Author: SME Chamber

Today the EU Commission imposed
provisional anti-dumping duties of up to 59% on ceramic tableware and
kitchenware from China, disregarding the fact that a majority of Member States
had opposed such a move. GRTU, EuroCommerce who represent
European retailers and importers in Europe and Foreign Trade Association
condemned the move. In a democratic society, it is not acceptable that the
Commission can impose punitive duties under such circumstances.

GRTU had consulted its members and
expressed a clear view that voting in favour of such an anti-dumping duty was
not in favour of Maltese traders and consumers. The fact that at the vote taken
at the Anti-Dumping Committee of 23 October only nine Member States were in
favour shows very clearly that this is the situation in many other European
countries.

At this stage of an anti-dumping
investigation, the vote by Member States is however technically not binding on
the Commission (unlike when a decision is taken to impose definitive duties).
However, many commentators expressed surprise that the Commission had decided
to go ahead with legislation.

SME importers will be hit
particularly badly by the measures as they operate on very tight margins in a
highly competitive marketplace. This measure will also impact consumers as
members had indicated that they may be forced to put up prices and/or reduce
the range of product. In such times of recession when we are all looking to
save money, imposing duties on such a wide range of products that every family
needs simply in order to protect a few players in the EU industry is
short-sighted.

The investigation is set to continue
until the Commission is ready to decide whether definitive duties should be
imposed. This decision is likely to arrive by April so that interested parties
can submit comments and Member States can be consulted before the ultimate
deadline of 16 May 2013. At that point duties could be imposed for a maximum of
five years.

GRTU takes this opportunity to advise
members that from today onward tableware and kitchenware of ceramic of other
type of pottery originating from China will be subject to a 59% duty on the
price of the project on importation.

Timm Elektronik is developing and producing measuring
and control-equipment for the petrochemical and chemical industry mainly in
Europe. It specializes in the production of explosion proof equipment, which
enables the safe loading and unloading of flammable liquids of tank trucks,
railway wagons and ships.

Please view our website www.timm-elektronik.de
for further information about our company and our products.

Tonio Borg, Malta's nominee to become
the new European commissioner for health, impressed MEPs with an assured
performance and a firm knowledge of the major issues of the health portfolio at
a hearing with the European Parliament on Tuesday (13 November). But some MEPs
were left wondering what had become of the Maltese politician who was known in
his home country for conservative Catholic positions on social issues.

‘Brussels Borg' was gracious and
friendly as he took questions from MEPs. He said he would vigorously enforce
article 21 of the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights, which forbids
discrimination based on sexual orientation. He highlighted his support of the
legal normalisation of same-sex partnerships and a hate-crimes bill in Malta,
and said that he had taken a stance against criminalising those women who left
Malta, where abortion is illegal, in order to have a pregnancy terminated. He
said as commissioner for health he would work to end bans that some member
states had imposed on gay men donating blood. "I fully believe in the European
values, including those of non-discrimination," he said.

Borg surprised many when he said that
he would support Viviane Reding's proposal to establish a quota for women on corporate
boards. When asked about genetically-modified food and stem cell research, he
said: "I will let science be my guide when making difficult decisions."

It was a far cry from the
descriptions of ‘Malta Borg' that were circulated to MEPs ahead of the hearing.
Campaigning groups accused Borg of taking stances unsympathetic to same-sex
couples in debates on the EU law of free movement and on a rent law. "We will
only protect those who deserve protection," he was quoted as saying in 2009.

They said Borg had personally
campaigned to have a ban on abortion inserted into Malta's constitution and
voted against the bill legalising divorce in Malta in 2011, even after it had
been supported by a public referendum.

Borg was asked by MEPs how positions
he had taken while a national politician in Malta fitted with his assertion at
the beginning of his opening address that he would honour the EU's Charter of
Fundamental Rights. Borg insisted he had never made the disparaging remarks
attributed to him. He said his opposition to the Maltese bill to include
same-sex partnerships in rental laws was for technical rather than ideological
reasons.

Questions about his past positions on
social issues were largely confined to the start of the hearing, but he
deflected them with ease. By the end of the hearing, there was a sense in the
room that he had largely won the MEPs over. Even British centre-left MEP
Michael Cashman, the co-president of the Parliament's gay rights group, came
out of the hearing saying that he had been reassured that Borg could be trusted
with the health portfolio based on the commitments to human rights that he had
made. But the next day (14 November), when political groups met to decide
whether they would endorse Borg or not, the friendly mood faded. Cashman told
members of his Socialists and Democrats group that, after thinking about it
overnight, he could not endorse the Maltese nominee.

