On Tuesday 21st January at Europe House the European Parliament Information Office along with representatives of the main Business organisations launched a process leading to the drawing up of a joint manifesto of the expectations of Maltese businesses in the forthcoming MEP elections and the EP legislature.
Senior Representatives of the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, the General Retailers and Traders Union (GRTU), the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA), the Malta Employers’ Association (MEA), and the Malta Business Bureau (MBB) exchanged views with prospective MEPs on their expectations of the EU in the coming mandate of the European Parliament.
The discussion started with a presentation on the stakes for businesses in the forthcoming European Parliament legislature by Dr Peter Agius, Head of the European Parliament Information Office. Dr Agius described the work of the European Parliament committees as the battleground where proposals and ideas are promoted or axed to finally end up as European laws affecting all businesses.
The business organisations then intervened to highlight their perspectives from the upcoming elections and outstanding issues on the EU agenda. Reduction of regulatory burdens, ‘one size fits all’, access to finance, EU funding, public procurement and employment conditions were among the themes discussed.
Participating in the discussion were also MEP candidates Carmel Cacopardo for Alternattiva Demokratika, Helga Ellul and Jonathan Shaw for the PN and Ivan Grixti and Dr Alfred Sant for the PL. The interventions followed with an exchange of views between the business representatives and the MEP candidates.
A concluding conference presenting the Maltese Business Manifesto for Europe is to be held on the 14th February. The conference will be open to the business community at large. For more information and to register please contact MBB by sending us an email on info@mbb.org.mt or kindly contact us on 2125 1719.
