Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1332685
16 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 24 JANUARY 2021 EUROPE Bosses to answer for discriminatory actions against employees who 'disconnect after work' Sant votes against report on Europe-wide minimum tax rates MEPs demand tighter sanctions against Russia EP denounces measures used by authoritarian regimes Reverse burden of proof means employers have to answer for accusation by employees who feel discriminated against when they are punished for refusing to work after-hours EMPLOYERS will have to jus- tify any actions they take, how- ever miniscule, on employees who refuse requests to work after-hours, when they avail themselves of their right to dis- connect. Labour MEP Alex Agius Sali- ba, the rapporteur on a right to disconnect law that was passed earlier this week in the Europe- an Parliament, said employers will have to justify any which way they discriminate against workers who avail themselves of this right. The Maltese government is already writing up laws to en- force the right to disconnect, which the European Commis- sion and the European Parlia- ment will now be presenting to member states' leaders to leg- islate. "This law has an important feature," Agius Saliba said. "It protects employees against employers who prize workers or promote those who do ex- tra work after hours when they would have otherwise availed themselves of their right to dis- connect. In this case, if there is a prima facie indication that em- ployers took some action against employees who exercised their right to disconnect, it will be the employer to have to explain that they did not discriminate against the employee." Right to disconnect Minimum tax rates Navalny imprisonment Human rights and COVID-19 LABOUR MEP Alfred Sant has expressed disagreement with a European Parliament resolution that seeks to override the tax sovereignty that EU Member States have under the treaties. Alfred Sant said the resolution supports Europe-wide minimum tax rates that deny the legitimate right of peripheral countries to set tax rates that compensate for the en- dowment and situational handicaps that they carry in the single market. He said this runs parallel with another exercise to name-and-shame certain EU members for being "secrecy" jurisdictions when, in fact, they are applying EU laws on tax transparency and anti-abuse measures. "I absolutely cannot support dispropor- tionate proposals for tax harmonisation as featured in the resolution," Alfred Sant said. The head of Malta's Labour delegation in the European Parliament voted against the report but supported the objectives of drawing up an EU list of tax havens, by which jurisdictions that blatantly and knowingly run tax systems that help out- side persons, corporations and other finan- cial entities evade or avoid the taxes they should be paying. "I fully agree that such approaches should be denounced and combated, which is why I support the increase of public scrutiny in the processes of the Code of Conduct Group that draws up the list," Sant said. Sant also welcomed the call to strength- en the screening criteria and make the list more effective in an increasingly digitalised economy. The vote on the report entitled 'Reform- ing the EU list of tax havens' was the Euro- pean Parliament's the first-ever resolution from FISC, the newly established perma- nent tax matters sub-committee of which Alfred Sant is a member. FOLLOWING the recent imprisonment of Alexei Navalny, MEPs have called on EU countries to significantly strengthen sanctions against Russia. In a resolution adopted with 581 votes in favour, 50 against and 44 abstentions, the European Parliament called on EU member states to take an active stance on the arrest of Alexei Navalny and many of his followers at their next meetings and to "significantly strengthen the EU's re- strictive measures vis-à-vis Russia". This includes sanctioning the "individ- uals and legal entities" involved in the decision to arrest and imprison Alexei Navalny, they say. MEPs also said sanctions should be im- posed against Russian oligarchs linked to the regime, members of President Putin's inner circle and Russian media propagandists, who possess assets in the EU and can currently travel there. Addi- tional restrictive measures could also be taken under the new EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime. MEPs stressed the importance of crit- ically reviewing cooperation with Russia in various foreign policy platforms and on projects such as Nord Stream 2. They call on the EU to immediately stop the completion of the controversial pipeline. MEPs also underlined that the EU should no longer be a welcoming place for Rus- sian wealth of unclear origin. THE European Parliament is deeply concerned that many authoritarian re- gimes around the world have used the pandemic to repress civil society and critical voices. In their annual report assessing the human rights situation in the world, adopted on Wednesday, Members of the European Parliament highlighted that several authoritarian regimes have used the pandemic to justify exacerbated measures aimed at weakening democrat- ic principles and fundamental freedoms, severely undermining human rights, re- pressing dissent and limiting space for civil society. The report asked the European Union and its member states to continue sup- porting the strengthening of democrat- ic institutions, transparent and credible electoral processes worldwide, and to fight against impunity.