Author: SME Chamber

The steady economic recovery in
most Member States and in the EU as a whole will continue, according to the
European Commission's winter forecast of 25 February. After exiting the
recession in spring 2013 and posting three consecutive quarters of subdued recovery,
the economy is set for a moderate step-up in economic growth.

Following real GDP growth
of 1.5% in the EU and 1.2% in the euro area in 2014, economic activity is seen
accelerating in 2015 to 2.0% and 1.8% respectively. These figures each represent
an upward revision of 0.1 percentage points compared with the autumn 2013
forecast.

A modest rise in
employment is expected from this year onwards while consumer price inflation is
expected to remain subdued. Diminishing uncertainty should underpin stronger
demand, which is expected to become the key driver of growth as deleveraging
pressures, funding constraints as well as internal and external adjustment
needs gradually subside.

According to the
Forecast, Malta has the strongest employment growth among all EU Member States.
Malta has also the fourth lowest unemployment rate and retains strong growth
projections. The revision of deficit figures follows two consecutive forecasts
which predicted a deficit in excess of 3% for 2013 and 2014. This is now revised
positively to 3% in 2013, and 2.7% in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

The European Parliament rightly
adopted a resolution to make Single Market Governance a dedicated pillar of the
European Semester.

Today Europe is still a
long way off a smooth functioning internal market, particularly in services
such as retail and wholesale. Actions are necessary to make it easier for
retailers or wholesalers to sell cross-border, establish and conduct a business
in another Member State, and enable companies to fully benefit from a true
internal market. Making Single Market governance an integral part of the annual
European Semester cycle will put it high on the political agenda and guarantee
its ongoing improvement.

Member States and the
Commission can help to improve the governance of the Single Market through:

a fast and zero-tolerance attitude towards infriengements of EU legislation;

promoting and better resourcing SOLVIT centres;

accessible, comprehensive and up-to-date Points of Single Contact;

full and correct implementation of the Services Directive;

implementation of Single Market Acts I and II

EU Trade Commissioner Karel De
Gucht met with US Trade Representative Michael Froman in Washington, D.C. from
17-18 February to review progress on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment
Partnership Agreement (TTIP) negotiations that were launched in July 2013.

L-GRTU
tesprimi d-dizappunt taghha ghal mod ta' kif 
l-licenzji ta' vetturi fosthom; burdnara, scammels, distributuri
ta' ikel u xorb u ohrajn gholew b'mod eccessiv u minghajr ebda konsultazzjoni.

Il-membri
tal-GRTU qed jigu mgieghla li mill-1 ta' Jannar 2014 ihallsu mizati eccessevi
ghall-licenzji ta' vetturi kummercjali, zidiet li f'certu kazijiet jitilghu
ghal aktar minn tlett mija fil-mija. Din izzieda dahhlet fis-sehh minghajr ebda
konsultazzjoni minn naha tal-Gvern,  tant
li dawn is-sezzjonijiet partikolari kienu sorprizi bl-introduzzjoni taghhom.

Fl-laqgha
li l-GRTU ghan nom ta' dawn l-membri kellha ma Transport Malta giet infurmata
li dawn iz-zidiet kienu msemmija fil-Bagit 2009, izda l-GRTU qatt ma kienet
infurmata u wisq anqas kunsultata u issa sabet ma wiccha dawn iz-zidied
imdahhlin fis-sehh minghajr ma sar ebda impact
assessment.

Dawn
iz-zidiet eccessevi jfissru piz finanzjarju kbir fuq dawn s-sidien ta vetturi
kummercjali li juzaw dawn il-vetturi bhala l-ghodda ewlenija ghan-negozju
taghhom. Dan ser jwassal ghal zieda fil-prezzijiet li se jaffettwa lill-konsumatur
b'riskju ghall-impjiegi u l-impjegati tal-istess sidien.

Dawn
iz-zidiet huma diskriminatorji fil-konfront tal-s-self employed
iz-zghir, il-ghaliex filwaqt li fuqu qed jigu mposti dawn iz-zidiet
eccessivi fil-hlas tal-licenzji mhux l-istess jigri fil-konfront ta'
vetturi
ohra bhal xarabanks li l-hlas tal-licenzja taghhom hu baxx u sahansitra
ssussidjat.

