Author: SME Chamber

Commissioner
for Climate Action Connie Hedgegaard talks about the aim behind the EU's pan
European awareness campaign 'A world you like. With a climate you like' – What is this campaign about? It is about creating a world that
we'd all like to live in. To get that, we need to deal with the climate
challenge. With this campaign we want to provide the positive vision that
motivates people and put focus on the existing solutions to climate change –
which need greater take-up by all of us.

Yes, across Europe we see an
increasing number of people getting concerned about the climate challenge. No
wonder! With daily reports about record CO₂ emissions, record ice
melts, record droughts, record rainfalls, record food prices.

Don't you think people are more pre-occupied with the economic crisis?

No, and it is not an either or. Most
people realise that the climate challenge didn't disappear just because we got busy
handling the economic crisis. And, yet, despite the growing awareness – many
people in many countries do very little themselves to take action. Many don't
even do the things that would save them time and money. One of the main points
of this campaign is actually to say: We need to fix the economy AND the climate
at the same time.

What is it you want people to do?

A simple example: turning down the
heating by just one degree can reduce your annual bill by 5-10% and it
contributes to fighting climate change. Why would people not be interested to
do that? It saves them money. And it helps reduce CO2-pollution. The same goes
for taking the bike to work. People in big European cities easily spend eight
full days a year in their car being stuck in traffic. By taking the bike you
save money. You save time. You save CO₂. You even save your body
around four kilos of fat per year. Seriously: what's not to like?

How will you get the message across?

We try to make it concrete and
tangible what people can do. And we show where they will actually improve their
quality of life by doing the right thing for the climate. But this campaign is
also about listening. If people aren't doing this already, it is perhaps
because they don't yet know or because some barriers are holding them back. We
need to know more about what's holding them back in order to discuss with
Member States how to remove these barriers. 

Will changing habits matter at all?

It DOES matter. It means the world,
actually. By 2020, we could reduce CO₂ pollution by an amount that
corresponds to the combined annual emissions of Ireland, France, Finland,
Belgium and Portugal if all 500 million Europeans changed habits in areas such
as eating, shopping, transport and heating. Each day, each citizen makes a lot of
choices. Whether these are sustainable or not actually matters.

Why should this campaign succeed in doing what other campaigns haven't
achieved?

First of all many countries in the EU
have not had that many campaigns – for instance in Southern Europe and the new
member states. So we focus on these. Second, we take a new approach by working
systematically with partners that help us spread the message. More than 75
organisations from all Member States had already signed up as official partners
on the first day of the campaign – business associations, NGOs, universities
and government institutions. And campaigns actually can change behaviour. When
I was a minister we did something similar. After the campaign had run for some
years, more than 90% of the population had heard of it. And more than half said
it had made them change habits.

The
European Commission is one of the 7 institutions of the EU. It
has a quasi-exclusive right to propose EU legislation, implements the EU's
decisions and policies, manages the EU budget and is often referred to as the
‘Guardian of the Treaties'

The
Commission operates in a manner similar to that of a cabinet government having
collective responsibility with 27 Members (informally known as Commissioners),
one from each EU Member State, appointed for a 5-year term

They
do not represent their country of origin and are prohibited from seeking or
taking instructions from any Government or other institution, body, office or
entity

The
European Parliament may vote on a motion of censure of the Commission. If such
a motion is carried out, the members of the Commission shall resign as a body

The
current President of the Commission is the former Prime Minister of Portugal,
José Manuel Durão Barroso, who is currently serving his second term in office

The
European Commission operates primarily from the Berlaymont building and various
other buildings in Brussels and is divided into departments known as Directorate
Generals (DGs) and Services

Each
DG covers a specific policy area or service such as trade or environment, and
is headed by a Director-General who reports to a Commissioner

There
are 43 DGs in the present Commission, with a staff complement of 33,033, of
whom 154 are Maltese

The
Commission has a Representative Office in Malta situated at Dar l-Ewropa, 254,
St Paul's Street, Valletta. Martin Bugelli was appointed Head of Representation
in May 2011

Info:
MEUSAC News

Article 246 of the Treaty on the
Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) states that a vacancy in the
Commission shall be filled for the remainder of the Member's term of office by
a new Member of the same nationality appointed by the Council, by common accord
with the President of the Commission, after consulting the European Parliament
(EP) and in accordance with the criteria set out in the Treaty on European
Union (TEU).

