Category: Archive – 2014

The Minister for Tourism Edward Zammit Lewis appointed a
Consultation Committee made up of different industry representatives that can
contribute achieving a revised Tourism Policy that addresses our country's
concerns, opportunities and today's realities. The policy would then be
followed up by an implementation plan by MTA with the support of interested
parties and industry.

Following the press conference the first Committee
meeting was held which was attended by GRTU Deputy President and Vice President
Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure, Philip Fenech. GRTU's first reaction is that
it is important to start analyzing the last Tourism Policy Document to build on
its strengths and weaknesses.

It is essential that Malta fine tunes its marketing
mix and builds on a strategy of broader distributed occupancy rate. Malta must
also be innovative in creating other niche markets that give higher value added
and that have not been discovered yet or have potential in so doing. Containing
those segments that have reached saturation levels or could be re engineered to
give higher returns is also important.

Policy has to have a long term vision, while being
proactive in the short term by tweaking new evolving markets while others
contract.

GRTU President and CEO have this week met re-elected MEP,
Roberta Metsola. GRTU and Dr Metsola discussed the Draft Agenda of the Plenary
to be held between 14 and 17 July in Strasbourg. On the draft agenda are very
important topics, amongst which the Transatlantic Trade and Investment
Partnership (TTIP), Maternity Leave Directive and Youth Employment.

GRTU explained the issue we have with bank interest
rates and charges and that this is not only an important debate in Malta but
also an important debate at EU level especially following the bold steps taken
by the European Central Bank which has been pushing for low interest rates and
even issued negative interest rates on savings to prioritise lending. GRTU
asked MEP Metsola to look into issue.

Dr Metsola also made reference to the position sent by
GRTU to all Maltese MEPs on the MIF Regulation which she will be following up
on.

The meeting was indeed a very positive one and GRTU
intends to continue building on the excellent working relationship it has established
with MEP Metsola during the last year.

During a Public Dialogue session organized by MEUSAC on the
Priorities of the Italian Presidency, GRTU CEO Abigail Psaila Mamo, emphasized
the importance of having the regulation on interchange fees treated with
absolute priority.

The regulation needs to be adopted by the end of 2014 so
that it can come into affect at the earliest possible. It is however important
that it is adopted according to the version approved in Plenary by the European
Parliament last April.

Unfortunately it seems that the Italian Presidency
intends to put forward a set of new proposals to these Regulations which it
will lobby for in Council and later at the EP. The proposals being put forward
by Italy are not going in the right direction in our view. GRTU has insisted
with the Maltese Government and the Maltese MEPs that they should support the
version of the European Parliament Plenary in April 2014.

Multilateral
interchange fees have been found at European Commission and court level to be
anti-competitive; they have cost businesses and consumers, on average, €9
billion per year for over a decade and stand in the way of market development
across Europe. The MIF is an important part of the total cost for card
acceptance and ultimately contributes to the prices of goods and services for
final consumers.

Healthier
competition is badly needed in the retail payments market to promote innovation,
improve customer service and ensure flexibility. The payments package will
provide benefits for all:

For consumers:

A true choice of low-cost, safe,
efficient electronic payments which operate across the EU. Lower MIFs will
produce better services and lower prices for all consumers, whether they use
payment cards or not.

The ability to use cards at more
outlets, as lower fees enable small merchants to take cards.

Access to new products and services
at transparent costs.

Full access to new e-commerce
services and new technologies.

For merchants:

Merchants will pay their fair share
of card costs and no more: they will be able to improve services and pass on
savings to consumers.

Easy access to an EU-wide market for
products and services.

For payment
providers:

An expanded market and the emergence
of new payment products will increase transaction numbers and so maintain
revenues.

Extra services can be marketed
through increased online traffic for banks.

Banks will move to embrace new
technologies, innovative payment products and make the best use of new
technologies.

The six month
countdown has begun to a major change in the EU VAT system, which will ease
life for many businesses and ensure fairer revenue distribution between Member
States. From 1 January 2015, VAT on all telecommunications, broadcasting and
electronic services will be due where the customer is based, rather than where
the supplier is located.

This changeover will ensure a more level playing field
for businesses, and fairer taxation rights amongst Member States. In parallel,
a mini One Stop Shop will be launched, greatly reducing costs and
administrative burdens for businesses concerned. With the mini One Stop Shop,
businesses supplying e-services to customers in more than one EU country will
be able to declare and pay all their VAT in their own Member State. This is
consistent with the Commission's goal of reducing tax obstacles and burdens for
cross-border companies in the Single Market. The Commission has invested
greatly over the past few years to ensure that national tax authorities and
businesses are well-prepared and equipped to ensure a smooth transition to the
new system next year. This work continues, along with an intensive information
campaign, to ensure that both Member States and companies can reap the full
benefits of these important changes.

The sixth theme
for the monthly DOI photo competition is "Music in Malta".  Participants
are encouraged to submit photos which portray the wide spectrum of music in
Malta.  Photographs of the village banda performing in light festooned streets,
world famous opera singers entertaining the crowds and small bands practising
in their underground garage can
all be submitted for a chance to win €1000.

Individuals
aged 14 and over are invited to participate by uploading photos on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram using the hashtags
#malta, #doicompetition and #maltesemusic. Photos submitted through Facebook
need to be posted on the Department of Information (Malta) Facebook page.
 All submitted photos will be judged by a professional panel and one
winner will receive a €1000 prize.

