Author: SME Chamber

Response statistics for Consultation on options to reduce plastic carrier bags and options to improve the biodegradability requirements in the Packaging Directive and the visibility of biodegradable packaging products to consumers. Statistics are based on 15538 responses.

 

 

The respondent
a citizen	96.90%
a public authority	0.33%
an industry association	0.97%
a NGO	0.39%
a university	0.23%
other	1.18%
Is it necessary, in your opinion, to adopt measures at EU level to reduce the use of carrier plastic bags?
Strongly agree	65.08%
Agree	13.28%
Disagree	3.64%
Strongly disagree	17.07%
No opinion	0.94%
Do you agree that the establishment of waste prevention targets for plastic carrier bags provide for a significant reduction of plastic carrier bags?
Strongly agree	46.79%
Agree	27.31%
Disagree	7.92%
Strongly disagree	14.37%
No opinion	3.60%
At which level should the waste prevention targets for plastic carrier bags be established?
EU level	71.34%
National level	13.68%
No opinion	14.98%
Do you agree that an EU ban on plastic carrier bags is needed?
Strongly agree	52.85%
Agree	17.70%
Disagree	7.14%
Strongly disagree	20.81%
No opinion	1.49%
In your view, can pricing measures effectively reduce the use of plastic carrier bags?
Strongly agree	30.62%
Agree	31.18%
Disagree	18.24%
Strongly disagree	8.04%
No opinion	11.93%

 

 

In your view, at which level should pricing measures on the use of plastic carrier bags be best defined?
EU level	57.15%
National level	22.87%
No opinion	19.98%
Measures to reduce the use of plastic carrier bags should make a distinction between:
Biodegradable/non-biodegradable plastic carrier bags	57.60%
Single use/re-usable plastic carrier bags	23.52%
No distinction is necessary	23.26%
No opinion	12.74%
In your view, are the current requirements on compostability and biodegradability in the Packaging Directive appropriate?
Appropriate	12.30%
Partially appropriate	26.42%
Inappropriate	29.66%
No opinion	31.62%
Do you believe it should be clearly established that only those materials that biodegrade in natural conditions (i.e. on soil, in freshwater and/or in the sea) are to be called biodegradable?
Strongly agree	56.39%
Agree	23.83%
Disagree	3.37%
Strongly disagree	11.26%
No opinion	5.16%
Do you agree that a mandatory EU labelling or marking system should be introduced to increase the visibility of biodegradable packaging products to consumers?
Strongly agree	48.33%
Agree	28.35%
Disagree	4.99%
Strongly disagree	13.35%
No opinion	4.97%
What should a mandatory EU labelling or marking system indicate?
Biodegradable packaging products	50.90%
Non-biodegradable packaging products	28.34%
No opinion	20.76%
N/A	–

LN 132 and 133 published on 24 April 2009 announced the amendments to the VAT Act (Chapter 406 of the Laws of Malta) which will come into force on 1 January 2010, 1 January 2011, 1 January 2013 and 1 January 2015. These changes implement the EU "VAT Package" adopted in February 2008 which announced changes to the place of supply of services rules, additional compliance requirements and revised procedures for recovering VAT incurred in Member States other than a business's home state. The proposed changes to the ‘place of supply' rules are relevant in the context of cross-border provision of services, and their primary scope is to ensure a level playing field for businesses which supply services within the EU.

General Rule: Distinction between B2B and B2C supplies

The new general rule shifts the place of supply of business-to-business ("B2B") services from the country of establishment of the supplier to the country of establishment of the customer, requiring the customer to self-account for VAT in his country of establishment (reverse charge). The current basic place of supply rule will remain the same for business-to-customer ("B2C") supplies of services, which services will be taxable in the country where the supplier is located.

Exceptions for specific services

Exceptions to the general rules will continue to apply to certain categories of services, such as services connected with immovable property and educational, sporting and cultural services. Certain services, such as services consisting of work on movable property, will remain taxable where physically carried out when provided B2C (exception to the general rule), but will be taxable where the customer is established in the case of B2B services. The new rules also clarify the VAT treatment of restaurant and catering services, another exception to the general rules.

