walks of commerce (retail,
wholesale, and international trade) to exchange views among themselves and with
the European Commission and Parliament on the major challenges they face in
their daily life. EuroCommerce called on the Commission and the Parliament to
have the 'think small first' principle more enshrined in EU law-making and to
make the regulatory environment more SME-friendly.

"We represent 6 million companies in Europe; 99% of
them are SMEs, and they employ two-thirds of the people working in commerce.
But also large retailers depend on an ecosystem that provides livelihood and
growth opportunities to many small, and often local, suppliers. We therefore
strongly urge the European Institutions to help SMEs recover from the crisis
and be the engine of growth in Europe," said Christian Verschueren,
Director-General of EuroCommerce.

On this occasion, EuroCommerce presented its "six
policy essentials" that would enable SMEs to contribute to an EU growth
agenda. "More than ever, our SMEs need less red tape, better support to
entrepreneurship and innovation, easier access to finance and foreign markets,
and greater flexibility on the labour market", concluded Christian
Verschueren.

GRTU's President Paul Abela attended this EuroCommerce
event. Mr Abela intervened saying that in these difficult times banks were
still charging businesses over the ECB interest rate which is not helping
business. Mr Abela was told that the Commission cannot impose but in a time
when banks are demanding bailout they should go a step further and help
businesses by not charging them over the base rate. Mr Abela is pleased that
Maltese banks did not require a bailout but business should be aided by banks.
Mr Abela called on Minister Tonio Fenech during a business breakfast to monitor
the situation and Hon Fenech stated that "interest rates can be slightly lower"
however Government cannot impose on banks to lower them but will monitor the
situation and ask banks to be more sensitive in this regard.

Il-Ministru għall-Kompetizzjoni Ġusta, Negozji Żgħar u
l-Konsumatur Jason Azzopardi hejja konferenza stampa li fiha ħabbar miżuri
radikali ġodda għal ħruġ ta' liċenzji tan-negozji. Preżenti f'isem l-GRTU kien
hemm is-Sur Paul Abela. Il-GRTU laqghat din ir-riforma bhala wahda pozittiva.

B'seħħ mill-1 ta' Novembru li ġej min ikun se jiftaħ
negozju ġdid (li ma jinvolvix ikel jew saħħa), mhux se jkollu aktar għalfejn
japplika għall-liċenzja mid-Dipartiment tal-Kummerċ, iżda wara li jġib
il-permess tal-MEPA, sid in-negozju jrid biss jinforma lid-Dipartiment
tal-Kummerċ permezz ta' notifka li se jibda negozju ġdid.

Din il-bidla tippermetti wkoll li s-sid tan-negozju jkun
jista' jinforma lid-dipartiment anke sa 30 ġurnata minn meta jkun beda
l-attivita kummerċjali tiegħu. B'hekk wieħed se jkun qed jiffranka ħafna ġiri u
ħela ta' ħin żejjed. Il-Ministru Azzopardi qal li qed ikun stmat li 80%
tal-attivitajiet kummerċjali ġodda se jkunu qed jibbenefikaw minn din
is-simplifikazzjoni.

Regola ġdida oħra li biha se tkun qed tonqos ħafna
burokrzija żejda, hija li meta wieħed jiftaħ post kummerċjali ġdid, għalkemm
xorta jibqa obbligat li jġib il-permess neċessarju mill-MEPA, mhux se jkollu
bzonn jissottometti kopja ċertifikata tal-permess tal-MEPA u lanqas kopja
tal-floor plan tal-bini kummerċjali kif inhu l-każ sal-llum. Wieħed se jkollu
bżonn biss jipprovdi n-numru tal-permess tal-ippjanar maħrug mill-MEPA. Se jkun
hemm ukoll proċessar eħfef tal-ħlas li jintalab għall-liċenja fil-bidu
tal-proċess. B'hekk in-negozjant ma jkollux bżonn jerġa' jiġi kkuntattjat qabel
toħrog il-liċenzja. Dan se jkun qed ifisser iffrankar ta' ħin.

