The team of EU
negotiators, headed by chief negotiator Ignacio Garcia Bercero, has arrived in
Washington to start the first round of negotiations on the EU-US Transatlantic
Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). In this first round of talks, a range
of issues will be discussed in different working groups:
they will cover market
access for goods, services, investment, public procurement, regulatory issues,
and non-tariff barriers in areas such as customs, intellectual property, energy
and raw materials, and the environment. The ambition is to negotiate a deal
that could spur growth worth 0.5% of the EU's GDP. A joint press conference
will be held by the chief negotiators on Friday 12 July at the end of the
week's negotiations.
45% of European internet users willing to upgrade or change supplier
for higher speed – Internet speed
is emerging as a top issue for internet users according to the latest EU-wide
survey of how Europeans use the internet.
Nearly half (45%) of Europeans
households would upgrade their Internet subscription or switch supplier for a
higher speed broadband, closing the gap with price as in the race for most
important factor when choosing an internet plan.
European
Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes: "Consumers increasingly care about
their internet being fast enough to watch videos, for example. And for those who
run businesses from their home, speed is also a competitiveness issue.
Consumers now focus on both speed and price when making their choices."
The Employment
and Training Corporation (ETC) has just launched a scheme that aims to directly
assist employers on new employment (or employment within the last 3 months) of
individuals registered as disabled persons.
The aim
of this project is to help persons with disabilities to be able to enter the
work force, by giving them the necessary training and support required. For
this project, four types of services are offered:
1. Learning Support Assistant (LSA)
The
Learning Support Assistant will assist the registered disabled person (RDP)
during the training assigned for the client to attend. This service is for
training courses during the duration of this project.
2. Occupational Therapist, Occupational Psychologist or Clinical
Psychologist
This
service is offered for the assessment of the participants' eligibility for the
Job Coaching and Personal Assistance Programme. If the client is eligible, the
personalisation of the Job Coaching programme and Personal Assistance programme
according to the previous feedback received.
3. Job Coaching
This
service is offered when the client is placed on a scheme (such as the Bridging
the Gap) or starts working. The Job Coach will support the disabled person in
work related needs on the place of work. The Job Coach Service provided to the
RDP is given on the advice and guidance of the OP and/or CP following the
individual assessment. The OP and /or COP will provide the ETC with feedback on
the particular case and whether the necessary Job Coaching service is required
and to what extent.
4. Personal Assistance Service Allowance
The
Personal assistance service refers to the assignment of an employee by the
employer to support the disabled person in work related needs on the place of
work. The personal assistance to the RDP given on the advice and guidance of
the OP and/or CP following the individual assessment. The OP and/or CP will
provide the ETC with feedback on the particular case and whether the necessary
personal assistance is required.
An
allowance will be given to time lost by the employee whom is to stand in as a
Personal Assistant to the Disabled person.
The first six
months of 2013 have been very hectic for the Malta Shortsea Promotion Centre
and the programme for the second half of the year promises to be as
involving. Changes were made to the
statute of MSPC which is now officially registered as an NGO so that it can now
apply for EU funds particularly for educational purposes.
Apart
from the monthly newsletter, the regular updating of the website and the
monthly board meeting, the MSPC was also involved in:
– Meetings in Brussels and Paris which dealt with the workings of
the European Shortsea Network;
– Meetings in Malta with MEUSAC on funding for educational courses
that MSPC intends to sponsor;
– Discussions with prospective members to add more members to the
Center – where we have added four new members;
– Participation in the European Maritime Day that saw MSPC
organize together with the European Commission (DG for Maritime Affairs and
Fisheries) and the Maltese Ministry for the Economy, Investment and Small
Business, and the Maltese Ministry for Tourism a seminar on the sustainable
coastal and maritime tourism in the wider context of blue growth. This seminar was coordinated with the Swedish
Agency for Marine and Water Management Clean Shipping Index and the Region of
Västra Götaland. It was a very well
attended seminar and highly participative.
– Direct involvement in the ESN Project "ESN – The Way Forward"
dealing with the collation of data and other market information on shortsea
shipping on a Europe wide basis. This
project forms part of the Marco Polo Project.
Not only is MSPC participating actively in three different work
packages, but we have been also appointed as coordinators for the East Med
sector.
The next
six months have a number of defined objectives, namely:
1. Completion of the ESN Project by November;
2. Groundwork for the securing of funds from the EU for organising a
training seminar for Maltese participants at the Escola de Shortsea Shipping in
Barcelona;
3. Meeting with respective entities – Transport Malta, Chamber of
Commerce, GRTU – to present the workings of MSPC;
4. Finalizing internal study on the educational and training courses
in Malta related to transport and logistics.
The main
objective of MSPC remains that of being a source of information for EU matters
relating to shortsea shipping and thereby assisting in the development of
Malta's potential in shortsea shipping.