Telecommunications, broadcasting and electronically supplied services

With effect from 2015, the place of supply of these services B2C will, in all cases, be the country of establishment of the customer. B2C suppliers of such services would be required to charge VAT in the country of establishment of the customer, however suppliers may opt to have only one EU VAT registration and to report the VAT due in each Member State through that single registration ("One-stop-shop" arrangement).

New reporting obligations

With effect from 1 January 2010, new registration and reporting requirements will be introduced for businesses supplying and receiving services in a cross-border context. The new reporting obligations complement the revised exchange of information arrangements between the EC Member States which will allow the Member States to monitor the cross-border provision of services.

Refund of Malta VAT paid by businesses established in another EU Member State – New Procedure

Legal Notice 357 of 2009 published on 15 December 2009 announced the changes to the application procedure for refunds of Malta VAT paid by businesses established in other EU Member States, effective 1 January 2010. The application for a refund is to be submitted in electronic format to the VAT authorities of the applicant's Member State of establishment, through the electronic portal set up by that Member State. This new procedure applies to refund applications submitted after 31 December 2009. Eligibility of the applicant for a refund of Malta VAT will depend on the said applicant's eligibility in terms of the rules in force in the Member State of establishment. Furthermore, restrictions to the recovery of VAT on certain purchases in terms of the rules in the Malta VAT Act for blocked inputs (including entertainment, alcohol and motor vehicles) continue to apply.

EU VAT Refund Claim

Persons registered under article 10 who are eligible for a refund of VAT paid in another EU Member State may submit an application for a refund through the Malta VAT Department's electronic portal.

Change to the Tax Point rules

Legal Notice 71 of 2010 announced the amendments to the VAT ‘Tax Point' rules in the Fourth Schedule to the Malta VAT Act. The changes impact supplies of goods or services which are made on an ongoing basis over a period of time (continuous supplies) and essentially provide that if no statement of account is raised or payment made, the goods/services shall be considered to be supplied at intervals of one year. In the case of continuous supplies of services from suppliers outside Malta to a business customer in Malta (where the customer must reverse charge Malta VAT), unless the tax point is otherwise triggered, the services shall be regarded as being completed on the expiry of each calendar year until the supply of such services comes to an end.

Information from Deloitte.

Why did you become an entrepreneur? Entrepreneurship is something that I have been raised in and therefore for me I believe it is a way of life.  I believe that entrepreneurship is a vehicle that a person can use to achieve their dreams and goals and whilst most times it is very hard work it is also very rewarding.

How have you come to chose your line of business?

After working in the family business for a number of years I decided to branch out on my own and whilst part of our company is still in the same market sector, that of automotive parts, we have been innovative in our approach to the sector in a different way, our company offers a one stop shop for automotive glass. The other sector of the company is very very different. We work in the Occupational Health and Safety sector, we are importers and distributors of Personal Protective Equipment, Barrie systems etc. The reason that I chose this line was because after having researched the market in 2004 I realized the lack of awareness, this is when I started my studies which eventually lead me to wanting to work within this sector.

Where did you go on your last holiday?

In Belgium, although this holiday was not a typical one as I attended the Junior Chamber International World Congress, which is a week packed with meetings, general assemblies, trainings and parties, meeting new people from all around the world is something that I enjoy. As for the last relaxing holiday was in Valencia -Spain

What is your earliest memory?

This is a tough one! My earliest memory would be running around with my parents in the kitchen playing.

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

I think that it would have to be Richard Branson from Virgin as his story is something that moves me, I admire his tenacity and the fact that he believes in people without putting them into boxes. Also his concept of social enterprise is something that I aspire to be able to implement in our company and hopefully within our community

Germany is providing Christmas tinsel for the struggling eurozone economy. Never mind the region's escalating debt crisis and global fears about the stability of Europe's monetary union. German business confidence has improved for a second consecutive month – and consumers remain surprisingly cheery.An unexpected rise in the Munich-based Ifo institute's business climate index for December indicated the eurozone crisis was leaving Europe's largest economy relatively unscathed.

 Sharp rises in optimism in retailing and construction reflect falls in German unemployment to lows not seen for 20 years, encouraging hopes that the downturn will be shortlived. Separately, the Nuremberg-based GfK research group reported that German consumers' economic expectations also brightened this month.

