This report contains the "Phase 2: Implementation of the Standard in Practice" review for Malta, as well as a revised version of the "Phase 1: Legal and Regulatory Framework review" already released ...for this jurisdiction. The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes is the multilateral framework within which work in the area of tax transparency and exchange of information is carried out by 120 jurisdictions, which participate in the Global Forum on an equal footing. The Global Forum is charged with in-depth monitoring and peer review of the implementation of the international standards of transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes. These standards are primarily reflected in the 2002 OECD Model Agreement on Exchange of Information on Tax Matters and its commentary, and in Article 26 of the OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital and its commentary as updated in 2004. The standards have also been incorporated into the UN Model Tax Convention . The standards provide for international exchange on request of foreseeably relevant information for the administration or enforcement of the domestic tax laws of a requesting party. Fishing expeditions are not authorised but all foreseeably relevant information must be provided, including bank information and information held by fiduciaries, regardless of the existence of a domestic tax interest or the application of a dual criminality standard. All members of the Global Forum, as well as jurisdictions identified by the Global Forum as relevant to its work, are being reviewed. This process is undertaken in two phases. Phase 1 reviews assess the quality of a jurisdictions legal and regulatory framework for the exchange of information, while Phase 2 reviews look at the practical implementation of that framework. Some Global Forum members are undergoing
combined - Phase 1 and Phase 2 - reviews. The Global Forum has also put in place a process for supplementary reports to follow-up on recommendations, as well as for the ongoing monitoring of jurisdictions following the conclusion of a review. The ultimate goal is to help jurisdictions to effectively implement the international standards of transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes. All review reports are published once approved by the Global Forum and they thus represent agreed Global Forum reports. For more information on the work of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, and for copies of the published review reports, please refer to www.oecd.org/tax/transparency and www.eoi-tax.org.
Abstract
Malta has been at the forefront in aging policy and healthy aging development. It was the first country to highlight the need of a United Nations-led international action plan aimed at ...meeting the needs of an emerging global aging population. Through a number of initiatives, Malta has managed to put aging as a top priority on its national policy agenda. The country boasts of the longest life span spent in good health among all European Union countries with its inhabitants expected to live a significant portion of their life free of disability. Malta’s ranking in the Active Ageing Index experienced consistent improvements in the past decade, registering the sharpest progress in the European Union. In response to an increase in individuals with dementia, Malta was also among the first countries to adopt a national strategic policy for dementia. Notwithstanding such significant progress, Malta still lags behind in developing policy directions addressing gender inequalities and minority groups’ interests among its older population. Similar to other Southern European countries, Malta’s accelerated rate of population aging raises concerns with regard to economic growth, sustainability of effective health care and pension systems, and the well-being of older persons. Gender will also feature prominently in the future planning of long-term care policy as older women are projected to increase threefold in the foreseeable years with the high risk of poverty associated with older single and widowed women, implying that a few would be able to opt for private care.
A review of the book: Francesca Ippolito, Gianluca Borzoni and Federico Casolari (eds.), Bilateral Relations in the Mediterranean: Prospects for Migration Issues (Cheltenham: E. Elgar, 2020)
Background
Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is genetically heterogenous, driven by beta cell dysfunction and insulin resistance. Insulin resistance drives the development of cardiometabolic complications and ...is typically associated with obesity. A group of common variants at eleven loci are associated with insulin resistance and risk of both type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease. These variants describe a polygenic correlate of lipodystrophy, with a high metabolic disease risk despite a low BMI.
Objectives
In this cross-sectional study, we sought to investigate the association of a polygenic risk score composed of eleven lipodystrophy variants with anthropometric, glycaemic and metabolic traits in an island population characterised by a high prevalence of both obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Methods
814 unrelated adults (
n
= 477 controls and
n
= 337 T2DM cases) of Maltese-Caucasian ethnicity were genotyped and associations with phenotypes explored.
Results
A higher polygenic lipodystrophy risk score was correlated with lower adiposity indices (lower waist circumference and body mass index measurements) and higher HOMA-IR, atherogenic dyslipidaemia and visceral fat dysfunction as assessed by the visceral adiposity index in the DM group. In crude and covariate-adjusted models, individuals in the top quartile of polygenic risk had a higher T2DM risk relative to individuals in the first quartile of the risk score distribution.