"There are far too many
question-marks over why he's suddenly changed his positions, despite what was
considered an impressive performance," he said. "If you have these deeply held
views that you put into political practice [in Malta], why would you suddenly
ditch them at EU level? I don't think his conservative allies would accept
that."

The S&D MEPs were unable to come
to a decision on Wednesday. They have sent a letter to Borg saying they are
inclined to support him, but need further assurances on his commitment to human
rights. The ALDE group in the Parliament was able to come to a conclusion on
Wednesday – a qualified ‘No'. The group said it could not support Borg unless
Commission President José Manuel Barroso moves him to a different portfolio.

The full Parliament will vote on the
confirmation next week in Strasbourg. A successful outcome for Borg now
probably rests with the Socialists, who can decide whether he is endorsed.

During the confirmation hearing, Borg
said his top priority would be the rapid proposal of an ambitious
tobacco-products directive. He guaranteed that he would not water down the
draft that is now in the pipeline within the Commission and that he would get
the proposal out so that it could be passed before the next Parliament
elections in June 2014.

Borg was also asked about other
controversial areas of his portfolio including genetically modified crops,
animal transport, conflicts of interest at the European Food Safety Authority
(EFSA), and vaccine co-ordination, but he did not indicate any specific policy
directions in his answers to these questions.

He indicated, however, that he is
ready to stand by the beleaguered food authority in the face of recent
criticism. "The moment EFSA becomes popular I will really become worried," he
said. "It is either criticised for being too harsh, or for being too lenient.
The truth is somewhere in between."

Mario Draghi, the president of the
European Central Bank, today said that the eurozone economy was likely to
remain weak for some time, as he welcomed a vote in Greece's parliament that
approved the government's latest austerity measures. Draghi, speaking after a meeting of
the ECB's governing council at which it was decided to leave interest rates
unchanged, said that national governments needed to carry on implementing
deficit-reduction measures and structural reforms.

Draghi said "The growth momentum is
expected to remain weak. The necessary process of balance-sheet adjustment in
the financial and non-financial sectors and an uneven global recovery will
continue to dampen the pace of recovery."

However, he said that there were some
positives and that money flows had improved since the ECB had announced its
Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) programme – to buy government bonds in
unlimited amounts – in August.

The programme has not yet been activated,
with Mariano Rajoy, the prime minister of Spain, hinting this week that no
imminent request would be forthcoming from his government unless he was
convinced that such measures would reduce his country's borrowing costs.

Draghi said that the vote in Greece's
parliament that narrowly supported the government's latest austerity measures
"represents real progress, especially when you compare it with the situation
just a few months ago".

The governing council decided to keep
the main eurozone interest rates unchanged. The main refinancing rate will stay
at 0.75%.

Draghi said that high energy prices
and increases in indirect taxation such as value-added tax in some eurozone
countries meant that inflation rates were likely to remain above 2% for the
remainder of 2012.

Half of the EU's river basins will be
affected by water scarcity and stress by 2030 if action is not taken soon,
according to a report to be published. Despite ambitious goals set in 2000
aimed at safeguarding Europe's water, member states look like failing to meet a
2015 restoration deadline.

The ‘water blueprint' published on 14
November examines progress in member states' implementation of the landmark
Water Framework Directive. The Commission is ruling out new legislation apart
from a proposal to relax standards for water re-use. It states that the
performance must be improved by better implementation and enforcement. For
instance, zones designated as vulnerable to nitrates should be expanded.
Cross-compliance requirements, as proposed by the Commission in its reform of
the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), would encourage better performance.

Member states were required to submit
river-basin management plans to the Commission by December 2009, outlining
action to restore freshwater sites to good ecological status by 2015. Based on
information provided, the Commission estimates that only 43% of sites are in
shape today, and only 53% will be by 2015.

Many member states failed to draw up
the plans in time. The worst offender was Spain, which still has no plans for
19 of its 25 river basins. Earlier this month, the European Court of Justice
condemned Spain for not meeting the requirements of the directive.

The blueprint is non-committal on the
controversial issues of water-pricing and water-efficiency. The European
Parliament approved a resolution calling for water-metering to be made binding
across the EU, taking social issues into account.

The most widespread pressure on water
sites in the EU is modification through dams, hydropower or drainage for
agriculture. This affects 40% of EU water bodies spread through 19 countries.
The second most common problem is over-extraction.

The draft text envisages no new
funding for the European Innovation Partnership for Water, which instead must
draw from existing funding. This will come as a disappointment to water
campaigners.

The Restriction of Use of Hazardous
Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS) Directive primarily
aims to ensure that EU Member States apply common restrictions on the levels of
hazardous substances that may be present in a wide range of electrical and
electronic equipment, as well as minimising the end of life environmental impact
of that equipment.