The latest Ifo rise was "like a winter fairy tale", said Andreas Scheuerle, economist at Deka bank. "It's the story of a large economy at the heart of Europe that keeps getting better, unaffected by the debt crisis and its neighbours' problems.

Earlier this week the Bundesbank predicted a return to solid growth "in the course of next year", supported by the ECB's expansionary monetary policy and stronger world growth. It expects the economy to expand by 1.8 per cent in 2013, after 0.6 per cent next year and 3 per cent this year.

The Ifo business climate index rose from 106.6 in November to 107.2 in December – the highest since September – as companies revised upwards their expectations for the next six months. "The German economy seems to be successfully countering the downturn in western Europe. This bodes well for Christmas," said Hans-Werner Sinn, Ifo president.

"For 2012, we're optimistic," said Stefan Klebert, chief executive of Schuler, a German company making metal-forming machines for the auto industry which earlier this month received a treble-digit million euro order from BMW, the largest in its more than 170-year history. "The situation in the real economy remains good but of course we are carefully watching current forecasts and early economic indicators," he said. "New orders are brisk and the record order backlog from our 2010-11 business year provides an additional solid cushion".

Hansgrohe, the bathroom equipment maker based in Schiltach in the Black Forest, said sales growth had cooled slightly over the summer – but then picked up again in the last two months. "Bathroom fittings are essentially investment goods – many consumers prefer to put their money into bricks and mortar at the moment and we're profiting from that," said Mr Grohe.

The sanguine mood among business leaders is affecting German consumers. The HDE retailers' association expects a last minute surge in business before Christmas, and has "high expectations" about business in the days between Christmas and New Year. Online Christmas sales were expected to grow particularly fast – the HDE forecast a 10 per cent increase compared with 2010.

German consumers were "defying the rising fears of recession and the most recent escalation of the debt crisis" to focus on the "still extremely favourable" conditions in Germany, GfK said. "With most German companies operating at above-average capacity, the labour market is very robust," it noted. Its overall "consumer climate" index was expected to remain steady in January. Consumers may thus play "the vital role of ensuring that Germany avoids going into recession".

"This is good news for Malta. Germany is very important for us and this is the direction we need to follow. A country that manages well its internal balances and avoids deficits at all costs, invests regularly and substantially in capital infrastructural projects and in support of innovation and restructuring of SMEs through the provision of regular and well funded financial assistance in the form of development guaranteed loans and easy access to finance for innovation, restructuring and research and development, and a country that regularly drives for surpluses on its international balances.

Malta has a good story to tell. I find myself comfortable in Brussels and in other European capitals where I am invited to speak as Maltese employers' representative and as an economist on what we, a small EU Member with very limited resources, are doing to survive and continue to expand and grow and create jobs in highly difficult times and surrounded by other southern European countries all in difficulties. I believe we should continue to remain positive and optimistic. The worst thing our entrepreneurs  can do in 2012 is to lose faith and fall for the cheap talk of many in our media who seem to take fun in denigrating the great efforts of all of us in enterprise to keep our beloved small country moving forward in spite of all the odds.

Our size helps us to cleverly find the market niches whether in finance, in transhipment, in business support services, in exports or in tourism that should keep us going. That is why all GRTU's initiatives, and when on platforms with Government authorities, are specifically geared for special support on access to finance and specific external market support and support for restructuring and innovation. The economic prospects for a number of countries around us may be bad but this should not keep us from looking at the trends in the most successful countries and to venture out and seek our opportunities. And the opportunities are there. Provided our frame of mind and institutional and financial back-up is right." Commented Vince Farrugia GRTU Director General and Member of the Employers Bureau at EESC.

GRTU has on numerous occasions voiced its concerns and objections on how the scheme is currently being administered. The GRTU would like to remind that it is the retailers who are paying for the current smart card system through the 2% overhead charged on every Smart Card transaction. We firmly believe that at a charge of 2% of the total sale, the scheme should have ample funds to be able to offer a sterling service.

GRTU has always been in favour of having an official database of products that are eligible to be paid with smart card. A list would provide both the students and the retailers with further clarity and avoid misuse. The retailer requires clear information also in order to be able to guide his employees as currently the owner has to trust the judgment of his sales persons and risk errors which could prove costly. We need a clear list, we cannot rely on judgement. It is not always clear whether an item can be classified as educational or not. We feel that compiling a database and adding products to the list as the need arises is not an impossible task.

