Author: SME Chamber

Charges for using a mobile phone
abroad will be significantly reduced thanks to new EU rules negotiated earlier
this year. Checking e-mails, surfing
the web and making calls while on holiday became cheaper from the weekend.

From 1 July, the newest
EU rules against high roaming charges came into force, with cap prices for
calls, SMS and internet use on the mobile.

According to the new EU
law, prices for using mobiles phones abroad will be lowered to 29 cents per
minute for calls and 70 cents per megabyte for internet access in July 2012.

They will be further
reduced to 19 cents per minute for calls and 20 cents per megabyte for internet
access by 2014.

In addition, users will
be allowed to choose a different operator for roaming which is expected to
bring about more competition.

Most operators are
already starting to offer roaming packages for travellers in response to the
new law.

The new charges were
welcomed by the "Europeans for fair roaming" group which has lobbied
for further lowering of roaming charges with the support of 20 associations, 14
MEPs and 150,000 people.

The commission originally
proposed prices of 50 cents per megabyte in 2014. Effort from the European
Parliament and different stakeholders however managed to get them down to 20
cents per megabyte. This shows that determined citizens can have a real
influence on European politics.

In the meantime, MEPs and
EU member states rightly stepped in to ensure that customers get a fair deal
instead of a nasty bill shock at the end of a trip abroad.

Holidaymakers will also
be able to benefit from cheaper prices for mobile internet services while
staying in touch with family and friends back home over email and social
network sites.

Cloud computing: EC workshop
tackles contract terms

The European Commission organised a workshop this week in
Brussels to identify safe and fair terms for consumers and small firms in
contracts for "cloud computing", the use of software and other ICT services
over the internet. Speaking at the event, Enterprise Policy Director Luc
Hendrickx stressed that SMEs need neutral and understandable information to
take up offers for cloud computing services. As the data that could be stored
"in the cloud" are often crucial for the continuity of the enterprise, minimum
data security standards and proportional compensation clauses in case of data
loss should be introduced. A balanced and easily accessible alternative dispute
resolution system would also be needed for conflicts over contracts, he
concluded.

Carbon allowances: SMEs worried by
"backloading" proposal

UEAPME has recently published and sent to Members of the
European Parliament and to the European Commission a position paper on the EC
proposal to set aside or to withdraw temporarily ("backload") EU carbon
allowances from the market in 2013-2015. Although the so-called emission
trading scheme (ETS) for greenhouse gas allowances mostly affects industries of
a bigger size, such a decision could also have negative effects on SMEs, for
instance in terms of higher energy prices or loss of supply and subcontracting
opportunities. Therefore, UEAPME stressed that the ETS should continue to
operate as a market instrument, and called for a comprehensive impact
assessment of the proposed changes. UEAPME will monitor the developments on
this file in the ongoing legislative procedure.

Public image of entrepreneurs must
be redressed

Enterprise Policy Director Luc Hendrickx spoke  in Brussels at the "Young European
Entrepreneurs Seminar 2012" organised by the European Economic and Social
Committee. The public image of entrepreneurs must be redressed to encourage
this career path, he stressed. Governments should promote respect for risk
takers and discourage the negative conception by the public and the media of
entrepreneurs as greedy and self centred individuals. Actually, making money is
rarely the first reason why entrepreneurs start their own business. Financial
support to set up private businesses and boost self employment is clearly
needed but is not sufficient, continued Mr Hendrickx. In fact, training in
management competences is equally essential for a successful business. Last but
not least, the creation of private businesses is positive but cannot be seen as
a tool against unemployment, he concluded.

GRTU Council Member and Vice president EU and
International Michael Galea this week met the Consul for Trinidad and Tobago,
Mr John Hadad. Trinidad and Tobago, even though bigger than Malta are also
islands and so the representatives discussed the similarities, including the
fact that they were all once British colonies.

The population is three times
the size of the Maltese population. Tourism is also important to Trinidad and
Tobago however their strength is in oil and gas, that directly and indirectly
contributes to 80% of GDP. Mr Hadad said that they were aware that these
resources were not unlimited and therefore little by little they are trying to
switch their dependency on tourism. In addition to this they are
environmentally conscious and they are therefore trying to apply the Swedish
concept, where the revenue from the oils are being reinvested into
sustainability.

