Category: Archive – 2014

The aim of this
public consultation is to seek the opinions of the general public and all
stakeholders on the issues related to energy efficiency policies and measures
for 2020 and 2030.  Particularly, the
replies submitted to this consultation will provide an important input to the
review of progress towards the 2020 energy efficiency target under Article 3(2)
of the Energy Efficiency Directive 2012/27/EU.

They will also be taken into
consideration for the follow-up of the Communication "A policy framework for
climate and energy in the period from 2020 to 2030" to establish the exact
ambition of future energy savings policy and the measures necessary to deliver
it.

You are invited to reply to
this public consultation by answering the online questionnaire by 28/04/2014
which is available at: http://ec.europa.eu/yourvoice/ipm/forms/dispatch?form=2014eed

Last week GRTU
Council Member Noel Gauci met with Hon Stefan Buontempo, Parliamentary
Secretary for Research, Innovation, Youth and Sport, to discuss ways to improve
Malta's situation with Research & Innovation (R&I) and results achieved
thereof.

It was discussed that it is imperative for entrepreneurs to be
actively involved in the quest to facilitate the commercialisation of
successful research projects. Whether these entrepreneurs have a degree or not
should not make a difference, but one should rather pay attention to their
ability and expertise in research, innovation, development and
commercialisation.

GRTU has
proposed that entrepreneurs would be involved more, for instance GRTU is under
the impression that the MCST board is composed of an absolute majority of
academics. R&I is too often associated solely with academia, although
lately this perception is starting to change and we need to do much more to
eradicate the misconception. GRTU suggested that for R&I commercialisation to
take-off, the MCST board should be broadened to include enterprise
representatives, including GRTU as the national representative of SMEs and of
specific sectors such as the renewable energy industry.

Mr Gauci
also suggested the organization of regular information sessions though which
researchers would have the opportunity to present their project to
entrepreneurs and entice them to participate and collaborate.

GRTU
said it looked forward to a long and healthy relationship with the
Parliamentary Secretary in this regard.

GRTU has this
week attended as member of the Enterprise Consultative Council and contributed
to the discussion of on Female Entrepreneurship.

Mrs Michelle
Muscat, spouse of the Prime Minister of Malta, said that that we need to do
more in supporting females to remain in employment and venture into
entrepreneurship as we still have a very large number of females that vanish
for a certain period to raise their children and take care of their family.
This not only requires support for Government through childcare facilities and
tax incentives but requires a change in mentality. She continued saying that
women need to be role models for children and society they should be seen to contribute
to the economy and be successful not only in the traditional roles they are
associated with Government is in fact now looking at ways of expanding the  role of women.

Minister Chris
Cardona said that it is not about men and women, it is about utilizing the
resources of our country to their full potential. Women are a valuable
resource.  He said that more effort needs
to be done to push female entrepreneurship and he said that success is not
measured by the amount of women on boards only but by how able are we to build
a platform whereby women can set up a business. He also said that currently
only 19% of children attend child care, which is amongst the lowest in the EU,
and Government is seeking to double this by the next year.

The Minister
said that there are many initiatives in place and new ones starting amongst
which childcare, maternity leave and the link between education and industry.
Dr Cardona said he himself visited Sweden to learn about their golden rules on
female entrepreneurship. He also said that the Governments wants more female
entrepreneur ambassadors and he that he was committed to make this Government
the most feminist Government in Malta's history.

The National
Statistics Office contributed to the session by giving a number of figures.
Statistics show that the highest percentage of women in education are those of
the youngest age or mature students and females are most common in education,
health and law. In addition there are more female graduates. Women
entrepreneurs are more common in wholesale and retail as well as other
services, such as hairdressing.

While the
average working time for males in full time per week is 42 hours the average
working time for females is 39 hours. Unemployment rate as a percentage is
higher in females even though women are studying more. When it comes to the
level of births in 1980 there were 5,600 births and in 2012 this stood at
3,838. Births are most common amongst females aged between 30 and 34 followed
by those aged between 25 and 29. At the same time the fertility rate is going
down as females are having children at a later age. When it comes to childcare
it is more common in the informal setting through the family and neighbours.

Equality was
also a topic addressed and it was emphasized that during interviews and so on
employers cannot ask about the family arrangements of an individual. It was
specified that equality is not just in gender. There is a quality mark being
administered by the NCPE which is accessible even to SMEs and is tailor made
according to the enterprise's needs.

GRTU welcomed
the Minister's comments saying that our success should not just be measured by
the number of females on the board. We emphasized that it is important to give
females opportunities but it is also important to help females gain confidence
in themselves, change the mindset of people and support females with family
friendly measures which are the main reasons why women today are not given the
opportunities.

GRTU and Green
MT have last Thursday held a joint session on the Waste of Electrical and
Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive at the GRTU premises for members that
would be affected by developments in this regard. GRTU's Deputy President
Philip Fenech welcomed those present and Joseph Attard CEO of Green MT gave a
comprehensive presentation.

The aim
of the meeting was to update producers on the current policy in respect to WEEE
arising out of the National Waste Management Plan final policy document
2014-2020. This policy document provides an outline of the current
recommendations made by Government in order to put in place the actual
implementation of the WEEE Directive in Malta.