The EP's Rules of Procedure lay down
that the Commissioner-designate is to appear before the appropriate committees
according to his or her prospective fields of responsibility. These hearings
are held in public. In the case of Dr Borg, the relevant EP committees are
those on the Environment, Public Health and Food  Safety (ENVI); Internal Market and Consumer
Protection (IMCO); and Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI). There will be
only one joint hearing.

The committees invite the Commissioner-designate
to make a statement and answer questions. The hearing is organised in such a
way as to enable the Commissioner designate to disclose to Parliament all
relevant information. Provisions relating to the organisation of the hearings
are laid down in an annex to the Rules of Procedure.

Parliament evaluates
Commissioners-designate on the basis of their general competence, European
commitment, personal independence, knowledge of the prospective portfolio, and
their communication skills. 

The public hearing has been scheduled
for November 13.

Once the hearing is over, the
committee members must deliberate and send a joint evaluation to the Conference
of Presidents of the EP which consists of the EP President and the
representatives of the political groups who will then discuss the conclusions.

The new Commissioner is then
appointed by the European Council acting by a qualified majority. Members of
the Commission are normally appointed for a five-year term that may be renewed.
If Dr Borg is appointed Commissioner, he will serve for the rest of the term of
the current Commission i.e. up to 2014.

On 23-24 October Michael Galea attended
the European Social Dialogue Working Session for SMEs in Brussels. GRTU attended as part of a project
called PEGASE which aims to give exposure to members of Social Dialogue so
being able to attend the Social Dialogue Committee was an experience. The
agenda was decided by the European Social partners in agreement with the
Commission.

The
themes discussed where:

The second day started with the
"Debriefing of the Social Dialogue Committee Meeting" where each
participant expressed his views and experiences learnt in this project. Michael
Galea highlighted that Social Dialogue is an objective that businesses
especially SMEs have to seriously look at. Furthermore issues raised at this
level are important issues effecting the daily life of businesses such as
growth, employment, competitiveness, labour market functioning, flexicurity,
aging of work force, life long learning and development, health and safety,
working conditions, working time, gender equality and other issues.
Participating at this level means that the scope and activities can be agreed
according to SME priorities. This most especially in today's business
environment where we have SMEs struggling to make ends meet.

Such networks give the opportunity to
understand better the mechanism of SD functions. For example the implementation
of the framework agreements. The reporting back of the state of play of Social
Dialogue of other EU countries and how good and salient ideas be implemented
back home. The Pegase network has helped in putting the Social Dialogue on the
agenda for those countries where Social Dialogue is not yet developed and
discussions are not at a National level. This will be continued and further
developed and therefore in itself will constitute a lasting effect.

GRTU is now committed to Social
Dialogue according to the EU model, it will continue to play a role as a Social
Partner at National level, it will seek opportunities and capacity, even
through EU funded project to express SMEs needs and further develop the Social
Dialogue.

Another important tool of the Pegase
project where the newsletter and the website. The newsletter has produced
tailor made information on Social Dialogue issues for small and
micro-enterprises. It also created a link between the project members on ESD
and an information tool for each of the eleven organisations at national level.

Another part of the session was
dedicated to a presentation on "Health and Safety at work". The
current situation in Europe is that 167,000 people die every year from
occupational accidents and diseases. Other key challenges are the economic
crisis and ageing population. The speaker remarked that as a strategy to
partially address the ageing problem companies must start doing age audits. In
practice prevention means that managers and workers work together to prevent
risks with the result of fewer accidents and higher productivity. She passed
two important messages:

It
is a legal and moral duty of management to take the lead on workplace safety
and health. In practice this means that at the place of work there is a visible
and active commitment by the management and using a risk assessment to guide
decisions.

Employers
have the duty to consult their worker's representatives on health and safety
which means an effective and open dialogue, workers fully cooperating with employers,
joint problem solving and decision making, participation in implementing
solutions and promoting safe working conditions.

She also mentioned in great detail
the European Good Practice Award. This award is about outstanding and
innovative good practice solutions towards encouraging managers and employees
to actively work together to enhance workplace safety and health. In this award
the Malta OHSA is directly involved at national level. GRTU through Ms. Carmen
Borg is one of the players. On the 24th of October the inauguration ceremony
was held and the winners announced. The winner was "Actavis" and the
runner up was "Smart City".

The concluding remarks addressed the
finalisation of the Pegase project and what could be the way forward. All
participants gave their reaction and views. There was an unanimous agreement
and encouragement amongst all members that this project should carry on
preferably in Brussels or as an alternative in one of the participating
countries under an ESF project.

