Author: SME Chamber

Greece's budget deficit for 2010 was significantly larger than its government had previously estimated, dealing another blow to its attempts to bring its crisis-hit economy under control. The figure for last year was 10.5% of gross domestic product (GDP), according to figures published by Eurostat, the Commission's statistical office, on 26th April.

 

‘Accounting exercise'

The latest figures, although showing an improvement on 2009's 15.4% level, heap further pressure on the Athens government's attempts to improve the country's finances following last May's €110 billion bail-out from the EU and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Under the conditions of the bail-out, Greece vowed to get its deficit to 7.6% in 2011 and below 3% by 2014.

Public debt

The figures also showed that public debt in Greece had increased to 142.8% of GDP in 2010, from 127.1% in 2009. Eurostat released its figures as part of its twice-yearly publication covering member states with excessive deficits. Portugal has also revised its 2010 deficit level upwards, to 9.1% of GDP compared with 8.6% announced previously.

Tuesday's figures from Eurostat show that the largest government deficits as a percentage of GDP were recorded in Ireland (32.4%) followed by Greece (10.5%), the United Kingdom (10.4%), Spain (9.2%) and Portugal (9.1%).

Ireland's large deficit – more than double the 14.3% level of 2009 – was attributed mainly to huge losses in the country's banking sector, which is now, largely, under state control.

The lowest deficits were recorded in Luxembourg (1.7%), Finland (2.5%) and Denmark (2.7%). Estonia registered a slight government surplus in 2010 (of 0.1%) and Sweden was in balance (0%).

Across the eurozone as a whole, government deficits decreased to an average of 6% of GDP in 2010, compared with 6.3% the year before. But government debt levels as a percentage of GDP increased during 2010 to 85.1% from 79.3%,

The debt figures, which show the government's total borrowing over time rather than the latest annual shortfall, showed Greece is in the worst situation, followed by Italy at 119% of GDP, and Belgium at 96.8%.

The leaders of France and Italy are putting pressure on the European Commission to agree more powers for member states to impose national border controls in the face of an influx of refugees from north Africa. They said that work the Commission has been preparing on Schengen has "to materialise and be intensified rapidly". They also called for "new measures".

 

An emergency meeting of national interior ministers has been scheduled for 12 May to discuss the implications for EU migration policy of the uprisings in the Arab world and the potential influx of migrants to the EU.

France wants to allow national border controls to be re-introduced selectively and to expand the conditions under which these checks could be reinstated. At present, this can only be done temporarily, for reasons of "public order", and requires member states to notify the Commission.

A spokesperson for the Commission yesterday acknowledged the need to clarify and review the Schengen rules "in order to apply them more correctly and more easily and in a spirit of better co-operation between the member states".

One diplomat predicted "hard and painful" negotiations among the EU's member states  about changing the Schengen rules, while another said countries such as Austria, Germany and the Netherlands were in favour of strengthening national controls over the EU's internal borders.

Sarkozy and Berlusconi want changes to the Schengen rules agreed in principle at a summit of the EU's national leaders on 24 June.

The two leaders issued their call on Tuesday after meeting in Rome to resolve a row over an influx of around 25,000 Tunisian migrants given temporary residency by Italy and thereby the freedom to travel across the Schengen area.

France, the preferred destination of  many, denied them entry and set up ad hoc checks on trains arriving from Italy.

MEPs have raised concerns that modifying Schengen would undo the achievement of creating a border-free travel area for more than 400 million citizens and play into the hands of anti-immigration groups.

The Cleaner Technology Center is launching the 6th Edition of the Environment Award for Enterprise with the aim of acknowledging the contribution of industry in favour of sustainable development.The aim of these awards is to give recognition to industries or organizations which, through their policies, practices and processes help bring about, social and economic development while reducing the impact of their operations on the environment. 

 

 

 

 

Another aim of the awards is to act as a spur for more organizations to take measures in favour of the environment.

The environment award will be given in three categories;

Category ‘A' – Management Award for Sustainable Development

Category ‘B' – Conservation Award for Sustainable Development

Category ‘C' – Environment Protection Initiative Award for SME's

The winners in the last edition were: The General Soft Drinks Co Ltd, Medichem Manufacturing (Malta) Ltd and Mater Dei Hospital. Honourable Mentions were given to HSBC Bank (Malta) Ltd, Intercontinental (Malta) Hotel, Yellow Pages (Malta) Ltd & The Hilton (Malta) Hotel.

