Author: SME Chamber

Applicable to imports of steel ropes and cables originating of China, Ukraine and South Africa –The anti-dumping measures currently in place on imports of steel ropes and cables originating in the People's Republic of China, Ukraine and South Africa were initially imposed for the first time back in 1999. The Commission is proposing that measures be extended for another term.

The current duty rates are equal to 60.4% for imports originating in China, 51.8% for imports with Ukrainian origin and 38.6% for imports with South African origin.  

Due to circumvention practices, the measures were also extended to imports consigned from the Republic of Korea, Morocco and Moldova.

The product concerned is steel ropes and cables, including locked coil ropes, excluding ropes and cables of stainless steel, with a maximum cross-sectional dimension exceeding 3mm, currently falling within CN codes ex73121081, ex73121083, ex73121085, ex73121089 and ex73121098.

This product is used in various applications ranging from agriculture, fishing and construction (lower-end products) to oil rigging, bridge suspension, mining and elevators (higher-end products).  

More information on this case can be accessed through the link below:

http://trade.ec.europa.eu/tdi/case_details.cfm?ref=com&id=1679&sta=1&en=20&page=1&number=&prod=rope&code=&scountry=all&proceed=all&status=all&measures=all&measure_type=all&search=ok&c_order=name&c_order_dir=Up

Members who think will be effected are to contact Abigail Mamo at GRTU.

Nine EU directives covering a wide variety of products will ensure better product safety. The sectors concerned are electrical and electronic products, lifts, measuring instruments, civil explosives, pyrotechnic articles and equipment for use in potentially explosive atmospheres.

 

Market surveillance and customs officers can now better check the safety of products using more effective tools. In addition, Member States can improve the supervision of monitoring bodies that check the conformity of products with EU law, for example ensuring that the CE marking has been properly applied by manufacturers.

Certain provisions of the nine directives are being aligned with model provisions developed at EU level to overcome divergences in EU law which make life hard for businesses. In the future, producers, importers and distributors will profit from uniform trading conditions. At the same time this process will further improve the safety of products on sale in the EU by strengthening compliance procedures and make it easier to keep non-compliant products off the market.

European Commission Vice-President Antonio Tajani, responsible for Industry and Entrepreneurship, stated: "Safety of products is our first priority. Also, producers and distributors will profit from increased consumer trust. Moreover, EU product legislation is now starting to take on a more uniform "look", leading to reductions in administrative burden and costs. However, it is not sufficient to strengthen the rules. We also need Member States to ensure enhanced market surveillance deterring unscrupulous market operators."

Double taxation, and double non-taxation, contradict the very spirit of the Single Market. Yet many citizens and businesses are still suffering heavier tax burdens just because they operate in more than one Member State. Meanwhile, others are using loopholes between national systems to escape paying taxes that they owe. Determined to tackle this problem, the Commission adopted a Communication on Double Taxation.

 

 

 

This Communication highlights where the main double taxation problems lie within the EU, and outlines concrete measures that the Commission will take to address them. In doing so, the Commission seeks to remove real obstacles to a more competitive economy and make the EU easier to invest and do business in.

Algirdas Šemeta, Commissioner for Taxation, Customs, Anti-Fraud and Audit, said: "We must be able to send the message to all citizens, businesses and trading partners: the EU does not tax twice! Double taxation is one of the biggest tax obstacles to the Internal Market, and can no longer be overlooked. Today I have presented clear and feasible ways to tackle double taxation, which will make the EU a more attractive place to live and work in."

A public consultation carried out by the Commission found that more than 20% of reported cases of double taxation of businesses were worth over €1 million, while for individuals, more than 35% of double taxation cases were worth more than €100 000.

Background

Currently under EU law, there is nothing to oblige Member States to prevent non-discriminatory double taxation. Although Member States try to relieve double taxation through measures such as bilateral and multilateral double taxation conventions, these do not provide adequate protection for citizens and businesses due to various shortcomings (e.g. too narrow scope, lack of uniformity amongst Member States' provisions, administrative burdens, long time-lines for dispute resolution etc.). The 2010 Citizenship report highlights the inadequacy of existing mechanisms to avoid double taxation in the EU. The problem of double taxation therefore continues to create barriers to cross-border establishment, activity and investment in the EU.

Clearly, given its cross-border nature, further action at EU-level is needed to fully and effectively address this problem. Over the past year, the Commission has already made headway in tackling double taxation in specific areas e.g. the proposal for a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base.  Today's Communication launches the next phase of work to try to bring an end to the problem of double taxation, for the benefit of both citizens and businesses across Europe. 

Next steps

As an immediate first step to strengthen existing legislation against double taxation, the Commission also adopted today a simultaneous proposal to improve the Interest and Royalties Directive. This aims to reduce the instances of one Member State levying a withholding tax on a payment, while another Member State taxes the same payment. Other areas in which the Commission intends to propose specific solutions to double taxation problems include cross-border inheritance tax in the near future and dividends paid to portfolio investors later on.