Cyprus has taken over the EU's
rotating six-month council presidency only days after it became the fifth
eurozone country to receive a bailout for its ailing financial sector. Cyprus
insists its presidency agenda will not be overshadowed by its request for
financial assistance, despite its banks struggling under the weight of huge
losses on their investments in Greece.

European commission
European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund auditors arrived in
Nicosia yesterday to begin an assessment of the struggling country's needs.

Cyprus' president
Demetris Christofias called for budgetary discipline in the EU to be
complemented by a "strong growth strategy", saying that
"austerity-only policies have not proven successful", says the
broadcaster.

Cypriot government
officials are hopeful that the island would avoid the kind of harsh austerity
measures endured by other bailout countries, with Nicosia very keen to retain
its 10 per cent corporate tax rate.

The Cypriot government is
also sounding out Russia and China over possible bilateral loan deals, as its
junk credit rating status prevents it from trading on international debt
markets.

Meanwhile, the UN and EU
have expressed frustration that Nicosia has announced that it plans to put
reunification talks with northern Cyprus on the "back burner" while
the country concentrates on its presidency duties.

EU enlargement
commissioner Štefan Füle has urged Cyprus to maintain the peace process saying
that there was "no contradiction" between a successful EU council
presidency term and continued reconciliation talks.

Il-Malta-EU Steering and Action
Committee (MEUSAC) flimkien mal-Awtorità ta' Malta dwar ir-Riżorsi, se
jorganizza laqgħa ta' konsultazzjoni dwar il-Komunikazzjoni tal-Kummissjoni
Ewropea ‘Pjan ta' Azzjoni dwar l-Enerġija sal-2050'. Dan il-Pjan jiffoka fuq
it-tnaqqis tal-emissjonijiet tal-gassijiet b'effett serra madwar l-Unjoni
Ewropea (UE), fil-kuntest tal-mira ta' tnaqqis ta' bejn 80% u 95%
fl-emissjonijiet tal-UE sal-2050, filwaqt li fl-istess ħin tiżgura s-sigurtà
tal-provvista tal-enerġija u l-kompetittività.

Il-laqgħa ser issir bil-MALTI nhar l-Erbgħa, 11 ta'
Lulju 2012, fl-10 ta' filgħodu, f'Dar l-Ewropa, 254, Triq San Pawl,
il-Belt Valletta.

Biex tirreġistra, inti
ġentilment mitlub tibgħat l-interess tieghek lill-MEUSAC sa mhux aktar tard minn nofsinhar
tat-Tlieta, 10 ta' Lulju 2012 fuq l-indirizz elettroniku .

Why
did you become an entrepreneur? Coming
form families in business, both on my side and that of my husband, business was
always in me. I always felt I wanted to do something for myself and an
opportunity came!

How
have you come to choose your line of business?

We
had a family friend who owned a skip services company in the UK and they were
not doing so well and I jokingly told them that they should come to Malta. They
took me seriously and 6 months later they were in Malta. First the business
comprised only of skips and waste collection and later we developed it to
incorporate the collection of separated and recycled waste.

Where
did you go on your last holiday?

Belgium
to see my daughter. I don't like the weather but it's a nice place, different
from Malta.

What
is your earliest memory?

When
I was young my father was in business so he used to work long hours and my
mother used to take us children for a walk in the country.

If
you could chose to be someone famous who would you be and why?

I
would like to be a Prime Minister so that I could make the changes I think
Malta needs.

The GRTU, in collaboration with
MCAST and MEPA, informs you that anyone carrying out such services is required
to participate in a training exercise, through courses leading to a
certificate.

Commission regulations EC No 842/2006, EC 303/2008 and EC
307/2008 require all individuals involved in the installation, maintenance and
servicing of fixed refrigeration and air conditioning equipment or which is
installed in motor vehicles, to attend such a minimum qualifications
certificate issued by a body approved by MEPA.

These regulations distinguish between the various types of
individuals providing such services into categories and specifies what type of
activities are allowed.

The courses are provided free of charge. In preparation for such
courses a questionnaire needs to be completed by each and every individual
carrying out such services within the company. For a copy of the questionnaire
kindly contact Ms Carmen Borg at GRTU on or 21 232881.
Deadline for submitting the questionnaire is 12th July 2012.