GRTU Director General has this week
also participated at this fact-finding seminar on Youth Employment because it
is a very important topic. Mr Farrugia made a strong intervention for greater
and practical support for small and micro enterprises, most especially, as
within them they have the possibility to recruit youths.

In September 2012, 5.520 million young
people (under 25) were unemployed in the EU-27. Compared with September 2011,
youth unemployment increased by 164 000 in the EU-27 and by 275 000
in the euro area. In September 2012, the youth unemployment rate was
22.8 % in the EU-27.

Recruitment by SMEs is the quickest and
most efficient solution there is but SMEs need a lot of support to make the
renovations and expansions they need. In the times of crises what the EU gave
to SMEs in terms of financial aid can in no way be compared to aid given to the
larger companies, which was much, much more.

We have to do more to remove and
obstacles that hamper youth mobility. Youths need to be mobilised so that
youths from areas where there is a stronger supply of qualified youths can move
to areas that have a stronger supply of employment opportunities. A change in
mentality is also required and youths should be reassured that it's safe and
easy to travel within the European Community and encouraged to go and grab the
opportunities that exist in other countries.

Education establishments also need to be more responsive to
the needs of the market and SMEs. It is imperative that any barriers to
employment by enterprise must be immediately eliminated. Countries that have
enacted employment and training schemes are comparatively doing much better in
youth employment figures, Malta is thankfully one of these countries. The only
shortage of labour we have is in the new categories that the economy is
creating.

European Economic and Social Committee
(EESC) employers` representative at EESC has this week attended the
Consultative Committee for Industrial Change meeting where an EESC draft paper,
for which Mr Pezzini is rapporteur, "Trends
and consequences of future developments in the area of personal social, health
and educational services industries in the European Union" was
discussed.

The EESC believes
that in Europe, personal social, health and educational services form an important
cornerstone of the European social model. These services, which are
interdependent and mutually reinforcing in their effectiveness, form a
"golden triangle" essential to the smooth functioning and quality of
society.

The EESC believes
that more awareness is needed of the fact that as the population ages and
demand for care grows due to the falling number of family caregivers (due,
inter alia, to the growing participation of women in the labour market), better
planning and programming has become essential, in terms of requirements and
training for healthcare workers on the one hand, and in terms of budgetary
funding priorities on the other.

The sector is very
important in terms of its contribution to EU gross domestic product, the
significant employment prospects it offers in terms of job and new-business
creation, as well as its capacity to deliver innovative, quality responses to
the structural changes and needs in European society.

Mr Farrugia stated that in the same way
in which we managed great success with Airbus by verticalising, we have to do
the same with the health sector. A list of qualified persons should be made
available as even though there is supply in Malta, for example, we still end up
employing people from Bangladesh and India. As far as possible such employment
should be filled by EU nationals. 

GRTU has on Wednesday held a very
interesting half-day seminar on health and safety in business. This seminar was
successful in raising awareness on key issues that employers must be aware of,
for the benefit of their business and that of their employees. The seminar was
sponsored by Atlas Insurance PPC Ltd.

GRTU President Paul Abela opened the
seminar by thanking the employers present for their numerous attendance and
highlighted the role organisations such as the GRTU and the Occupational,
Health and Safety Authority (OHSA) play in reaching out to business in order to
help them become aware of how health and safety can be applied in their
business and how the simple things can make a big difference. Mr Abela
emphasized that health and safety legislation should not be difficult to apply
and must be sensitive to business especially SMEs. Mr Abela concluded by saying
that many small businesses are family run so keeping a safe and healthy
environment is more important for them.

Silvio Farrugia from OHSA highlighted
that implementing H&S policies in a business is easier and less costly than
facing an incident, fines and possibly having to run a business with an
employee less because the employee has suffered an injury at work. In addition
to this the company would be enhancing their corporate image and featuring in
the newspapers because an incident happened on the place of work doesn't look good.
Employers found in breach of their H&S obligations can receive a fine or be
even taken to court with the worst case scenario be imprisonment. It was
also highlighted that employers who have adopted a voluntary occupational
health and safety management system such as ILO-OSH 2001 or OHSAS 18000 series
had the opportunity to compete and receive recognition awards – e.g. OHSA good
practice awards. This year only very few companies applied which is a pity as
surely more companies have good health and safety work practices which they can
present.