The Commission will also work on other possibilities to help eliminate cross-border double taxation, such as creating an EU Forum to develop a code of conduct on double taxation and a binding dispute resolution procedure for unresolved double taxation cases.

With regard to double non-taxation, which causes considerable losses to public revenues, the Commission will launch a consultation to gauge the full scale of the problem. On the basis of this consultation, it will determine the most appropriate and effective measures to prevent double non-taxation and come forward with solutions next year.

The Commission will submit the Communication on Double Taxation to the European Parliament, Council and European Economic and Social Committee for discussion and the Interest and Royalty Directive proposal to Council and the European Parliament.

GRTU's Director General Vincent Farrugia as member of the EESC has been appointed as Rapporteur on behalf of the EESC to draft an opinion on the subject. Which opinion, once approved, will be taken into consideration by the Commission before issuing the law.

The European Union Programmes Agency (EUPA) shall be holding a series of information meetings to provide an overview of the open calls for 2012 and to give specific guidelines on how to apply. These shall be on:

Monday 5th December – Leonardo da Vinci Mobility and Transfer of Innovation;

Tuesday 6th December – Small Scale Cooperation (Comenius Partnerships, Leonardo da Vinci Partnerships, Grundtvig Partnerships, and Grundtvig Senior Volunteering Projects);

Wednesday 7th December – Individual Mobility (Comenius In-Service Training, Grundtvig In-Service Training, Grundtvig Visits and Exchanges, and Grundtvig Learning Workshops).

Maurice de Marco Hall at EUPA premises, 36, Old Mint Street, Valletta between 10am and noon.

Interested persons can register by sending their contact details i.e. name and surname, name of institution they represent and the action they are interested in .

More information with regards to the Lifelong Learning Programme Call for 2012, including closing dates, official documentation and guides for applicants, can be found on the website www.llp.eupa.org.mt.

These initiatives are funded with the support of the European Commission (Directorate General Education and Culture).

Why did you become an entrepreneur? I became an entrepreneur because my family has been entrepreneurs for generations. Another reason is that I have a problem with  working for people. I always believe that the creation of value by running a business is not just beneficial to myself, but to the families of employees and ultimately the country.

 

How have you come to chose your line of business?

I failed as a medical student. So I did the next best thing. I chose the medical business because it's a fascinating business. The building side of the business is however in the blood!

Where did you go on your last holiday?

Paris. It's such a fantastic city. But nothing beats London. It's a city for everyone. I feel so alive there.

What is your earliest memory?

My earliest memory is going with my father to our quarry for the first time, and being fascinated by the machinery.

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

I would like to have been a combination of the artistic Picasso and the creative innovation of Steve Jobs !

A new online portal to help young entrepreneurs start and grow their own business was launched on 17 November by the Employers' Group of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), in which GRTU's Director General is member representing employers.

 

The website is a joint initiative of the EESC and the European Commission. It addresses policy failings in the promotion of entrepreneurship, especially among young people and women. The Global Entrepreneur Envoy online portal "Entrepreneur Envoy" will offer tools to foster culture change and promote entrepreneur-friendly policies. The launch took place on 17 November 2011 during the third edition of the "Young European Entrepreneurs' Seminar", hosted by the president of the Employers' Group of the EESC, Henri Malosse. The event featured contributions from 52 active young entrepreneurs from 18 European countries.

Mr Malosse said: "We want to develop a new vision of the entrepreneurial spirit, allowing Europeans to create wealth and build on a European identity. I truly believe in the power of water droplets accumulating to achieve great things. We can achieve anything if we pool our modest means."

The participants' recommendations the following priorities:

 A European Statute for SMEs (the Statute for a European private company), an EESC initiative

 A unified Europe with a real European government

 Facilitating vocational exchange for young people, in addition to school and university exchange schemes

 A European network of business incubators

 European financing facilities for new initiatives, especially microcredit

 Holding a "Young entrepreneurs' day" to celebrate success

For more information, please contact Milen Minchev by sending an email to:

The Employers' Group is one of the three groups of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), a consultative body of the European Union. The EESC enables representatives of business organisations, trade unions, professional associations and civic groups to contribute to the framing of EU policies and decisions."

The European Commission has launched a major Action Programme for reducing administrative burdens (2007-2012). This programme focuses on the information that EU businesses are obliged to provide to public authorities or private parties: information required for legal registration, certification, inspection, subsidy; filing statistical forms; energy labels for consumers or reports to stockholders; etc.

 

The consultation invites entrepreneurs to identify unnecessary red tape in order to help the EU improve the quality of its legislation. The consultation is part of the Action Programme to reduce admin burdens on businesses in the EU by 25% in 2012.

