Author: SME Chamber

Last week the GRTU Executive Council met the Opposition led
by Leader Simon Busuttil together with other representatives of the Opposition.

GRTU President Paul Abela gave an introduction on the
work GRTU today does as a Chamber representing SMEs. Mr Abela said that when
the Nationalist Party was in Government GRTU worked closely with many of those
sitting at the table representing the opposition and now GRTU wants to keep
meeting regularly with the Leader of the Opposition and the Shadow Ministers.

On the Individual Investment Programme GRTU made its
position clear. GRTU, during the last MCESD meeting with the Prime Minister
that discussed issue, put three concrete proposals on the table, which included
a higher investment value, an investment that could not be sold and the
requirement to have the investor spend time in the country.

GRTU also informed the Opposition that after the
Government decided to open the issue on the Shop Opening Hours, GRTU discussed
the issue with the Government and it was agreed that GRTU would conduct an in
depth consultation with members. Mr Abela emphasized that GRTU represents its
members and that we will be taking the positions the majority of our members
support, based on a thorough analysis. The survey will be conducted during the
month of February.

Mr Abela also informed the leader of the Opposition
that GRTU will be presenting its Manifesto for the European Parliament
elections. He stated that GRTU is in favour of MEPs that can understand
business and it would be a plus if at least one of these representatives really
knew what running a business involved as the way of thinking of an entrepreneur
is different. The GRTU President also emphasized that MEPs should work in close
contact t organizations representing businesses throughout their mandate.

Dr Busuttil said that this is first time he is meeting GRTU
as member of the Opposition and he looked forward to future regular meetings.
Regarding the Individual Investment Programme he said that the Opposition is
still very preoccupied on the issue. He agreed with most points presented by
GRTU on the issue and he said that the investor needs to be linked to our
country and there needs to be genuine bond, backed by a residence of at least 5
years. He said that the opposition sees this scheme presented by Government as
a quick fix and this is not what the country needs.

The Leader of the opposition also quoted GRTU's
Christmas sales survey and stated that the opposition is also concerned with
some of the results that came out of this survey. He also quoted results
published by Eurostat where Malta had the largest drop in retail sales amongst
the whole of Europe.

GRTU council members individually went on to present
the issues being faced by GRTU and its members including unfair competition,
the rent reform, crafts and the renewable energy strategy.

GRTU,
represented by President Paul Abela, Deputy President Philip Fenech and
Executives Abigail Psaila Mamo and Carmen Borg met the Minister for Foreign
Affairs Hon George Vella and Permanent Secretary Mr Joseph Cole, for a cordial
introductory meeting.

GRTU
explained the role GRTU has as a Chamber representing SMEs and that
international relations are today very important for our members. GRTU's
members are looking at expanding beyond the limitations offered by the Maltese
market not just to the EU market but to the international market. GRTU today
welcomes business delegations and accompanies members of trade missions in
order to help them in their efforts to expand their business prospects. GRTU
therefore emphasized the importance that it is involved in efforts in this
regards as it has a lot to contribute and members have a lot to gain.

The
Minister said that Government had initiated a process of pooling of resources
so that countries are targeted better and the target is more focused. He
immediately welcomed GRTU's offer of collaboration and assured us that GRTU
will be involved in Government's efforts. The interest of his Ministry was also
that the Maltese businessmen derived as many benefits as they can from Malta's
relations with EU and non EU countries.

GRTU
also enquired on what is called a State of Forces Agreement (SOFA) Agreement
with the US. The Minister said that Malta currently enjoyed very good relations
with the US and the status quo should be maintained. GRTU mentioned the
positive economic effects ships coming into Malta have and this was
acknowledged by the Minister. The Minister explained that he had as yet
encountered no reason to decline entry of ships that requested entry into Malta
and explained the issues that concerned him in relation to a SOFA Agreement
with the US. 

EEN Malta is
promoting various brokerage events organised and/or supported by the Enterprise
Europe Network. Below are a few of the events for your perusal.

