Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1516278
11 NEWS 22.2.2024 THE Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority, in collaboration with the European Commission, has organ- ised a Consumer Dialogue to discuss with stakeholders the implementation of e New Consumer Agenda. e Di- alogue was held at the EC Representa- tion Office in Valletta. e Malta Consumer Dialogue forms part of a series of Consumer Dialogues which the Commission is hosting in all EU Member States with a view to strengthening close collaboration and partnerships at both EU and national level, with the overall aim of bringing swifter and more enduring outcomes. In his address, European Commis- sioner for Justice, Didier Reynders commended Malta's high consumer confidence rate as measured through the latest Consumer Conditions Survey. He highlighted that this was also testa- ment of the Authority's commitment to enforce consumer protection laws. Reynders also remarked that protect- ing consumers in the digital age has brought a new set of challenges and that the Commission is currently assessing existing EU consumer laws for their ad- equacy in addressing new digital issues such as dark patterns and influencer marketing. With regards to the green transition, Reynders said that to ensure consum- ers play an active role, the European Commission has championed the in- troduction of new rules on the right to repair, green claims and the eco-design of products. He also stressed on the importance of ensuring that the sustainable choice is the easy and affordable choice for con- sumers. e Commissioner commended the Maltese Government on the recent 'Stabbilta' initiative which led the in- dustry to reach voluntary agreements that have the well-being of consumers as their ultimate objective. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Consumer Protection, Chris Fearne, focused on the element of trust which must be present between consum- ers and vendors, "the New Consumer Agenda must ensure that consumers benefit from trustworthy transactions, whether they are purchasing goods and services in person, online, from a Mem- ber State or even if they are buying from a vendor who is located outside the EU." Fearne also emphasised on the need for a level-playing field for consumers across the EU which, he added, can only be achieved if consumer-related legis- lation does not disproportionately bur- den the sustainability and affordability of products and services in particular regions, due to their size or geograph- ic location, as is sometimes the case for Malta. e Director General for the Tech- nical Regulations Division, Rudie Vel- la, spoke about how the new General Product Safety Regulation will strength- en consumer safety against dangerous products even when such products are bought from non-EU countries. Grace Stivala, Director General of the Office for Consumer Affairs, provided an overview on how the green transi- tion proposals empower consumers to make sustainable purchase choices. She also addressed potential hurdles in implementing the new regulations, such as the right to repair, highlight- ing the significance of targeted aware- ness and education campaigns aimed at both consumers and traders to ensure prompt and effective compliance. In her concluding remarks, Helga Pizzuto, Chairperson of the MCCAA, highlighted the Authority's continued outreach efforts to both consumers and traders. She said that such engagement was es- sential to ensure the development and effective implementation of high-qual- ity regulation. Pizzuto also highlighted the impor- tance to continue working on effective approaches to build a resilient legis- lative framework to protect against consumer detriment linked to the im- plementation of new technologies and business models. During the dialogue, expert panellists discussed the transformative impact of digitisation on consumers and how con- sumer rights can be safeguarded in the transition to sustainability. e panel included representatives from traders' and consumers' asso- ciations, the MCCAA, the Europe- an Consumer Centre Malta, Circular Economy Malta and also the European Commission Director within the Direc- torate-General for Justice and Consum- ers. Consumer policy priorities from a Maltese perspective Malta holds a consumer dialogue on the new Consumer Agenda Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Consumer Protection, Chris Fearne, insisted the New Consumer Agenda must ensure that consumers benefit from trustworthy transactions "EGO" and the "cultural divide" be- tween older and younger generations of business leaders are the leading reasons mergers and acquisitions fall-through, a panel heard on Monday. e Malta Business Network's latest panel discussion honed in on the M&A landscape in Malta, discussing how businesses can prepare for such deals and what can be done to facilitate them locally. Entitled; 'e Art of the Deal: What is the state of Mergers and Acquisitions in Malta?' e event heard how between 2008 and 2016, some 155 M&A deals had been announced, averaging about 15 per annum. e number of deals contemplated by local businesses has increased since then with the panel estimating that around 60 mergers and acquisitions are now considered annually. However, there has only been a mar- ginal increase in the number of M&A deals that are actually executed. e leading cause? e panel agreed that the mentality, especially among older business founders and leaders, that selling a business was an admission of failure held many back from execut- ing deals. e event was moderated by om- as Cremona, Founder of advisory firm idisav. He was joined by panelists JJ Miceli Demajo, CEO of M. Demajo Group, Si- mon Schembri, Partner at Ganado Ad- vocates, David Pace, Partner and Head of Advisory, at KPMG in Malta, Joyce Grech, Head of Commercial Banking, at HSBC Bank Malta, and Louis de Ga- briele, managing partner at Camilleri Preziosi Advocates. Micelli Demajo told the panel that M. Demajo Group had transitioned from focusing solely on growing new busi- ness ventures to now also acquiring new businesses. roughout the panel, the issue of "ego" was repeatedly raised, with pan- elists expressing how the reluctance of business owners to sell for fear of being viewed as a "failure" was the leading cause of these deals falling through or not even making it to the negotiation table in the first place. e merging of different business cul- tures was also a complex issue that can often prove to be a stumbling block. e MBN organises monthly panel events bringing regulators, policymak- ers, and industry leaders together to discuss the most pressing issues facing the country. Ego, cultural divide between generations to blame for M&A fall-through