Author: SME Chamber

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.

Objective: ICT-2011.8.1 Technology-enhanced learning – Proposal Name: PERFUS: PERFect US with e-learning visually multidimensional via computational tools
Challenge: Challenge 8: ICT for Learning and Access to Cultural Resources
Retrieve the Partner Search at: PERFUS : PERFect US with e-learning visually multidimensional via computational tools

Objective: ICT-2011.6.7 Cooperative Systems for energy efficient and sustainable mobility

Proposal Name: CloudNAV
Challenge: Challenge 6: ICT for a Low Carbon Economy
Retrieve the Partner Search at: CloudNAV

Objective: ICT-2011.1.4 Trustworthy ICT

Proposal Name: ICT Objective 1.4.B paragraph 3 – Authentication Management
Challenge: Challenge 1: Pervasive and Trusted Network and Service Infrastructures
Retrieve the Partner Search at: ICT Objective 1.4.B paragraph 3 – Authentication Management

Objective: ICT-2011.3.5 Core and disruptive photonic technologies

Proposal Name: Bio-Cell molecular spectroscopy, for faster and more reliable diagnosis of cancer BIFREDICA
Challenge: Challenge 3: Alternative Paths to Components and Systems
Retrieve the Partner Search at: Bio-Cell molecular spectroscopy, for faster and more reliable diagnosis of cancer BIFREDICA

Proposal Name: Bio-Cell molecular spectroscopy, for faster and more reliable diagnosis of cancer BIFREDICA
Challenge: Challenge 3: Alternative Paths to Components and Systems
Retrieve the Partner Search at: Bio-Cell molecular spectroscopy, for faster and more reliable diagnosis of cancer BIFREDICA

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.

 The Malta-EU Steering and Action Committee (MEUSAC) will be organising, on 30th November, a national conference on Europe 2020. The ‘Europe 2020' strategy has been drawn up to tackle the challenges of the economic crisis and to turn the EU into a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy, increasing employment, productivity and social cohesion across Europe. It is through the contribution of all citizens that it will be possible to reach the set targets.

This national conference wraps up a series of seminars on the various flagship initiatives of the Europe 2020 strategy, namely:

• An agenda for new skills and jobs & youth in the EU;
• Energy efficiency;
• Research and Innovation;
• The Digital Agenda;
• The European Platform against Poverty.

The conference includes presentations by foreign speakers from Denmark, Cyprus, Spain and the United Kingdom on the above mentioned issues. The topics selected include:

• Quality assurance in Vocational, Education and Training provision;
• Overcoming poverty and exclusion;
• Energy efficiency;
• An inclusive European information society in a time of economic crisis; and
• An Innovation Union for economic recovery.

Those interested in attending the conference are requested to register by sending an email on .

Date: 30th November 2011

Venue: The Palace Hotel, Sliema

Time: 8.30 – 14.00

MCESD- Malta Council for Economic and Social Development is holding a series of seminars funded by ESF -European Social Fund through the project closer to Europe. This seminar entitled models of social and civil dialogue in Europe aimed to focus on how European member states can combat poverty and social exclusion.

Two representatives from GRTU attended to this seminar held on the 17^th and 18^th of November at the Palace Hotel. The seminars' main speaker was Fintan Farrell-Director General of European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN) since June 2002.

Fintan Farrell is involved in Partnership 2000 – an agreement done in Ireland. It consisted of an independent tribunal on education and discrimination regulations. This agreement was concerned on social welfare and its main objective was to reach and create an equal society for all citizens. Mr. Farrell is a great believer in participation and has contributed to the development of this practice, which seeks to empower people experiencing poverty and social exclusion.

The aim of the seminar was to enhance the quality of social and civil dialogue in Malta. Some of the examples that lead to social and civil dialogue are:

• Local Traveler Accommodation Consultative Committees
• National Social Partnership Agreements
• The open method of coordination on social protection and social inclusion
• Regular structured dialogue with the European Parliament

Such dialogue can cover more aspects from over-changing society rather than focusing only on poverty and social exclusion. Civil and social dialogue enhance participatory democracy meaning a societal model that seeks to extend this fear of participation and people's power to take decisions for themselves beyond traditional policy making. It is a notion that is becoming more forward: more factors influencing Government decision making. More citizens are being involved in their country development.