During this event, another award namely ‘'THE WASTE MINIMISATION AWARD'' instituted by WasteServ Malta Limited in conjunction with The Cleaner Technology Centre will be launched. This award is intended to recognize businesses and organisations on the Maltese Islands that have implemented successful waste reduction, reuse and recycled product procurement programmes.

TIME LINE

Application Deadline: August 2011

Applications will be assessed by a special committee consisting of experts from various sectors. The winners in each category are awarded a specially commissioned trophy made by Mdina Glass and a certificate. The winners will also be assisted to compete in the European Environment Award Programme run by the DG Environment of the European Commission.

Further details and application forms can be obtained from the: Cleaner Technology Centre – E-mail: – Anton Pizzuto – Director – Cleaner Technology Centre

Not all Europeans and consular officials are aware of the EU dimension of consular protection. The European Commission has, for the first time, put forward a Communication on consular protection in third countries to take stock of the EU's contribution to effective consular protection in third countries and to present the way forward based on the experience gained and the renewed institutional framework.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Under EU law, all Member States must provide the same help to citizens without representation in non- Member States as they would to their own nationals. Emergencies might be rare, but the right to such consular assistance abroad is also available for more common problems such as stolen passports, serious accidents and illness.

Recent crises around the world have seen many persons not knowing where to turn to for diplomatic support. The EU wants to make its citizens aware of their right to turn to any Member State's consulate or embassy for protection or help should their own nation not be represented in the country where they happen to be.

The Commission will submit legal proposals within the next 12 months to improve the legal certainty regarding the scope, conditions and procedures related to consular protection and optimise the use of resources, including in time of crisis; and establish the coordination and cooperation measures necessary to facilitate day-to-day consular protection in crisis situations.

Source: MEUSAC News

L-Isforzi kollha li ghamlet il-GRTU matul dawn l-ahhar xhur biex il-Gvern u l-aktar l-MRA taddotta attitudni aktar ragonevoli u li taghmel sens ekonomiku ghall-operaturi serji, ghall-konsumaturi kif ukoll ghad-distributuri li dejjem offrew is-servizz taghhom b'fedelta' baqghet imferrxa fis-shab.

 

L-MRA ippreferiet li tghix fis-shab u insistiet li l-ewwel u qabel kollox u aktar mill-weghdiet zejda li kellha, kellha tara li min hu licenzjat ghandu il-kapacita' ta' produzzjoni u fornitura ta' cilindri u barra minn hekk li jwettaq l-obbligi li kienu sottomessi ghalihom u li mhux sempliciment ifixkel u jikkappara bla ma jimpurtah xejn bil-hsara li jkun qed ifajjar fuq min b'kapital u investimenti kbar qed jisgura li jaghqdi l-poplu Malti u Ghawdxi. L-Ebda kas m'hu qed jinghata ghal hsara ikkawzata lis-sistema' tad-distribuzzjoni ibbazata fuq organizzazzjoni ta' tletin distributur self-employed li b'investiment taghhom jaghqdu ta' kuljum lid-djar u lin-negozji Maltin.

Il-GRTU issa tappella lill-Prim Ministru biex jaqbez lil min b'inkompetenza gab din is-sitwazzjoni u jibda diskussjonijiet f'livell oghla mill-MRA biex dan is-servizz tant importanti ghall-Intrapriza u ghal bicca l-kbira tal-familji Maltin ma jkomplix jitkisser biex jitpaxxew ftit li lanqas jafu fejn jibda l-interess Nazzjonali.

Principju fundamentali maghruf huwa li kull meta min hu inkarigat u serju jdahhal riforma, hu li r-riforma ma titfanix lura imma l-quddiem u mhux tkisser dak li dejjem qdiena sew biex tohloq sistema' li hi aghar u konfuza b'dannu ghal min irid jinqeda. L-Awtoritajiet Regulatorji zelqu bil-kbir fuq dan il-Principju u jahtu bil-kbir ghal dak li qed ibatu l-konsumaturi u l-operaturi serji.

The VAT Department in collabotaion with the GRTU helped organise a meeting for software programme providers held during this week to which Council member Marcel Mizzi attended. The meeting was mainly targeted at software developers who are involved in the development and deployment of computerised Point of Sale (POS) systems.

