Author: SME Chamber

GRTU participated today to the European Parliament Citizens Forum organised by the European Parliament Office in Malta. GRTU Director General Vincent Farrugia stated that the choice that the European citizens are presented with, by a large section in the media, especially British media, " most unfortunately the choice is between doom and gloom as a future for Europe" stated Vincent Farrugia.

The situation in reality is not as negative as it seems. The answer is gloom only when the problem is not well analysed and a solutions is not available. In the current state of Europe the problem has been analysed and is one of sufficient confidence that motivates markets to buy the sovereign debts of European Governments especially those with macro-economic imbalances, both internal "budget deficits" and external imbalances "economic deficit in the rest of the world". The solution is also identified as the need to provide the money necessary to ensure that all the bonds needed to ensure a return to normality is made available. The practical tools have also been identified.

The euro bond is one obvious solution, but there are other solutions, all more or less a different version of the same. The choice is of tools that will move the funds that are excessive in some countries in Europe and in the rest of the world to those economic areas where the money is most needed. When a problem is analysed and solution is available and the tools to implement the solution are the subject of discussion, then doom should not be a problem.

EU leaders are committed to find the right tools to implement the most practical of solutions. The alternative of the solution being discussed is the breakdown of the monetary union, which should be followed by the breakdown of the economic union. The cost of the breakdown is so excessively large compared to the corrective solutions available that it is obvious that EU leaders will decide in favour of the corrective solutions, as they have committed themselves to do and as they have shown in the implementation of the pro-economic and monetary solutions .

"In my view the predictions of doom and gloom are exaggerated and will not materialise. What is more relevant for us in Malta, and really worth discussing, is the cost of our economy as alternative solutions that are being proposed at EU level" concluded Vincent Farrugia, GRTU's Director General.

Whatever anybody else says, Government's decision to pay from public funds the additional 4 weeks maternity leave to self-employed women is solely due to GRTU. The Prime Minister, Minister for Finance, the Economy and Investment, the Minister for Education, Employment and the Family, the Parliamentary Secretary for Small Businesses and Lands and the Parliamentary Secretary for Consumer, Fair Competition, Local Councils and Public Dialogue know perfectly well and can confirm who lobbied and negotiated hard to ensure that self-employed women are given their rights and the payments due under the new maternity leave regulations.

It was under the initiative of GRTU, under professionally presented arguments, that convinced the cabinet of Ministers to include self-employed women under the category of women entitled for the 4 weeks standard pay once the maternity leave effective under Maltese law is extended to 18weeks.

Others may draw shopping lists and express wishful thinking before each year's budget. GRTU draws the strategy within the framework of Government's financial and fiscal constraints, lists its priority projects, calculates and estimates the financial, economic and social impact of its proposals, and bargains hard to obtain what it justly aspires for. That is why GRTU never stands in front of the media and declares something like "we proposed a lot but Government accepted nothing". We rightly say as we already said, once the implications of budget 2012 are unfolding, that we proposed substantial schemes and Government accepted many of our proposals.

GRTU once again thanks the Government high ranking officials for their cooperation and for having welcomed GRTU's claim. The GRTU also again congratulated all self employed women on this important win of the recognition of their rights.

Meta Liquigas xtrat id-divizjoni tal-gass tal-Enemalta kienet taf li se tixtri l-Monopolju tal-gass ta` Malta. Kien ghalhekk li Liquigas ghamlet investiment ta` miljuni ta` euro biex bniet impjant gdid li jipproduci l-gass f'Malta. Liquigas taf li biex l-kapital li investiet ifendi riedet l-ewwel u qabel kollox tgholli l-prezz ta` kull cilindru ghall-tlett darbiet, il-prezz li kien jezisti fi zmien l-Enemalta ghax Liquigas dejjem sostniet, b'mod zbaljat u biex tqarraq li l-prezz tal-gass f'Malta kien irhis wisq.