During this seminar, training programmes were done to achieve more close experiences of each of the participants. Small groups were formed to share experiences on how they were involved on social and civil dialogue. Groups were formed to share experiences on how they were involved in social and civil dialogue. Groups were formed from different people with different age groups. This helped us in gathering experiences from others and in amalgamating ideas.

These groups were also formed to express what we as Maltese want and expect from social and civil dialogue.

Some of the main factors highlighted were:

• Proposals and listening
• Commitment to reach compromise
• Progress, feedback and listened to
• Information and experts
• Respect and Action

Groups were also asked to discuss and try to reach a close definition of social and civil dialogue. The group in which GRTU representatives participated came up with the most close and appropriate definition as per Mr. Farrell, speaker of the seminar. The definition was: "People want to be informed as part of a transparent society in which they trust and engage in a dialogue of mutual understanding and respect leading to an effective action and solidarity".

No common definition is reached even internationally on what social and civil dialogue is but it is recognized both locally and internationally, more people are having more ideas about how we can develop civil and social dialogue. Civil dialogue is the public authority while social dialogue is like an intermediary that negotiates with the authorities.

The international labour organizations identified a very broad definition why it is difficult to find a proper definition. The ILO defines civil dialogue as: "A component and a tool of participatory democracy with the public makers as the interlocutor. It defines the relationship between public decision makes and organized civil society. While as to social dialogue it is defined as: "To include all types of negotiations consultation or simply exchange of Information between or among representatives of Governments, Employers and Workers on issues of common interest relating to economic and social policy."

Civil and Social Dialogue are meant to achieve more equality between citizens. It was concluded that more common democracy is being done so that the common good is reached rather than using individual ways of dialogues.

Civil Society today is more visible, more organized and more vibrant than ever before. And yet, despite an increasing number of consultations, there is a little shared understanding of what is meant by civil dialogue, civil society and participatory democracy. The emergence of civil society is one of the key features of modern democracies, whether at community, local, national or international level. Ultimately, engaging civil society in the daily life and the political process is a very effective way to promote social cohesion, solidarity and social justice, creating a better quality of life for everyone.

Why did you become an entrepreneur? To be my own boss and nobody bothers me

How have you come to chose your line of business?Other than my family renewable energy is the love of my life, ever since I can remember as a kid I had an interest in energy generation and things of that sort. My mother has some interesting stories to tell!

Where did you go on your last holiday?

Australia and the thing that impressed me most was the ocean

What is your earliest memory?

We were in the car with my father and he was driving and was going to crash. I remember him very clearly saying to the man in the other car he was going to crash into "nigi u naqlghalek il-mustacci!!"

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

Richard Branson- He is hard working, earns money and has a good life.

This week I participated in a number of meetings related to tourism where we discussed the success industry enjoyed throughout this year and also went into detail on how to face next year's challenges due to the economic turbulence that is around us.

As President of the GRTU hospitality and leisure division I emphasised the point that many a time the statistical contribution of tourism is calculated mainly through hotel and restaurant activity. The effect of tourism is however in reality so broad that it literally affects almost every economic sector, in Malta. An example for instance is, when a factory is producing food some of the goods go towards tourist consumption, this but does not show in our national figures as tourism consumption, so is the case for other economic activities as boutiques and other shops of giftware, etc.. A very interesting presentation of the overall situation in tourism was delivered by Hon Mario De Marco and his team at MTA in an MCESD meeting.

Another separate meeting was also held with Hon George Pullicino and Hon Mario De Marco together with various stakeholders in the area of Paceville. The discussion focused on the fact that Government would be embellishing the main area in Paceville, where a lot of private investment was occurring and the embellishment would actually support this investment. Another important aspect discussed was pedestrianisation of the centre of Paceville and other issues related to logistics of the works that would be carried out. I emphasised on the importance that in the period during which works are carried out, every business would still be able to operate due to the fact that it is a high cost area, with retailers paying very high rents and compliance costs together with the large numbers of staff that they employ. Paceville also provides services in general to the local and tourist community. I made it clear that for all these reasons we cannot afford for even one establishment to close of have his operations limited at any time during the works. For this reason each area for which work is to be carried out a plan should be clearly laid out so that every establishment will be accessible to the public for normal trading businesses.