GRTU is also in favour of changes to the composition of the SMGB board which should include representatives of the retail trade, students and Government officials. Presently the board is composed solely of Government officials. This board not only administers the SMGB system but is also Judge and Jury in cases where inappropriate use of Smart Cards is suspected. The GRTU feels that Government officials might not possess the sufficient technical knowledge some goods might require, which we see as essential in order to be able to make a fair judgement.

In addition to this, having a Government administered scheme run on a transaction cost which is a percentage and not a flat rate charge is no longer acceptable. The transaction cost does not go up and down according to the product price. The transaction cost is a flat rate cost. While the EU is fighting banks on this issue Government is still enacting the same system itself.

GRTU therefore calls for the 2% charge to be converted to a flat fee based on a per transaction system. It does not take longer or cost more for the Smart Card system to process a transaction of €400 instead of one of €10. On a €400 transaction, a retailer pays a staggering €8. It would be cheaper to deliver the money by hand to the SMGB Board!

GRTU has already written to Hon Dolores Christina in this regard. GRTU is presently awaiting a reply.

The GRTU has this week conducted a find out amongst a sample of a variety of businesses that usually have their sale effected by purchases made during the festive season. GRTU is therefore able to provide you with a general comment of how business and Christmas shopping is at present. The businesses selected were from the following sectors: beverage distributors, household goods, confectionaries, footwear and clothing, hair and beauty salons, restaurants, jewelers and supermarkets.

The majority of those surveyed said that Christmas shopping caught up mostly after the feast of the 13^th and that the level of sales where similar to that of last year with very few saying the sales have increased and slightly more, even though still few, saying sales declined compared to last year. The businesses that saw their sales rise this year said they worked very hard with promotions and offers to boost their chances of succeeding this festive season.

The majority also said that this outcome was expected since Malta is not immune to the effects of the crises. A few did however expect better as they thought the worse of the crises was over and that consumer confidence would be reinstated, however recent negativism once again dwindled consumer confidence, and people are once again cautious to spend. This might have delayed Christmas shopping a little but businesses are confident they will see a boost in Christmas shopping in the coming days.

We saw a difference in the views of the businesses according to the localities in which they operate. The worst views came from shops operated in Valletta. Owners having shops in Valletta, Sliema, Iklin, Hamrun, Melliha, St Julians and other localities say that the sales registered in Valletta were very negative. Sales in Valletta have been declining but this year was an unbelievable record. Owners say that consumers are disincentivised by a number of factors all at once to enter Valletta, namely embellishment works, less and less parking, lack of confidence in public transport, etc…

What Saviour Balzan is trying to inflict using his self assumed power, as owner of a media stable and as a journalist who pretends to be more professional than all others, is going beyond any acceptable limit. It is character assassination of the Director General of GRTU and pure vitriol against GRTU. GRTU has been around for 65 years and has in the past suffered much more than Saviour Balzan and Roger Degiorgio's business venture can ever foment. In spite of what Saviour Balzan invents.

 GRTU is a healthy and well geared national organisation with a National Executive of 18 entrepreneurs from a varied list of enterprise owners, traders, retailers, service providers and other entrepreneurial sectors and an extremely well organised national organisation which is the pride of most of its more than 7000 business owners members.

The hype that Saviour Balzan and Malta Today keep repeating is that GRTU is only a one man affair backed by a triumvirate. This is hilarious and smacks of sheer ignorance, if not more. This hype is believed only by the desolate who has never set foot in the GRTU headquarters. The truth, visible to anyone really well versed and following no hidden agenda,  is that  in Malta no other national organisation representing business is so active on a day to day basis and  handles so many issues at EU, national, localities, sectoral and individual enterprise level, as does GRTU. All visitors to GRTU headquarters know that GRTU is one hub of regular activities on a daily basis. The team working at GRTU behind the Director General is not only professional and well trained but today they manage issues that the likes of Saviour Balzan cannot even start to fathom. The truth is that for people like Saviour Balzan what matters is what appears to their blinkered vision and not what really goes on in the wider world of business. Like the confessor they only hear sinners and live in a world of make believe.   