 

The VAT Dept explained that a campaign is going to be lauched shortly to promote the advantages being offered to traders who post their VAT returns online.  He also said that the department is planning to push the idea of standardised electronic invoicing that would be indispensable in B2B business. A working group will be set up with members from the constituted bodies to discuss these initiatves.

The new measures that were going to be introduced with the intention of curbing VAT fraud were explained. The department is aware that there are software based POS systems on the local market that are specifically designed to allow the user to change or delete transactions after they have been posted. This would usually be through a hidden function that would enable the shop owner to remove or change a transaction once it has been posted which is of course highly illegal. Changes that have been made recently in the VAT Act which make this a criminal offence and that are harsh penalties stipulated within the law. The software supplier that knowingly supplies software with these loopholes is committing a criminal offence himself and would be held criminally liable. The department is going to start investigating these abuses. Developers who are found to be involved in the provision of software with these loopholes will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Even in cases where computerised stock control systems are used together with a fiscal cash register, if the audit trail on the computer system is tampered with, it would still be a violation of this law.

Numerous developers present during the meeting, pointed out that data can be manipulated outside of the POS application and this surely would not be the responsibility of the suppliers. Mr. Sammut stated that from now on before an exemption is awarded the software is going to be examined to ensure that it is difficult if not impossible to tamper with the data outside of the POS application. He also said that it is up to the department to prove complicity and this would not be the case when there is none.

These exemptions allow shop owners to use a computerised POS systems instead of a fiscal cash registers. Many of those present agrued voiciferously that they could not be held responsible for the user's actions. They said that if this law were to be enforced most of the POS systems on the market would not be deemed legal and would have to be replaced. Although this would ensure a steady stream of new business for the developers, the business owner would have to invest in news systems which come at a considerable cost. The VAT Dept was adamant about this and maintained that the law is clear enough.

GRTU Council Member Marcel Mizzi participated in a meeting concerning the revamping and restructuring of apprentice schemes. This was a consultation meeting which aimed to get the GRTU's feedback together with that of other bodies.

 

The aim of this meeting was to get our feedback and the feedback from other bodies regarding the restructuring of the current apprenticeship schemes. In attendance were Mr. Cutajar (CEO of ETC) and several representatives from employers. The meeting was hosted at MCAST by Prof Maurice Grech.

MCAST is looking into the restructuring of the current schemes, which were in fact working but not up to expectations, with the aim of increasing the number of sponsors willing to take on apprentices. The main problem is that some of the practical experiences that students required were not being met by the employers. This was usually because the employer in question could not provide the experience in that subject matter due to their business model. It was suggested that the way forward would be to define exactly what type of practical experience is required and when looking for sponsors. A number of sponsors might be required in order to cater for all the experience required.

Mr Mizzi on behalf of GRTU enquired on how many of the apprentices were being taken up by micro and small enterprises. ETC said that more than half were being employed by SMEs with less then 10 employees. GRTU suggested that as part of the restructuring the scheme would be packaged in such a way to increase its attractiveness to SMEs. In GRTU's opinion the idea of listing the practical competences and having apprentices change employers may in fact further discourage SMEs from participating.

GRTU suggested closer cooperation with SME organisations such as GRTU and to set up an effective channel of communication so that MCAST would be aware of their competences and needs. Thought must be given to designing apprentices which are more responsive to SME needs. SMEs would not be comfortable with having their apprentice change employers as they would fear leaks about sensitive information. MCAST understood this point and would welcome further input in this direction for the re-design.

MCAST are currently looking into the possibility of acquiring EU funding for the newly designed scheme. A pilot project is planned dealing with a different areas and the performance of the new changes would be assessed in this way.

A follow-up meeting is being planned shortly and a half day workshop will be organised soon to discuss a way forward.

The new traffic arrangements being proposed for Mellieha have been the cause for serious discussion for the Mellieha Local Council for years. The new public bussing system has now brought the issue to the top of the agenda.

 

The issue concerns the general public residing in Mellieha who seek a better service and circulatory flow of traffic that ensures that the main shopping area in Borg Olivier street is adequately reachable through the bussing service and also by private cars and that Mellieha continues to function as an important retail and entertainment location for the large number of people, Maltese an tourists who visit Mellieha or pass through Mellieha.

