The legal adviser provides FREE information about EU law issues, especially regarding citizens’ rights, and can provide assistance to citizens who are facing problems with the national authorities of an EU Member State.  Naturally, one will still probably have to engage one’s own lawyer, since this service is a consultation but will not take you through the entire process which may be necessary to establish your rights.  The legal adviser will provide information about questions concerning Europe, by post or in a personal meeting, but cannot provide advice regarding national law or private law in general (such as divorces, transnational marriages, private insurance, inheritance, disputes etc.).  The main issues on which one can obtain legal advice from this office are the following:

• Right of residence in other EU Member States
• Social security (unemployment, sickness benefits, etc)
• Recognition of vocational and academic qualifications
• Free  movement in general
• Guarantees and driving licences
• Consumer protection
• Equal treatment under EU law
• Judgements of the European Courts
• Legal protection.

You may call on freephone number 80073177, or send an email to eurojus@waldonet.net.mt

For your rights in Malta, you may wish to visit the website.  Note however that it is not our website which provides access to the free legal advice, but that of Eurojus.

Off the bow of a yacht ...

One of the plagues of the Maltese yachting industry has for years been the lack of available berthing space – whether in the form of marinas or moorings. The yachting industry has frequently called out for more facilities to be available if the Maltese industry is to attract more yacht registrations to Malta, and more foreign flagged yachts to visit these islands.

Recently the responsible Minister has announced that he wishes to address the matter, by setting up of up to 21 new yacht marinas with 4,800 new berths.

The yachting industry has heralded this announcement with caution. While it is an opportunity to generate income for this country at this economically difficult period, many have justified concerns on whether this initiative will lead to the quality of yachting services that users of marinas have a right to expect. Demand currently exceeds supply, many complain that they pay very high rates for the quality of service they receive. It is wondered whether this situation is set to improve with the availability of a greater number of berths?

The conditions under which these concessions are given to the developers need to include provisions to protect the users of these marinas. A special consideration should be given to local small yacht owners that today are finding it difficult to get a fair deal from the operators of the existing marinas. High fees and poor service will kill in the bud the potential of this industry to flourish.

Furthermore, the attitude ‘if they have a yacht, then they can afford exorbitant rates’ is doing no good to the industry, especially local yacht owners with a smaller budget, often leaving them in the lurch in terms of berthing space.

Environmental considerations are also important. Some of the sites proposed for the marinas are near popular beaches where bathers usually swim in the vicinity of moored boats. The ecological balance that exists in such places must be disturbed as little as possible because the coast line is very small and, yet, it is such a valuable asset for the tourism industry.

Image of boats berthing

This exercise should serve as an opportunity to eliminate the present shortage of mooring and berthing facilities, thereby attracting more yachts to the island and, at the same time, provide local boat owners with decent yachting facilities. It should also serve to attract investment in the south of Malta that for many years has not seen so much investment in tourism related projects. Even if some of the proposed marina sites prove not to be commercially viable, the remaining ones should attract enough interest to see much needed capital investment start flowing again in the infrastructure.

If your vessel is registered in Malta, you may qualify for certain discounts on the use of berthing facilities. If you plan to visit this island often with your yacht, this is an added benefit that comes with the Maltese Flag. For more information contact our office.

For the full press release, go to: http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090526/opinion/editorial

Brussels, 20 May 2009

The European Commission has authorised, under EC Treaty state aid rules, a Maltese measure to help businesses to deal with the current economic crisis. Aid of up to €500 000 per firm may be granted in 2009 and 2010 to businesses facing funding problems because of the current credit squeeze. The scheme meets the conditions of the Commission’s Temporary framework for state aid measures, which gives Member States additional scope to facilitate access to financing in the present economic and financial crisis (see IP/08/1993). It is therefore compatible with Article 87(3)(b) of the EC Treaty, which permits aid ‘to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy of a Member State’.

“The scheme will help alleviate the difficulties faced by Maltese businesses affected by the current situation without giving rise to any undue distortions of competition”, said Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes.

The scheme is based on the provisions of the Temporary framework that deals with compatible aid of a limited amount. In particular, the maximum amount of aid does not exceed €500 000 per company and the scheme applies only to businesses which were not in difficulty on 1 July 2008.

The aid will be granted in the form of direct grants. Under the scheme, limited amounts of compatible aid can be granted as from its approval by the Commission until 31 December 2010.

The decision will be published in the State Aid Register on DG Competition’s website, under the reference number N 118/2009. The latest decisions on state aid published in the Official Journal and on the website are listed in the electronic newsletter State aid Weekly e-News .

(This is a reproduction of the Press Release issued by the European Commission).

On 24 September 2008, the European Parliament approved a broad revision of the rules proposed by the Commission, rejecting the establishment of the new authority as framed by the EU executive, and watering down bold proposals on functional separation and radio spectrum. MEPs also added to their text clear indications to help develop networks for a super-fast Internet (so-called Next Generation Networks) in a bid to boost competition.

