Category: Archive – 2012

As part of its Internationalisation Calendar for 2012, Malta Enterprise is inviting interested parties to register their interest to participate in the SIAL Food Fair 2012.
The Event
In SIAL 2010, around 140,000 professional visitors from the food industry visited the SIAL Food Fair to meet 5,838 French and international exhibitors.

 

Exhibiting in SIAL 2012, will

• STRENGTHEN and DEVELOP your image and brand awareness with an exceptional number of highly-qualified visitors

• RETAIN your existing clients and RECRUIT new ones

• DEVELOP your turnove

r• BOOST your exports

• MEET potential business partners (distributors, agents)

• DISCOVER the trends in your sector

• BENEFIT from exceptional media coverageShould you exhibit, your company may be eligible for financial support from Malta Enterprise (after the event) of the eligible costs incurred for

:• Rental of exhibition space / stand

• Stand construction services,

• Freight expenses incurred for shipping materials / exhibits required to setup and run the stand.

 Travel and a €147 daily for the no. of days of the event for one representative per company Should you wish to book individually please contact the organizers directly on ().

  Further details on space costs and the different product halls can be obtained from the fair’s website (www.sialparis.com). If you wish to be located on the Malta Pavilion, kindly contact the Internationalisation Unit on tel: 25423294 or email : by end of June.   

Negotiations have been tough but there is a deal and an agreement – and that is a good thing! Overall, the EU civil society representatives from the EESC are pleased that the green economy has been included in the agreement as the main conduit to sustainable development and welcome the introduction of sustainable development goals and a range of provisions intended to strengthen international sustainable development governance.

 

The agreement that has been negotiated opens up new avenues for further development and will see improved sustainable development in a number of areas. However we regret that the agreement lacks ambitious and action- oriented decisions. The Rio+20 outcome document, agreed by negotiators and to be approved by world leaders meeting this week in Rio, acknowledges many of the world’s needs but does not reflect the urgency of the situation. While the outcome text recognises the role of businesses and civil society stakeholders, there are no new established mechanisms to ensure effective civil society participation in the transition process towards sustainable development.

“The road from Rio is as important as the road to Rio. From now on, we are in implementation mode. The EESC will continue to act on the Rio+20 follow-up within the EU and with its non-EU partners, in order to promote, facilitate and enable civil society input into policy- and decision-making processes so that we can really achieve the future we want,” said Staffan Nilsson, EESC president. We urge the EU and all other parties to involve the EESC and other social and economic councils and similar civil society structures in the Rio+20 follow-up that is designed to secure the transition towards a new green economic order.

As an EU advisory body, feeding into and supporting the EU’s input and position in the negotiations, we appreciate the EU negotiators’ efforts to push for ambitious targets and to secure a real deal, rather than a mere statement of intent, at the Rio+20 conference. However we ask the EU to stick to its internal commitments and to keep pressing home the argument in its dealings with its partners. For more information: EESC Rio+20 Online Platform The EESC messages to Rio+20 Video messages

The European Commission is concerned that Malta is failing to protect its citizens from noxious air pollution from a major power plant. On the recommendation of Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik, the Commission is sending a reasoned opinion. If Malta fails to reply within two months, the Commission may refer the case to the European Court of Justice.
Under the Large Combustion Plants Directive – legislation designed to limit the emissions of various pollutants – Malta has agreed to operate its Marsa power station for no more than 20 000 hours between 2008 and its definitive closure no later than 2015.

 

The power station, which produces some 45 % of Malta's electricity, contains four combustion plants, three of which have already passed the 20 000 hours ceiling, while the fourth is approaching the ceiling. EU law contains no provisions for passing this ceiling, which is a final extension of earlier deadlines. While a replacement power station is nearing completion, concerns about timing remain and the Commission is of the opinion that Malta is therefore failing to protect its citizens from pollution emitted by the Marsa plants.

A letter of formal notice was sent on 28 February 2012 inviting Malta to submit its observations within two months. In the absence of official reply, a reasoned opinion is now being sent. Background The overall aim of the Large Combustion Plants Directive is to reduce emissions of acidifying pollutants, particles, and ozone precursors. Control of emissions from large combustion plants – those whose rated thermal input is equal to or greater than 50 MW – plays an important role in the Union's efforts to combat acidification, eutrophication and ground-level ozone as part of the overall strategy to reduce air pollution. Further information: For current statistics on infringements in general: http://ec.europa.eu/community_law/infringements/infringements_en.htm See also: MEMO/12/464 More details on EU air policy: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/air/index_en.htm

Bħalissa, fl-Unjoni Ewropea (UE) qegħdin jittieħdu diversi inizjattivi pubbliċi u privati bl-għan li jiddefinixxu l-prinċipji u l-kriterji li għandhom jintużaw mill-partijiet interessati fit-turiżmu Ewropew. Dan qed isir biex jiġi żgurat l-iżvilupp u l-provvediment ta’ turiżmu ta’ kwalità fl-UE.

