Author: SME Chamber

The Employment and Training
Corporation (ETC) and Identity Malta wish to announce the establishment of a
one-stop-shop application service for the majority of Third-Country Nationals
(TCNs) wishing to reside in Malta for the purpose of work.  This service will commence on the 21^st July 2014.

A single simplified
procedure, for TCNs, excluding those who fall within the categories listed
below, will require the submission by the individual of only one application to
the Department for Citizenship and Expatriate Affairs at Evans Building, St
Elmo Place, Valletta.

This means that employers
do not need to submit any applications for their prospective TCN
employees.  Applications need to be
submitted by the prospective employees themselves. However, employers must previously
endorse the application.

Does
this procedure apply to all TCNs?

The single application
procedure will be available to all TCNs other than those who fall within the
following categories:

TCNs who are awaiting or have been granted
temporary protection and beneficiaries of either international or national
protection.

TCNs who have long-term resident status.

TCNs who are self-employed workers.

TCNs who are students recognized under the
Students Regulations (Legal Notice 29 of 2008).

TCNs working in Malta for up to 6 months only.

TCNs working in Malta on the basis of a visa.

Posted TCN workers and intra-corporate
transferees.

The above will continue to
require the two separate procedures at ETC and Citizenship, as per current
regulations.

Further
information?

Procedures applicable to
individual cases are available on www.mhas.gov.mt (‘MHAS
Services' – ‘Residence') or by contacting the Department for Citizenship and
Expatriate Affairs on 2590 4800 or by email on .

The Commission
has launched a consultation focusing on possible improvements of the EU Merger
Regulation contained in the White Paper "towards more effective merger
control". The proposals in particular include:

A light and tailor-made review of
those acquisitions of non-controlling minority shareholdings which could harm
competition.

Making case referrals between Member
States and the Commission more business-friendly and effective.

Making procedures simpler.

Fostering coherence and convergence.

To include your input or for further
information on the consultation, visit: http://ec.europa.eu/competition/consultations/2014_merger_control/index_en.html

The European Commission is set to adopt a communication encouraging
Member States to look for ways to improve protection of small food producers
and retailers against the unfair practices of their sometimes much stronger
trading partners.

ETC is currently running a Training Subsidy Scheme (TSS). The
scheme offers assistance in the form of a training grant to aid participants
with costs relating to training. 

The scheme is open for any Training Programme as long
as the following criteria are met:

Training Programme is not offered by ETC

Training
Programme leads to a valid certification as recognised by the Malta
Qualifications Recognition Information Centre (MQRIC)

Institution
delivering the training has to be licensed by the NCFHE.

The grant will cover 75% of training cost not exceeding Euro
1000

This scheme is eligible to:

Self employed
individuals

Individuals in
full-time employment in Micro Enterprise (organisations employing 10 people or
less).

Individuals over
40 years irrespective of their employment status

Unemployed
individuals registering for work

Individuals
earning less than €10,000 (Gross) per year.

Individuals
employed with Local councils or NGOs

Individuals
employed in vulnerable sectors.

For further information
visit, TSS link:

http://etc.gov.mt/Page/90/tss.aspx

Jean-Claude Juncker has been elected President of the European Commission
by a strong majority of 422 votes in the European Parliament plenary session.

After being proposed as candidate for
Commission President by the European Council on 27 June 2014, Jean-Claude
Juncker needed a majority of 376 votes in the European Parliament.

According to Jean-Claude Juncker during his presidency he will focus on ten policy
areas. The areas on the agenda focus on:

1. A new boost for jobs, growth and investment

2. A connected digital single market

3. A resilient energy union with a forward-looking climate change policy

4. A deeper and fairer internal market with a strengthened industrial base

5. A deeper and fairer economic and monetary union

6. A reasonable and balanced free trade agreement with the U.S

7. An area of justice and fundamental rights based on mutual trust

8. Towards a new policy on migration

9. A stronger global actor

10. A union of democratic change

Employment and Training Corporation (ETC) in collaboration
with the European Employment Services (EURES) in Malta is organising an
information session for Maltese employers.

This session aims to inform business owners about the
different services the ETC and EURES can provide in order to help your growing
business.  The topics
covered will include:

ETC Employers' Services

EURES Employers' Services

Sheltered Employment Training (ESF
3.113)

Man Power Records – Online Submission
of ETC Forms

Employment Licence Processes

ETC Training – Design and Quality
Assurance

The business breakfast will be held on Wednesday 23^rd July between 8.00am and
12.00pm at the Golden
Tulip Vivaldi Hotel, St Julian's.

