Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1495033
5 INTERVIEW 16.3.2023 Business session discusses the EU Short-Term Rentals Initiative EARLIER this week, the Malta Business Bureau in collaboration with the Europe- an Parliament Liaison Office (EPLO) held a Business Session on the EU Short-Term Rentals Initiative (STR) at Dar l-Ewropa in Valletta, with special guest MEP Jo- sianne Cutajar who is Rapporteur for the European Parliament's Transport and Tourism Committee. Short-term accommodation rent- al services have existed for many years alongside conventional accommodation providers such as hotels. However, their popularity has surged in the EU with the rise of the platform economy. Despite the positive opportunities created for tourism activity in general, a number of challenges became prominent affecting hotels, local communities and public authorities. Dr Mario Sammut, Head of the EPLO delivered the welcoming speech, noting the importance of dialogues such as the ones taking place today. ey present an opportunity for stakeholders to voice their views and concerns to MEPs, at a stage when there is still an opportunity to amend legislative proposals. Alison Mizzi, President at the Malta Business Bureau, joined Sammut in in- troducing the topic as she stated that, ''to manage this economic activity bet- ter, public authorities need to be well- equipped with data on short-term accom- modation rentals to be able to develop evidence-based policies and for better law enforcement. e lack of uniformity that is currently being experienced on the market is impacting the good functioning of the European Single Market. is is why the European Commission proposed the Short-Term Rental Initiative'' . An overview of the main elements of the proposed legislative framework was presented by Christine Said, Policy Ex- ecutive at the Malta Business Bureau. It was explained that this proposal seeks to harmonise and streamline the framework for data generation and data sharing on short-term rental accommodation servic- es across the EU. e presentation was followed by a key- note speech on the topic given by MEP Josianne Cutajar who is Rapporteur for the TRAN committee at the European Parliament on this proposed legislation. MEP Cutajar emphasised that the Short- Term Rentals Regulation must take into account all key players within the sector. e proposed rules will improve trans- parency and the collection and shar- ing of data from hosts and online plat- forms, whilst giving public authorities a strengthened legal backing to access beneficial data. Such data will assist lo- cal authorities to address the challenges brought about by the online short-term rental market, better responding to the travellers' and the locals' concerns, whilst helping them to ensure that the quality of our touristic product is maintained and a more sustainable tourism ecosys- tem achieved. is will allow consumers to continue benefiting from a wide range of accommodation options with better peace of mind and for legitimate and traditional accommodation providers to compete on a more level playing field within the market. Several local and EU stakeholders were invited to provide their reactions to the Short-Term Rental Initiative. Andrew Agius Muscat, CEO of the Mal- ta Hotels and Restaurants Association highlighted that the platform economy is a product of the internet and social media. Since its inception, the MHRA has read the signs of the times and accepted that this new form of accommodation provi- sion was here to stay. Instead of fighting it, we called for policy frameworks to cor- rect it. e proposed STR initiative is a much-needed concrete step in achieving a level playing field in the tourism indus- try and more specifically the accommo- dation sector. It's high time that the EU acted on this front. In the meantime, it is important that the public authorities keep pursuing the right enforcement measures to ensure that our tourism product is pro- tected. Kevin Fsadni, Deputy CEO at the Mal- ta Tourism Authority reassured that the technical capabilities required of short- term accommodation hosts would be supported by clearer guidelines and spec- ifications. He also commented that creat- ing a level playing field is not enough as it is important for local authorities to en- sure and support a proportional enforce- ment of the law. Julia Aquilina, Policy Executive at e Malta Chamber said that the Short-Term Rentals Initiative goes beyond direct tourism, as it effects the entire commu- nity. She said this is a priority for e Malta Chamber, as we believe that qual- ity is a principle that needs to be in every element of the tourism supply chain. She further highlighted three crucial points that are important to businesses in line with the Short-Term Rentals Initiative: (i) the streamlining of legislation to ensure there are no gaps within policy; (ii) the importance of simplified data sharing and (iii) ensuring clear guidelines and a struc- tured framework. e event was also addressed by Matej Zezlin, Public Affairs Manager at HO- TREC, who shared HOTREC's views on the proposal from a European hospitality perspective. FROM PAGE 1 "is failing – along with most others present in the judgement – presents major concerns for the rule of law in Malta and has serious implica- tions for the future of foreign investment in the country," the company added. Judge Francesco Depasquale last month annulled the Stew- ard hospitals concession, at- tributing fraudulent intent to the company and ordering that the three hospitals – Gozo General, St Luke's and Karin Grech – be returned to the government. e court judgment also not- ed that the company had failed to fulfil its contractual obliga- tions. Government had asked for the period of appeal to be re- duced, a request that the courts acceded to by shortening the timeframe to 20 days from the normal 30 days. Steward had until tomorrow at 3pm to file its appeal. e company is now chal- lenging the court ruling with guns blazing as it questions the rule of law in Malta. e company said that as part of its appeal it has produced "significant documentary and other evidence to counter any claims made in its respect". "is evidence, which includes relevant interactions with the government of Malta and doc- uments outlining how SHCI transformed a bankrupt enter- prise into a professionally man- aged operation with a sound financial footing, will help to inform the understanding of the Maltese people about the con- cession," the company said. e statement reiterated that Steward has "no position on or knowledge of events that took place while the concession was being awarded". e concession was awarded in 2015 to Steward's precur- sor, Vitals Global Heathcare (VGH), an obscure company. An investigation by the Na- tional Audit Office had found collusion between key VGH investors and government offi- cials prior to the issue of a re- quest for proposals. VGH eventually went bust without adhering to its con- tractual obligations before transferring the concession to Steward. In 2018, then Op- position leader Adrian Delia filed a court case, asking for the agreement to be rescinded since the company failed to ful- fil its contractual obligations. In the court case, reference was made to what Steward had claimed in separate litigation proceedings in the UK that the original award of the tender was the result of corrupt deal- ings. is, Delia had argued, meant that all agreements should be null and void. Steward said today that it kept the US embassy and State Department, which was on several occasions present at negotiations on the conces- sion terms, fully informed at all times of all relevant events and engagements with the Maltese government. "SHCM remains committed to operate at all times in ac- cordance with its highest pro- fessional standards and values. Our priority was and remains always the provision of optimal healthcare to the communities and patients we are entrusted to serve," the company said. Steward cites 'major concerns for the rule of law in Malta' Steward Health Care runs three hospitals in Malta that had been awarded to it by government as part of a concession agreement. The agreement was initially signed with VGH and later transferred to Steward MEP Josianne Cutajar