To protect lives and livelihoods, repair the Single Market, as well as to build a lasting recovery, the European Commission has proposed a new recovery instrument, Next Generation EU of €750 billion as well as targeted reinforcements to the long-term EU budget for 2021-2027 that will bring the total financial firepower of the EU budget to €1.85 trillion.

Alfred Santnoted that the proposal that a large percentage of the funding will be in grants is positive. Its integration into the Multiannual Financial Framework also makes sense.

Next Generation EU will raise money by temporarily lifting the own resources ceiling to 2% of EU Gross National Income, allowing the Commission to use its strong credit rating to borrow €750 billion on the financial markets. Still the question remains: Will the proposed rise of the GNI Own Resources ceiling be enough to cover the envisaged requirements? Some economic forecasts seem to make this quite doubtful.

Then more crudely: Who will exactly benefit from the envisaged recovery plan? Will the multiple goals that are inbuilt into its proposed design skew benefits towards particular regions or sectors, at the expense of others?

“For instance, in response to Green Deal exigencies, significant resources will apply to the promotion of clean energy applications, like the creation of a million charging stations for electric cars. Naturally, producers of the latter, mainly located in two member states, will benefit most from this”, stated Alfred Sant.

The post Alfred Sant questions who will benefit from EU coronavirus recovery plan first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

Smart recycling iBiNs have gained quick public acceptance in Malta with a notable increase in the collection of recyclable paper, glass, metal and plastics and reduction of traffic emissions after the test run launched in January 2019, Mario Schembri, CEO of GreenPak, announced yesterday in the company of Kenneth Spiteri, Vodafone Malta’s Director of Enterprise and Member of the European Parliament Miriam Dalli.

“On selecting the colour-coded image of the iBiN, the app informs you whether an iBiN has free space for your recyclables. If the bin is full, the app guides you to the nearest available iBiN via a Google Map interface. User feedback from the trial period has been positive and we believe that people will be finding it extremely user-friendly and very useful,” said Mr Schembri.

The web app is available on the official website of GreenPak; no download is necessary. Furthermore, it is screen-responsive, which means that it works on any device such as smartphones, tablets, portable computers and others. Since early January, a group of 300 people throughout the islands have tried and tested the application, according to the press release.

“We are delighted to be able to help take the iBiNs initiative to the next level by supporting the web app; a simple and straightforward tool that pinpoints the nearest available empty bin and empowers citizens to be more environmentally responsible. Helping protect Malta’s environment is one of our three strategic pillars and we are therefore committed to using our next generation technology to help redefine the way waste is managed,” said Kenneth Spiteri.

Reducing emissions

The recently-installed system of iBiNs across Malta and Gozo have doubled the amount of plastic waste collected, while it has reduced the number of trips by collection trucks by 23%. Concurrently, this has lead to the reduction of gas emissions.

“Another advantage of this app is that it will be diminishing vehicular emissions as it serves to avoid unnecessary traffic movements on the roads,” said Mr Schembri. “Collection trucks are focussing only on those bins that need to be emptied, while responsible and environment-friendly citizens will be going directly to the nearest iBiNs. These results contribute to better traffic flows on the roads as unnecessary trips are avoided, bringing about another positive change in our communities,” he added.

During her term as an MEP, Ms Dalli has urged the European Union and its member states to promote alternatives to the usage of plastic, and further called for the incentivisation of upcycling — the process of transforming by-products into new materials in an environmentally conscious manner.

“The innovation and use of technology, such as the app being launched today, are important to increase environmental awareness and facilitate the public’s options for more sustainable choices. At European Parliament, we have worked on a number of laws to better manage waste in order to reduce it and recycle more. The next step is to implement these laws. In this manner, we can upgrade to the next level to leave a better environment for our children and future generations,” said Ms Dalli.

The project has been supported through the Business Enhance ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) Grant Schemes Initiative, and part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund under Operational Programme I 2014-2020 entitled Fostering a competitive and sustainable economy to meet our challenges.

The post GreenPak installs smart bins, launches web app first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

Resident non-Maltese EU citizens can choose to vote in Malta for candidates standing for election in Malta or vote for candidates representing their home country.

Resident non-Maltese EU citizens who possess a valid Maltese Residence Card issued by Identity Malta Agency were offered to choose whether they would like to elect candidates representing Malta or their own country during the registration procedure for their residency document.

People who opted not to vote in Malta “may become registered voters by completing an appropriate application form which needs to be received at the Electoral Office,” by 31 March, according to a press statement issued by the government’s Department of Information (DOI). The form is available for download at the Electoral Commission’s website, as well as can be obtained from the Electoral Office (Valletta and Rabat, Gozo) or local council offices and police stations.

People who do not own a valid Residence Card issued by the Identity Malta are required to “apply at the Citizenship Department, Identity Malta Agency, Evans Building, Valletta,” by 31 March the latest, and sign whether they would like to vote in Malta.

Those who decide to vote in Malta bind themselves not to vote in this election in their home country.

The European Parliament election begins on Thursday, 23 May and ends on Sunday, 26 May, in 2019.

The European Parliament operates at three different locations; Brussels (Belgium), the city of Luxembourg (Luxembourg) and Strasbourg (France). Meetings — or “plenary sessions” — are held in Strasbourg and Brussels, while the administrative offices reside in Luxembourg.

The post Gov’t issues EP election info for non-Maltese residents first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.