Today, EurActive reports that despite progress on the funding of new fibre networks, the European institutions are still a long way from reaching an overall compromise on the review of EU rules governing electronic communications. On the 17th February, a ministerial conference began in Prague, to try to iron out differences.  The Czech EU Presidency has already presented a number of draft compromise texts that are considered close to the Commission approach, but divergences between member states remain wide.

The division of competences between the national regulatory authorities for electronic communications and the Commission has yet to be addressed.  It would appear that the Commission will try to retain its power to veto national decisions if they would potentially hamper the smooth functioning of the internal market.   In Malta, this has caused problems with the findings of joint dominance in the telecoms infrastructure market, where the Commission has vetoed such a finding of the Malta Communications Authority (MCA). The MCA has therefore had to withdraw its finding, and this has meant that the single cable infrastructure operator and the other infrastructure operator have been free not to offer access to their infrastructure, or to offer such access on terms and conditions which they deem fit, whether or not they are competitive.

This being a very lucrative sector, the majority of Member States would appear unwilling to relinquish their control.  This could of course give rise to lack of harmonisation among the laws or their enforcement at national level. With an exclusive veto right for the Commission almost certainly ruled out, two main options remain on the table: the EU executive could exercise its veto only if backed by a body of European regulators (which in practice means no veto power), or it could merely keep a non-binding “recommendation” power.

Another unresolved dispute regards the allocation of radio spectrum, the invisible electromagnetic waves which feed mobile phones, satellites, televisions, radios and many other electronic devices. The planned transition to transmission via cable, envisaged by almost all member states by 2012, will free much of this limited resource. However, how to use it and how to regulate radio frequencies, whether at EU or national level, remain the subject of fierce disputes.

The diverse Ocean environment is a system of complex unions and interactions between the atmosphere, water, bottom and their inhabitants. As a whole, they form the unique character of the Ocean, in which many features are still insufficiently investigated. The influence of the Ocean has an effect in the most remote corners of the Earth. The lack of knowledge of the Ocean environment therefore, presents a real problem for modern science
Oceanic water is a complex solution, but overall there is an amazing uniformity of its chemical composition throughout the oceans of the earth. It differs from fresh water both in its higher concentration of dissolved components and by physical properties dependent on these dissolved components. The total mass (in grams) of all solid substances dissolved in sea water (one kilogram) was the original measure of salt content, named “salinity” by early scientists. The global average salinity of ocean waters is about 35 grams per kilogram. In practice, it was difficult to measure salinity this way, due to the volatility of some components and the poorly defined nature of some others. When it was found that the ratio of chloride ion to all other components is relatively constant, salinity was routinely measured by the chemical determination of total chloride ion (using a well-known precipitation reaction). All of these early measurements were reported using units of either “per mille” or the symbol 0/00, referring to grams per kilogram. Today, based on the knowledge that electrical conductivity of seawater is directly proportional to the salinity, it is measured with special conductivity meters (at sea or in the laboratory). Conductivity measurements are reported as being derived from the “Practical Salinity Scale (PSS)” or as using “Practical Salinity Units (PSU).” However, because PSU measurements of salinity are actually made by calculating ratios of conductivity, the resulting numbers are without dimensions, and the term PSU is not really a unit of measurement.

Because sea water contains dissolved substances, as well as minute suspended particles, and because it is subject to a wide range of temperatures and depth-induced pressures over the surface of the earth, the principal physical properties vary widely. The properties include DENSITY, SOUND SPEED, LIGHT PENETRATION, and FREEZING POINT TEMPERATURE.Text is derived from Man and the Ocean, a CD-ROM produced by the Russian Head Department of Navigation and Oceanography (HDNO), as published on UN Atlas of the Oceans.

Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, responsible for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, said: “The Arctic is a unique and vulnerable region located in the immediate vicinity of Europe. Its evolution will have significant repercussions on the life of Europeans for generations to come Enhancing the European Union’s contribution to Arctic cooperation will open new perspectives in our relations with the Arctic states. The EU is ready to work with them to increase stability, to enhance Arctic multilateral governance through the existing legal frameworks as well as to keep the right balance between the priority goal of preserving the environment and the need for sustainable use of natural resources including hydrocarbons.”

Joe Borg, Commissioner in charge of the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries added: “We cannot remain impassive in the face of the alarming developments affecting the Arctic climate and, in consequence, the rest of our planet. On the other hand, the combination of the climatic changes and the recent technological developments opens up new opportunities interlaced with challenges. As many EU policies in the areas such as climate change, environment, energy, research, fisheries and transport have a direct impact on the Arctic, a coordinated action is needed and the Integrated Maritime Policy can provide a much needed collaborative platform.”