Whilst
the policy document provides a number of changes and scenarios, the major stumbling
block continues to be the payment of eco-contribution. In addition the document
outlines the provision of a bank guarantee to cover the waste management of
EEE. Whilst some form of guarantee would be a requisite it is definitely a
stumbling block to outline that self-compliant 
producers or producers being part of a scheme need to provide a full
financial guarantee for managing this waste stream. In addition the document
does not address the anomaly of the last 6 years, where producers were paying
eco-contribution and taking no further action to collect or recover their
market placed EEE. It was furthermore noted that through the recast of the WEEE
Directive, producers present for the meeting were told that the increase in
collection and recovery is minimally now fourfold of what the Directives
stipulated in 2007. They were also told that the recovery needs to reach 65% of
market placement by 2021.

GRTU has
always insisted that a one size fits all approach to these Directives for all
Member States leaves much to be desired and as such Government should try to
offset these heavy requirements by using a lenient approach towards both
schemes or self-compliant producers.

Members
present were also told that there will be more monitoring and enforcement in
relation to this legislation. The producers present were advised that GRTU and
Green MT will be represented on the waste management stakeholders group being
set up by the Ministry for Sustainable Development, the Environmental and Climate
Change to monitor and implement this policy. In addition it was agreed that a
sartorial committee is set up to include representatives for GRTU, Green MT,
prospective producer members and WEEE treatment facility operators. This
sectorial committee would be responsible to take on discussions with Government
in relation to WEEE issues and finalize the way forward for the implementation
of this particular waste stream.

It was
concluded that more frequent meetings will start being held in this regard.

The Waste Management Plan for
the years 2014-2020 envisages the implementation of this important EU Directive
which has been transposed to Maltese Law in 2007. The meeting will  provide an insight to the policy document
issued in this respect and producers obligations to meet the said environmental
requirements.

According to the Waste
Management Plan an Eco Tax Review is currently in an advanced stage and this
matter will also be discussed at the said meeting. As you are aware the Eco Tax
has always been a stumbling block to the implementation of the WEEE Directive.

During the meeting Green
MT will provide its plan for the establishment of the implementation of the
logistical plan to operate such a Compliance Scheme.

DATE :       THURSDAY
6TH MARCH

TIME :       14.00
HRS

VENUE : 
GRTU HEAD OFFICE , VALLETTA

It is important that you
attend to this meeting. You are cordially invited to reserve a seat for the
said meeting by phoning Green mt on 2149 6965/6 or else Ms Joanna Mifsud on
99845324 or by email on .

We thank you for your
participation and look forward to seeing you.

As part of the Management
Partnership Agreement between the Malta-EU Steering and Action Committee (MEUSAC)
and the European Commission, MEUSAC is currently implementing a series of
information sessions on the new EU Funding Programming Period for 2014-2020.

EXPLORE is a series of
six information sessions which will include different Managing Authorities and
National Contact Points delivering a presentation of the different EU funds for
2014-2020.

The third EXPLORE session
will promote EU funding programmes related to Research and Innovation. NGOs,
local councils and businesses active in this sector are welcome to participate
in this  session.

The information session
will provide an overview of various EU programmes and also national funds that
can further support and develop these initiatives. In addition to the
presentations to be delivered during the plenary in the main hall, a brokerage
session will be held after the event whereby representatives from Managing
Authorities and National Contact Points will be present to answer any queries.

Should you be interested
in taking part, kindly register on
by not
later than Tuesday, March 18, 2014.

EXPLORE | Research and
Innovation

Date: Thursday, March 20, 2014

Time: 17:00 – 19:00

Venue: The Waterfront Hotel,
Gżira

Creditinfo
and VoLo Africa are pleased to announce their agreement to merge their credit
bureau operations and establish a joint venture (JV), Creditinfo VoLo
Africa, with
the objective of working together in West Africa, in the area of credit
bureaus, risk management and biometric information. 

Both organisations will actively
be involved in steering the future of the business in Africa, bringing
structure and strategic direction with the aim of increasing the stability of
the African financial system and stimulating investment and financial
inclusion, to create an environment in which the African banks can provide the
required facilities for all borrowers, ranging from small enterprises and micro
enterprises.

The private sector in Africa
plays a key role in increasing financial inclusion and in providing the
financial infrastructure necessary for sustained economic growth. The JV will
jointly develop an improved system that will be a fundamental part of the
financial infrastructure of Africa by providing high-quality credit information
to the financial sector.

Through
the exchange of information, credit reporting systems can be established to
enable financial systems to use accurate information to offer credit based on
objective criteria. The result is lower risk and costs for the creditor and
increased economic opportunities for SMEs and members of society and especially
for those at the bottom of the financial pyramid.  Working together,
Creditinfo and VoLo will design, integrate and implement strategic solutions to
improve credit risk management procedures in Africa.

Innovative small and
medium-sized companies in Europe will be able to apply from tomorrow for grants
to help get their brightest ideas from the lab to the market. In total, some €3
billion in funding will be available under the "SME Instrument" over
the next seven years as part of Horizon 2020, the EU's new research and
innovation programme.

Funding is competitive and project proposals have to be
in line with call topics published on the Participant Portal, the gateway to EU
research funding. In 2014, some €250 million of funding will be available under
the SME Instrument's permanently open call.

 More information can be found at:

http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/funding/sme_participation.html

The European Commission has
rendered legally binding the commitments offered by Visa Europe to
significantly cut its multilateral interchange fees (MIFs) for credit card
payments to a level of 0.3% of the value of the transaction (a reduction of
about 40 to 60%) and to reform its rules in order to facilitate cross-border
competition. Vice President Almunia said: