Press Release: Malta Chamber of SMEs welcomes launch of direct flights to New York
17 September 2025
The Malta Chamber of SMEs welcomes the positive news that direct flights between Malta International...
Urgent Meeting for all
10 June 2004
The GRTU is calling a general meeting on Monday, 14th June at 5.00p.m. at
the GRTU General Headquarters in Valletta. The circular states that the Ministry
for Rural Affairs is adamantly trying to hold on to the past. Rather than facing
the realities of Malta’s accession in the European Union, they believe they can
hold to an anachronistic policy of bureaucratic controls, threats, fines and
eventual imprisonment against importers. All this under the excuse of the
“safeguard clause”. A clause which was intended for periods of crisis and not as
a tool to interfere with the free movements of goods.
the GRTU General Headquarters in Valletta. The circular states that the Ministry
for Rural Affairs is adamantly trying to hold on to the past. Rather than facing
the realities of Malta’s accession in the European Union, they believe they can
hold to an anachronistic policy of bureaucratic controls, threats, fines and
eventual imprisonment against importers. All this under the excuse of the
“safeguard clause”. A clause which was intended for periods of crisis and not as
a tool to interfere with the free movements of goods.
GRTU is not
prepared to accept this economic nonsense. Encouraging local production to gear
itself to higher quality in search of niche markets in the enlarged European
market is one thing. Imposing controls on products originating in other European
Union member states to keep artificially high prices in Malta for inferior
products is a completely different and absolutely unacceptable thing. Asking
Traders to identify their sources of supply is unacceptable too Price control is
also a dead letter.
The Ministry of Rural Affairs is overstepping the
acceptable norms of free trade as practised within the EU internal market. GRTU
has already protested with the EU Commission and we are using our membership in
EuroCommerce and in UEAPME to cause the EU Commission to watch closely what is
happening in Malta.
Thus the GRTU is prepared to give its members
directives to challenge the newly emerging ugly face of
bureaucracy.