It-tieni ghax il-kalkoli ta` Liquigas  u ta' ohrajn li wkoll kienu thajru jidhlu ghall-privatizazzjoni tal-gass f'Malta kienu u ghadhom juru li bil-volum ta` bejgh ta` gass fic-cilindri kif jezisti f'Malta hu diga difficli biex ifendi impjant ta` produzzjoni wiehed bis-suq kollu ikkapparat mill-produttur tal-gass f'Malta u jkun zgur difficli jkun sostnut bi profitti jekk is-suq jinqasam bejn tnejn jew tlieta jew aktar, aktar u aktar jekk il-kompetituri ma jkollhomx l-obbligu tal-infieq kbir kapitali ta` impjant  li biex ikun ekonomiku bilfors li jrid ikun wiehed li jiswa hafna miljuni. Tghid x'tghid Liquigas hi l-istrategija kummercjali ta` din l-kumpanija li zzomm monopolju effettiv jew dominanza assoluta fis-suq tal-gass f'Malta. U hu appuntu ghalhekk li b'kull mezz u mod qed tiggieled lil kompetitur taghha Easygas.

Fejn Liquigas qed tesagera u mhux biss tostor il-fatti imma tigdeb hi fejn jidhlu d-distributuri li kontrihom issa Liquigas wkoll fethet battalja biex tisirqilhom il-ftit profitt li jaghmlu bi tbatija biex iqassmu bieb bieb ic-cilindri tal-gass. Fil-pjan ekonomiku li fasslet Liquigas wkoll riedet monopolju effettiv fid-distribuzzjoni rahal rahal wkoll biex ikollha kontroll vertikalizzat shih u timponi sistema li fasslet hi. Sistema fejn Liquigas tqassam bl-inqas infieq u jkun il-konsumatur li jhallas ghall-kumdita tas-servizz u biex timponi r-rieda taghha Liquigas trid bilfors telimina lid-distributuri ghax taf ben fatt li fil-lokalitajiet m'hemmx spazju ghal zewg jew tlett sistemi ta` distribuzzjoni jikkompetu wiehed ma` l-iehor. Liquigas taf li fl-ahhar mill-ahhar jirbah min hu b'sahhtu kummercjalment u hu l-aktar b'sahhtu min ghandu f'idejh il-produzzjoni u ghandu f'idejh bil-qabda l-akbar numru ta` cilindri u ghalhekk sahha assoluta li jimponi sistema ta` monopolju fis-suq kemm vertikali kif wkoll orizzontali.

Il-Liquigas qed tghawweg il-fatti u tinqeda bl-Ufficju tal-Kummerc Gust u ddeffes l-Ewropa fin-nofs bi ksuhat. Malta kienet ibbligata skond ir-regoli ta' l-EU li tilliberalizza l-wholesale (importazzjoni jew produzzjoni) u mhux ir-retail fil-lokalitajiet, Malta ghandha kull dritt taht ir-regoli tal-EU li taghmel dak li dejjem ghamlet li fil- lokalitajiet tizgura li l-ewwel u qabel kollox li kull familja u kull lokalita hi moqdija. Kienet il-Liquigas izda li insistiet meta indunat li hi biss dahhlet ghall-privatizazzjoni li jkollha wkoll mid-dritt li tkisser is-sistema ta distribuzzjoni fil-lokalita u l-gvern ghax beza li jitlef ic-cans li jipprivatizza l-gass halla l-ahhar elezzjoni tghaddi u minn wara dahar id-distributuri bezaq dak li kien miftiehem dwar distribuzzjoni fil-lokalitajiet mal-GRTU.

Il-ftehim li hemm mal GRTU huwa kemm kuntratt socjali kif ukoll kuntratt kummercjali. Hu kuntratt socjali ghax hu kuntratt bejn gvern u social partner ewlieni bhal ma hi l-GRTU u jitkellem dwar distribuzzjoni ta` gass fil-komunita. B`dan il-ftehim il-GRTU u d-distributuri individwali ntrabtu li f`kull distrett mghoti b`mod eskluzziv lil kull distributur. Kull distributur irid bla ebda hlas extra jqassam u jwassal sal-bieb cilindri lil kull konsumatur jghix fejn jghix fic-centru tar-rahal jew fl-imbieghed, hu fejn hu u kull distributur irid jaccetta prezz kontrollat tas-servizz tieghu. Il-kuntratt hu wkoll wiehed kummercjali ghaliex jitkellem fuq il-kundizzjonijiet kummercjali ta`kif b`liema hlas trid issir id-distribuzzjoni u hemm rabta kummercjali sakemm id-distributur iwettaq l-obbligi tieghi korretti u l-kumpanija li tissuplixxi, ittih cilindri u servizz bizzejjed biex dawn l-obbligi jkun jista`jwettaqhom, il-kumpanija fornitrici ma` tohrogx hi direttament tikkompeti fil-lokalijiet kontra d-distributuri.