The Communication emphasises the close link between the European Union and the Arctic. EU policies of wider or global range have a direct bearing for the Arctic. The document provides a comprehensive review of EU interests in all areas of Arctic-related cooperation, and stresses that the developments in the Arctic require an integrated response.

Three main policy objectives are identified:

• Protecting and preserving the Arctic in unison with its population;
• Promoting sustainable use of resources;
• Contributing to enhanced Arctic multilateral governance.

To achieve these objectives, the Commission makes a number of proposals such as the creation of new research infrastructure.

Malta took a favourable position on the proposal “after ensuring that certain safeguards were provided for in the final Framework Decision,” a spokesman for the government told The Times.

“Although Maltese criminal law does not provide for the notion of in absentia – since in terms of the law the presence of the accused must be assured throughout the proceedings – in absentia trials and judgements in foreign jurisdictions are recognised, subject to limitations, by Maltese courts,” the spokesman said. According to the government, the limitations included in the text of the new rules ensure that the accused or convicted person must be summoned in person to appear for the trial and that a retrial or review is available to persons who have been judged in absentia.

In the EU, some member states, notably Italy, frequently try defendants in their absence but the practice is not allowed in other EU member states including Malta.

The agreement will now enable judgments to be accepted across the 27 member states.

This is expected to affect three pieces of existing EU legislation which are not working properly owing to uncertainty in some countries about whether to recognise in absentia judgments. These include laws obliging member states to enforce financial penalties and confiscation orders handed down in other EU countries, as well as to enforce European arrest warrants connected to in absentia cases. The deal will also affect proposed legislation on the enforcement internationally of prison sentences and probation measures.

According to the Maltese government, the recognition of in absentia judgements is not completely new.

“Under the European Arrest Warrant rules, that came into force in 2004, there already exists the possibility for member states to surrender a person on the basis of a judgments handed down in his absence if certain conditions are met,” the spokesman said.

The deal struck by EU Justice Ministers was not well received by the European Criminal Bar Association (ECBA) which stated that the new rules would make it harder for member states to resist unjustified requests for their nationals to be extradited to other EU countries

www.timesofmalta.com

Several free software associations yesterday (21 May) launched a petition calling on the European Parliament to use open standards in order to provide all EU citizens with ”non-discriminatory” access to its representatives and documents ”irrespective of software choices”.

The petitioners explicitly refer to the live web streaming of the European Parliament’s plenary sessions, “which is currently only available to those using Microsoft’s MediaPlayer”. They argue that by using exclusive non-interoperable software, the European Parliament is not allowing all citizens to follow its work and is obliging them to buy software from a single company.

This ”ICT lock-in” is deemed to be ”in conflict with the first article of Chapter 1 in the Treaty of the European Union, which stipulates that ‘decisions are taken with the greatest possible respect for openness and as near as possible to the citizens’,” reads the petition.

A Parliament press source told EurActiv that the use of open source software is avoided by MEPs because it is perceived as less secure against hackers. On the other hand, the technical support provided by the selected software companies is considered highly important to carry out digital services in the 23 official languages used by the Parliament.

The European Commission uses open source software for a range of activities. Linux is used for server operating systems and the external blog platform is based on free programs, like for its wiki service and for the eVoting polls. At the same time, the Commission uses software from Microsoft and Oracle to run other services.

Alongside the petition to the European Parliament, the pro-free software Digital Standards Organisation (Digistan) yesterday (21 May) signed the Hague Declaration , which calls for open standards to be used in all government procurement.

The same day as these initiatives were launched, Microsoft announced that it will improve the interoperability of its flagship Office software suite with open standard formats. The move comes as the European Commission is carrying out an extensive investigation on Microsoft’s alleged abuse of its dominant position in the EU market.

Background

The European Parliament has endorsed EU research on open source software but has never applied it to its digital services. Meanwhile, the Commission uses a range of free software on its blog platform and for other IT activities.

The Commission officially supports the development of open source software. In a recent study commissioned by a UN research centre, the EU executive outlined the economic importance of free programs for European enterprises

See: Euractiv News 22/5/2008 for more information.

Professor David. J. Attard, director of the International Maritime Law Institute (I.M.L.I.), the brainchild of the IMO, has won recognition for his valuable contribution to the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year.

Photo shows Prof Attard awarding IMLI Graduation Certificate to Dr. Geraldine Spiteri in May 2007.

Tax incentives are a very good way to attract business, but these have to be followed up by measures that will ensure that the country’s Registry is one which is looked on with approval by other States. Failing this, a registry will obtain the reputation of being a registry of convenience, and other ports will not be very willing to allow ships to enter and leave their ports. A reliable shipping registry means that, while flexibility and a light touch regime are available on the side of levying, taxes and dues, the regulatory aspect is one of strict control. These controls generally include control of compliance with certain international standards relating to operation, safety and security and preservation and protection of the environment.