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The economic impact of lockdowns
The main economic burdens brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic are essentially twofold. The first is the extraordinary pressure on health resources and health-related expenditures: starting with the public information campaign, testing, contact tracing, emergency additional healthcare and extra hospitalisation spend, and more recently, vaccination. I recall the Finance Ministry put aside a provisional estimate…
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Investiment bil-Għaqal
F’dan iż-żmien ta’ kriżi finanzjarja ħafna huma dawk li jfittxu b’reqqa fejn se jinvestu flushom u dan l-iktar għas-serħan il-moħħ. Il-Maltin u l-Għawdxin huma magħrufa bħala nies bil-għaqal u li jġemmgħu u jinvestu flushom għall-futur, għal dak li jista’ jinqala’. Hemm min ifittex il-pariri ta’ nies professjonali. Hemm ħafna oħrajn iżda, li jħossuhom mifxula u…
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Ħidmet il-Membri Parlamentari Ewropej
Huwa tajjeb li fi tmiem ta’ leġiżlatura, li parlamentarju iħares lura u jara kemm ikun ħadem matul is-sessjoni li tkun għadha kif għaddiet. Hawn Malta l-parlamentari tagħna ma tantx jintalbu jagħmlu dan l-eżerċizzju. Parlamentarju iktar ikejjluh mill-fama li jkun kiseb tul is-snin, li tinkludi ħafna affarijiet fosthom kemm ikun kapaċi, minn tagħna u kemm jaqdi…
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Acta veto a ‘victory for freedom’ says Scicluna
Labour MEP Prof Edward Scicluna welcomed today’s overwhelming defeat of the controversial anti-counterfeit treaty Acta, describing it as a “victory for freedom on the Internet.” Prof Scicluna was speaking after MEPs in Strasbourg refused to consent to the deal negotiated by the European Commission rejecting by 478 votes to 165. Under the Lisbon Treaty the European Parliament must give its consent…
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François Hollande
Fi Franza l-elettorat ivvota għall-bidla. Il-poplu Franċiż għażel is-Soċjalista François Hollande u warrab il-Konservattiv Nicolas Sarkozy. Issa li Hollande ħa l-ġurament tal-ħatra u beda l-mandat tiegħu żgur u mhux forsi li l-Franċiżi u l-bqija taċ-ċittadini Ewropej se jkunu qed isegwu kull pass li jagħmel. Ir-rebħa ta’ Hollande fuq Sarkozy niżlet għasel mas-Soċjalisti u Demokratiċi fil-Parlament…
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Acta debate taken to University
Acta, the anti-counterfeiting trade agreement was the subject of a well-attended KSU debate at the University. Dr Busuttil said he was positively inclined to Acta because it aimed to strengthen enforcement in the fight against counterfeit and piracy. EU countries including Malta already have strong legislation on these two issues but this agreement sought to…
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ACTA
Fil-jiem li għaddew il-Gvern Malti ffirma l-ftehim magħruf bħala ACTA. Kontra dak li jsir is-soltu, il-Gvern ma ħareġ l-ebda stqarrija biex iħabbar li ffirma dan it-trattat. Sirna nafu għaliex qamet kontroversja sħiħa kemm f’Malta kif ukoll barra minn Malta, wara li għaqdiet taz-żgħażagħ qamu jipprotestaw għax qegħdin iqisu dan il-ftehim bħala li jmur kontra ċerti…
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Żjara mhux tas-soltu f’Ċipru
Fl-aħħar jumejn ta’ Ottubru li għadda s-Segretarju Ġenerali tal-Ġnus Magħquda, Ban Ki-Moon, sejjaħ fi New York lill-President ta’ Ċipru u lill-President tar-Repubblika tat-Tramuntana ta’ Ċipru bil-għan li jżomm ħajja t-tama li xi darba ż-żewg naħat jitwasslu għal ftehim. Għaddew 37 sena minn meta l-armata Torka invadiet il-parti ta’ fuq ta’ Ċipru. Invażjoni li wasslet biex…
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Eżerċizzju infantili
Jingħad li l-paraguni huma odjużi. Iżjed u iżjed meta jsiru b’mod li jippruvaw jingannaw. Meta titfa’ ċifri jtiru waħedhom fl-ajru bla ma tikkwalifikahom. Meta fil-kejl u fil-paragun ma żżommx l-istess riga. Meta dak li ħu duħħan tipprova tlaħħmu billi tqarraq. Tipprova tgħaddi lin-nies minn għajn il-labra. Meta tissagrifika l-kwalità għall-kwantità. F’dan t’hawn fuq jinkwadru ruħu…
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Scicluna leads debate on the future for European manufacturing
Prof Edward Scicluna MEP led the European Parliament as Chairman of the ‘Financial Framework for Manufacturing’ Roundtable organised by the European Forum for Manufacturing (EFM) in Brussels yesterday. The debate looked at the market conditions for manufacturing following the financial crisis. The event brought together MEPs, high-level representatives from the European Commission and EU Presidency…