Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/570058
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 13 SEPTEMBER 2015 16 News JURGEN BALZAN THE outgoing University of Malta rector has denied that he will be leading the private university run by a Jordanian company once his term is over in 2016. Since it is understood that Camill- eri will not be standing for a third term at the University of Malta, he is being touted for a top role at the Zonqor university. But in reply to MaltaToday's ques- tions, Juanito Camilleri said "I'm not the Rector who will lead the 'Ameri- can University'." According to media reports, earlier this year Camilleri informed the Uni- versity Council that he will be taking a sabbatical, once his current term comes to an end on 1 July, 2016. Meanwhile, the new university, which will be split in two following the public outcry over the use of ODZ land in Zonqor, has not yet ob- tained the accreditation by the Na- tional Commission for Further and Higher Education (NCFHE). Talking to MaltaToday, the com- mission's chairperson, Martin Sci- cluna said he cannot provide any details of applications that are still being processed. However, he confirmed that "the accreditation process of the Ameri- can University of Malta is still in process". Asked when the commission would be taking a decision, Scicluna said the length of provider and pro- gramme accreditation processes vary on a case by case basis. He pointed out that the duration is dependent on the size of the institu- tion and number of programmes to be accredited, and the time taken by the applicant to respond to the re- quests for information or for amend- ments in the application. In reply to whether any deadline has been imposed on the com- mission, Scicluna said "there is no deadline set by when the provider or programme accreditation have to be completed." He explained that NCFHE is re- sponsible for undertaking accredi- tation processes on a regular basis, by granting or refusing, confirming or revoking programme or provider accreditation based on the reviews of such programme or provider ap- plication. Scicluna also insisted that no undue pressure was put on the commission following the announcement of the project in May and the detailed pres- entation given by the Prime Minister over the location of the university in Zonqor and Cospicua. "The accreditation process and procedures which are currently be- ing followed in relation to the appli- cation submitted in the name of the AUM are completely separate from and independent of the announce- ments and plans published in the media that focus on the selection of the site or premises for the Univer- sity," Scicluna saida 1S\b`S>]W\bB`W_2c\9O`[ 0W`YW`YO`O0g^Oaa0W`YW`YO`O 09@'!%;OZbO >V]\S(!#$ ! "!!" ESP(eeeRW[SQVS\bQ][ 3[OWZ(OZO\.RW[SQVS\bQ][ University rector denies future role at 'American University' Outgoing University of Malta rector Juanito Camilleri rules out taking up 'American University' role Malta reaffirms opposition to tax harmonisation FINANCE Minister Edward Sci- cluna reaffirmed Malta's oppo- sition to tax harmonisation in a meeting of EU counterparts in Luxembourg. "Taxation remains a sensitive ar- ea for Malta, not only because of its obvious role in the revenue collec- tion process, but also as an impor- tant policy tool to direct economic activity," Scicluna said. "Coordinated efforts in the fight against tax fraud and tax evasion will be supported by Malta, but in this work we need to avoid any em- bedded push towards tax harmoni- sation." Ministers had an exchange of views on the way forward with re- spect to the issue of "minimum ef- fective taxation" in the EU and in relation to third countries. The issue remains highly divisive: whilst some Member States argue that low taxation is harmful, others underline the positive aspects of tax competition in terms of com- petitiveness both within the EU and with respect to the rest of the world, whilst stressing that direct taxation of multinationals is a mat- ter of national sovereignty. "We are not aware of how pre- scribing minimum effective taxa- tion has been delved into, not even within the current ambitious OECD-BEPS project. We think that coordination, not harmonisa- tion, is the way forward. This is al- so the approach that best respects the Member States' competences in this area," Scicluna told finance ministers. The informal ECOFIN meet- ing was followed by a Eurogroup meeting during which ministers discussed the economic situation and risks to the recovery in the eu- ro area, the state of play in Greece, the implementation of the Banking Union, and briefly took stock of the developments regarding European representation and the Euro area constituency in particular in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Scicluna was accompanied by Central Bank governor Prof. Josef Bonnici, and permanent secretary Alfred Camilleri. Juanito Camilleri