Category: Archive – 2012

Laqgha ta' Konsultazzjoni – Nixtieq ninfurmak li l-Malta-EU Steering and Action Committee
(MEUSAC) flimkien mal-Awtorità ta' Malta għall-Kompetizzjoni u għall-Affarijiet
tal-Konsumatur (MCCAA) se jorganizzaw laqgħa ta' konsultazzjoni dwar il-Pjan
ta' Azzjoni Nazzjonali dwar l-użu sostenibbli tal-pestiċidi. L-għan ta' dan
il-Pjan hu li jgħin fit-tnaqqis tar-riskji u l-impatti tal-użu tal-pestiċidi
fuq is-saħħa tal-bniedem u fuq l-ambjent.

L-iskop ta' din il-laqgħa ta' konsultazzjoni hu li jinġabru
opinjonijiet mingħand dawk involuti, jew interessati f'dan is-settur qabel ma
dan il-pjan jiġi ffinalizzat.

Il-laqgħa ser tinżamm nhar
il-Ħamis, 18 ta' Ottubru 2012, fis-2 ta' waranofsinhar, fis-Sala tal-Kunsill
Lokali tan-Naxxar. Din il-laqgħa ser issir bil-Malti.

Jekk tixtieq tattendi, inti ġentilment mitlub tikteb
lill-MEUSAC mhux aktar tard minn nofsinhar tal-Erbgħa, 17 ta' Ottubru 2012 fuq
l-indirizz elettroniku .

A Spanish Delegation will be visiting
Malta on the 24^th October. This is an opportunity for you to meet
them in person and discuss possible cooperation. The sectors they will be
coming from are:

Indifferent to the continuous
pressure by the GRTU since the announcement that the Employment Aid Programme
(EAP) scheme was going to be halted, the EAP scheme is till today still closed.
The authorities` justification of halting the scheme was that it had been
over-subscribed, pure mismanagement, and that employers seemed disinterested to
getting their refunds back, which we find very hard to believe. The
announcement came in May and till today the scheme is still closed.

The scheme was very beneficial for
SMEs to employ. It was a scheme that bridged the gap between education and
unemployment and the world of work. 7 groups identified as disadvantaged groups
were the target: youths under 25 and within 2 years of completing full-time
education and have not yet obtained a first regular paid employment, any
persons that have been absent from work and education for more than 2 years, a
single adult looking after dependents, any person who has not attained upper
secondary level qualifications and made redundant during the last 6 months,
person older than 50 who does not have a job, long term registered unemployed,
any person having a registered disability.

Thanks to the EAP these 7 groups
found their way into the world of work and the figures were very satisfying. At
a time when Europe is in wide alarm on unemployment levels, especially youth
unemployment, the Maltese Authorities felt comfortable closing this scheme.
What was the result? Unemployment figures started going up.

Statistics issued by NSO on 3^rd
October 2012 state "that in August, the number of persons registering as
unemployed in Malta and Gozo stood at 6,139 and 682 respectively. Accordingly,
during the twelve-month period to August, the number of registered unemployed
went up by 352 on the mainland and by 4 in Gozo". When analyzing statistics
into more detail one would realise that persons registering for employment
during July 2012 stood at 6,664 and during August 2012 it stood at 6,821. An
increase of 157 in one month.

GRTU had strongly opposed closing the
scheme from the very beginning. If mistakes were made they had to be corrected
and therefore we agreed that a stock take needed to be taken but this was made
at the expense of job seekers and employers. GRTU argued that an immediate
solution had to be found and whatever the reason it had to be put aside and
solved but the scheme had to be kept open even if it meant putting in
Government funds.

We are reaching stagnation. The
extremely efficient schemes operated by Malta Enterprise help enterprises
create projects and invest in their business but employers are feeling the lack
of an appropriate employment incentive which is halting progress, expansion and
employment.

GRTU calls on Minister Cristina to
take the issue under hand and see to what needs to be done to what needs to be
done to reinstate the scheme with immediate effect.

