Author: SME Chamber

Directive 2012/17/EU on the
interconnection of business registers entered into force on 7 July 2012.
Member States have had two years to adapt their national laws to introduce the
first set of provisions in the Directive, including a new obligation on
business registers to make available documentation submitted by limited
liability companies normally within 21 days of receipt.

The European Commission published a
questionnaire which aims at providing it with experience-based evidence of the
remaining obstacles to a fully functioning Single Market for services. It
targets all companies, especially SMEs, which provide services cross-border,
have established a business in another Member State, have purchased
cross-border services, or have tried to do so but have failed for different
reasons.

This includes activities carried out online. It is also an invitation
of recipient of such services, consumers or other business, to provide
feedback.

The questionnaire includes the
following sections, which should only be filled in if they are relevant for the
respondent dependent on his case

1. Information
about the respondent

2. General
questions to respondents doing business in or buying services from another EU
country

3. Specific
questions to respondents doing business in another EU country

4. Specific
questions to respondents not doing business or buying services in another EU
country

5. Specific
questions to respondents buying services from another EU country

The questionnaire will also serve as
a basis for discussions in local stakeholder workshops to be organised in the
Member States in the context of the Single Market Forum 2014/2015. Such
workshops will take place in autumn 2014.

The
questionnaire can be directly accessed through the following link:

http://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/internal-market-services-businesses?surveylanguage=en

GRTU Deputy President and Tourism Leisure and Hospitality
Section President Philip Fenech this week met with Mr Ramon Deguara, Head of Cleansing,
and his team and together walked around the Paceville area and spoke to a
number of entrepreneurs and identified specific areas were more attention was
needed. They identified places where litter bins could be utilized and also
agreed on cleansing logistics for the better management of the area.

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.