Should you require any further clarifications or details in this
regard you can also contact Anthony Aquilina at MEPA on the following e-mail
address : or on tel. No.
2290 7229.

PEGASE
is a project promoted by UEAPME to enhance the
participation of SME organisations in
the European Social Dialogue. The second PEGASE European Social
Dialogue session was held on the 12/13 June with the theme Preparing the European Social Dialogue for Small Micro Enterprises.

Ms.
Lilian Volozinskis UEAPME Social Affairs director welcomed the group and gave a
brief background of the last session and hi-lighted the main objectives of this
session. First we discussed a study on the preconditions for forming business
interest associations for SMEs and their status regarding the social dialogue.
It resulted that in the current business environment SMEs are finding it very
difficult to self organize and be sustainable. Hence the need for external
support from the government or Big Business Organizations (BBOs) is imperative.
Nevertheless, the existence of influential SME organizations remains essential
to: respect democracy, be able to participate as full partners in Social
Dialogue at all levels and to guarantee their autonomy.

Ms. Helen Hoffman, UEAPME
Advisor for Social Affairs, and Mr Blando Palmieri from Academy Avignon presented
findings of a follow up questionnaire sent to members regarding the state of
play of Social Dialogue in the 9 countries and the respective SME
organizations. It was evident that the direct participation of SME Organisation
in collective bargaining is not on the same level in each country. In fact only
2 out of the 9 representing countries of the Pegase project, HUP in Croatia and
AECSS in Slovenia, are negotiating collective agreements. Other countries such
as Malta, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Turkey do not
participate directly in collective bargaining at national or sectoral level.
Collective agreements are not legally binding for SMEs in Czeck Rep. and in
Poland. On the other hand they are legally binding for SMEs in Malta, Estonia
and Slovenia. In view of the weak participation of SMEs in collective
bargaining and in bi-partite social dialogue it was recommended to better pool
resources on a larger scale and making links at sectorial and territorial
social dialogue levels.

Ms Doboszynska from ZRP
presented the successful use of the European Social Fund for capacity building
in Poland. She hi-lighted that their success in tapping such an opportunity
(European Social Fund) was due to the solid legal basis and status of ZRP as
social partner.

Ms Willems outlined the
different projects being carried out by Unizo in supporting the development of
SME organizations in new member states and candidate countries. SMEs could  benefit from increased co-operation among
sister organizations, including cross-border, as well as exchange of
knowledge  and good practices on how to
attract new members and increase representativeness through the development of
tailor made services for members.

The last session concerned a
presentation on the Pegase website and newsletter. The new website also
includes a "members only section" where members can browse the latest
information in line with the European Social Dialogue network. In conclusion Ms
Volozinskis hi-lighted the need to reflect on the opportunities that the Pegase
network activities are creating for the member organizations and the
possibility of their continuation.

MEPs
have voted to reject the controversial Acta designed to provide better global
protection for intellectual property. This
means it is unlikely the EU will approve the treaty in its current form, and
means that it is doubtful that the agreement, which the US strongly supports,
will ever come into force.

This
is the first time the European parliament has used its Lisbon treaty powers to
reject an international trade agreement, but the commission could still push
for a revival of Acta if it secures a court decision in its favour.

MEPs
voted 478 against, 39 in favour, with 165 abstentions, amid fears that the
treaty could be used to restrict internet freedom leading to the mobilisation
of broad support across Europe, including protests across a number of cities.
Parliament president Martin Schulz said that the vote against Acta was not a
vote against the protection of intellectual property, saying the rejection
stemmed from the treaty being "too vague, leaving room for abuses".

Anti-Acta
campaigners, who secured 2.8 million signatures for an online petition to
reject the law, have called the decision a victory for European democracy and
civil society. Anti-Acta activists had complained that negotiations for the
treaty had taken place largely behind closed doors, with leaked drafts being
the only real access the public had to the text of the agreement, reports the
Telegraph.

The
commission is still waiting for a European court decision on Acta's legality,
but the court's ruling is unlikely to make a difference, with Brussels
officials reportedly already working on an EU intellectual property rights
enforcement directive.