Miżura importanti oħra hija r-roħs f'ċertu licenzji
tal-kummerċ. Il-ħlas ta' liċenzja ta' post kummerċjali li jiġi utilizzat
għall-manifattura, mhux ser jibqa' jiġi kkalkulat skond il-valur tal-kera imma
se jibda jiġi kkakulat skond il-footprint, l-istess kif inhu provdut
għall-postijiet kummerċjali oħra. F'postijiet li jokkupaw spazju totali ta'
inqas minn 200m², wieħed se jkun qed iħallas €70 mentri u f'każ li wiehed
jokkupa spazju aktar minn 800m², dan se jkun qed iħallas massimu ta' € 1000.
L-emendi jipprovdu li jekk dak li kien jitħallas qabel kien irħas, l-irħas
ammont jgħodd.

Barra minhekk, il-ħlas tal-liċenzja  għal 
postijiet kummerċjali  b'footprint
ta' ‘l fuq minn 800m2 li qabel ukoll 
kien jiġi ikalkulat skond valur tal-kera 
u jibda  b ‘minimu ta' €1,164  mingħajr limitu, qed jiġi  stabilit 
bħala massimu ta' €1,000 biss. Dan isarraf fi gwadann ta' €164 fuq
il-minimu attwali u jista' jservi ta' gwadann t'iktar minnhekk jekk l-individwu
kien qieghed iħallas iktar minħabba li qabel 
ma kienx hemm massimu.

F'dak li jirrigwardja l-ikkanċellar ta' licenzji, sa
issa il-ħlas tal-liċenzji kummerċjali kien dovut sad-data tal-kanċellazzjoni
tal-liċenzja u dan kien ikun irrilevanti jekk tkunx għaddejja attività
kummerċjali jew le. L-emendi l-ġodda se jipprovdu fost l-oħrajn li d-Direttur
tal-Kummerċ se jkun jista' jikkanċella liċenzji li l-pagament tagħhom ma jkunx
tħallas għal erba' snin konsekuttivi, filwaqt li l-pagamenti annwali se jkunu
obbligatorji sad-data tat-terminu tal-operat biss u mhux sad-data
tal-kanċellazzjoni kif kienet l-liġi sal-llum. Dan ifisser li sid in-negozju se
jkun qed jiffranka ħafna flus u spejjeż żejda.

Commissioner John Dalli
has on 16^th October announced his resignation as a member of the
Commission, with immediate effect. Mr Dalli informed the President of the
European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso of his decision following an
investigation by OLAF, the EU's antifraud office, into a complaint made in May
2012 by the tobacco producer, Swedish Match.

After the President
informed Mr Dalli about the report received from OLAF, Mr Dalli decided to
resign in order to be able to defend his reputation and that of the Commission.
Mr Dalli categorically rejects these findings. Mr Barroso has decided that Vice
President Maros Sefcovic will take over the portfolio of Mr Dalli on an interim
basis until a new Commissioner of Maltese nationality is appointed in
accordance with article 246 (2) of the Treaty on the functioning of the
European Union.

Mr Farrugia, GRTU's Director
General and EESC Employers representative, stated that "it
is important that Malta regains as fast as possible the excellent image it
enjoyed in the European Union and in Brussels, in particular as a country that
does well and honestly implements the EU model and follows closely the
Stability and Growth Olan and sticks the rules as defined in the European
Economic Semester. Malta has a high name for the contribution its
representatives make in the various EU fora. It is now important that
Government acts fast to nominate a new Commissioner from Malta. A person that
has integrity, experience and intelligence, with capabilities to learn a brief
quickly and be able to face a rigid regime of hard work without having to be
continuously prepped up as the case when a person is nominated only on the
strength of his/her name, irrespective of his capabilities. Malta must quickly
regain its image of a country of smart and honest people."

Mr Farrugia concluded by saying that "the priority should be on sending the person
that is most effective in an EU context during these difficult times for the
European Union and the person that is most capable to regain Malta's lost image."

Meeting for importers held – GRTU has followed up on the issue and importers gathered
at the GRTU to discuss the issue with Government representatives and give their
feedback on how this will impact them.

