10 years ago - The Times
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Malta keeps VAT-free food and medicine
Malta has won an intensely-fought battle at the EU to keep foodstuffs and medicine free of VAT in what is being seen as a major victory for the island.
A deal was secured yesterday during a meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels that allows Malta to retain VAT exemption on these important consumer items even after the expiry of a temporary derogation at the end of 2010.
After that date, a minimum VAT rate of five per cent would have had to be imposed if agreement were not reached. Negotiations on the issue had been ongoing for two years before all the other 26 member states and the European Commission finally relented to Malta’s request.
A satisfied Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said after the meeting that Malta had managed to win the deal despite very tough negotiations and strong initial resistance.
“This was a very tough one and we have managed to succeed despite the initial opposition of some large member states,” he said. He said the negotiations had even involved direct contact between Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel but Malta had finally managed to convince its partners that the deal was necessary for the island.
25 years ago - The Times
Friday, March 11, 1994
PN general secretary speaks of social problems
Nationalist Party general secretary Austin Gatt yesterday urged the party to come out with clear policies on Malta’s social problems.
Malta’s evolving society, he told the first session of a PN general council meeting in Pietà, was facing several social problems concerning marriages, single-parent families, drugs and sexuality.
The PN should define its stand clearly on these issues and not speak vaguely. And it would only elude itself if it thought it could avoid these problems.
“We should be proud of our principles. Yet I fear that we take unclear stands so as not to offend anyone,” Dr Gatt said.
Updating the family law
The government plans to continue to update the family law, the Ministry of Home Affairs and Social Development said.
Referring to “accusations”, made through the media that the government had amended the family law without prior consultation, the ministry recalled that in 1989 it had set up a Commission for the Advancement of Women to draw up a bill.
Half a century ago - Times of Malta
Tuesday, March 11, 1969
Milk goes to pigs
Over 42,000 gallons of raw milk, worth more than £11,000, have been distributed to pig breeders free of charge since last Saturday.
The milk has been given back to the farmers instead of being processed and pasteurised for human consumption because of the MMU employees’ strike, called by the Government Section of the General Workers’ Union last Friday in protest at outstanding claims.
All supplies of pasteurised milk in cold storage at the Milk Marketing Undertaking Centre in Ħamrun have been exhausted. The remaining 2,000 bottles were bought by consumers yesterday morning.
Avengers star on holiday
On a short holiday in Malta is Anthony Newland, a guest star in the television series The Avengers, who played one of the roles in a recent episode titled The Game. He acted the part of Brigadier who offered tea to Steed and Tara when they sought him out in the trenches during a military exercise and was later killed by a toy field gun.
Mr Newland has made various guest star appearances in television series, including Vendetta for the Saint, as the doctor who treats Mafia chief Finlay Currie and Danger Man.