GRTU under the direction of Vince Farrugia has been transformed over the years from an organisation that simply  pushes forward the complaints of its members and agitates for the authorities to seek solutions, a state in which other organisations unfortunately still reign, to a modern organisation that not only represents and hears the complaints of an ever growing membership spread among all of Malta's micro, small and medium enterprise sectors but succeeds to formulate policies and strategies and recommend solutions to the authorities that best improve the role of micro and small  and medium enterprises and help strengthen the overall performance of the Maltese economy within an EU economic and social framework. Saviour Balzan has a poor idea of GRTU. It is not the same judgement of the EU Commission, of our partners in UEAPME and Normapme and EuroCommerce, all leading Pan European organisation in which GRTU is very active. They consider GRTU as one of the national representative bodies amongst all the EU27 that is most highly well prepared on all issues effecting European SMEs whether from a commercial, fiscal, economic, employment or legislative point of view.

The volume of work and papers and opinions that GRTU produces give credit to a team of professionals at the GRTU head office. GRTU is recognised by all Ministers and Authorities in Malta as well organised and prepared and active with extremely well produced strategies and proposals. GRTU today, through the strong representation of Vince Farrugia as Maltese Employers representative at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the excellent work done at the EESC by his predecessor, ex-assistant to the Director General, Ms Sylvia Gauci, has a standing with the EU Commission, and with a wide cross section of leading organisations from the EU 27 represented at EESC, unmatched by any other civil society active organisation in Malta. The GRTU NewSTRING that every week succeeds to report only the essential points of what GRTU works on week in week out, shows to all who genuinely care, what GRTU does.

Of course however, for Saviour Balzan and Media Today, all this is not important. All that matters to Saviour Balzan is to keep repeating and exaggerating the conspiracy theory designed by the well paid criminal defence lawyer Dr Manuel Mallia in his defence of Sandro Chetcuti. What Sandro Chetcuti did on 11.03.09 is well documented. The report of the Police and of the Hospital Emergency personnel and other medical and eye witness reports establish clearly why the Attorney General decided to proceed with an attempted murder charge and a charge of grievous bodily harm against Sandro Chetcuti. What Dr Anthony Samuel, Malta's foremost expert on Imagery, produced in Court is objective, electronically registered bone scan evidence which is irrefutable as to the damage caused on Vince Farrugia by the savage attack of Sandro Chetcuti.

When Vince Farrugia's medical consultant, who is also his daughter, stated that a scan is good for the Court case, she said so because a scan is irrefutable, scientific and not opinionated evidence, something on which the court can rely.  She was stating the obvious – a scan shows whether any damage was inflicted, good for the prosecution, or not inflicted, good for the defence. Any consultant would have recommended the same whether the patient was her/his father or not. and in this case it was obviously necessary as contrary to what the defence in court is trying to insinuate and what Saviour Balzan appears to take as fact, Vince Farrugia had never before of 11.03.09 reported or exhibited any pains in the ribs or suffered any accident that could have cause breakages to the ribs as VF himself confirmed under ought in Court. The scan became a necessity after Vince Farrugia was released from Hospital still suffering the same severe pains in his ribs that he felt, as witness by all at GRTU on 11.03.09, immediately after the assault by Sandro Chetcuti. The cause of the pains did not show up on X-ray and any consultant would have given the same advice to any patient in similar circumstances. Any Consultant would also have contacted the Head of the Imagery Department at Mater Dei to see if an early appointment was possible. Anyone of the hospital staff would have sought to send a message, one way or another, if an appointed slot was possible. Whether the message went direct to the patient or indirectly through his son is really irrelevant.

Of Course the Defence in search of a way out of the concrete evidence of all who witness the assault and who heard Sandro Chetcuti scream "noqtlok, noqtlok" – ("I'll kill you, I'll kill you") and, again after he was pulled off Vince Farrugia as he punched and kicked in clear intent to perform what he intended to execute, he screamed, as evidenced in Court "I'll be back with my brother (a night club bouncer) to finish you off". Any serious and well intended journalist would have seen all the evidence and sought to be objective in any comments and not pretend to be gullible enough to accept what the defence of the accused tries to project irrespective of the added harm to the victim of the assault. He is free to swallow the conspiracy theory line, hook and sinker but at least he should have also referred to the other stated sworn evidence by witnesses and scene of crime Police. Saviour Balzan should have also noted what one of the witnesses said in Court. That Sandro Chetcuti told this witness, before he Sandro Chetcuti even went to meet Vince Farrugia at his Office, "Today I'll do him in", referring most clearly to the Director General. That's for intent.