The original Directive published in
2002 was implemented through L.N. 396 of 2004 and its amendments; the
Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and
Electronic Equipment Regulations which came into force on 1 July 2006.

The new RoHS Directive, 2011/65/EU1
was published on 1 July 2011. It has a different scope and obligations on those
placing products on the market.

The original policy of the RoHS
Directive to protect human health and the environment across the European
single market remains the same. However, the new Directive brings forward
changes to:

Broaden
the scope of products covered

Require
the "CE" and other marking of compliant products and new conformity assessment
procedures

Provide
for new exclusions from scope

Provide for new criteria for the
application and duration of exemptions

Introduces
an end date after which non-compliant product cannot be made available.

Between 2005 and 2008, the Commission
consultants undertook a number of research projects into various aspects of the
RoHS Directive. The results of those studies can be downloaded from the EC's
Europa website at
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/rohs_eee/studies_rohs2_en.htm

A new online stakeholder consultation
started on November 9th 2012 and will run for twelve weeks until February 1st
2013.

The consultation covers 4 RoHS
exemption requests:

Exemption
request 12 "Leaded solder utilized in stacked, area array electronics
packaging within ionizing radiation detectors including CT and X-ray"

Exemption
request 13 "Lead in platinized platinum electrodes for measurement
instruments"

Exemption
request 14 "Lead in solders for the ignition module and other electronic
engine controls mounted directly on or close to the cylinder of hand-held
engines (classes SH: 1, SH: 2, SH: 3 of 2002/88/EC)"

Exemption
request 15 "Hand crafted luminous discharge tubes (HLDT) used for signs,
decorative or general lighting and light-artwork"

All corresponding information can be
found at http://rohs.exemptions.oeko.info/index.php?id=152.

F'Jannar 2009 daħal fis-seħħ
ir-regolament il-ġdid tal-Unjoni Ewropea dwar il-Klassifikazzjoni, it-Tikkettar
u l-Imballaġġ (CLP). Dan ir-regolament il-ġdid ifisser li hemm xi bidliet
fil-mod li bih jiġu komunikati l-perikli kimiċi. Il-pittogrammi li jirreferu
għal perikli fiżiċi u tas-saħħa nbidlu, filwaqt li ddaħħlu wkoll tliet
pittogrammi ġodda. Saru wkoll xi bidliet fil-klassifikazzjoni.

L-Aġenzija Ewropea għas-Saħħa u
s-Sigurtà fuq il-Post tax-Xogħol (EU-OSHA) qed tappoġġja lill-Kummissjoni
Ewropea fl-isforzi tagħha biex tqajjem kuxjenza dwar il-bidliet fis-sinjali
relatati mas-sustanzi kimiċi fost persuni li jiġu f'kuntatt mas-sustanzi kimiċi
fuq il-post tax-xogħol, kif ukoll fost min jimpjegahom.

L-EU-OSHA għandha l-għan li tilħaq
lill-utenti aħħarin li jimmaniġġaw is-sustanzi kimiċi fuq il-post tax-xogħol,
permezz tal-esperti/maniġers jew tad-diretturi ġenerali OSH tagħhom. Għandna
bżonn l-għajnuna tiegħek biex inxerrdu din l-informazzjoni, biex inqajmu
kuxjenza dwar il-mod li bih jiġu komunikati l-perikli kimiċi.

L-EU-OSHA tixtieq tiżgura li
l-ħaddiema huma familjari mal-pittogrammi l-ġodda dwar is-sustanzi perikolużi,
u li dawn jimmaniġġawhom b'attenzjoni. Biex nagħmlu dan għandna bżonn li
l-maniġers, ir-rappreżentanti tas-sigurtà u l-ispeċjalisti OSH joqgħodu attenti
għal sustanzi li għandhom il-potenzjal li jikkawżaw ħsara, li jivverifikaw
it-tikkettar u l-imballaġġ ta' sustanzi kimiċi u l-iskedi b'Data dwar Sigurtà,
u li jidentifikaw kwalunkwe ħaddiema li jistgħu ikunu esposti għal tali
sustanzi biex jiżguraw li dawn jiġu protetti. Huwa importanti ħafna li dawn
jikkonsultaw u jinfurmaw lill-ħaddiema dwar ir-riskji u l-miżuri implimentati.

http://osha.europa.eu/mt/topics/ds/clp-classification-labelling-and-packaging-of-substances-and-mixtures

F'din it-taqsima għandek issib
diversi riżorsi bħall-ktejjeb Gwida għal min iħaddem rigward il-kontroll
tar-riskji relatati mas-sustanzi kimiċi kif ukoll riżorsi oħra mill-Kummissjoni
Ewropea (poster, pocket card, preżentazzjoni bin-noti, eċċ.) jew il-fuljett
Sejħa għal azzjoni mir-rappreżentanti kollha tal-ħaddiema f'kumpaniji li
jimmanifatturaw, li jużaw jew li jqiegħdu fis-suq is-sustanzi kimiċi maħruġ
mill-Konfederazzjoni Ewropea tat-Trejdjunjins (ETUC) u l-Federazzjoni Ewropea
tal-Ħaddiema tal-Minjieri, tas-sustanzi Kimiċi u tal-Enerġija (EMCEF).

