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Transparency versus corruption
It is one of the terrible ironies that some of the world’s poorest countries are the most resource rich. Some even talk of the “resource curse”. Africa, in particular, has many resource-rich countries that have stayed poor because of the collaboration between extractive companies and corrupt government officials. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is…
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Scicluna calls for Euro-Med Investment Bank
Labour MEP Edward Scicluna spoke about the need for a Mediterranean Investment Bank in his plenary speech as a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean(UfM). This follows his appointment as a full member of the European Parliament’s delegation earlier this month. At the plenary session in Rabat, Morocco on the 24th and 25th March, which brought together MEPs and…
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Jum il-Ħelsien – 33 Anniversarju, 1979 – 2012
L-Ewroparlamentari l-Professur Edward Scicluna ta ġieħ lil Malta Ħielsa meta poġġa bukkett fjuri f’riġlejn il-Monument ta’ Jum il-Ħelsien il-Birgu waqt iċ-ċerimonja kommemorattiva biex tfakkar it-33 anniversarju. – Il-Gimgha, 23 ta’ Marzu, 2012
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Corruption and Transparency – L-MEP u Int – Prog 108
Il-ġlieda kontra l-evażjoni tat-taxxa u l-korruzzjoni tissemma ħafna fil-laqgħat tal-G20 u laqgħat oħrajn bejn l-Istati Membri tal-Unjoni Ewropea. Il-korruzzjoni hija rampanti fil-pajjiżi tal-Afrika u jissemmew ħafna l-industriji tal-esplojtazzjoni taż-żejt u tal-minerali li joperaw f’dawn il-pajjiżi. Dan l-aħħar, il-kumitat tal-Affarijiet Ekonomiċi u Monetarji, iddiskuta żewġ rapporti li l-għan proprju tagħhom huwa li tiżdied it-trasparenza f’dan…
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Il-gideb u l-istatistika
Fejn tidħol l-istatistika, l-istorja tal-Unjoni Ewropea mhix sabiħa. Kellna iktar minn pajjiż wieħed li għawweġ il-figuri u uża dak li ngħidulu ‘creative accounting’, numri b’ħafna rtokk kosmetiku. Imbagħad kien hemm pajjiż, il-Greċja, li għal żmien twil ippreżenta statistika li ma kienet reali xejn, kienet falza, u tat stampa li xejn ma kienet tirrifletti s-sitwazzjoni tal-pajjiż.…
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Gender Equality in Decision-Making – L-MEP u Int – Prog 107
Gender Equality has very often been an issue discussed in various fora amongst which State Parliaments, international and European institutions, as well as the European Parliament. Last week, the European Parliament has approved 2 reports related to gender equality, this time with regards to the slow progress towards a better gender balance in economic decision…
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L-ugwaljanza fid-deċiżjonijiet
L-ugwaljanza fil-kuntest ta’ bejn il-mara u r-raġel għandha ħafna aspetti. Kemm-il darba tkellimna dwar il-parteċipazzjoni tal-mara fil-kamp tax-xogħol, il-‘leave’ tal-maternità u aspetti oħrajn. Din id-darba ż-żewġ rapporti li għaddew mis-Sezzjoni Plenarja ta’ Strasburgu f’nofs il-ġimgħa l-oħra dwar dan is-suġġett jittrattaw direttament fuq min jieħu d-deċiżjoni l-iżjed importanti tal-pajjiż, sew fil-kamp politiku fejn jgħaddu l-liġijiet mil-Parlament,…
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Scicluna requests clarification on budget cuts
Labour MEP Edward Scicluna has written to European Commissioner Olly Rehn this week requesting clarifications on various points related to the €40 million cuts in Malta’s budget. Prof. Scicluna said he was requesting the clarifications from the EU because the government was saying nothing. Professor Scicluna asked whether the Commission had considered the government’s forecasts…
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Overwhelming majority approves Scicluna’s report
Labour MEP Edward Scicluna’s report on the Quality Management of European Statistics was today approved with an overwhelming majority at the European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg. Prof. Scicluna’s main policy recommendations focused on improving the quality of European statistics by ensuring the independence of statistical agencies and the quality of upstream data collected especially…
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It-tkabbir ekonomiku
Ir-raġuni għaliex il-grupp tagħna fil-Parlament Ewropew, il-Grupp tal-Alleanza tas-Soċjalisti u Demokratiċi (S&D) kien ivvota kontra r-regolamenti ġodda ta’ dixxiplina fuq membri taż-Żona Euro, magħrufin bħala s-Six Pack, kienet għax l-unika rimedju propost kien dak ta’ programmi t’awsterità u xejn ta’ tkabbir ekonomiku. Illum però l-folja qiegħda tinqaleb u t-tkabbir ekonomiku qed jissemma iżjed u iżjed.…