IL-Gvern ta` Lawrence Gonzi dan il-kuntratt socjali llum jidher ghall-GRTU li ma jridx jonorah. Ghall gvern ta` Lawrence Gonzi it-theddid u l-manuvrar ta` Liquigas biex timponi l-monopolji kapitali taghha ma jinkwetahx. It-theddida li l-lokalijiet jigu suggettati ghal kompetizzjoni kummercjali fejn min lest li jhallas jinqeda u min hu batut, m`ghandux mezz ta` transport jew ma jiflahx iqandel cilindri jekk ma jhallasx extra ma jinqediex ma tinkwetahx. Il-fatt li kuntratt socjali gie mormi meta kien ilu jkun onorat b`commitment politiku shih minn kull Prim Ministru  mill-1992 sal llum lanqas ma hi inkwetanti.

Il-GRTU ssostni bil-qawwi li kuntratt socjali milhuq wara negozjati twal bejn Gvern u Korp Kostitwit u li qatt ma gie bi ftehim revokat ghandu jkun onorat minn kull Gvern serju. Il-GRTU ssostni wkoll li l-kuntratt kummercjali li kien jorbot lil Enemalta llum jorbot lil Liquigas u li Liquigas bhal socjeta li tippretendi li hi serja ghandha tonora. Fil-fatt id-distributuri huma agenti fil-lokalita ta` Liquigas u jekk trid tehles minnhom jrid ikollha s-serjeta li tinnegozja maghhom mhux b`mod ghal kollox arroganti li f`Malta qatt ma rajna bhalu lanqas biss trid tkellimhom. Il-licenzja li Liquigas tghid li ghandha ma tistax thaddimha b'kompetizzjoni mad-distributuri ghax bil-kuntratt li wirtet min ghand l-Enemalta dik il-licenzja hi subrogati (mghoddija legalment) lid-distributuri. Is-soluzzjoni hi wahda: il-Gvern u Liquigas iridu jirrikonoxxu l-obligazzjonijiet kuntrattwali li ghandhom jieqfu jghaddu in-nies bi zmien  u b' irgulija jerfghu r-responsabiltajiet taghhom lejn id-distributuri u lejn il-komunita.

Single Market Act essential for regaining markets' trust, while Parliament and Council are urged to speed up work – Short-term measures to resolve Europe's economic crisis must be put on a fast track for approval, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso told the European Parliament on Tuesday 15 November. "Regaining confidence requires swift and decisive action," he told MEPs.

Outlining the Commission's work programme for 2012, which had been approved by the college of commissioners that day, Barroso said that the proposals for economic reform put out late this year and early next year need to be approved quickly by the Parliament and the Council in a single reading. These measures should be passed into national law by the end of 2012, Barroso said.

Among them are the 12 measures contained in what the Commission terms the Single Market Act, which include promoting venture capital funds, a European patent, EU-wide standards for the services sector and improving energy, transport and communications infrastructure.

A fast track should also be given to recently proposed measures focused on financial sector reform, he said. These include already proposed legislation on derivatives, credit-rating agencies, capital requirements, more transparent securities markets and tackling market abuse. The Commission will propose the remaining pieces of legislation to protect investors early in 2012, including a revision of the rules governing collective investment schemes and an initiative on pre-contractual disclosures on complex investment products. The reform should be completed next year.

Ensuring growth

Barroso said long-term strategies to ensure EU growth must also be a part of the work programme next year. The Commission is in particular focusing on the area of revenue, with planned initiatives on energy taxation, a financial transaction tax and increased powers to tackle tax havens.