 

Dawn is-sistemi ta’ kwalità, ftit li xejn huma konsistenti u koordinati peress li normalment jiffukaw fuq għanijiet individwali settorjali jew territorjali mingħajr ma jimxu ma’ strateġija Ewropea integrata. Din il-frammentazzjoni tippreżenta ostaklu biex jintlaħaq livell ugwali fl-UE għall-provvediment ta’ servizz ta’ turiżmu ta’ kwalità għolja fl-Ewropa, u x’aktarx iddgħajjef il-kompetittività tas-settur tat-turiżmu Ewropew.

Bħala azzjoni possibbli, il-Kummissjoni qed tipproponi Marka ta’ Kwalità għat-Turiżmu Ewropew, bl-għan li ġġib iktar trasparenza u konsistenza fl-evalwazzjoni tal-kwalità tat-turiżmu fuq livell Ewropew. Il-Marka Ewropea għandha tirrikonoxxi s-sistemi ta’ turiżmu ta’ kwalità eżistenti u futuri li jikkonformaw mal-kriterji Ewropej komuni. Għal dan il-għan il-Malta-EU Steering and Action Committee (MEUSAC), flimkien mal-Ministeru għat-Turiżmu, Kultura u Ambjent (MTCE), jixtiequ jistednuk għal laqgħa ta’ konsultazzjoni biex jinġabru l-opinjonijiet tal-partijiet interessati, kemm dawk pubbliċi, dawk privati, kif ukoll dawk ta’ individwi, dwar dak li qed tipproponi l-Kummissjoni.

Il-laqgħa ser issir bil-MALTI nhar il-Ħamis, 28 ta’ Ġunju 2012, fid-09:30 ġewwa l-Uffiċini tal- MEUSAC, 280, Triq ir-Repubblika, il-Belt Valletta. Biex tirreġistra, inti ġentilment mitlub(a) tibat l-interess tieghek lill-MEUSAC sa mhux aktar tard minn nofsinhar tat-Tlieta, 26 ta’ Gunju 2012, fuq l-indirizz elettroniku

The Industry Promotion and Innovation Agency (API) in association with the Tunisian Union for Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA), with the cooperation of the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA) and the Export Promotion Center (CEPEX), will be organizing “Business and Technology Convention”, CAT 2012, between 28th and 30th November 2012, in the fairgrounds of Kram (Parc des Expositions du Kram) in Tunis.

 

CAT 2012 intends to offer a real platform for businesses, where decision makers and leaders from various horizons can meet and share supply and demand opportunities in innovative sectors with high growth potential:• Mechanical/electrical/electronic industries• Agrofood• Technical plastics and plasturgy• Technical textiles• New information and communication technologies• Pharmaceuticals More information about this event can be found on the following website: www.cat2012.tn.

GRTU President Paul Abela and Executives were pleased to welcome the Irish Minister for Small Businesses Mr John Perry. During the meeting both parties were very interested to learn about the best practices enacted in both countries in favour of Small Businesses and we were indeed please to note some similarities.

 

Mr Perry explained that the Irish Government is currently introducing a partial loan guarantee scheme and a micro finance facility. He explained that Ireland has gone through a rough patch and has had to recapitalise the banks with an agreement that they would give back to SMEs and now the Irish Government is making sure that SMEs get a fair deal when dealing with banks. The loan guarantee is being worked though 3 banks and the Government has issued a standard application form that can be used when applying with all the banks. GRTU explained the different schemes available for SMEs and the Irish Minister was mostly interested in the Business First initiative and the simplification of the trading licences.

GRTU is pleased to introduce to you Conal Impex Ltd, which is situated in Athens and it is mainly dealing with the export of Greek Natural Food Products such as Extrissimo, Organic and Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Olives and a wide range of other natural Greek food products.

The export manager George N. Anastassakis, wrote saying the company is looking to start new business cooperation with Companies in Malta that would be interested in importing any of their products.

On the occasion of the fourth meeting of the European SME envoys held in Malta today, European Commission Vice President Antonio Tajani announced a series of new initiatives and planned actions to improve access of SMEs to finance, to boost entrepreneurship and to go international. To facilitate access to finance, the European Commission published today a practical guide providing information on how to access over €50 billion of public finance in the 27 Member States. Secondly the Commission launched a European wide training campaign for the Enterprise Europe Network to help SMEs get access to finance.

