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6 JAMES DEBONO THE number of civil servants who were on the receiving end of disciplinary action by their head of department has started to de- crease again, from 732 in 2013 and 740 in 2014 to 590 now. Of these 493 received a penalty consisting of a written warning in 442 cases. Only 18 – the lowest number since 2004 – were sus- pended without pay in 2015. This contrasts with the record number of suspensions in 2013 and 2014. In these two years 164 civil serv- ants were suspended compared to only 39 in the previous two years. 2014 saw the highest number of suspensions since 2004. Statistics published in the past 12 years show a drop in discipli- nary procedures between 2005 and 2008, a sharp increase be- tween 2010 and 2011 and another sharp drop in 2012. This sug- gests a pattern, which sees cases of disciplinary action falling in pre-electoral years and rising in mid-term. In fact the highest number of disciplinary actions were taken in 2005 (1,152) and in 2011 (911) while the lowest were taken in 2007 (471), 2008 (463), and 2012 (551). jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 30 NOVEMBER 2016 News Get your FREE copy this Sunday with Maltatoday 75% of Maltese companies owed money Maltese companies report highest percentage of debt claims in EU JAMES DEBONO IN 2015, three in four of Maltese companies reported being owed money from domestic debtors, with overdue debt claims. Malta was the country with the highest percentage of companies owed money from domestic debt- ors, followed by Greece (67%), and Slovenia and Croatia (both 63%). At the other end of the scale, fewer than a quarter of companies in Denmark (18%), Swe- den (21%) and Esto- nia (24%) did so. C o m p a n i e s were the most likely to have had domes- tic debtors with overdue debt claims past 30 days but less than six months in Greece (49%) and Malta and Italy (both 44%), and least likely to have done so in Bulgaria (11%), Estonia (14%) and Denmark (15%). Companies in Malta (31%), fol- lowed by Slovenia (27%) and Croa- tia (24%) were also the most likely to have had domestic debtors with overdue debt claims at six months or more; companies in Italy (2%), Denmark (3%) and Sweden (5%) had the fewest such debtors. This emerges from a survey car- ried out in the 28 Member States of the European Union between 15 and 24 June, 2016 among en- terprises employing one or more persons in manufacturing, ser- vices and industry. 200 Maltese companies were interviewed by MISCO. The survey also shows that four in 10 companies in Malta (43%), Slovenia (41%) and Italy (38%) had enforced unpaid debt claims against domestic debtors via ju- dicial or out-of-court procedure. Companies in Latvia (9%), Esto- nia (10%) and France (11%) are the least likely to have done this. Very few companies in any Member State had overdue for- eign debt claims in other countries during the 2015 fiscal year. Companies in L u x e m b o u r g (15%), Malta (13%) and G e r m a n y (10%) were the most likely to have done so, while those in the United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Spain and Poland (all 2%) were the least likely. Luxembourg (17%), Malta (13%) and Slovenia (11%) had the high- est proportions of companies with foreign debtors in the EEA with debt claims past 30 days but less than six months. Malta (5%) is also the country with the highest percentage of companies with foreign debtors outside the EEA with debt claims at six months or more. The major obstacle cited by companies in Malta in recovering debts in other countries was the cost of specialist legal advice in another country. Joseph Muscat's European tour takes him to Berlin THE UK's imminent depar- ture from the European Union, Turkey and irregular migra- tion were among the chief top- ics discussed between Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The two leaders met in Ber- lin as part of Muscat's tour of seven European cities ahead of Malta's Presidency of the Euro- pean Council. They discussed ways and means of how Malta and Germany could collabo- rate further with a European dimension whilst focusing on common challenges such as migration, conf lict in neigh- bouring regions – including Syria and Libya – and Ukraine. Muscat also told Merkel that the EU should have migration agreements for the Mediterra- nean, same as the EU has with Turkey. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and German Chancellor Angela Merkel 2015 sees drop in disciplinary cases in civil service 2015 sees lowest number of civil servants suspended without pay after spike in suspensions in previous two years Year Cases served with penalty Suspended without pay Total (including other cases) 2004 610 43 931 2005 870 73 1,152 2006 490 46 713 2007 343 59 471 2008 298 57 463 2009 505 26 684 2010 543 27 671 2011 703 19 911 2012 438 20 551 2013 459 79 732 2014 479 85 740 2015 493 18 590