Dr. Alessia Zammit Mckeon, a lawyer,
gave a more legal perspective and stated that an enterprise employing more than
4 workers must conduct a risk assessment, document this and update it. A risk
assessment must be carried out every time the company's environment or
circumstances change such as purchasing new equipment or employing a new member
of staff. For such an assessment one must check factors such as level of
hygiene, accessibility to emergency exits, whether equipment is properly
maintained and so on. An employer must remember that apart from assessing and
informing oneself about H&S, it is also important to inform, instruct and
supervise its employees.

Gaston Degiovanni, a
safety engineer gave practical tips of how to approach safety issues and how to
avoid incidents that can harm the company's employees by giving the most common
examples they encounter on a daily basis. The most common problems include:

 The final speaker in the conference
Abigail Mamo from GRTU presented practical tips to have a safer working and
shopping environment with regards to third-party violence, which means violence
though insults, treats and injury from a parson outside the enterprise on someone
that works within the enterprise. This for instance can be a client or a thief.
It was mentioned that an employer must protect its employees from third party
violence through training and preparing them for any eventuality. Employees
that have suffered third-party violence tend to absent themselves from work
more, have low working morale or quit, therefore it is in the interest of the
employer to tackle the issue. 3Million people around the EU working in commerce
experience some form of violence at work therefore EU Social Partners decided
to work together and issue a toolkit that can be applied by SMEs, full of
inexpensive practical tips. The main points from the toolkit presented was to
conduct an evaluation of the risk of the enterprise and the employees,
prevention by improving the shop layout, and training in conflict management
and being prepared for shop-lifting and robberies.

Several participants asked questions
with problems they encounter related to H&S on a daily basis. From the
questions it became evident that the law is very severe on businesses and
sometimes even if they have nothing to do with a case because they are only the
owners of a premises that was rented out to someone that did not observe the
conditions, or they have done everything in their power and an accident still
occurs, they are still kept responsible. GRTU will be taking up the issue to
see that an employer can carry the requirements and have a guarantee that he is
safe at law, irrespective of other people's negligence.

 The feedback was very positive
from participants and GRTU and its members would like to thank Atlas Insurance
PPC Ltd for sponsoring the event and organising it in collaboration with GRTU.

Vincent Farrugia GRTU Director
General has this week participated at a conference in London in the framework
of the Single Market Week as panellist in representation of the EESC, of which
he is a member.In his intervention Mr Farrugia had
the opportunity to present the EESC Opinions related to the Digital Agenda and
eProcurment, the latter for which he was rapporteur.

Single European Transport Area: Ease
the movements of citizens and freight, reduce costs and enhance the  sustainability of European transport.

Recovery of cross border debts:
Current fragmentation of national rules on enforcement severely hampers debt
collection within the EU.

Faster cross-border insolvency
proceedings: If companies and individuals with business activities or economic
interests in EU countries other than where their core activities are located
become insolvent, there may be direct implications on the proper functioning of
the internal market.

Double taxation: In the absence of
common corporate tax rules, the interaction of national tax systems often leads
to over-taxation and double taxation.

Cross border relief: Relief for
losses sustained by companies and groups is limited to the profits realised in
the Member State in which the investment was made, meaning that companies and
groups may have to pay tax on an amount in excess of their real results at EU
level.

Financial havens: Europe's internal
market, the well-being of the financial and commercial market and the sound
development of an economy that keeps to the common rules adopted in order to safeguard
the general interest must face up to the huge amounts of money salted away in
areas and countries of convenience.

Present for the conference was also
Lord Leon Brittan, ex Trade Minister in the time of Thatcher and European
Commissioner for Trade and European Commissioner for External Affairs.

Sometimes it takes some time before
tangible results can be secured in the world of lobbying – this week however we
have achieved a goal that EuroCommerce, representing us in Brussels, and GRTU
as their national members pursued since 2005. The European Commission has
announced the withdrawal of its proposal for a mandatory origin marking scheme
for certain imported products, better known as "Made-In" label.

As the Commission's justification for
the withdrawalconfirms: "In addition to lack of agreement in the Council
and recent developments in the legal interpretation of WTO rules have rendered
this proposal outdated".

If adopted, this proposal would have
created an obligation to indicate on certain imported non-food products
(leather, footwear, clothing, …) the country of origin. This would have been
costly and bureaucratic for EU importers and retailers, whereas EU
manufacturers would have been exempted from that obligation – a classical
non-tariff barrier to trade.