If you feel that you are obliged to provide unnecessary information or that the required information could be provided in a more efficient way, please use this form to submit your suggestions. If you have problems with several pieces of legislation, use preferably a separate form for each piece of legislation.

To access this consultation, please click here:

http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/smart-regulation/administrative-burdens/online-consultation/submit-an-idea/index_en.htm

The consultation is very short and contains targeted questions. Each suggestion will be examined by the Commission and every three months the Commission will prepare a summary of these suggestions and an overall feedback on the same site.

Questions and comments on this consultation should be sent to:

Il-GRTU flimkien mall-Kummunita' Kummercjali Naxxarija taghti support shih lill-din l-attivita'. Ghat-tielet sena konsekuttiva l-Kunsill Lokali tan-Naxxar qieghed jorganizza attivita' tal-Milied li l-inawgurazzjoni taghha ser ssir l-Hadd 4 ta' Dicembru 2011. Il-programm ser jigbor fih numru ta' attivitajiet fosthom kant, mmudellar,attivitajiet ghat-tfal bil-partecipazzjoni ta' Santa Clause, diversi bands, kantanti popolari lokali flimkien ma artisti stabbiliti, trackless train u hafna attivitajiet ohra.  

 

Wiehed jrid jifhem li l-preparamenti u l-attivita'  fiha nnifisha joholqu xi ftit tal-inkonvinjenza. Sabiex  jitneħħa kull dubju u tkun iccarata s-sitwazzjoni, wara li kien hemm min ressaq xi ilmenti, nixtieq ninfurmakom li l-Kunsill ser jkun qed jagħmel dak kollu possibli biex inaqqas l-inkonvenjent u/jew xi impatti negattivi li l-preparamenti għall-attività ta' nhar il-Ħadd 4 ta' Dicembru jista' jkollha fuq in-negozju.

Certament li l-għan ewlieni għal x'hiex isiru attivitajiet bħal dawn huma biex jiżidied n-negozju lokali u għalhekk tistgħu isserħu raskom mir-rieda tajba tal-Kunsill li ser jnaqqas kemm jista jkun kull impatt negattiv possibbli. Din id-darba gie mnaqqas l-estent tal-attività biex inkomplu nillimitaw aktar filwaqt li t-traffiku jibqa' jasal sa' aktar vicin tal-attività milli s-soltu jsir. Madanakollu, kif sar dejjem, se tigi llimitata r-restrizzjoni għall-inqas possibli.   

Li se jsir għalhekk huwa dan:  il-Gimgħa 2 ta' Dicembru se jingiebu l-istalls u jkunu armati fin-naħa tat-terminus.  La darba jkunu armati se jitpoggew fi gruppi f'postijiet strategici fejn l-inqas ikun hemm cans li jtellfu l-parkegg.  Jista' jkun li jitpoggew anki fuq bankini minflok fit-triq b'mod li ma jtellfux il-passagg. 

Is-Sibt filgħodu jibda jsir certu armar fuq il-bankini fejn meħtieg filwaqt li t-tpoggija tal-istalls fil-post jibda kmieni wara nofsinhar. 

Il-Ħadd filgħodu jkompli l-armar u jrid ikun hemm il-postijiet kollha indikati fuq il-lista bla parkegg.  Mal-10am se jkun ristrett it-traffiku b'eccezzjonijiet għar-residenti.  It-trasport pubbliku jitħalla għaddej sas-2pm.  Mis-2pm se jkun hemm għeluq totali u jibdew l-attivitajiet.

Il-GRTU tifrah lill-Kunsill u f'isem il-komunita' Kummercjali Naxxarija tawgura li din l-attivita' tkun ta' success bhas snin precedenti.

Last Tuesday GRTU officials met with officials of the Ministry for Infrastructure Transport and Communication following meetings the GRTU held with Valletta retailers. GRTU told the Ministry that the positive but ambitious projects being undertaken within our Capital City have resulted in a serious drop in the sales and turnover of retailers. We cannot hope for the inconvenience to be over soon as the issue is not a seasonal one and the GRTU is seriously worried of the state and the future of the retailers in Valletta. GRTU is therefore trying to find ways to stop the negative trend.

The GRTU therefore proposed for the CVA rules to be adjusted for the upcoming festive season as we believe this is a measure that would help to boost sales. On behalf of its members the GRTU asked the Ministry to waive the CVA charges after 15.30hrs. The Ministry accepted GRTU's proposal and made the announcement public earlier this week.

The GRTU together with the retailers in Valletta will be working on further initiatives that will encourage and attract more locals and tourists to enter Valletta. These initiatives aim at encouraging them to spend more time in the Capital City and the issue of access to Valletta will be dealt with as first priority. The Ministry also said it will support the GRTU in this regard.