Monthly Review - May - Jun - doi photography competition

Malta Government Events: Bi-Monthly Review, May - Jun 2012May 8The Hon. Chris Said, Minister for Justice, Dialogue and theFamily, launched L-Ewropa fuq ir-Roti as part of theactivities coinciding with Europe Day and the 8thanniversary of Malta’s accession to the EU. L-Ewropa fuq ir-Roti is an information measure organised by the Ministryfor Justice, Dialogue and the Family in collaboration withthe Department of Information and MEUSAC. It consists ofbus rides planned for specific groups that tours various EUfunded or cofunded projects and initiatives in Malta andGozo. Various public and private entities as well as nongovernmentalorganisations are participating in thisinitiative.May 10The €17 million Aviation Park at Safi was officiallyinaugurated by Prime Minister, the Hon. LawrenceGonzi. He described the event as a milestone in thecountry's development and said it would contribute tomore and better jobs. The park, which is being built inthree phases, is spread over 200,000 square metres. Anumber of companies are already operating from thesite. These include SR Technics and Medavia. Anothercompany, Aviation Cosmetics, signed up on the day ofthe inauguration. Dr Gonzi said aviation was one of thepillars of the government's economic programme with1,000 people now employed in the sector as comparedto the 100 people that were employed in Malta 10years ago.May 11The Hon. Tonio Borg, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister ofForeign Affairs announced that Malta is implementing acomprehensive foreign policy strategy to raise awareness ofillegal migration. Speaking at an information and trainingseminar for Euro-Med diplomats organised by theMediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies in St Julian’s,Dr Borg said that when it came to the direct tangibleendeavours, all Union for the Mediterranean states andobservers, such as Libya, should seek to introduce a basictype of conflict building mechanism that would enablethem to manage and contain the large number of securitychallenges being confronted. These included illegalmigration, maritime safety, environmental pollution anddrug trafficking. Dr Borg said that located in the centre ofthe Mediterranean, Malta found itself in the precariousposition of largely being a country of transit in the everincreasingflow of human beings moving from the Africancontinent to Europe. Dr Borg added that unless theinternational community took the necessary action toaddress more effectively this new form of human slavery,millions of lives risked being uprooted by organised crime.2© Department of Information

Malta Government Events: Bi-Monthly Review, May - Jun 2012May 14A meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council was held in Brussels on issues relating to the Middle East Peace process, theSouthern Mediterranean and the European Union’s support for international aid and development initiatives. Ministersdiscussed the Middle East Peace Process and underlined the importance of preserving the prospect of a two-statesolution. Emphasis was placed in particular on the detrimental effects of settlements and the need to supportPalestinian state building. The meeting adopted far reaching Council Conclusions in this regard.Ministers also addressed the situation in the Southern Mediterranean region, in particular Syria and Libya. (The meetingdiscussed the ongoing violence taking place in Syria over a year after the country’s uprising began and despite a peaceplan negotiated by the Joint Special Envoy of the United Nations and the League of Arab States, Kofi Annan.)The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Tonio Borg, stressed the importance of working with theLeague of Arab States in this regard.With regard to Libya, Ministers reaffirmed the EU's commitment to support the Libyan authorities mindful of electionsscheduled in June of this year for the National General Congress that will be tasked with drawing up a new Constitution.Ministers emphasised the importance of supporting the Libya authorities in the area of border management.In this context, Deputy Prime Minister Tonio Borg drew attention to the increased risk of illegal immigration in theMediterranean. The Deputy Prime Minister strongly supported calls for European solidarity and common action inpreparing for this increased risk, including through the use of all tools available to the EU.May 15A meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) was held in Brussels. During the meeting, attended byMinister of Finance, the Economy and Invest-ment the Hon. Tonio Fenech Hon, Ministers reached a general approachagreement on two proposals to amend the capital requirement rules for banks and investment firms at a Europeanlevel. The proposals amend and replace the existing Capital Requirement Directive (CRD) and divide them into two newlegislative instruments: a Regulation establishing prudential requirements that financial institutions need to respect anda Directive governing access to deposit-taking activities. The objective of this legislative package is to strengthen thegovernance and supervision requirements of financial institutions and therefore increase the resilience of the EU'sbanks. It also aims to transpose the agreement reached by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, as endorsed bythe G20 leaders.May 15The Hon. Giovanna Debono, Minister for Gozo meets adelegation from the Christian-Democratic Union ofGermany and the Christian-Social Union Fraction (CDU/CSU) of the German Bundestag. Talks focused on furthercollaboration between the island of Gozo and Germanyin areas linked to Tourism Promotion and EconomicDevelopment. The meeting took place at the Ministry forGozo, in Victoria, Gozo.May 17The Minister of Finance, the Economy and Invest-ment the Hon. Tonio Fenech during a visit to the Lotteries andGaming Authority (LGA) offices unveiled a proposal to set up a fund promoting responsible gaming. The ResponsibleGaming Fund will enable LGA to run a campaign on responsible gaming and also help people addicted togaming. Mr Fenech said the fund still had to be discussed in Cabinet but it was hoped that it would be3© Department of Information

Malta Government Events: Bi-Monthly Review, May - Jun 2012set up next year. The fund would be partly supportedthrough contributions by the gaming companies as partof their corporate social responsibilities. Revenue fromgaming tax rose by 40% since 2007, reaching €47.5 millionlast year, an increase of nearly €1 million over 2010. Thenumber of licence holders rose threefold in three years asthe gaming sector grew by 29 %. There are 282 gamingoperators in Malta and 60 pending applications for gaminglicences.May 18Finance Malta’s fifth annual conference was hailed as “possibly the best ever” from the 240 delegates who gathered fora day of updates and discussion on key sectors. The event saw the participation of numerous international delegateswho travelled to Malta purposely for the event. The annual conference has developed into an important diary entry asthe nascent jurisdiction continues to grab the international circuit’s attention with its consistent success, while Malteseprofessional service firms experience healthy growth as they win more business. Malta’s competitiveness has woninternational attestations in recent months, named the 12th soundest banking system, the first for both onlinesophistication and full online availability, first in the time implementation of EU internal market rules into national law,third for overall quality of life, and first for best climate.May 18The Minister of Foreign Defence of Brazil, H.E. Cleso LuizNunes Amorim held meetings with the Deputy PrimeMinister and Minister of Foreign Affairs the Hon TonioBorg, during his visit to Malta. Dr Borg said that thefriendship between the people of Malta and Brazil is acrucial ingredient to further strengthen the political,economic and cultural relations between the twocountries. Both sides discussed the avoidance of doubletaxation agreement and the visa waiver issue. MinisterAmorim thanked Malta for providing support to andcollaborated with the Brazilian government at the height ofthe Libya crisis in March 2011 with regard to the emergency evacuation of 3,200 employees of a Brazilian company fromTripoli. Currently, there are 23 companies with Brazilian shareholding registered with the Malta Financial ServicesAuthority.May 21Malta signed the Convention on Preventing and CombatingViolence against Women and Domestic Violence, alsoknown as the Istanbul Convention. Malta thus joins 18other countries who have already become signatories.Malta, through the Commission on Domestic Violence,participated actively in the drafting of this Convention,together with the other Council of Europe Member States.The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing andCombating Violence against Women and DomesticViolence is the first international Convention, whichcreates a comprehensive legal framework and approach tocombat violence against women.The Council of Europe Convention4© Department of Information

Malta Government Events: Bi-Monthly Review, May - Jun 2012May 23A report on the quality of bathing water published annually by the European Commission, confirmed that the bathingwater quality for Malta reached an excellent quality of 97.7% and was classified in the second place just after Cypruswith 99.1%. This result once again showed an improvement on 2010’s results where Malta was classified in the thirdplace with 95.4% of its bathing sites reaching an excellent quality.May 24Newly Accredited Ambassadors to Malta - The President of Malta, H.E. George Abela was presented with Letters ofCredence by: H.E. Mr. Saleh Mohammed al-Ghamdi, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Mr. Florencio Marianode Conceicao de Almeida, Ambassador of the Republic of Angola and by H.E. Dr. Oscar Godoy Arcaya, Ambassador of theRepublic of Chile . The ceremonies took place at The Palace, Valletta.H.E. Mr. Saleh Mohammed al-Ghamdi,Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi ArabiaH.E. Mr Florencio Mariano de Conceicao deAlmeida, Ambassador of the Republic ofAngolaH.E. Dr Oscar Godoy Arcaya, Ambassador of theRepublic of ChileThe Minister for Tourism, Culture and theEnvironment, Dr Mario de Marco during ameeting with Louise RoeMay 28An episode of the popular MTV programme ‘Plain Jane’ was filmed at thegrand Hotel Excelsior in Malta. A production team of MTV was in Maltashooting an episode of one of their most watched shows, ‘Plain Jane’. Theshow, a reality show about empowerment and self-confidence and presentedby popular British fashion expert Louise Roe, airs in 150 territories around theworld. The episode being filmed in Malta is a result of the successfulpartnership between Malta and MTV through the organisation of the Isle ofMTV concert which has been organised in our country for the past six years.5© Department of Information

Malta Government Events: Bi-Monthly Review, May - Jun 2012May 28 - Jun 1The President of Malta, H.E. George Abela was on a State Visit to the Republic of Lithuania and the Republic of Estonia.In Lithuania, Dr Abela was welcomed by H.E. Dalia Grybauskaite President of the Republic of Lithuania at thePresidential Palace. At a meeting held between the two Heads of State, H.E. Grybauskaite remarked that this year marksthe eighteenth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Lithuania and Malta. Eight years agoboth countries joined the European Union becoming partners in a unified area of freedom, democracy and solidarity,said H.E. Grybauskaite. President Abela expressed his best wishes with regard to the Lithuanian's EU Presidency in 2013.On 30 th June, President George Abela left the Republic of Lithuania and departed to The Republic of Estonia where hewas welcome was welcomed by HE Toomas Hendrick Ilves, President of the Republic of Estonia at the PresidentialPalace. At a meeting between the two Heads of State H.E. Hendrick Ilves remarked about the serious and importantcooperation at a European Union level and the I.T. sector. Also H.E. Ilves mentioned that Malta could be the gateway toNorth Africa for the Baltic countries. President George Abela said that Malta and Estonia are geographically located atopposite ends of the European home, but both cultures share common fundamental characteristics which make bothcountries European.H.E. Dalia Grybauskaite, President of the Republic of Lithuania (left) and H.E. Toomas Hendrick Ilves, President of the Republic of Estonia (right).Jun 2During her visit to Malta, European Commissioner forClimate Action Ms Connie Hedegaard (left), said the EU asa whole is “on track” to achieving its targets, including thatof reducing its energy consumption by 20% by 2020.According to an agreement reached a few years ago, Maltamust produce 10% of its total energy consumption fromrenewable energy sources by 2020. “I can see that thegovernment is working on all these issues and is movingahead. But more still needs to be done for Malta to reachits targets. Solar energy is a plentiful resource in Malta andthere is a lot that can be done. The advantage of this isthat the price of solar panels is coming down significantlyso the payback time is cut drastically,” she said.6© Department of Information

Malta Government Events: Bi-Monthly Review, May - Jun 2012Jun 6Gozo and Comino have achieved the third spot fromamong the top 100 destinations in Europe chosen as thebest sustainable tourism destinations. The Quality CoastAwards are used by tourist operators as a promotion forsustainable tourist destinations. The organisingcommittee – Coastal Marine Union – EUCC aims toestablish coastal communities to provide high qualitytourism services and promote sustainable developmentwhile protecting the area’s historical and environmentalvalue.Jun 7 - 8The President of the Republic of Cyprus, H.E. Mr. DemetrisChristofias (left), was on a working visit to Malta in thebuild-up to Cyprus assuming the presidency on July 1. In ajoint press conference with the Prime Minister the HonLawrence Gonzi, President Christofias said Cyprus will useits six-month EU presidency to encourage other memberstates to contribute more to resolving irregular migrationdifficulties. Malta and Cyrus shared common worries andinterests in the field of irregular migration and the CypriotPresidency of the EU will work with all member states forthe problem to be shared. He added that the island’s EUpresidency would also ensure “social sensitivity” guidingany response to the ongoing eurozone crisis.Jun 11The Hon. Chris Said, Minister for Justice, Dialogue and theFamily (centre), attended and addressed the AnnualInternational Labour Conference in Geneva. In his speechhe stated that the ILO remains relevant to integratedisadvantaged groups into the labour market, to protectmigrant workers, to ensure sustainable social andeconomic systems, to implement programs related to HIV/AIDS, and to reduce the digital divide.He added that in the midst of the financial crises, not onlywere 5000 jobs saved through specific targetedintervention, but over the past 4 years the Malteseeconomy was resilient enough to produce 20,000 newjobs. This is not solely due to the Maltese Government’sefforts and interventions but is a testament to the value ofthe harnessing of resources of the involved stakeholdersand the industriousness and adaptability of the Malteseworker.7© Department of Information

Malta Government Events: Bi-Monthly Review, May - Jun 2012Jun 12 - 14Montenegro President H.E. Filip Vujanović started a twodaystate visit to Malta accompanied by his wife. In hisspeech during a state dinner at Verdala Place, PresidentAbela referred to Montenegro’s process of accession tothe European Union, which started in November 2005.“Montenegro is a very good example of how EUenlargement policy can stimulate reforms needed toachieve European standards in all areas of life,” statedPresident Abela.Jun 14On official invitation by the Ambassador of Malta toGermany, H.E. Mr. Karl Xuereb (5th from left), theHonorary Consuls General and Honorary Consuls for Maltain Germany met in Heidelberg for their annual meeting.This year’s meeting was hosted by Prof. Victor Dulger,Honorary Consul General for Malta in Baden-Württemberg. The meeting took place at the headquartersof Prominent Gmbh. The objective of the meeting was todecide on a strategy for the promotion of Malta as atourism and investment destination whilst leveraging theConsular Network in Germany.Jun 14European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs andFisheries, Ms Maria Damanaki (right), was on working avisit to Malta. The EU Commissioner was informed thatthe Maltese fishermen were caught between EUregulations and North African states not bound by them.While supporting the new rules, Malta is insisting theyshould come into force when North African states areroped into the process.In this regard, the Hon. George Pullicino, Minister forResources and Rural Affairs, explained that the Maltesefishermen stood to lose financially while others – referringto operations in North African countries – profited.8© Department of Information

Malta Government Events: Bi-Monthly Review, May - Jun 2012Jun 18Jun 15European Commission Vice President Antonio Tajani (left)attended a Meeting of the European Small and MediumEnterprises (SMEs) Envoys held in Malta, its first outsideBrussels in the network’s 18 months. The SME Envoysnetwork, was established to act as a forum within whichMember States’ could share knowledge and information.Malta’s SME Envoy, Minister for Fair Competition, SmallBusiness and Consumers, the Hon. Jason Azzopardi (right),stated that Malta is viewed as a trendsetter within thenetwork and was considered by Mr Tajani as a model forbest practice. The island also served as a catalyst so thatbridges between small businesses in Europe and theircounterparts in Libya, Tunisia and Egypt could be built.The Hon. Austin Gatt, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Communications (below) addressed over 400 delegatesfrom more than 50 countries who attended the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST) 24th annualconference. FIRST is a global non-profit organization dedicated to bringing together computer security incidentresponse teams and includes teams from over 240 corporations, government bodies, universities and other institutionsspread across the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania. Minister Gatt explained that Malta's infrastructure is modern,innovative, solid and "is consistently attracting foreign direct investment.” The minister noted that there areapproximately 600 ICT companies in Malta, many of which are micro enterprises. Gatt said ICT has also enabled theemergence of new business models in Malta.Jun 19For the twelfth time in a row the Embassy of Malta inBerlin took part in the annual ‘All Nations Festival’ on 16thJune 2012 - a popular event giving the Berlin public andtourists alike the opportunity to enter and exploreembassies as well as cultural and political institutes. Theevent was mentioned in the Berlin radio news, especiallyhighlighting the Embassies of Luxembourg and Malta. Inspite of the heavy rain on that day more than 1200 peoplevisited the Embassy, brushing up their knowledge onMalta and getting inspired to spend a holiday on theisland. The Embassy’s conference room served as a‘cinema’ where a feature film on Malta’s historic andcultural treasures as well as on touristic highlights wasshown. The event was kindly supported by the MaltaTourism Authority.9© Department of Information

Malta Government Events: Bi-Monthly Review, May - Jun 2012Jun 19The Prime Minister, the Hon. Lawrence Gonzi, received, acourtesy call by Mr Melvin Zammit, an 18-year-old fromKirkop, who has been selected by Google as one of the 15finalists for the The Google Science Fair 2012.The Fair is an online science competition seeking curiousminds from the four corners of the globe. Google said ithad received fantastic projects from the four corners ofthe world and had narrowed the competition down to 15finalists who will take part in the finalist event inCalifornia on 23 July 2012. Mr Zammit's project is about 3-dimensional display.Jun 22Joseph Cole has been appointed Malta's ambassador in the United States. Mr Cole, who has been working in the ForeignMinistry for a number of years, was recently appointed Director General for European and Economic Affairs. Throughouthis career he served as Director for matters concerning multilateral diplomacy, he was Consul General in Sydneybetween 1983 and 1985 and deputy head of the British High Commission between 1998 and 2001. Ambassador Colewas also chairman of the Sanctions Monitoring Board whose function was crucial during the Libya crisis and also in theimplementation of sanctions on Iran and other countries.Jun 22A report drawn up by the Employment Committee of theEuropean Commission shows that Malta’s overallemployment growth in the last few years has beenrelatively strong compared to the EU average and thatthere has been a particularly strong increase in theemployment rate of women since 2000. The EmploymentPerformance Monitor also states that Malta hasregistered: consistent overall unemployment levels belowEU average; low ‘at-risk of poverty’ amongst theunemployed; improved access and provision of highereducation and vocational and educational training; and astrong decrease of early school leaving since 2000.Jun 22The Rio +20 Summit came to an end with the adoption of adeclaration titled “The Future We Want”. The Summit wasattended by representatives from 193 countries beingMembers States of the United Nations. The Maltesedelegation was led by Dr Mario de Marco, Minister forTourism, Culture and the Environment. The Summitconfirmed that it must move towards sustainabledevelopment, accepted that urgent action is required totackle unsustainable patterns of production andconsumption. Furthermore the outcome documentcontains a range of commitments, such as the right toclean water and sanitation, the need to address landdegradation, and to achieve healthy oceans and tacklemarine litter.Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon10© Department of Information

Malta Government Events: Bi-Monthly Review, May - Jun 2012Jun 27The Prime Minister, the Hon. Lawrence Gonzi, met 80students from the International School of Benghazi duringtheir two day trip to Malta. The students who wereaccompanied by their Head of School and other adultsexpressed their appreciation to the Prime Minister and thepeople of Malta for all the extended co-operation duringthe Libyan crises. The students toured the island on asightseeing bus, spent an afternoon at the Ta’ Qalioutdoor gym and played at the new waterpark in Buġibba.Jun 27The Amir of Kuwait, Emir Sabah IV al-Ahmad al-Jaberal-Sabah received Deputy Prime Minister and MinisterForeign Affairs, the Hon. Tonio Borg in Kuwait City.Malta will open an embassy in Kuwait city on 1stSeptember 2012 following the granting to Malta by theKuwaiti government of special and very favourable termsand conditions. An economic co-operation agreement willbe also signed between Malta and Kuwait.Jun 28Following the European Council Summit, Prime MinisterLawrence Gonzi stated that Malta had renewed itsdisagreement with current proposals for a financialtransactions tax because it felt this would lead to anexodus of financial business from Europe and because theburden of the tax would not be borne by the speculatorsbut the economic operators, who actually needed help.Malta had also renewed its opposition to EuropeanCommission proposals to raise its retirement age and toreview the cost of living adjustment mechanism. Theseobjctions were included in the summit’s conclusionswhereby instead of saying that the member states hadendorsed the country-specific recommendations, it readthat member states 'generally endorsed the recommendations.The Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi with Mr Werner Faymann, AustrianFederal Chancellor (centre) and Mr Jean-Claude Juncker, LuxembourgPrime Minister11© Department of Information