Photos are to
be uploaded between 1 and 31 July, both days included.

During the
month of June, the Department of Information received around 300 entries
through the various social media channels.

Further
information can be found on www.gov.mt.

The Commission
has published a new Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work 2014-2020,
which identifies key challenges and strategic objectives for health and safety
at work, with related actions and instruments to address them.

There is an
improved performance across all consumer markets finds the 10^th Consumer
Markets Scoreboard published. This improvement is particularly marked for goods
markets, while services continue to be the main sources of dissatisfaction.

"Consumers
should be the master not the servant of the market," said Commissioner for Consumer Policy
Neven Mimica, "The
Consumer Markets Scoreboard we published shows that, overall, market conditions
are getting better for consumers. However much more needs to be done, especially
on services and energy. I am working hard with my colleagues in the Commission
to address these issues, be it through the Payment Accounts Directive, the
Connected Continent package or through facilitating the switching of
suppliers."

The 2014
Consumer Markets Scoreboard:

The Consumer
Markets Scoreboard tracks the performance of 52 consumer markets from second
hand cars to holiday accommodation. The markets are ranked by consumers, in an
EU-wide survey In addition to survey data, the Scoreboard analyses price
dispersion across EU countries, complaints collected by national complaint
handling bodies and available safety data, based on 4 components: comparability
of offers, trust in businesses, problems & complaints and satisfaction with
businesses. The key findings are:

Market
performance is improving: The overall assessment of market performance The
Market Performance Index (MPI) has a scale from 0 to 100, across all markets
and all countries improved slightly between 2012 and 2013. This continues the
trend observed since 2010 although there are differences from market to market
and from country to country.

Goods markets
are working considerably better than services markets, although the gap has
been slowly narrowing. Compared with 2012, some of the worst performing
markets, such as vehicle fuels and train services, have improved the most.

Banking
services remain the most problematic sector, with the markets for investment
products and mortgages at the bottom of the ranking and well below the average
for the service sector. Ensuring that financial services are working to the
benefit of consumers in the current economic climate is an essential component
of EU consumer policy.

Telecom markets
score below average with scores well below the average for trust, choice of
providers and overall consumer satisfaction, and have the highest incidence of
problems and complaints of all market clusters. On the plus side the scores for
comparability and ease of switching are above average and the switching rates
are the highest for all the market clusters. In September 2013, the Commission
adopted the 'Connected Continent' package aimed at eliminating roaming charges by 2016 and
improving consumers' choice of telecom providers.

Public
utilities, in particular electricity and gas, are also rated as below average
by consumers. Despite recent improvements, utilities markets continue to score
poorly in comparability of offers, choice of providers, ease of switching and
actual switching. The Commission is working with key stakeholders to increase
the transparency of energy offers and bills, ensure customers' access to their
consumption data and facilitate switching.

Poor results
for markets for second-hand cars and vehicle fuels continue to be marked with
both well below average. An EU in-depth study into the market for vehicle fuels
has just been finalised.

Next Steps

Based on the findings of this
Scoreboard, the Commission services will launch two in-depth market studies: a
market study on retail electricity and a behavioural study to enhance the
reading and understanding, by consumers, of terms and conditions. The study on
retail electricity will draw comparisons with the findings of an earlier study (2010) into the market and examine the impact of the implementation of
the Third Energy Package legislation. The second study will investigate
(through behavioural testing) various conditions that could increase consumers'
willingness to read, and their capacity to understand, contracts' terms and
conditions.

Information Session & Networking Event Malta
Enterprise and The Malta Council for Science & Technology would like to
invite business and enterprise representatives to a "Horizon 2020 &
Enterprise Europe Network for SMEs" Information Session & Networking Event

This is
an opportunity for you to know more about EU funds for Research and Innovation
and become more familiar with the support structures available for your
business, as well as to network with other entities and exchange ideas.

Date:  
            Thursday
10th July, 2014

Time:  
            18:00 –
20:30 hrs

Venue:  
          The Waterfront Hotel,
Sliema

Agenda

18:00              
Registration and welcome coffee

18:15              
Horizon 2020 for SMEs: "Where are the funding opportunities?"

18:45              
Enterprise Europe Network and international cooperation

19:15              
Networking Drinks

20:30              
End of Event

Kindly
note that participation is free of charge but registration is a must. In this
context, kindly register by sending an email to:

European Commission Vice President Antonio Tajani has
announced that SMEs in Europe will soon have the opportunity to access up to
€25 billion of additional finance supported by the COSME programme (the EU
Programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-sized
Enterprises). The programme will allow financial institutions throughout Europe
to provide enhanced access to finance to up to 330 000 SMEs.

European Commission Vice
President Antonio Tajani, Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship, said:
"It is evident that public support continues to
play a crucial role in enhancing access to finance for SMEs. Indeed, the
existing EU support measures have facilitated SME survival, development and
success across the EU. Even more importantly, the new EU financing initiatives
for SMEs will continue in the future. We expect that the new COSME financial
instruments will be finalised before the summer break. This agreement is an
excellent example of how the EU can support small companies to finance their
investments in order to grow and create jobs."

For the full
article please visit: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-14-753_en.htm