During the meeting of the Enterprise Consultative Council (ECC), the Minister for Economy, Enterprise and Strategic Projects Silvio Schembri gave the latest developments on three specific measures that will help business and reduce bureaucracy . In addition, in this council was also discussed the late payment directive and the agreement that the government signed with importers and shop owners to maintain a cheap and stable price on food prices .
Minister Schembri spoke about the Credit Review Office, which will be reconciling and arbitrating between commercial banks and their clients regarding loan applications that have been rejected. Regarding this measure, the minister said that the draft law has been completed.
Another measure that was talked about is for companies to have the right to have a bank account. Here too, the minister explained that a draft law has been completed and that it is at a stage of consultation with all stakeholders.
“These measures are electoral promises that we have started working on since the first days of this legislature, such as the promise to continue reducing bureaucracy as much as possible through the creation of the Central Data Repository Solution. Through this system we will be simplifying the processes so that businesses do not need to submit the same documentation a number of times with different regulatory entities, including when it comes to due diligence, which starts to count for governmental entities all and even for private entities, such as banks,” said Minister Silvio Schembri.
The minister went on to explain that for this purpose, after consultation with all the stakeholders and after a preliminary market consultation was issued for which there were 18 proposals, the tender is now being written.
Regarding the Late Payment Directive, Minister Schembri said that at this stage where it is still being discussed at a European level, it is important that the industry and stakeholders give their opinions on it. “We want to hear from you the realities of our country, which are not necessarily realities that affect other countries. Therefore, before we go to the table for discussion and decisions, we want to have more information on how we will be affected and what measures are best to take for our country,” Minister Silvio Schembri explained.
The Enterprise Consultative Council also discussed the agreement that has just been signed between the government, importers and shop owners which will lead to stability and reductions in food prices from February 1 which is coming
Photos (MEEP)