The Economic Policy Division explained to the importers
what are the European Commission's plans on introducing an anti-dumping duty on
imports within the EU of China originating Kitchenware and Tableware. They
explained that this is due to an investigation carried out by the Commission
following complaints by EU manufacturing companies that Chinese exporters were
dumping the price of their products in order to be able to penetrate the EU
market and as a result negatively effect the level of sales of the EU
manufacturers.

The investigation has reached a stage where a decision
will be taken by the Member States on whether they support the Commission's
plan and if the majority back the Commission an anti-dumping duty will be
introduced as of next 16^th November 2012. No information is yet
available other than that the Commission's plan is to introduce anti-dumping
duties that are substantial.

Any
dumping duties introduced will affect China originating tableware and
kitchenware made of ceramic, porcelain, stoneware or earthenware. These
products currently fall within the Combined Nomenclature (CN) codes 6911 10 00,
ex 6912 00 10, ex 6912 00 30, ex 6912 00 50 and 6912 00 90 (TARIC codes 6911 10
00 90, 6923 00 10 11, 6912 00 10 91, 6912 00 30 10), excluding ceramic kitchen
knives

What
this means in practical terms is that direct imports of such products or
imports of these products from another Member State will become much more
costly, to a state were they will probably be unsustainable. The importer will
either pay the duty to customs upon importation or else pay more for the
product itself when coming from another Member State because that Member State
would have paid that new anti-dumping duty to its customs upon importation.

Members
importers of GRTU all expressed their concern on the issue also because the
best European brands had moved their operations to China. Importers stated that
between 20% and 70% of their products will be effected. Importers explained in
detail to the Government representatives how  badly they will be impacted and how the choice
for consumers will become restricted to products of a much higher price.

It
was agreed that while this European move of introducing such a duty will
benefit some countries, a few specific companies in particular, who have a
strong manufacturing  sector, it will
badly impact on EU citizens and other businesses.

The
Government representatives took note of the position expressed by Maltese
importers and said they will pass it on to the Ministry to take it into consideration
when drafting Malta's position.

GRTU
urges those that are in Government to represent Malta's interest to vote in the
interest of Maltese businesses and citizens. GRTU will monitor the situation.

Initiation of anti-dumping proceeding – The Commission initiated an anti-dumping investigation concerning imports of crystalline silicon photovoltaic modules and key components originating in the People's Republic of China.
The initiation is based on a complaint lodged on the 25^th
July 2012 by EU Prosun, an ad hoc joint initiative of EU solar
businesses including two named German producers and other EU based
producers who chose to remain anonymous.

The complaint was lodged on
behalf of Union producers representing more than 25% of the total EU
production of the product concerned.
The European industry accuses its Chinese competitors of selling their technology at a price that undercuts costs in order to gain a dominant position on the European market.

In this context, the initiation of proceedings by the Commission is intended to check whether dumping of the product concerned is taking place. If the investigation concludes that dumping is leading to injury of the EU industry and that the imposition of measures does not go against overall Community Interest, provisional measures are implemented.

The investigation takes 15 months but provisional anti-dumping measures, if any, and after consulting Member States, will be proposed within 9 months of the initiation of the investigation (i.e. by not later than 6^th June 2013). Definitive anti-dumping measures may enter into force by 5^th December 2013.

Product Concerned

The product concerned is solar panels and their key components, i.e. solar cells and solar wafers. In order to produce a solar panel, solar wafers are converted into cells and then cells are assembled together into modules, i.e. panels. Some producers in the EU have integrated production covering all three segments, whilst others produce only wafers, cells and/or modules. The product concerned is classifiable for Customs purposes under the following Combined Nomenclature (CN) codes: 8541 4090; 8501 3100; 8501 3200; 8501 3300; 8501 3400; 8503 0090 and 3818 0100.

National Interest

National imports of the products concerned are significant and it is therefore important that Maltese importers and retailers know about the ongoing proceedings and therefore a consultation process will be carried out.

The results of this consultation process will form the basis of Malta's position. GRTU will be communicating the date of the consultation meeting shortly. Interested parties are invited to contact Abigail Mamo at GRTU to register their interest.