The work programme also contains plans for proposals on railway liberalisation, consumer rights and cross-border pension reform. Employment proposals will target youth unemployment, promote green jobs, greater flexibility in working hours and reform of the European Employment Service. A strategy on water conservation will be put forward and the Commission will complete the programme to reduce administrative burdens, to find cost savings and cut red tape.

Two legislative proposals will be put forward seeking to facilitate cross-border recognition of civil status documents and to simplify legalisation requirements. Work to create a common EU policy on immigration and asylum will continue, with reforms to Schengen area border-checks put in place. New emission controls for cars and vans will be proposed.

The EU will also push forward on several bilateral trade negotiations, with a possible free-trade agreement with Japan and an investment agreement with China. It will also continue to monitor the situation in the southern Mediterranean, aiming for a peaceful and prosperous development of the new regimes.

Catherine Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief, was in Tripoli on Saturday 12th November to open the EU's new delegation there. Plans for such a delegation were put on hold when Libyans rose up against Muammar Qaddafi in February. Instead, it fell to Hungary – holder of the rotating presidency of the Council of Ministers in the first half of 2010 – to co-ordinate support to EU citizens during the war, keeping its embassy open.

The EU opened an office in Benghazi, the rebel capital, in May; but Qaddafi's flight from Tripoli in August then made it possible to open a fully fledged EU delegation. The delegation is headed temporarily by James Moran, who is taking a few months off from his regular job as director for Asia in the European External Action Service (EEAS). Moran was responsible for relations with several of the EU's strategic partners, including China, India and Japan, so Ashton's decision to second him to Tripoli is a bit strange, though anything is possible in the parallel universe that is the EEAS.

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A new European network of mentors to promote female entrepreneurship through the sharing of know-how and experience has been launched today by the European Commission. Women only account for 34.4% of the self-employed in Europe. To raise this share, successful businesswomen will assist women entrepreneurs who established a new enterprise two to four years ago. The mentors will give these new entrepreneurs concrete advice on how to run and grow their enterprises in this early, critical phase of the businesses as well as help them to develop the necessary soft skills and coach them. The network will cover 17 European countries; 170 mentors will participate in it.

Entrepreneurship fits well with women's life choices in particular giving them flexibility regarding the reconciliation of private and professional life, specifically concerning the time and place of work. Further, due to the economic crisis, many women that became unemployed could use their skills and knowledge, start-up their own company and create their own job.

European Commission Vice President Antonio Tajani, responsible for Industry and Enterprises, said: "It is clear that female creativity and entrepreneurial potential are the most underexploited source of economic growth and new jobs that should be further developed in Europe. In a time of crisis we cannot afford to forgo this potential. Having more women entrepreneurs will economically empower women and contribute to growth."

Background

Selection of mentors

Mentors will be selected among businesswomen (or businessmen) who have personal experience of owning and managing a SME successfully for at least five years and are aware of specific challenges that women entrepreneurs face and are ready and willing to share their knowledge and know-how with their mentorees on a volunteering basis (i.e., without remuneration), are available to meet them regularly for a minimum of one year and are willing to engage with at least two mentorees.

The mentors shall meet with their mentorees regularly and discuss with them current as well as strategic issues of the management of the mentorees' companies, helping them to build / acquire the necessary knowledge, skills and confidence/mindset. To avoid conflicts of interest, mentors are not allowed to take any economic interest in their mentorees' companies.

The potential of women entrepreneurs in creating economic growth and new jobs:

• In the USA the Women Presidents' Organisations (WPOs) released the latest figures of the 50 fastest growing women-owned/led companies in North America. The Top 50 generated a combined $4.1 billion in 2010 revenues (mean of $82.7 million) and collectively employed 24,650 in 2010 (projected average for 2011 is 557 employees per company).
• The UK government in its WES (The European network to promote women's enterpreneurship) 2008 report mentions that women are the largest underrepresented group in terms of participation in enterprise. Only 15% of the 4.7 million UK enterprises are majority women-led and if women started businesses at the same rate as men there would be 150,000 extra start-ups each year in the UK. If the UK matched US levels of female entrepreneurship there would be 900,000 more businesses in the UK.
• In Sweden in 2008 more than 131000 companies were run by women having more than € 35 billion in total turn-over, employing around 358000 people and paying their employees more than 6 billion Euros in salaries.
• Women enterprise differently than men, therefore women-specific support measures are needed:
• Firstly, women attach more importance to family circumstances when considering setting up a business (61% versus 49% in the case of men). They will think very carefully about probabilities of success and examine every potential source of failure in detail before they use the family house as collateral and/or family savings as capital to start-up their business.
• Secondly, in most cases, when women decide to start up a new company, they keep their former jobs and carry out both activities in parallel for some time: in this respect, one can say that women are more cautious than men and their awareness of risk of failure is more developed.
• Thirdly, women take over existing businesses after a longer testing period than men, once they are familiar with the companies' activities (because of heritage, separation or divorce from a business partner, etc.).
• The fourth particularity is financing: women's start-ups use less capital than men's and have less equity.
• Finally, women entrepreneurs have compared to men a lower but steadier growth. This often means less risk for failure.

The European Network of Mentors for Women Entrepreneurs is one of the actions proposed in the 2011 Review of the Small Business Act for Europe. It will cover 17 countries (Albania, Belgium, Cyprus, FYROM, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom).

The EC is seeking far-reaching powers to intervene in the fiscal policies of member states of the eurozone. The Commission on the 23rd November proposed legislation that would give it the right to tell eurozone governments to revise draft budgets and instruct a country to request a bail-out.

Speaking in Brussels yesterday, José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, said that the increased powers would mean that "we do not face again the situation where failings in one country endanger the stability of the euro area as a whole".

"The current crisis demands not only emergency measures but lasting solutions to the structural challenges that this crisis has been exposing," he said.

Under the proposals, eurozone governments would have to submit their draft budgets for the following year to the Commission by 15 October. The Commission would be able to ask the government to revise the budget if it thought that it meant the member state would not meet its targets for debt and deficit levels.

Barroso denied that the Commission was taking over powers that belonged to national parliaments. "National budgets will of course be prepared by governments and voted on by national parliaments. Parliaments will of course have the final say."

Bail-outs

Olli Rehn, the European commissioner for economic and monetary affairs, said that it was important to be able to tell a country to request a bail-out because countries that were now receiving assistance had held out until the last minute before admitting that they needed help. This had made the situation worse and increased financing needs, Rehn said.

The Commission yesterday presented a green paper on ‘euro stability bonds', which, Barroso said, "could bring tremendous benefits" for the eurozone by creating a bigger and more liquid bond market.

The idea of Eurobonds, which would be jointly issued by more than one eurozone country, is still strongly opposed by Angela Merkel, Germany's chancellor. Speaking in Berlin yesterday, Merkel said that discussing Eurobonds at this stage of the eurozone crisis was "extraordinarily inappropriate".

Barroso said that the Commission wanted to have a "serious debate" about the merits of such bonds and rejected suggestions that there was absolute opposition to the idea. "If you look at those comments made by people from Germany, they are in fact most of all about the timing of the options we are now putting forward," he said.

Noise limits would be lowered in stages – The European Commission will later this month publish a long-awaited proposal to impose stricter limits on noise from cars and lorries. But the plans are likely to face opposition from Germany and its powerful automotive industry.

The Commission plans to lower the current limit of 74 decibels for most passenger cars in two stages, according to a draft seen by European Voice. The limit would be lowered to 70 decibels two years after the new rules come into force, followed by a drop to 68 decibels after five years.

The limits would vary based on the type of vehicle. Limits for the heaviest lorries would be lowered to 80 decibels after two years and 78 decibels after five years. The Commission has decided not to set minimum noise levels despite concerns about near-silent electric vehicles and the dangers that they could pose to pedestrians.

The vehicle noise limits, first set in 1970, were last revised in 1996. But levels have not declined by the amount envisaged. This is largely because the old assessment method did not take into account driving behaviour and traffic conditions, a Commission official said.

Developing calculation methods has been the job of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), which came up with an improved version in 2005. The Commission has required the automotive industry to use UNECE's and the Commission's vehicle-noise measurement methods since 2007. The draft Commission proposal uses the latest UNECE calculation method.