The Defence lawyer has a duty to seek to defend Sandro Chetcuti from an accusation that could land his client many years in prison. It is however strange indeed that Saviour Balzan and Media Today is defending an aggressor with a history of violence on persons (at least one recorded at Rabat and another at the MEPA buildings) and who publicises himself as a land speculator and who is a self-confessed and registered heavy tax evader and who in the not so distant past has been shown by Malta Today itself as a person very scarce on business ethics as a property dealer. All this in a pathetic campaign to denigrate the Director General of GRTU, GRTU as an organisation and to character assassinate not only Vince Farrugia but also Malta's most qualified professional in his field of medical speciality, consultant Dr Anthony Samuel. Anyone at GRTU has the right to ask why Saviour Balzan and Media Today have appointed themselves as super defenders of the accused and are in the field to denigrate the victim of the violent attack even before a Court Judgement is delivered.

The good news today for all of us who hold GRTU in great esteem is that Vince Farrugia is in good health and GRTU members are proud to have him back in full vigour.  The good news also for GRTU is that as a result of  the tremendous work, enthusiasm  and energy that Vince Farrugia places in all that he does for micro, small and medium Maltese enterprises with  the full and constant support of the elected President, Officers and National Executive of GRTU, as well as the work and support of the more than 60 Section and Special Committees active in GRTU, and above all with the professional and hard work of the excellent team employed by GRTU, Malta's National Chamber of SMEs, GRTU, in 2011 had the best year since 1995.

DURING 2011 GRTU RECRUITED 1400 NEW MEMBERS. SINCE 2009 MORE THAN 2000 NEW MEMBERS JOINED GRTU. AND GRTU LOOKS TOWARDS 2012 WITH INCREASED VIGOUR.

Damning report published by the European Court of Auditors. – The European Fisheries Fund (EFF) has largely failed in its objective to reduce the overcapacity of the EU's fishing fleets, according to a damning report from the European Court of Auditors .

 

The EFF's ban on direct funding for building new fishing vessels was largely undermined by funding for technical improvements that increased the capacity of existing ships, the report observes. Subsidies for decommissioning ships failed, with less than a quarter of the allotted aid being used. Those vessels for which subsidies were paid out were mostly old and inactive. Europe's fishing fleet is still estimated to be two to three times the size appropriate for sustainable fishing levels.

Having been given advance notice of the auditors' criticisms, the European Commission presented a proposal to reform the fund for the next multiannual funding period (MFF), 2014-20. The €6.5 billion ‘Maritime and Fisheries Fund' is the final element of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) reform package, and seeks to address declining fish stocks better than its predecessor, which ends in 2013.

Acknowledging that funding for decommissioning ships has not worked, the Commission has proposed to end the practice. The proposal would block funding for technical improvements on ships that are part of oversized fleets, but other ships could still get money for improvements. New funds will also go toward building facilities at ports to make the best use of unwanted catches that would otherwise be discarded.

Funding will also be used to promote income diversification for fishermen to encourage them to engage in other activities. Funding would be conditional on the compliance of member states and operators with the reformed CFP. Fishermen who break the rules could be made to repay aid.

Campaign groups, including Greenpeace, have welcomed elements of the proposal, but have concerns that it leaves the existing subsidy regime largely intact – with the EU remaining one of the world's top three subsidisers of the fisheries sector.

They are also worried about a proposed extension of funding to the growing aquaculture sector.

Markus Knigge of the Pew Environment Group said that continued funding for ship improvements will mean more egregious examples of counterproductive spending. "Between 2000 and 2008, for example, the EU provided €33.5 million in financial aid for the modernisation of bluefin tuna fishing vessels, which target a species that is so overfished it is classified as endangered," he said.