There are no
registration fees; only travel costs. Please note that around 50% will be
refunded by Malta Enterprise through the Trade Promotion Scheme, subject to
conditions. Further info may be obtained by visiting http://www.enterprise-europemalta.com/ or by emailing:

Brokerage event in Spain

Date: 3-4 April, 2014

Venue: Sevilla and Merida, Spain

Target sectors: TBA

Brokerage event in Luxemburg

Date: 18-19 June, 2014

Venue:  Luxembourg

Target
sectors:    Eco environment & energy; eco-construction
& sustainable development; e-mobility; machinery & metallurgy; ICT,
e-commerce & web-marketing; training & education; transports &
logistics; services to companies

A Mission for
Growth, led by the Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for
Industry and Entrepreneurship, will be organised in Wallonia, Belgium, on
February 18 and 19, 2014.

The
Mission aims at connecting Walloon SMEs to European companies active in the
same or complementary sectors by participating in networking and B2B
events.   Additionally to the B2B, in
order to allow foreign companies and associated EEN partners to discover
Wallonia activities in the targeted sectors, dedicated thematic visits will
also be organised.

This
Mission targets the following industry sectors, corresponding to the main
clusters in Wallonia:

For registration and further info, visit:

http://www.enterprise-europemalta.com

The Building
Industry Consultative Council (BICC) together with the Malta Competition and
Consumer Affairs Authority (MCCAA) will be organizing a seminar for all the
Architects, Engineers, contractors and professionals within the construction
industry for the official of the Euro Codes in Maltaa. Since this seminar is
free of charge all these professionals and building contractors are invited to
attend to this event.

A
foreign guest speaker Professor David. A. Nethercot is the main speaker.
Professor David A. Nethercot is a British expert in the Euro Codes. Other
speakers are the Engineer Francis Farrugia from the MCCAA, Professor Alex
Torpiano from the University of Malta, the Hon. Architect Charles Buhagiar M.P
Chairman and C.E.O of the BICC and the Hon. Minister for Social Dialogue,
Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties Dr. Helena Dalli.

This
event is being held on Friday 31st January at the Aula Magna, Old University in
Valletta from 5.30pm onwards. It is important that those who intend to attend
should register on 2292 7933/4 at the earliest as reservations are limited.

The
pan-European job search network EURES would be strengthened to provide more job
offers, increase the likelihood of job matches and help employers, notably
small and medium businesses, to fill job vacancies faster and better, under a
proposal just presented by the European Commission.

The proposal would help
citizens to make the most informed choice possible when it comes to moving
abroad for work. "The Commission's proposal represents an ambitious step
to fight unemployment in a very practical way. It would help to address
imbalances on labour markets by maximising the exchange of available job
vacancies throughout the EU and ensuring a more accurate match between job
vacancies and job seekers. The reformed EURES would facilitate labour mobility
and contribute to achieving a truly integrated EU labour market",
Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, László Andor,
highlighted.

The
EURES job search network can be found at: https://ec.europa.eu/eures/

The submission
deadline for the 3rd edition of the "Sustainable Entrepreneurship Award" (SEA),
an international prize for companies applying sustainability criteria in their
entrepreneurial activities, has been set for 30th April.

The award consists of
two categories – Best Project and Best Idea – and goes out to companies and
individuals whose business model strives towards improving social, economical
and ecological issues in their global, regional or micro-local surroundings.
Projects can be submitted from around the world, national as well as
international companies from any sector and of any size are eligible to
participate. Winners, to be announced on 7th October, will receive a 10.000 EUR
reward to be invested in their current work or in a follow-up project.

Further information can be
found at: http://se-award.org/en

Participants will also have the opportunity to
participate in a brokerage session, whereby the representatives from Managing
Authorities and National Contact Points will be present in an adjacent room to
answer queries on a one-to-one basis. 

The
first EXPLORE session will promote EU funding programmes related to the culture
and the arts sector for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and businesses
active in the sector, as well as local councils that are interested in
implementing ‘artistic' initiatives in their localities.

The EU
Funding Programmes that will feature in this session are:

Erasmus+

Creative Europe – Culture Sub-Programme

Creative Europe – Media Sub-Programme

A talk
about other national funds namely: the Malta Arts Fund, Malta Film Fund, Video
Games Fund and Kreattiv will also be delivered during the information session.
Personnel from the Malta Arts Scholarship and Valletta 2018 Foundation will
also be present for the brokerage session.

Should
you be interested in taking part, kindly fill in the form below and
reply on by not later than Tuesday, January 28,
2014.