The Malta Business Bureau, in conjunction with the European Parliament Information Office in Malta, organised a consultation session on the protection against the misappropriation and the safeguarding of confidential business practices.

The discussion saw MEPs Therese Comodini Cachia and Miriam Dalli, together with a number of stakeholders from the private sector, exchanging views on the implications that the European Commission’s proposal regarding ‘trade secrets’ could have on Maltese commerce and cross-border business within the internal market of the EU.

The EC’s proposal involved a directive on the protection of confidential business information against its unlawful acquisition and use. In the debate, MEP Therese Comodini Cachia mentioned how a harmonised legal framework to register trade secrets will inevitably strengthen the protection of the whole business unit. MEP Miriam Dalli then commented that the EC’s directive would have to reach a balance between the need to remove obstacles that SMEs face and the need to protect trade secrets.

The event was moderated by MBB CEO Joe Tanti and the Head of the EPIO Dr Peter Agius and was the first in a series of collaboration activities between the two organisations designed to present a continuous exchange of views between Maltese MEPs and the local business sector especially when it comes to EU law enactments and legislative proposals.