The real issue however is the narrow stretch of street from the Labour Party club on top of the hill to the nationalist party club at the bottom of the hill. Shop owners in the area are complaining heavily that not enough information has been made available and the plans on which the local council and Malta Transport have been working on have not been sufficiently explained. GRTU representatives in discussions with the Mayor and the Local Council have made it clear that while supporting all initiatives to give Mellieha a better circulatory traffic management scheme they are against any scheme that would effect the earnings of the business community which has heavily invested in the main thoroughfare of Mellieha.

"Shop owners calculations are very simple, they take their Z readings and know precisely what is their income and profitability per day. They can very quickly tell the mayor and the Council whether any scheme has brought better returns or worse. Many shop owners believe that what is currently being proposed would lead to a lower Z reading. The questions is very simple.  If the earnings fall as a result of the change who will be compensating shop owners for the loss of earnings? It is easy for salary earners to propose and implement because at the end of the month their income is the same. For shop owners if consumers are scared away and income falls their take-home pay is simply reduced and for them hardly anything else matters." stated GRTU president Paul Abela.

Paul Ablea on behalf of GRTU demanded a clear economic impact assessment and a clear responsibility to compensate shop owners if whatever is implemented turns out as a loss of business.

One very difficult issue that GRTU, as the true representative of Maltese enterprise, had to face over the last decade, was  the implementation of the EU waste management directives. A small country like Malta who's economy highly depends on tourism and an essential part of the infrastructure for us Maltese and all visitors is a healthy environment is how to successfully operate the polluter pays principle.

 

 

Effectively the importer and the producer is at law the "polluter" as he is directly responsible for the importation of most materials that end up in the waste stream. Waste simply does no materialise from nowhere.

Whether it is packaging waste, electrical or electronic waste or any other waste material the basic truth remains that when a product or a material is no longer in use it is thrown out with the rest of the waste stream. Somebody must be made responsible for its collection and for its eventual processing as recycled material, reusable material or whatever, the cost has to be born by somebody. Whichever way you look at it the cost ends at the door of the citizen, either as a consumer or as a tax payer. Traditionally Government handled all waste which means the tax payer had to pay for all the expense. Today most materials are captured and the cost is included in the service or product placed on the market and at the end of the road it is the consumer who pays.

Under EU regulations our Government has to meet specific targets. On waste collection, recycling and reuse and adopt specific policies to ensure this is done.

GRTU is the one national organisation that rather than talk, preach and expect others to do has instead shouldered  the responsibility on behalf of Maltese enterprises to carry the tremendous burden of organizing a National Waste Management Compliance Scheme so that, by economies of scale and central cooperative management, we reduce the cost for waste management compliance that would otherwise bear heavily on each entrepreneur.

GRTU, who's members come primarily from small enterprise and a large ratio of whom are retailers, ensured that the burdens would not fall on retailers but would rather be part of the whole burden of importation and production. This essentially entailed a massive organisation to collect recyclable waste on a door-to-door basis from all of the Maltese and Gozitan territory. Through the GRTU's 100% subsidiary Green MT this exercise now covers 70% of Malta and Gozo and the scheme managed by GRTU is responsible for 78% of the recyclable waste taken to the national waste facility at Sant` Antnin.

This is a scheme that makes us all extremely proud. The Maltese commercial sector represented primarily by GRTU is not only providing jobs for up to 78% of the Maltese labour force and substantially contributing to Malta's GDP but this sector is now also the major contributor to Malta's National Waste Management compliance

The serious problem that arose over these last years was one of enforcement. While a substantial number of enterprises belonged to Green MT or its competitor GreenPak, and these entrepreneurs carried the burden of financially supporting the 2 schemes that specialise in waste management compliance, many other entrepreneurs preferred to disregard all and to plod on in spite of the serious dis-leveled competitive market structure to which they were contributing.

MEPA, the national regulator on this issue remained practically aloof and failed to provide an effective enforcement that ensured that all polluters paid their due contribution to the schemes. Now MEPA came bang into action and importers and producers who had been evading their responsibility on this matter are being forced to comply. The issue facing business representatives is either to act responsibly and accept that the best way forward is for the responsibility to be shared by all, thus minimising the cost per entity or to ignore and allow the persistence of a state where the honest pay and the dishonest just evade.

GRTU has opted for the correct way forward and is in fact providing all the support necessary to entrepreneurs and business owners in general to help them come in line and comply with the waste management regulations