SMEs can contact one of 600 Enterprise Europe Network partners, who will be able to provide information on EU and national sources of finance. Vice President Tajani will also discuss with the SME envoys possible elements for an entrepreneurship action plan which Mr Tajani aims to table after the summer break to encourage the creation of new businesses and jobs. The plan intends to address obstacles, which hinder would-be entrepreneurs to set up their own business. It will also include measures to make the option of becoming his or her own boss a more widespread option.

European Commission Vice President Antonio Tajani, responsible for enterprise and industry policies, said today: "If we want to stimulate growth in Europe, it is from our SMEs that we must start. Entrepreneurial potential in Europe is not fully exploited: 45% of all Europeans would like to become their own boss if they could, but only an average of 10% are actually self-employed today. If we could raise this percentage, we could have millions of new innovative and creative enterprises which would rejuvenate Europe's economic basis, make it more robust, more job-generating and more resilient to stormy economic".

Background

Practical guide for SMEs to help access over €50billion of finance

To facilitate access to finance, the European Commission published today a practical guide for SMEs providing information on how to access over €50 billion of public finance in the 27 Member States.  It presents over 120 national or regional financing programmes and provides key information helping SMEs to apply for the different programmes in terms of characteristics, terms, conditions and contact information.

At the same time the Commission published an evaluation of public financing programmes in 5 Member States (Germany, France, the UK, Poland and Sweden) to exchange good practice and assess which programmes work best and could be used in other countries.  The evaluation highlights that public financing programmes need to have a clear scope and be flexible so that there can be changes if required such as during the present economic crisis.

More information – To access EU financial instruments, please visit the website of the European Investment Fund to locate banks or venture capital funds that provide finance in your country.

More than 600 Enterprise Europe Network partners advise on access to finance

Staff members of more than 600 partners of the Enterprise Europe Network were trained on access to finance so that they can now better advise SMEs finding the right financing provider. The Commission has established the Enterprise Europe Network to help SMEs to become more competitive, to internationalize and to find business and technology partners. The network is represented in 51 countries with 600 partner organizations. SMEs wishing to access finance, can contact the nearest member of the Enterprise Europe Network, who will be able to provide information on EU and national sources of finance.

More information

Action plan to set entrepreneurial potential of Europeans free

The European Commission is preparing an Entrepreneurship Action Plan – to be published in autumn 2012 – that will address areas where the entrepreneurial potential of citizens can be unleashed and where key bottlenecks can be overcome and obstacles to entrepreneurial activities removed. Possible areas of action include:

Facilitating Transfers of business: Each year, 150,000 companies with 600,000 jobs are lost due to the fact that owners retire or move on to other activities.

Efficient bankruptcy procedures and offering second chance: As 96% of all bankrupts are honest (e.g. due to late payments), faster and more affordable procedures for winding up business and for discharging them from bankruptcy could stimulate the creation of businesses.

Young people – the entrepreneurs of the future: Young people start more companies when they have gone through an "entrepreneurship" programme during primary or secondary education.

Women – the largest untapped pool of entrepreneurial potential in Europe: Women face a number of difficulties in running a business and constitute only a third of the self-employed in the EU.

Seniors – keep business knowledge active: Citizens above 50 bring valuable know-how and experience to start and run a company.

More information

The guide on access to finance and the training for the EEN staff are measures from the November 2011 Action Plan to improve access to finance for SMEs (MEMO/11/879).

Last February, the European Union (EU) legislator adopted Regulation (EU) No 260/2012 establishing technical and business requirements for credit transfers and direct debits in euro and amending Regulation (EC) No 924/2009, commonly referenced as the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) Regulation.

The SEPA Regulation defines 1 February 2014 as the deadline in the euro area for compliance with the core provisions of this regulation. In non euro countries, the deadline will be 31 October 2016. Effectively, this means that as of these dates, existing national euro credit transfer and direct debit schemes will be replaced by SEPA Credit Transfer (SCT) and SEPA Direct Debit (SDD).

SEPA is currently defined as consisting of the 27 EU member states plus Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Monaco. The adoption of the SEPA Regulation demonstrates that "the EU institutions continue to work diligently to deepen the internal market in financial services, with the euro at its core. This agreement is a vote of confidence in the euro, and I am convinced that it will be a good deal for consumers and businesses," said Sharon Bowles, Member of the European Parliament.

SEPA stands for an EU integration initiative in the area of payments. Following the introduction of euro notes and coins in 2002, the political drivers of the SEPA initiative – EU governments, the European Commission and the European Central Bank- focused on harmonising the euro payments market. Integrating the multitude of national payment systems existing today is a natural step towards making the euro a truly single and fully functioning currency.