L-GRTU
tappella lill-Gvern biex jisma t-talba ta dawn s-sidien ta' vetturi kummercjali
u flimkien insibu soluzzjoni li tghin biex tnehhi dan il-piz finanzjarju li
tpogga fuq n-negozjant zghir u medju.

Dawn
huma ezempji ta whud miz-zidiet imposti mill-1 ta' Jannar 2014:

1. Tractor Unit, ERF, mudell EC11 tal-1998
fl-2013 kien ihallas 701 ewros fis-sena u mill-1 ta ' Jannar 2014 il-licenjza
zdiedet b' 428 ewro – zieda ta' 61% u li ghalhekk jammonta ghal 1,129 ewros

2. ForkLifter, TCM, tal-1998 kien ihallas
185 ewros fis-sena u mill-1 ta' jannar 2014 il-licenzja zdiedet b'113 ewro –
zieda ta' 61% u li ghalhekk jammonta ghal 298 ewro.

3. Vann Transit tal-1987 fl-2013 kien
ihallas 185 ewro fis-sena u mill-1 ta' Jannar 2014 il-licenzja zdiedet b'113
ewro – zieda ta 61% u li ghalhekk jammonta ghal 298 ewro.

4.
Crane, CRUPP, tal-1994, fl-2013 kien ihallas 185 ewro fis-sena u mill-1 ta
Jannar 2014 illicenzja zdiedet b' 636 ewros – zieda ta' 344% u li ghalhekk
jammonta ghal 821 ewro.

L-Onorevoli Silvio Schembri,
President tal-Kumitat Permanenti dwar l-Affarijiet Ekonomici u Finanzjarji
jiltataqa' mall-GRTU – l-Kamra Maltija ghan-Negozzji Zghar u Medji. L-iskop ta' din l-laqgħa
kien sabiex l-Onor Schembri jkompli jisma' kif jaħsbuha d-diversi setturi dwar
ir-rati tal-imgħax mitluba mill-banek li finalment huma kruċjali
għall-industrija lokali, speċjalment għan-negozji żgħar u medji fejn ir-rizorsi
huma limitati hafna. 

L-Onorevoli Schembri  informa li l-Kumitat dwar l-Affarijiet
Ekonomiċi u Finanzjarji beda jistħarreġ is-suġġett tar-rati tal-imgħax mitluba
mill-banek f'Malta fil-bidu ta' din is-sena, waqt laqgħa li kellu mal-Gvernatur
tal-Bank Ċentrali.  L-Onor. Schembri
spjega illi wara li jkunu kkonsultati r-rappreżentanti tad-diversi setturi
milquta, il-ħsieb hu li l-Kumitat jorganizza seminar ta' nofs ta' nhar fejn
ikunu mistednin kemm l-istakeholders ewlenin, kif ukoll rappreżentanti
tal-banek Maltin, fejn  jkunu jistgħu
jagħtu l-pożizzjoni rispettivi tagħhom. dwar ir-rati ta' imgħax applikabbli
lokalment.

Fost issues oħra li gew
diskussi ġie elenkat illi n-negozji żgħar lokali huma iktar sensittivi għal
interessi għolja mal-banek lokali u li ċ-charges tal-banek lokali huma pjuttost
għoljin meta mqabbla ma' pajjiżi oħra.  

Fi tmiem il-laqgħa,
ntlaħaq qbil li l-GRTU taghmel preżentazzjoni dwar l-Affarijiet Ekonomiċi u
Finanzjarji lill-Kumitat.

Preżenti għal-laqgħa kien
hemm is-Sur Paul Abela, President tal-GRTU, is-Sur Philip Fenech President
tat-Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure Carmen Borg Eżekuttiv Ufficcju, GRTU.

This
week GRTU, together with the other members of the Malta EU Steering and Action
Committee, were addressed by Dr Ian Borg, Parliamentary Secretary for the EU
Presidency 2017 and EU Funds during a Core Group meeting which focused on
Malta's preparations for the Presidency in 2017.

We
are now three years away from the date when Malta will take over the presidency
of the European Council. Three years might seem a lot but in fact it is no so
for the amount of work and preparation that needs to be undertaken.