If you wish to attend you are kindly requested to register by
sending an email on or by calling
on freephone 8007 6505 during office
hours by not later than Friday 18^th July.    A full programme will be sent upon confirmation
of attendance.   

Creditinfo, a
leading service provider of credit information and risk management solutions
worldwide, have recently launched a new brand identity.

Simon
Camilleri, CEO of Creditinfo Malta:

"Our new
brand identity illustrates Creditinfo's growth and transformation over the last
couple of years. Just as our company has evolved, so too must our brand, to
reflect the impact of our innovation and the value that our products and
services bring to our ever increasing customer base.

The new
Creditinfo logo is the primary element of our identity, it is modern and bold.
The symbol "I" stands for information. Just like the Creditinfo name, the new
logo will be internationally recognised as a symbol for inspiring confidence,
in line with our company's brand promise.

The
second element central to our identity, is our website. In addition to our new
logo, Creditinfo Malta has also updated its online web portal. The new look
mirrors our brand: professional and straight forward. The layout is designed to
help any person find information about us or our products and services
effortlessly.

Equally,
in the spirit of Creditinfo's core values, our new branding reflects our innovative
approach and thinking. We are unafraid to venture out of our comfort zone and
introduce new ideas. At the same time, this will ensure consistency and
professionalism throughout each of our 16 offices worldwide. Each company
within the Creditinfo Group benefits from shared global experiences, knowledge
and practices, and this will be reflected in one single brand image. All
Creditinfo offices globally will transition to the new branding in the coming
months.

In
addition, Creditinfo Malta has also updated its online credit reports. As part
of an ongoing process to provide the latest and most efficient data and risk
awareness products to the Maltese market place, the new enhancements will
further enable businesses and individuals to trade safely and securely both
home and abroad.

The
display of the online financial reports module will change as we increase the
number of financial entries. These changes may not be evident for every
company, as this depends on the type of financial statements prepared and
filed. The financial content will remain the same, but it will now be more
descriptive so that our customers will have a clearer picture of the status of
the company they are reviewing. Furthermore, the online reports will also
include the availability of information such as undecided claims.

In
summary, the reports will contain more information, confirming to our vision of
being at the forefront of new and innovative products and services within the
credit risk and management sector."

GRTU's Tourisms Hospitality and Leisure President Philip
Fenech welcomed the announcement made by the Government that Malta is fully
committed to the implementation of the Single European Sky.

GRTU is a prime
supporter of this EU proposal and feels that Malta has a lot to gain both as a
country and in businesses terms through its implementation. The Government
stated that Malta continues to affirm its ongoing commitment to tangibly
contribute to the realisation of an efficient and effective Functional Airspace
Blocks (FABs).

This follows a request by the Commission for Austria,
Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy,
Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and United
Kingdom, members of six different FABs to improve their FABs, a common airspace
arranged around traffic flows rather than state boundaries. FABs are a crucial
step towards a more efficient, less costly and less polluting aviation system
in Europe.

Philip Fenech already made GRTU's position clear
during consultation meetings held on the subject that this is the way forward
and that implementing the Single European Sky would result in savings in both
time and costs which should positively impact tourism flows. This especially
for an island state like Malta.

GRTU has this week met MIP CEO Joshua Zammit and raised a
number of important issues which our members find problematic with the MIP EOI
for the installation of Photovoltaic Panels on factory roofs in Industrial
Parks in Malta and Gozo. This is not the first time GRTU had raised its
concerns on this EOI both with MIP and Minister Chris Cardona.

GRTU explained that a section meeting for the sector
was held and all the representatives present felt that they could not
participate because the cost to simply express their interest was too high, the
project has a high risk element and a number of important elements that impinge
on the cost of the service given were still too vague. GRTU emphasized that it
is very worrying that the absolute majority of the sector feel they cannot
participate.

Amongst the issues raised by GRTU was the study, the
performance bond, the one-time upfront payment, the feed-in-tariff and the end
of life of the system.

GRTU stated clearly it is not against the EOI because
the EOI presented a very important opportunity, especially considering Malta's
limited market and space but it needs to be adjusted to give local businesses a
real chance at benefitting from it. GRTU explained how with some adjustments
the EOI could improve drastically.

Mr Zammit informed GRTU that he had listened to all of
GRTU suggestions and will be giving each its required consideration and that we
will hear from the side of MIP. As GRTU now we look forward to a positive
response in everyone's best interest.