Author: SME Chamber

Following the elections for the National Executive Council 2012 held on Sunday January 15^th 2012 GRTU National Executive Council met today to elect GRTU officers for 2012. The GRTU officers team is as follows:

President – Paul Abela

Senior Vice President – Philip Fenech

Director General – Vincent Farrugia

Vice President Finance and Administration – Marcel Mizzi

Vice President International Relations – Michael Galea

Vice President Trade Sections- Joan Haber

Vice President Businesses in the Localities – Sergio Camilleri

VP Training and Development – Mario Debono

Tourists who had planned to come to Malta are not bothering as the local political scene does not even effect them slightly. Foreign buyers of Maltese goods and services are likewise not affected. It's the same with transshipment, harbour operations, financial services, e-gaming, ship registration and all other economic activities which together form the greatest chunk of Malta's GDP.

 

What is effected is local private consumption as consumers hate these political shocks and tend to steer away from spending. Again this is a situation which will be attuned, as the situation drags on, as people have a habit of accepting things, even strange happenings, as this one, as pretty well normal. The negative impact is more on decisions effecting the short to medium term future investment decisions, as investors might prefer to review as change always puts people on a cautious mode. A potential change of Government does cause people to rethink or postpone.

I think it is almost hilarious that our political masters could not manage this problem. In my view the issue could have been settled by the introduction of more Private Members` Days in Parliament where backbenchers, Franco Debono and the others, could have given their positive contributions by advancing Private Member Bills for the benefit of the Community. Franco Debono could easily have produced four or five Private Members' Bills on all the issues he has raised over the last weeks. It would have only taken the Prime Minister and the PN the time to redraw the parliamentary programme of their last year in Government to include also the Franco Debono reform programme. This programme could have been either approved by Cabinet and followed by a three line whip or else by allowing MPs on the Government side a free vote in Parliament on the Debono reforms.

The same could apply for any other backbencher wishing to promote reforms beyond the Government programme. The whole issue is really a PN Parliamentary Group management problem. The business community should have never been involved. People in business really do not understand why this issue was allowed to reach the dramatic proportions we have witnessed this week. Even the Divorce issue should have been tackled in this manner without all the fuss and expense we had to go through.

I think it is still  possible for such a solution as Franco Debono has no mandate from no one to cause all this mess. Other senior democracies have fixed government terms as in the USA and even the coalition government in the UK is moving towards a five year fixed term. In modern politics, especially for members of the EU who are linked to multi-annual financial straight-jackets decided at EU level, it is very difficult for Governments to perform within a planned strategy if they are subjected to the rocking of the boat by an erratic backbencher. This does not mean that backbenchers should not have the liberty to act and even propose new legislation that differs and departs from approved majority platforms, but threatening a country's political and economic stability should not be subjected to the whims of any one backbencher. The price of instability is paid by manyin business, owners and workers and the country as a whole, and no elected representative has the right to impose pain on others just  to enjoy his intellectual freedom.

Judgement as to what is important and essential in this country should not be dependent on the judgement of one backbencher. This is not a question of someone wanting to hold onto power, all this is silly talk really, but it is a question of managing a country according to a planned legislative and administrative programme. There is no economic and social crisis in the country as IMF has just reported and we, as a nation, should not be made to look  naive at a time when other nations, much bigger than us, are managing with difficulties that are real and not imagined.  I am one of those who travel to Brussels practically every week and I find it so embarrassing to explain to informed foreigners what the instability in Malta is all about. People with an average sense find it hard to understand.

It is damaging to us as Maltese really. We are so lucky to be in the European Union. Malta is only the size of an average European town that may have a simple normal municipal authority depending on two, three or four other layers of democratic administrative structures. Our Prime Minister and our representatives today sit at par and at the same level with the leaders and representatives of countries as large as the UK, Germany, France and Italy. We must all learn to grow up and behave to the level of the league we are participating in.

Malta is small but it is a proud nation. We are doing extremely well in Europe thanks to the work and the abilities of so many people. There were so many prophets of doom that frightened us all before we joined the EU that all this great advancement was not possible. Yet it is a reality. The pain more than anything is to our excellent name  in Europe. To our pride as a nation. We cannot, and we should not, appear to be unable to resolve issues that should have never been even brought outside the PN Parliamentary group discussion forum. The stability of a Government of a Member State of the European Union is perceived now to be in jeopardy. Whoever is responsible must seriously rethink and reconsider. The Maltese will pay the price. But we should not have been made to pay it. The issues on the agenda do not make it worthwhile.

Siim Kallas, the European commissioner for transport, will brief members of the European Parliament's transport committee on Tuesday on EU rules on passenger ship safety in the light of the capsize of the Costa Concordia cruise ship. 

 

On Monday, the commissioner expressed his condolences and said that the Commission was engaged in a "full check of complex passenger ship safety rules [and] will make proposals during 2012".