The European Parliament, given increased powers over fisheries under the Lisbon treaty, will vote on the proposal in the second half of 2012. MEPs hope to secure agreement with member states in early 2013. The Commission will present the proposal to national agriculture and fisheries ministers when they meet next week (15-16 December).

Battle over fish quota

The ministers will be engaged in their annual tussle over fishing quotas, haggling over fishing quotas for the North Sea, the Atlantic Ocean and the Black Sea. Quotas for the Baltic Sea were agreed in October. The ministers are also expected to approve a deal agreed on Monday (5 December) with Norway on shared fish stocks in the North Sea. This would introduce a ban on discards in the Skagerrak Strait between Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

The Commission proposed quotas to ensure sustainable fish stocks in November. But some member states may resist a proposed 15%-25% cut in the quotas for all fish stocks where traditional scientific information on sustainability is not available. WWF, a campaign group, said a blanket cut would undermine the CFP reform proposal's emphasis on increasing regional control of fisheries.

The ministers are also expected to authorise three new varieties of genetically modified crops in Europe by deciding not to object to the Commission's proposal.

Aim is to avoid confused national response  – The European Commission has adopted measures to co-ordinate the European response to health crises such as the 2009 swine-flu pandemic (H1N1). The goal is to avoid a repetition of the confused response that saw some member states – notably France – buy far too much medicine, while others – such as Poland – purchased none. The Commission wants to strengthen the hands of smaller member states in negotiations with the pharmaceutical companies that make the vaccines.

Under the proposal member states would be able to buy such medicines as Tamiflu jointly, with the Commission negotiating on their behalf. The member states would then decide how much medicine was allotted to each country.

"We went through a process of learning the lessons from the H1N1 event, and we detected flaws in communication and in the vaccine procurement process," John Dalli, the European commissioner for health, told European Voice. "The pharmaceutical industry imposed certain conditions on member states because they had their backs to the wall."

Voluntary pooling

The negotiation-pooling would be voluntary, and would be likely to benefit specifically small member states or member states that do not have a large domestic pharmaceutical industry. It would increase their negotiating power and allow them to ensure that each country received the appropriate amount of medicine.

Such a negotiation would be triggered once the Commission declared a public health emergency, another new element to the proposal. Approval of new vaccines would then be fast-tracked, taking two to three months instead of the normal seven.

Under the existing system, the EU can only call a health emergency once it has been declared by the World Health Organization (WHO). But the WHO only declares a pandemic once it has spread to at least two continents, so an outbreak occurring only in Europe would not qualify.

A member state would still be free to purchase no medicine if it so wished – unless by doing so it would jeopardise the health of Europe as a whole. The proposal would also allow the Commission to enforce cross-border action if a member state failed to take appropriate measures or was overwhelmed. "We are only as strong as our weakest link," said Dalli. "Diseases do not respect borders. We need to make sure that the non-compliance of one member state does not affect the whole."

The Commission would have the power to impose penalties on member states that failed to take action to combat a pandemic. In emergency situations where people were dying in large numbers and national measures were proving insufficient, the Commission would be able to introduce cross-border measures such as the quarantine and screening of infected citizens.

The proposal will need to be approved by member states and MEPs. During the 2009 swine flu outbreak, the Commission offered to provide response co-ordination, but member states rejected that offer. National capitals have since warmed to the idea, once it became clear that they had made mistakes in their 2009 medicine purchases.

Last year health ministers asked the Commission to improve co-ordination, and the Parliament expressed the same desire in a resolution earlier this year. But there may be some resistance among member states to the Commission designating itself as the body that decides when to declare a pandemic, rather than the Council.

Quality and safety liability

Michèle Rivasi, a French Green MEP who prepared a report on the issue for the European Parliament, said group purchasing of vaccines was a good idea, "provided that the manufacturers remain liable for the quality, safety and efficacy of their products." She added: "Under no circumstances must governments be made liable for side-effects of vaccines that are supposed to be safe."

The proposal would also tighten up existing response mechanisms. It will extend the existing Early Warning and Response System for communicable diseases created in 1998 to all health threats – including those from biological, chemical or environmental causes. It will also formalise the informal Health Security Committee created by health ministers in 2001 after the anthrax incidents in the United States. Member states would also have to prepare national response plans.