Category: Archive – 2014

GRTU strongly
believes that the role of the European Parliament is very important. The
European Parliament is a very strong decision making body that decides on
something that affects you as an EU citizen or an EU business on a daily basis.

The question is how will these individuals we have elected to represent our
interest decide? The reality is they can decide in favour of your interest but
they can also decide against when the decision they make might not be a very
informed one.

The
European Parliament elections are now approaching and GRTU has learned a lot
from past experience. We have learned that MEPs can be a very important tool to
get the views of our members across and mould EU law in a way that protects
their interests. We are therefore at this important stage leading to the
European Parliament Elections heavily emphasizing with all contesting
candidates that we expect them to stay close to us as SME representatives and
keep the communication channel active so that they can make informed decisions on
the interests of Maltese SMEs. 

GRTU meets MEP Metsola

During
an event organized by the European Parliament representation office in Malta in
view of the next upcoming EP elections on 24th May 2014, GRTU expressed its
disappointment with the level of communication with the current MEPs and GRTU
President Paul Abela invited current and future MEPs to start involving GRTU in
their work.

Following
this current MEP Roberta Metsola immediately made contact with GRTU in order to establish a
steady communication channel. GRTU met MEP Metsola and we explained the work we
do and discussed how we could start working together. Roberta Metsola also
explained the issues she is currently dealing with in the committees in which
she is a member.

GRTU expressed
to MEP Metsola its wish that the new elected candidates would coordinate
together to ensure they cover the committees that are most important especially
those that are more likely to impact SMEs. Malta's MEPs are only six which is
very little compared to the number of MEPs of other Member States and therefore
it is even more important for them to coordinate for the best of those they
represent.

MEP Metsola
said that she has taken due note of the interest of GRTU and will be
collaborating closely with the organization on the reports that fall within the
committees in which she is a member and do her best to lobby other MEPs in
order to gain support on issues of importance to SMEs.

MEP Mizzi supports SMEs in vote related to interchange fees for card-based
payment transactions

GRTU has this
week written to MEP Marlene Mizzi asking her to support our position in favour
of SMEs and consumers during a vote that was taken this week on the 20th
February at the ECON Committee where she is Vice Chair.

MEP Mizzi was
more than happy to support our position and contribute to the adoption of a
favourable report. She explained that as a business person as well as a
consumer, she is aware of the burdens of fees and expenses linked to card based
payments.

GRTU congratulates
the Parliament's ECON Committee on the adoption of a report which maintains and
improves most of the Commission's original proposals, setting caps on credit
and debit cards at a reasonable level across Europe but allowing member states
to set even lower caps.

This is a great
result. Once adopted, lower interchange fees would lead to better prices for
consumers across Europe. We are especially pleased at the Parliament's
inclusion of commercial cards in the caps and their acceptance that the ‘Honour
all cards rule' should be prohibited.

We very much
hope that the report from Mr Zalba Bidegain will be maintained at the Plenary
as it was voted today. We also call on the Council to follow the same line; the
reforms in this regulation, and in the revised Payment Services Directive, are
essential for more transparent and competitive payments in Europe.

Of course, this
is just the first step: we have a long way to go yet. But we trust this vote
will send a strong message to the Parliament as a whole and to the member
states in Council that Europe needs forward-looking legislation which will
bring great benefits to Europe's merchants and consumers.

Protection of undisclosed know-how and business information

GRTU has this week drafted a position paper on this Commission proposal
and circulated it also to our MEPs.

The proposal of
protection of trade secrets / business know how is welcomed as a step into the
right direction to protect companies and in particular SMEs from
misappropriation of trade secrets / business know how in cross border trade.
This however can only be done if the Directive is as precise as possible and if
a real harmonisation of rules is reached.

The protection
of trade secrets / confidential business information at EU level is very delicate
as it would be touching national labour and civil and criminal law. Such an
initiative must be taken in a way that ensures that the existing balance
between those areas of law at national level is well maintained.

Moreover,
raising awareness of the risk relating to non-protection of trade secrets /
confidential business information at national, European and international level
for companies – but especially for SMEs – is crucial for the acceptance of an
EU action by companies.

