MBB and parliamentary secretary discuss European Single Market

Board members of the Malta Business Bureau recently held detailed discussions with Parliamentary Secretary Jason Azzopardi on the re-launch of the European Single Market and its effects on the local business community.

MBB president John Huber expressed the view that “a revamped single market, which in itself is a prospect for economic growth, is helping the European economy to better manage the effects of the international crisis while also attempting to alleviate social spillovers.”

Mr Huber emphasised that the local business community is concerned with a number of issues, including matters such as copyright protection, the EU patent, the implementation of the Service Directive and of the Small Business Act in Malta, the regulation of electronic commerce, the revision of the Energy Tax Directive, harmonised taxation and European Market Surveillance.

“We would like to see how business organisations can work closer with the government. We are open for joint business-government initiatives for the benefit of local enterprises. We are also looking forward to a healthy exchange of views that will contribute towards future public policy decisions, and to better-informed national positions on specific issues arising from the Single Market Act at EU level,” he said.

Dr Azzopardi said that the Single Market is Europe’s strongest competitive advantage which translates into benefits for businesses, citizens and consumers alike. An ever more dynamic and competitive single market, contributes to higher employment and growth, on the path of achieving the Europe 2020 Strategy goals, in the light of the challenges all member states are currently facing.

Mr Huber recognised the fact that Malta’s accession in the EU has been beneficial for business. “It created an obvious shift in the operating environment of Maltese business, presenting considerable opportunities but also a number of potential competitive threats,” he said.

He stated the importance of the Single Market for local firms that gives them access to the European market in the absence of barriers to trade, as well as to a larger market with more competition and better quality products.

On the other hand, Mr Huber expressed concerns that local firms suffer from peripheral and transport volatilities. Also, certain regulations put certain Maltese businesses at a disadvantage due to their limited size and because not all businesses are able to invest in new technologies due to their limited capital.

On the re-launch of the Single Market, Mr Huber explained that “globalisation increased the pace of trade and significant technological advances, which has led to two notable challenges for Europe – the need to invest in skill-upgrading in high-value added sectors, and the need to pursue policies that assist European enterprises to exploit the opportunities offered by this large international market.”

On the Single Market Act itself that contains 50 proposals, Mr Huber argued that “some are of clear and exclusive pertinence to business, with a large cohort of other proposals that would indirectly help business thrive in the internal market through targeted resolution of protracted consumer and citizens’ concerns.”

From a citizens’ perspective, Mr. Huber said that “nonetheless, even the socially-oriented proposals have a clear business reference. Social concerns in the Single Market Act also extend to efforts dealing with reducing paperwork and addressing the needs of mobile professionals, who often face bureaucratic hurdles in establishing their operations in another member state.”

The MBB represents the interests of local enterprises along with its parent organisations, the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry and the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association through its offices in Malta and Brussels, where it has been active in following EU developments.