Iżda l-kampanja ta'
sensibilizzazzjoni ma tieqafx hawn, u se jkun hemm aktar riżorsi disponibbli
fit-taqsima web iddedikata tal-EU-OSHA fil-futur qrib.

Huwa importanti li theggu
l-kollegi/impjegati tiegħek jifhmu u jagħrfu l-informazzjoni l-ġdida
tat-tikketta u l-miżuri preventivi bażiċi ġodda meta jużaw sustanzi kimiċi.

Il-Malta-EU Steering and Action
Committee (MEUSAC) u l-Awtorità ta' Malta dwar l-Ambjent u l-Ippjanar (MEPA) se
jorganizzaw laqgħa ta' konsultazzjoni dwar it-traspożizzjoni tad-Direttiva
2012/19/UE li tirregola l-iskart ta' tagħmir elettriku u elettroniku (WEEE). Din
id-Direttiva, li tirrevedi liġijiet eżistenti dwar il-WEEE, għandha l-għan li
ttejjeb il-ġbir, l-użu mill-ġdid u r-riċiklaġġ ta' tagħmir elettriku u
elettroniku, li tillimita l-esportazzjonijiet illegali ta' skart ta' dan it-tip
mill-Unjoni Ewropea, u li ttejjeb l-impatt ambjentali tal-operaturi kollha
involuti fis-settur, sabiex inaqqsu l-iskart u jippromwovu l-effiċjenza
tar-riżorsi.

L-għan ta' din il-laqgħa hu li jinġabru
l-kummenti u l-opinjonijiet ta' dawk involuti, jew interessati f'dan is-settur
qabel din id-Direttiva tidħol fis-seħħ fil-Liġi Maltija.

Il-laqgħa ser tinżamm nhar it-Tnejn, 26
ta' Novembru 2012, fl-għaxra ta' filgħodu, f'Dar l-Ewropa, 254, Triq San
Pawl, il-Belt Valletta. Din il-laqgħa ser issir bil-Malti.

In terms of Regulation 9 (15) of the Workplace (Minimum
Health and Safety Requirements) Regulations of 2002, fire drills for all places
of work should be carried out as often as indicated by the Civil Protection
Directorate taking due consideration of the fire risks within any particular
workplace and its occupancy. These regulations determine that drills are
carried out at least once every six months, and a record kept of these drills.

The obligation to hold fire drills at regular intervals is
one of the measures required to be taken to protect workers (and other
occupants) from the risks of fire – in this case, this particular requirement
is intended to ensure emergency preparedness and therefore limit the extent of
harm.

The Occupational Health and Safety Authority is currently
discussing amending this sub-regulation so that whereas the normal frequency
for the organisation of fire drills remains every six months, the employer, in
consultation with the Workers Health and Safety Representatives, seek the
advice of a person competent in fire safety, and who is recognised as such by
the Department for Civil Protection. In suggesting a different frequency, the
competent person needs to analyse the prevailing fire risks and the occupancy
of that specific place of work. In any case, the frequency of the fire drills
cannot be longer than once every twelve months.

The proposed text of this amendment is as follows:

"9. (15) The employer shall ensure that fire drills are
carried out at least once every 6 months and a record kept of these drills.
Provided that a person competent in fire safety and recognised as such by the
Civil Protection Directorate, may, at the explicit request of an employer, and
after analysing the prevailing fire risks and the occupancy of that specific
place of work, determine a different frequency for that employer's workplace,
which in any case shall not be longer than once every twelve months. The
recommendations made by such a competent person should be documented in writing
and kept by the employer together with the record of the fire drills.  Worker's Health and Safety Representatives
shall be given the opportunity of being consulted on the frequency of these
fire drills."

The proposed amendment is intended to reduce unnecessary bureaucratic
or administrative burdens, without in any way leading to a reduction in the
prevailing standards of occupational health and safety.

The Occupational Health and Safety Authority welcomes any
feedback on the proposed amendment which will be taken into consideration
before making its final proposals to the Minister for Health, the Elderly and
Community Care as the Minister responsible for occupational health and safety.
Feedback can be sent till the 23rd of November 2012, in writing, by normal post
to: The Occupational Health and Safety Authority, 17, Edgar Ferro Street, Pieta
PTA 1533, or via email: .