With e-commerce
development, consumer reviews have become widespread, in particular in the
travel and hotel sector, and may considerably influence consumers' choices. In
the last years however malpractices have been found of biased presentation of
user-reviews and posting of fake reviews. 

The aim of this study is to map the on-line hotel reviews market, its
business models, the type and scope of misleading practices, the influence they
may have on consumers and the actions that are undertaken to improve the
transparency and trustworthiness of reviews and address possible fake reviews.
This study complements the Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue on Comparison Tools and
the general study on comparison tools and third-party verification schemes. The
study results expected in the first half of 2014 will help to assess the need
for further action. 

A short
questionnaire is now open for contributions on the experience you may have
regarding misleading on-line hotel reviews practices and/or fake review.  The Questionnaire can be found on:

Deadline
for submitting contributions is 28 February,
2014.

www.rpaltd.co.uk/news-hotels.shtml

A Commission Recommendation on a coordinated control plan to
carry out a series of DNA tests in EU Member States was endorsed yesterday by
experts meeting at the Standing Committee on the Food Chain. This is the second
time the Commission is coordinating such a control plan to find out if
horsemeat is still being fraudulently added to products labelled as beef.

The EU's app
sector has gone from zero to digital superhero in less than five years. By 2018
it could employ 4.8 million people and contribute €63 billion to the EU
economy, figures released today reveal. The app economy employs 1 million
developers, and 800,000 people in marketing and support posts.

From 1 January
2015, telecommunications, broadcasting and electronic services will always be
taxed in the country where the customer belongs*

– whether customer is a
business or consumer

– whether supplier based in
the EU or outside

* For a business (taxable
person) = either the country where it is registered or the country where it has
fixed premises receiving the service.

* For a consumer (non-taxable
person) = the country where they are registered, have their permanent address
or usually live.

The practical guidelines
published by the European Commission in English in late 2013 can be accessed
from:
http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/taxation/vat/how_vat_works/telecom/index_en.htm.

Today the Commission adopted two reports which shed more light
on problems linked to fighting Value Added Tax (VAT) fraud within the EU, and
which identify possible remedies. The first report looks at VAT collection and
control procedures across the Member States, within the context of EU own
resources.

The euro area
seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 12.0% in December 2013, remaining
stable since October. It was 11.9% in December 2012. The EU unemployment rate
was 10.7% in December 2013, down from 10.8% in November. It was 10.8% in
December 2012. These figures were published on 31 January by Eurostat, the
statistical office of the European Union.

Eurostat estimates that 26.2 million
men and women in the EU, of whom 19 million were in the euro area, were
unemployed in December 2013. Compared with November 2013, the number of
unemployed persons decreased by 162,000 in the EU and by 129,000 in the euro
area. Compared with the previous year, December 2012, unemployment decreased by
173,000 in the EU28, but increased by 130,000 in the euro area. The lowest
unemployment rates were recorded in Austria (4.9%), Germany (5.1%) and
Luxembourg (6.2%), and the highest in Greece (27.8% in October 2013) and Spain
(25.8%). Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate increased in fourteen
Member States, fell in thirteen and remained stable in Sweden.

Malta was recorded as the
5th Member State with the lowest unemployment rate at 6.7% as at December 2013.

Tourism has
been one of the strongholds of the European economy during the economic crisis,
and the positive trend will continue in 2014, with only 11% of Europeans expect
not to go away. According to the new Eurobarometer survey published, the sector
has been an engine of domestic demand-driven economic growth in 2013, with more
people choosing to spend holidays outside of their own country but within the
EU.

This scheme
supports micro enterprises  and the
self-employed (employing up to 30 persons as at 30th November 2012) that invest
in their business, innovate, expand, implement compliance directives and/or
develop their operations. Micro enterprises and self-employed will be supported
through a tax credit representing a percentage of the eligible expenditure and
wages of newly recruited employees and/or apprentices.

The MicroInvest 2013 covers costs 
incurred and paid for between 1st January 2013 and 31st December 2013
for:

Applications
for assistance will be received until the 28th March 2014. 

More info:
www.maltaenterprise.com/en/support/microinvest