The cruise ship capsized after it hit a rock off the Tuscan coast leaving some passengers dead and some still missing. International journeys such as the Concordia cruise are covered by International Maritime Organization (IMO) rules, while journey's within a country's own waters are covered by EU rules. The EU has the ability to go further than the IMO rules for international journeys, and it has done so in the past, for instance with ferries carrying passengers and cars. But rules on the construction of vessels rest solely with the IMO.

The Commission has been conducting a review since last year to see if the existing rules are fit for purpose. Some of the rules date from the 1990s and the dramatic increase in ship size and passenger numbers may mean rules on the stability of vessels or the training of seafarers need to be updated, a Commission official said. In 2000, the average cruise liner had 1,000 passengers. Today that number is 6,000.

Some Commission efforts to change rules on training of seafarers have been rejected by the Parliament, such as a requirement that people working on passenger ships speak English. Some non-Italian-speaking passengers on the Concordia have complained that the evacuation was chaotic and fraught with communication problems.

Ecology threat

The ship is on the edge of the Tuscan Archipelago National Park, the largest marine protected area in Italy. The danger of it slipping off the rock shelf into deeper water has prompted warnings of an ecological disaster, since the ship was loaded with heavy fuel and harmful chemicals.

Efforts are under way to extract the oil, but could take as long as four weeks. The Commission has offered to help with any environmental clean-up, but so far no assistance has been requested by the Italian government.

Environmental groups and the Italian environment minister have called for restrictions on cruise ship activity. Italian campaign group Marevivo said the industry has a widespread practice of sailing too close to shore "to create a picturesque setting both on board and on land". But the European Cruise Council said that its members "are subject to the highest safety standards around the world".

 

 

Why did you become an entrepreneur?  When I met my fiancée, my husband today, he was already in business.
How have you come to chose your line of business? He had already started a line which was more based on souvenirs and as time went by we widened to souvenirs, works of art, collectables, furniture, etc… I find it very interesting, challenging and it's a sort of thing we both me and my husband like.

 

Where did you go on your last holiday?

Italy. I love the Italian culture, food, fashion and the people themselves. I feel one of them when I'm there. I learnt a long time ago that even it's a big country people are themselves, have families, have a mutual respect for each other and foreigners, they make you feel comfortable even when you are dealing with them on business.

What is your earliest memory?

I was very young and my mother was expecting  a baby and they told me I would have a brother. I was very excited! We grew very fond of each other.

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

I admire a lot of famous people such as Mother Theresa, Hilary Clinton, Margret Thatcher, who I found impressive in the way she managed politics and economic, Lady Diana and how she was sensitive she was to the people. But nobody I can say I would really like to be. I'm happy to be me. If I was someone else I would not have the family I have which I care about dearly.

Extension of the mandatory take-back obligation still an issue for commerce – The recast WEEE Directive will bring some welcome improvements, but commerce regrets these may be outweighed by the mandatory take-back provisions.

 

Today, the European Parliament confirmed the trialogue agreement reached at the end of December on the recast of the WEEE Directive (waste electrical and electronic equipment). The changes will bring some advancement towards greater freedom of movement of electrical and electronic equipment; however it will impose a duty on retailers to take-back small volume WEEE, which may actually damage the long-term effectiveness of recycling provisions in the EU.

Christian Verschueren, EuroCommerce Director General said, "Our concern is that shops will eventually turn into collection points and that distributors take on responsibilities which rightly lie in the hands of producers and municipalities. We therefore particularly welcome the provision, whereby existing alternative schemes for collection must be maintained, not duplicated."

The commerce sector fully supports the principles of the internal market and has consistently encouraged efforts to increase the free movement of goods. We have always fully supported the environmental objectives of the WEEE Directive to improve the recycling of electrical and electronic equipment and contribute to resource efficiency. 

We therefore welcome the improvements introduced by the recast, which are a first step towards more harmonisation and reduced bureaucracy, thus helping small businesses and contributing to a better-functioning internal market. Nevertheless, there is still major concern about the long-term implications on the commerce sector of the new mandatory take-back of small volume WEEE by retailers.

Philip Fenech on behalf of the Hospitality and Leisure Division of the Malta Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprises, GRTU, welcomed the newly announced routes that Ryanair chose to operate to Malta. The seven additional routes provide increased accessibility from a Tourism viewpoint, especially those providing additional links to Italy and the UK, as well as the new routes connecting the Scandinavian market via Norway and Sweden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moreover the novel connections with Poland and Lithuania will provide a fresh impetus to the tourism sector. Every increase in accessibility to Malta results in a direct increase in the economic growth of our country, Mr. Fenech said.

The survey takes only 5 minutes to fill in.In most countries access to funds and capital by enterprises in order to be able to make investments in their business is very difficult. GRTU would like to know more about the situation in Malta. With this information the GRTU will be able to negotiate for better conditions with Government and the banks. The survey will be open until Wednesday the 25th of January.

To participate, please follow the link: http://grtu.net/surveys/index.php?sid=18

Services of General Economic Interest are for example: basic, publicly accessible supply of energy, telecommunication, postal services, transport, water and waste disposal services.

 

At its last meeting before Christmas break the European Commission adopted on 20 December a package of rules on State aid related to Services of General Economic Interests (SGEI) which replaces the so-called Monti – Kroes Package from 2006.

The package includes:

1. Communication clarifying the overall concept of State aid in the context of SGEI (public services, public services compensation, entrustment, transparency, public enterprises, etc.) – positive

 2. Decision, which exempts Member States from the notification of public services compensation, if the compensation is below 15 Mil Euro (before it was 30 Mil Euro) – positive – or it is related to social services (before only hospital and social housing as exempted) – negative.

3. Framework communication for assessing large compensations (beyond 15 Mil Euro).

Furthermore, the Commission presented a draft for a de-minimis regulation, which aims to declare compensation below 500.000 Euro within 3 years as free of aid. UEAPME has argued against this proposal, because SMEs could be the main victim of unjustified (over) compensation or cross-subsidies paid to potential competitors of our enterprises and the proposed regulation will take away the possibility to complain against such unjustified compensations.

GRTU has this week submitted its comments to Government on the issue in line with the position taken by UEAPME as follows:

1. General remarks

Given their weight in the economy and their importance for the production of other goods and services, services of general interest (SGI) are fundamental factors for competitiveness and cohesion, in particular terms for attracting investment in less-favoured regions. The quality, efficiency and non-discriminatory provision of SGI are also conditions for the smooth functioning of the Single Market and for further economic integration in the European Union.

SMEs, Crafts and Trades rely on a wide range of SGI – some of which have a great strategic importance – and considerably depend on high quality, affordability, continuity of supply, safety and security of supply of these services.

Given that SMEs also have to finance SGI through taxation and user charges, they are very interested in the efficient production of SGEI to ensure that services are delivered in a competitive manner. For this reason, SMEs are in general in favour of the private provision of SGI within a competitive environment. However the respect of the provision by the European Treaty, which allows each public entity to decide on its own how its public services should be provided.

2. General comments on the State aid package on compensations granted for the provision of services of general economic interests (SGEI)

The review of the so-called "Monti – Kroes" package from 2005 is welcomes with the aim to provide further clarification on the concept of undertakings and economic activities and the definition of State resources. Furthermore, we agree with the core principles of the regulations, which are based on an explicit entrustment act, compliance with transparency and public procurement rules, a clear definition of compensation and over-compensation and rules for the selection of providers. All these principles are in line with the demand of SMEs for an efficient and effective provision of such services.

3. Specific comments on the proposal for a de minimis aid regulation

We have in general no objection to simplifying the procedure for small municipalities, which entrust public services obligations to small companies. However, the concrete proposal made by the Commission may create some problems as regards an effective control of over-compensation and will increase complexity of the state aid system: The current "Monti – Kroes" package requires for all public service obligations an entrustment act and defines rules for compensation / overcompensation. This regulation is the only effective base for private companies to complain against distortion of competition, if companies or other entities entrusted with public services obligations are cross-financing other market activities (i.e. in cases of over-compensation).

The new de minimis regulation, which does not require any form of entrustment or any rule for the compensation of public services obligations, will take away any possibility for private companies to complain against the abuse of the general rules created by the Commission and by the Court of Justice. Therefore, we ask for conditionality as regards the use of the de minimis regulations. The regulation should only apply in cases where there is an entrustment act that includes clear rules for compensation. This would allow private companies to complain at least before national judges in cases of abuse and distortion of competition. If such conditionality is not ensured, we would propose to refer just to the general de minimis regulation, which allows only state aid up to € 200.000 within three years, compared to € 450.000 / 3 year in the current proposal. This would also avoid additional complexity by applying to different "de minimis" regulations in the area of State aid.

4. Specific comments on the proposal for decision on public services compensation (block exemption)

We welcomes the reduction of the maximum amount of aid (compensation), which has not to be notified, to € 15 Million per year. However, we have serious concerns about the general inclusion of all compensations to hospitals and social services regardless of the amount of aid into the block exemption.

During the last years the provision of private services in the health and social sector has improved significantly in many countries, which has increased the effectiveness of such services as well the quality and variety of these services. The proposed regulation risks destroying these markets and may increase the cost and limit the supply in these sectors. Therefore, the Commission was asked to restrict these exemptions to the absolute minimum.

Consultation: Environmental Permitting of Industrial Activities  –  GRTU has this week written to the officials concerned at MEPA stating that after having reviewed the contents of the consultation document we noted that the time frame permitted to provide feedback in relation to this proposed legislation is quite short. (07.02.2012).

 

 

 

 

 

GRTU came to this conclusion after having come to the realisation that there are a significant number of sectors involved in this matter. GRTU therefore asked for an extension up to the end of April 2012. This would provide enough time to at least meet with the most important sectors involved and give them at least some time to provide a decent feedback.

GRTU has today received confirmation that following our request MEPA will be extending the deadline by 1 month-07.03.2012. MEPA also stated that it will also consider extending the deadline further should the need still be felt. GRTU welcomes this decision.