For
further details and membership, one can contact the Malta Shortsea Promotion Centre
on
The European
Council has adopted a decision allowing Latvia to adopt the euro as its
currency as of 1 January 2014. this decision will extend the euro area to 18
member states and gives Latvia almost 6 months to prepare for the changeover.
The
Council also adopted regulations setting a permanent conversion rate for the
Latvian lats against the euro, and adapting certain technical provisions on the
euro.
The
conversion rate is set at 0.702804 Latvian lats to one euro, which corresponds
to the current central rate of the lats in the EU's exchange rate mechanism
(ERMM II).
The
decision was taken at a meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs
Council. In the light of reports from
the commission and the European Central Bank, the European Council welcomes the
fact that Latvia had fulfilled all the convergence criteria set out in the EU
Treaty and the Commission's proposal for it to join the euro.
GRTU
President Paula Abela formed part of Malta's tripartite delegation that took
part in the ILO held in Geneva in June.The
ILO was founded in 1919, in the wake of a destructive war, to pursue a vision
based on the premise that universal, lasting peace can be established only if
it is based on social justice.
The ILO became the first specialized agency of
the UN in 1946. The
unique tripartite structure of the ILO gives an equal voice to workers,
employers and governments to ensure that the views of the social partners are
closely reflected in labour standards and in shaping policies and programmes.
Guy
Ryder, executive director of the ILO, reaffirmed his commitment to
implement "Seven Centenary Initiatives" – covering governance, standards,
enterprises, green jobs, poverty, women and the future of work – which were outlined in his report to the
conference and which received broad support from the over 4,700 delegates
who attended the ILC. Ryder said that the initiatives would give the
organization the tools and strategic direction it needed to make its work
better, more relevant and influential.
Speaking
of a Future of Work Initiative, the ILO Director-General said that "a
forward-looking examination of the place of work in our lives and societies is
needed. It will frame policy choices and it will be appropriate to the marking
of the ILO's 100th anniversary."
He
said there had been "strong convergence" on the need for the ILO to establish a
platform of engagement with enterprises – as proposed in the Enterprise
Initiative.
"In
addition, there was widespread interest in defining and implementing an ILO
role in respect of global supply chains and more generally in respect of
corporate social responsibility," he added.
Ryder
observed that the "Women at Work" Initiative – which aims to
establish a picture of the place and conditions of women in the world of work,
and to catalyse action to realize equality of opportunity and treatment – had
received less comment than the others. He said he hoped that this reflected a
well-established commitment among delegates to this issue which did not require
further restatement.
GRTU's
participation was made possible through the assistance of the Industrial and
Employment Relations within the Ministry for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs
and Civil Liberties.
Ms Galea is an entrepreneur in the field of insurance and
brokerage and in the fields of training and HR development. Rosanne Galea
chairs GRTU's Labour Market Observatory and Employment Relations Committee at
GRTU.
Four Maltese
food & beverage companies have recently participated in the Canton fair in
Guangzhou, China under the umbrella of the GRTU in collaboration with Malta
Enterprise. This event is the World's largest fair, with an average of 188,000
overseas visitors (non-Chinese) per edition, as well as an equally large number
of Chinese Entrepreneurs.
A spokesperson for one of the participating
companies, Heart of the Mediterranean, was very positive about the prospects of
penetrating the Chinese market. In fact, the company has already received a
number of small/trial orders and had requests to enter into franchise
agreements in different parts of China, especially the richer regions such as
Shanghai, Suzhou and Dongguan. Other participating companies reported similar
feedback as businesses from more than 30 different countries have shown
interest in products exhibited by the four Maltese companies.
GRTU and China EU, the company responsible for
logistics during the fair and a main promoter, have the intention to
participate again in the next session which takes place in October 2013.
Manufacturers and traders in the following areas may apply to be considered for
participation;
Electronics,
Renewable Energy, home appliances, building materials & hardware,
machinery, industrial raw materials, foodstuffs, agricultural products,
household items, textiles and fabrics, health and beauty care products, gifts
and decorations.
More
information may be obtained from GRTU on email
Paul
Abela has been GRTU's President for the last 8 years and his practical experience is in port operation and the import and export of grains and
commodities. Paul Abela has also wide experience in manufacturing, in tourism
and in estate development.
Mr
Abela has also been approved a member of the Malta Enterprise Investment
Committee representing the interest of local entrepreneurs. GRTU has long
experience on the Malta Enterprise Board. Since its inception Director General
Vincent Farrugia represented GRTU and the interest of small and micro local
investors with his long experience in investment promotion in businesses, Vince
Farrugia is now chairing the GRTU investment advisory committee where Paul
Abela and entrepreneurs Mario Debono, Manual Azzopardi and Noel Gauci are
members.
The advisory committee analyses the position of GRTU
on various issues related to the promotion of investment and support schemes to
assist SMEs to grow within the Framework of Malta's Stability and Convergence
Plan and the National Reform Programme.