GRTU has also included the permanent
reinstatement of the EAP together with other measures in our budget proposals.
The Ministry for Finance, the Ministry for SMEs and the Ministry for Employment
need to come together to make this work. Those that hold power are responsible
to ensure Malta does not fall into the unemployment trends like so many other
EU countries.

Vincent Farrugia GRTU Director General,
has participated organized by ENFI: Leader or Follower-Europe in the multipolar
world, as member of the Employers Bureau of EESC and as EESC rapporteur on five
opinions related to the Single Market.

They would appreciate to be informed
whether there are any specific concerns or sensitivities for Maltese economic
and industrial sectors, in particular in relation to offensive and defensive interests
by 4 October 2012.

More specifically, there may be
concerns in relation to exports of tuna, electronics, the import of cars and
the industry involved in car parts, medical devices, pharmaceuticals and
non-tariff barriers in relation thereto.

Contact Abigail Mamo @ GRTU for more
information.

According to the survey, carried out
last June in all EU Member States, there was a 9% increase over November 2011
in the number of citizens who look at the EU in a positive way. Moreover, half
of those questioned, described their countries' membership of the EU as a ‘good
thing'.

In terms of the sense of identity felt
by those questioned, the survey shows that there has been an increase in the
number of Europeans who regard themselves only in terms of their national
identity, rather than identifying themselves as being both citizens of their
country and European. This is not the case for Malta as 60% of Maltese citizens
still consider themselves as both Maltese and European. Only 37% of the
population considers itself as ‘only Maltese'.

The degree of knowledge about the EU
and its institutions is relatively poor, with the majority of Europeans saying
they know little about them and more than a third of them unable to name three
EU institutions.

However, it is noteworthy that the
European Parliament was the institution most often mentioned by respondents and
was rated as the institution that best represents the EU. Surprisingly, a
quarter of Europeans already know the date of the next European elections –
June 2014.

Job creation and fighting unemployment
(EU 72%; Malta 56%), reducing Member States' public debt (EU 37%; Malta 50%)
and increasing purchasing power and combating inflation (EU 35%; Malta 42%)
came in as the top priority anti-crisis measures for EU citizens.

On 18 September 2012, the EESC adopted
an opinion on the cost of non-Europe, an issue which has resurfaced on the
European agenda not only because it is important in mapping a way out of the
financial crisis, but also because it is crucial to the success of the Europe
2020 strategy and the next Multiannual Financial Framework. It is a useful
perspective from which to take forward the debate on pursuing European
integration at a time of rising anti-European sentiment among citizens, growing
populism and extremism.

The idea of the cost of non-Europe is
not new; in 1988, Paolo Cecchini drew up a study for the European Commission on
the cost of non-Europe in relation to the single market, which played a
decisive role in the implementation of economic and monetary union.  In its opinion Towards an updated study of
the cost of non-Europe, the EESC is now proposing that Mr Cecchini's study be
revamped to reflect current circumstances: the cost of incomplete integration
in the context of the economic crisis. 

"Contrary to the populist ideas
being voiced in certain political quarters in a number of EU countries, current
economic problems are not related to excesses in Brussels, but to the fact that
European integration is fundamentally incomplete," said George Dassis,
rapporteur for the opinion and president of the EESC Workers Group.

The Member States – under pressure from
the financial markets and from new binding institutional rules – seem to be
heading for a period of austerity that jeopardises the growth demanded by the
financial markets. Faced with this downward spiral, which is reducing people to
poverty and destitution, the EESC calls for decisive steps to pool expenditure
at European level, thus creating a virtuous circle of growth. This can only be
achieved if the necessary political will is in place to take those decisive
steps. The EESC emphasises the cost of taking the wrong path: the cost of
non-Europe. Henri Malosse, president of the Employers Group, made an
unambiguous statement on this point: "Come on decision-makers, it is time
to act. Harness the huge potential of Europe's 500 million citizens. You have
no right to let them down!"

