Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/313770
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 18 MAY 2014 10 Malta's Catholic bishops yesterday issued a message ahead of the Euro- pean elections, to be held on 24 May, in which they urged the electorate to respect "fundamental principles which we cannot play around with". In their statement, Archbishop Paul Cremona, Gozo bishop Mario Grech, and Auxiliary Bishop Charles Scicluna listed six principles which must be followed in order to achieve "real progress for humans and soci- ety". The first on the list is the "right to life, which must be safeguarded from conception to natural death". Also high on the bishops' list is the strengthening of the "natural fam- ily, based on the marriage between a man and a woman". The bishops also highlighted the right to dignified employment and a fair wage and the principles of soli- darity and subsidiarity in social rela- tions. The other two principles highlight- ed by the bishops were the need to treat migrants humanely and with mercy, and the need to respect the environment. Pointing out that Catholics have a duty to back projects which respect these principles, the bishops re- minded the faithful of their "duty" to vote and ensure that "the European project is truly beneficial to human- ity". News Sant: Malta must team up with EU states against Tobin tax PN candidate says luxury goods' freeport could have foreign interest MATTHEW VELLA FORMER Prime Minister Al- fred Sant said that Malta should team up with like-minded EU member states to resist a finan- cial transactions tax that is being supported by countries such as France. The MEP candidate said the tax would hamper the financial services sector in the Maltese economy. "Luxembourg, Cyprus, Austria and the UK could be potential allies in this effort. Given that fi- nancial services account for over 15% of gross domestic product, Malta has to concentrate on de- fending its flexibility in promot- ing and developing services for which there is a demand. Like other islands, our institutional flexibility is an asset that cannot be given up lightly," Sant said. The European Union financial transaction tax (EU FTT) is a proposal made by the European MATTHEW VELLA A Nationalist candidate for MEP, Helga Ellul, yesterday proposed the setting-up of a freeport for luxury goods, to serve as a facility in which high-value items would be stored free of any taxes or customs duties. The former Playmobil CEO said a freeport for "precious stones and documents" could also serve as a showroom for trade and retail and generate spin-off activities for pro- fessionals in authentication, packing, framing, photography, and insur- ance. She also said it would provide 100 immediate long-term jobs. She claimed that there was strong interest from a foreign investor in the project, which she estimated as requiring €20 million in investment, and that she would elaborate further in a meeting with the Prime Min- ister and economy minister Chris Cardona in order to provide them both with more information. She said the concept had already been put to the test in Luxembourg. "Malta has all the qualities to enable the successful operation of such a fa- cility, namely its strategic location, a strong financial services sector and excellent air transport connections." She said the grounds at Malta In- ternational Airport were the "perfect site" for such an operation. "As was the case for the financial sector in Malta, this would require the right kind of legislation which would make Malta a reputable juris- diction. Owners of items deposited in the Luxury Goods Freeport would need to provide proof showing that they are the rightful owners of the items. "I believe that this is a viable busi- ness project which will further en- hance Malta's services portfolio, and strengthen our position on the map – both at a European and regional level – as a dynamic and innovative country with which one can do busi- ness". C a l l f o r A p p l i c a t i o n s : C e r t i f i c a t e o f E x c e l l e n c e i n I B S E f o r P r i m a r y S c h o o l E d u c a t o r s a n d R e s e a r c h e r s Are you a primary school teacher? Are you interested in Inquiry-Based Learning in Science Education? Or have you been involved in research in science education at primary/pre- secondary level? Then now is the time for you to apply for the prestigious and unique IBSE Certicate! Deadlines for submission of applications are: 30th May 2014 for teachers and the 5th June 2014 for researchers. Educators, representatives of local educational institutions and researchers are all invited to attend the second PRI-SCI-NET International Conference which will be held in Malta between the 16th and 18th of July 2014. Kindly contact Ms. Alexandra Camilleri or Ms. Laura Sue Armeni on telephone number 2360 2171/2 for further information or visit http://www.mcst.gov.mt/news. The Malta Council for Science and Technology, Villa Bighi, Kalkara KKR 1320, Malta www.mcst.gov.mt PRISCINET.indd 2 13/05/2014 13:45:41 No to transactions tax, says former Labour prime minister: on the FTT, Alfred Sant says Malta should join other states like the UK to protect its financial services industry Bishops wants voters to 'uphold Catholic beliefs' in European elections Malta's bishops want voters to respect fundamental principles, including the right to life and the strengthening of the natural family Commission to introduce a fi- nancial transaction tax within some of the member states of the EU. The tax would impact financial transactions be- tween financial institutions, charging 0.1% against the ex- change of shares and bonds and 0.01% across derivative contracts, if just one of the financial institutions resides in a member state of the EU FTT. On 30 April, the European Court of Justice dismissed an action by the United King- dom against the authorisa- tion of enhanced cooperation by the European Council on the FTT, but didn't rule out the possibility the UK could challenge the legality of the FTT itself if it is eventually approved. Sant, speaking at a seminar organised by Finance Malta, said that political sentiment against countries providing financial services had grown strongly in recent months. "This has been the case espe- cially in Germany and France, and in Spain too if to a lesser extent, including respected politicians of both right and left. The sentiment is expect- ed to grow as new controls are implemented from Brus- sels on government budget- ing within the eurozone and the rest of the EU. "Governments will be hard- pressed to balance their books and will seek to increase their effective income by prevent- ing losses due to tax leakages. This has taken the form of a campaign against all coun- tries providing professional services, including Malta, be- ing called 'tax havens'," Sant said. MORE in our Europe 2014 centre-page pull-out: 'More or less Europe?' Helga Ellul