SEPA is the area where citizens, companies and other economic actors can make and receive payments in euro, throughout Europe, whether within or across national boundaries under the same basic conditions, rights and obligations, regardless of their location.

This original SEPA concept defined by the European public authorities holds that within SEPA all euro payments will be domestic. Once SEPA is achieved, there should be no differentiation between national and cross-border euro payments. As such, SEPA payment instruments are designed to replace national euro payment instruments which exist today.

In a joint statement of May 2006, the European Commission and the European Central Bank pointed out: "The introduction of the euro as the single currency of the euro area will only be completed when SEPA has become a reality, i.e. when consumers, businesses and governments are able to make cashless payments throughout the euro area from a single payment account anywhere in the euro area using a single set of payment instruments as easily, efficiently and safely as they can make payments today in the domestic context."

The SCT and SDD payment schemes facilitate the exchange of electronic euro payments across all 32 SEPA countries. They can be regarded as instruction manuals which provide a common understanding on how to move funds from account A to account B within SEPA. The harmonised SEPA payment schemes can be compared to other frameworks, which prescribe standardised processes to be observed by actors operating in network industries.

An example of such integration initiatives are standardised railway tracks allowing a multitude of commercial railway operators to move their trains across borders. Similar examples of standardisation in network industries can be found in the areas of telecommunication, television or radio.

The purpose of migrating from a multitude of national euro payment schemes for credit transfers and direct debits, to a single set of harmonised SEPA schemes can be compared to implementing standardised railroad tracks for the exchange of payments across the EU. Migration to a single set of SEPA payment schemes allows multiple payment service providers to offer a broad range of diversified payment services and products for euro credit transfers and euro direct debits throughout SEPA. As a result, customers benefit from increased competition and more choices in the payments market.

The European Payments Council (EPC) shares the view that an end date for phasing out legacy euro payment schemes for credit transfers and direct debits ensures planning security for all market participants. The EPC is responsible, among other things, for the development and maintenance of the SCT and SDD Schemes in close dialogue with the customer community.

The introduction of SEPA makes paying bills significantly easier for mobile European citizens including workers, students, holiday home owners, tourists or retirees living abroad. At the same time, SEPA benefits consumers who wish to purchase goods or services from retailers located in SEPA countries other than their home country. All consumers will be able to rely on one home account for all – domestic and cross-border – payments throughout SEPA.

Migrating to harmonised SEPA payment schemes offers businesses significant efficiency gains through the automation of payment processing and the ability of businesses to optimise the cash management process. The latter can be achieved by companies consolidating accounts currently maintained in different European countries to handle local payments into one single account and subsequently centralising liquidity.

The integration of the euro payments market also facilitates the expansion of businesses across national borders, by introducing a standardised payment infrastructure. Innovative end-to-end SEPA solutions based on global technical standards lead to decreased IT costs, simplify reconciliation and help to streamline back office functions.

Early movers on the customer side who reported on their SEPA migration experience in the free online EPC Newsletter concur that migration to SEPA pays off. For example: Stefan Scheidgen, Head of Cash Management and Accounting at Deutsche Post Pension Service Business Division, points out: "We have accomplished execution times of just one business day for SCTs, which allows our contracting partners to save liquidity. In the process of migrating to SEPA, we consolidated the previous four payment systems into one. We plan to further automate our banking processes, based on the implementation of SEPA schemes and standards, which will result in even more efficiency."

The Deutsche Post Pension Service Business Division disburses 25 million pension payments per month on behalf of the public German retirement scheme to retirees residing in Germany and abroad. By January 2012, 22.5 million of these payments were SCTs. The insurance company UNIQA Group Austria, which services approximately 7.5 million customers in 21 regional markets, essentially concluded the transition to both SCT and SDD in 2011.

Thomas Weissmann, Project Manager with the group, stated: "SEPA is an excellent and necessary idea. Migrating to the harmonised SEPA payment schemes allows for more efficient account reconciliation. Being able to collect direct debits throughout Europe using the harmonised SDD Schemes is also a principal advantage for us." Anneli Seppälä, Payment Processing Manager of Kela, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland, concludes: "Our experience confirms that our payment processes are more efficient following SEPA implementation." Kela, which makes some 33.3 million payments annually, completed its migration project at the end of 2010.

Project managers who have already concluded the migration exercise unanimously recommend that organisations that have yet to adapt their systems and operations to SEPA Schemes and technical standards should act immediately.

Gerard Hartsink chaired the EPC from 2002 until June 2012. For more information, visit the EPC Website at www.epc-cep.eu.