The
top Government officials taking care of preparations for the Presidency are Mr
Victor Camilleri, Executive Director (Programming and Training), and Mr Paul
Mifsud, Logistics Coordinator. Parliamentary Secretary Borg announced that
the first formal meeting of the Presidency Trio consisting of Slovakia, the
Netherlands and Malta that will be presiding over the Council of the European
Union between 1 January 2016 and 30 June 2017 will take place in Bratislava at
the end of March. During this meeting, the three countries will start working
on the task of identifying the priorities of the Presidency and to start
preparing the programme.

Dr
Borg said that the internal structure within the Ministry to deal with the
requirements of the Presidency has already started to be set up. They are
currently looking into the need to increase the amount of human resources they
have especially those based in Brussels, which most probably will have to
triplicate. At the moment the officials were meeting with all the Ministries to
draft a list of priorities for Malta and ultimately come up with a programme.

The
Parliamentary Secretary also said that the Budget will be finalized in June
2014 and that Malta did not have a figure as yet of how much will be spent on
the Presidency. From past experience of other Member States however it
transpired that the cost of a presidency is significant and even when countries
are very careful with spending they can easily spend around €50M. Dr Borg said
that Malta has already secured an amount of funds from the EU to address
capacity building needs required for the run up to the EU Presidency.

Mr
Victor Camilleri explained that the role of the Presidency includes the
responsibility for chairing meetings of the Council and its many working groups
throughout the process from when the European Commission issues a legislative
proposal to the moment when the Council adopts the legislative act. Together
with the two other Member States of the Trio, a programme is drafted for the 18
months. The presiding Member State also chairs informal Council Meetings and
organises other ancillary events that take place in the Member State during the
Presidency. Mr Camilleri said that the Maltese Presidency must promote the EU's
priorities, but will also strive to push forward Malta's priorities in the EU.

During
the meeting GRTU stated that it welcomed the update and the fact that
Government was consulting social partners. We emphasized that both GRTU and its
members do not want a Presidency that comes and goes without us feeling that we
have been involved and participants. We feel that both GRTU and its members can
be very valid contributors to a successful Presidency.

GRTU
also said that we would like to hear more about the programme that Malta will
be focusing on when more details are available. We have put forward a
suggestion that Malta should include SMEs in its priorities and push further
than the Small Business Act, towards an SME strategy that is more legally
binding on Member States.

The European
Commission has launched "Inseparable", a EU-wide campaign to promote
sustainable fishing. "Inseparable" builds on the momentum of the reform of the
Common Fisheries Policy, which came into force in January and recognises that
all stakeholders have a part to play to ensure fish for future generations.

The
campaign provides practical information to consumers and business operators on
how they can eat, buy, and sell sustainable fish.

The "Inseparable" campaign shares the same message that EuroCommerce,
working as the Alliance for Common Fisheries Policy Reform with WWF, fish
processors, co-ops and chefs, has been calling for: sustainable fisheries that
offer consumers the sustainably harvested fish they deserve and demand.

Full website:

ec.europa.eu/fisheries/inseparable/en/home

A new
Eurobarometer survey from January 2014 shows that more than a quarter of us
turn our phone off altogether when we travel within the EU. This means that
telecom companies are missing out on extra potential revenue, and it shows that
EU citizens travelling for work or pleasure are afraid of being stung with a
huge bill when they get home.

The Israel
Innovation conference is a unique and exciting new international Biomed and
High-tech conference format. The conference will take place at the Tel Aviv
Fairgrounds May 20-22, 2014.

This conference led by IATI will also bring the government perspective
through the involvement of the Chief Scientist (OCS) of the Israeli Ministry of
Economy.

IATI is
Israel's umbrella organization representing the various constituents of the
nation's advanced technologies, be it high-tech, biomed, multi-national
corporations, start-ups, incubators, accelerators,  technology transfer offices of academic
institutions,  venture capital funds,
service providers and more.

The OCS annual
R&D Conference will also merge with Israel Innovation Week, bringing the
government perspectives and exhibitions of the OCS programs into the new
format. The Biomed and High-tech venues will include lectures, company
presentations and exhibitions. While each event will cater to the participants
of its respective agenda, the event will also include joint sessions covering
topics of mutual interest to the entire advanced technology industries
including: perspectives of innovation and R&D policy and the convergence of
technologies between High-tech and Biomed and other factors of the Israeli
eco-sector.

Further
information and registration can be found at :

http://mixiii.com/home/welcome-letter#.Uwd9uYV9D6c