With all these factors in mind, a much
broader analysis of the cost of non-Europe is needed than was proposed in the
Commission's study on The cost of non-Europe: the untapped potential of the
European single market. The EESC calls for a full accounting of the cost of
non-Europe and the impact on employment and growth, and for the Europe 2020
strategy to include objectives for reducing this cost, accompanied by a clear
action plan and a systematic evaluation of its progress. The results of a
comprehensive study will be the strongest argument against eurosceptics and the
doubts about the EU referred to by Luca Jahier, co-rapporteur for the opinion
and president of the Various Interests Group: "In spite of some outstanding
successes and a world-wide profile, the European Union continues to harbour
doubts about itself and to cause others to doubt it."

The Malta Council for Science and
Technology will be participating in this year's Researchers' Night activities
which will be held in Valletta on Friday 28th September from 6pm onwards.
All Valletta will be transformed by
Science in the City, Malta's first science and art festival, as part of the pan
European event – Researchers' Night. Dances, music, exhibitions, comedy and
more will run from St. James Cavalier, through Valletta's streets and end in
St. George's Square.

The Council will be transforming the
car park of the Central Bank of Malta (at Castille Square) into a Science
FunFair with colourful tents. Animators will be assisting young visitors with
various science exhibits. A series of 45 minutes live science shows will be
presented by Professor Ċelli on the hour between 6:00 pm and 11:00 pm.

In St. James Cavalier, the science
and art exhibition called 'How?' (Adrian Abela, Elisa Von Brockdorff, Matthew
Farrugia, Michael Xuereb, Raphael Vella, Sarah Scicluna and the rubberbodies
collective) explores different scientific phenomena through an artistic lens,
while Tricia Dawn Williams' piano recital touches mathematics and music, there
will also be talks about the health properties of local honey, and even more
activities.

Auberge D'Italie will feature a kids'
area with 3D models, a play and other fun events. While the streets of Valletta
will be transformed with street art from Emmanuel Bonnici's doughnut shaped bus
called 'Joyride' to Raphael Vella's brain sculpture called 'Cortex'.

The star event is in St. George's
Square with a live science show, hosted by Pawlu Borg Bonnaci and Angie Laus
taking the audience, through laughs, experiments, dance, and entertainment for
the whole family. Palazzo Ferreria will host Italian musicians performing
L'Ultima Regola del Gioco co-ordinated by the Malta Association Of Contemporary
Music. While a carnival-style parade of Maskri Grotteski, also inspired by
science and scientists, will unite all of these locations.

Other entertaining events will be
going on throughout Valletta. For more information and a full programme
checkout our website (www.scienceinthecity.org.mt) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/ScienceInTheCityMalta). Should you have any queries,
please email us on

Science in
the City festival is supported by the EU FP7 Programme and the Malta Arts
Fund.  The event is coordinated by The University of Malta, in partnership
with the Valletta Local Council, MEUSAC, Malta Council for Science and
Technology, Malta Council for Culture and the Arts, Where's Everybody, Malta
Chamber of Scientists, Notte Bianca, Microsoft, iCreatemotion, Lily Agius
Gallery, St James Cavalier and the University's Research, Innovation and
Development Trust (RIDT).

The Malta Financial Services
Authority has become aware that an entity called Brown-MLT Finance Group
(http://brown-mlt.net/) which purports to specialise in various forms of
consultancy and finance is claiming to be a company registered in Malta with
registration C3144, having an address at 55A, Birbal Road, Balzan BZN 9017,
Malta.

The MFSA wishes to alert the public,
in Malta and abroad, that  Brown-MLT
Finance Group is not a company registered in Malta and  has no legitimate connection with the
registration number and address indicated. Brown-MLT Finance Group is not
authorised by the MFSA to provide any type of financial service. Accordingly, the
MFSA warns the public against dealing with this company.

The MFSA would like to remind
consumers of financial services not to enter into any financial services
transaction unless they have ascertained that the entity with whom the
transaction is being made holds a licence to provide such services from the
MFSA or another reputable financial services regulator.

A list of entities licensed by the
MFSA is available from the Malta Financial Services Authority, and can be
viewed on  www.mfsa.com.mt.