SMEs were left with mixed feelings by the vote at the European Parliament's plenary on the so-called "Bendtsen report" on the EU Energy Efficiency Action Plan. GRTU praises most of the report's recommendations, which are going to feed into the plan to be presented by the European Commission in spring next year, in particular as far as assistance and funding possibilities for SMEs are concerned. However, GRTU supports the recommendation made by MEPs of an impact assessment prior to increasing the speed and scope of the application of the Ecodesign directive.
Finally, while clearly supporting initiatives that can lower the environmental impact of the transport sector, GRTU is against the "modal shift" from high energy intensive transport modes to low energy ones advocated by the Parliament, calling on the Commission to revert to the "co-modality" approach, by which all transport modes are used in combination to achieve an optimal and sustainable utilisation of resources.
The vote on the Bendtsen report will provide the European Commission with excellent input for its upcoming Energy Efficiency Action Plan. We fully share the report‟s recommendations on the need to devise mechanisms for assisting SMEs in achieving greater energy efficiency and to provide financing schemes at national, regional and local level to reach this aim. However, we are afraid that the some recommendations on ecodesign and transport policy may be a step too far for SMEs.
On the Ecodesign directive, the report calls for a faster implementation and for the extension of the rules to a long and detailed list of new products. This cannot be done without a proper impact assessment of the consequence of such an extension on SMEs.
16 October 2025
Following the recent debate on the potential introduction of a four-day working week, the Malta...
17 September 2025
The Malta Chamber of SMEs welcomes the positive news that direct flights between Malta International...
07 September 2025
The Malta Chamber of SMEs congratulates Dr Alex Borg on his election as Leader of...
The Malta Chamber of SMEs represents over 7,000 members from over 90 different sectors which in their majority are either small or medium sized companies, and such issues like the one we're experiencing right now, it's important to be united. Malta Chamber of SMEs offers a number of different services tailored to its members' individual requirements' and necessities. These range from general services offered to all members to more individual & bespoke services catered for specific requirements.
A membership with Malta Chamber of SMEs will guarantee that you are constantly updated and informed with different opportunities which will directly benefit your business and help you grow. It also entails you to a number of services which in their majority are free of charge and offered exclusively to its members (in their majority all free of charge).