Conclusion
This study consolidates the association between polygenic lipodystrophy risk alleles, metabolic syndrome parameters and T2DM risk particularly in normal-weight individuals. Our findings demonstrate that polygenic lipodystrophy risk alleles drive insulin resistance and diabetes risk independent of an increased BMI.
Background
The World Health Organization states that globally more than half of all medication is inappropriately prescribed, dispensed or sold with a need to implement wastage reduction strategies. ...Developing processes which include behaviour change theories, such as the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF), significantly impacts the positive implementation of evidence into healthcare practice.
Objective
To describe and understand the beliefs and behaviours regarding medication wastage of the Maltese public and healthcare professionals (HCPs) and to explore potential solutions.
Setting
: Malta.
Method
Five 90 min audio recorded focus groups (2 public and 3 HCPs) were conducted with a purposive sample who responded to a previous survey study and were willing to participate in focus groups in Malta. The guide was based upon the TDF with interview questions derived from findings of the questionnaire phase. Focus groups were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Analysis was carried using the framework approach.
Main outcome measure
Beliefs and behaviours regarding medication wastage and potential solutions to reduce medication wastage.
Results
A total of eleven pharmacists, six doctors and six members of the public consented to participate. Focus groups conducted with HCPs and the general public identified the following four key themes aligned with the TDF domains to address proposed solutions to minimise medication wastage: (1) practitioner effects; (2) patients effects; (3) political effects; (4) societal effects.
Conclusion
This study has employed a theoretical framework to obtain a better understanding of facilitators which require attention as part of strategic development.
Within an E.U.-funded project, BESS (Pocket Beach Management and Remote Surveillance System), the notion of a geographic information system is an indispensable tool for managing the dynamics of ...georeferenced data and information for any form of territorial planning. This notion was further explored with the creation of a WebGIS portal that will allow local and regional stakeholders/authorities obtain an easy remote access tool to monitor the status of pocket beaches (PB) in the Maltese Archipelago and Sicily. In this paper, we provide a methodological approach for the implementation of a WebGIS necessary for very detailed dynamic mapping and visualization of geospatial coastal data; the description of the dataset necessary for the monitoring of coastal areas, especially the PBs; and a demonstration of a case study for the PBs of Sicily and Malta by using the methodology and the dataset used during the BESS project. Detailed steps involved in the creation of the WebGIS are presented. These include data preparation, data storage, and data publication and transformation into geo-services. With the help of different Open Geospatial Consortium protocols, the WebGIS displays different layers of information for 134 PBs including orthophotos, sedimentological/geomorphological beach characteristics, shoreline evolution, geometric and morphological parameters, shallow water bathymetry, and photographs of pocket beaches. The WebGIS allows not only for identifying, evaluating, and directing potential solutions to present and arising issues, but also enables public access and involvement. It reflects a platform for future local and regional coastal zone monitoring and management, by promoting public/private involvement in addressing coastal issues and providing local public administrations with an improved technology to monitor coastal changes and help better plan suitable interventions.
Malta is the EU's smallest member state but also a close ally of the UK with which it shares many political, economic and social ties having been a British colony from 1800 to 1964. Malta joined the ...Union in 2004 and its membership has been a marked success with strong economic growth, but membership often involved close cooperation with the UK. This article will analyse how Malta has coped with the loss of one of its closest allies by focusing on its involvement in the Brexit negotiations and the shifts in its objectives and strategies in the area of foreign and security policy. This article will discuss how Malta is coping with Brexit, whether the country sought to shelter, hide or hedge during the Brexit negotiations and what logic underpinned the strategies adopted. Finally, we discuss whether the strategies linked to Brexit reinforced the Europeanization of Maltese foreign policy.
Introduction
Continuing professional development (CPD) remains voluntary in nine European countries. Evidence suggests a move towards mandatory CPD across Europe with the objective of harmonisation ...of dental CPD. Although the importance of CPD is acknowledged, the literature regarding its effectiveness is limited and under debate.
Aims and objectives
The main aim was to measure the effectiveness and success of a new CPD programme with the objective to devise a strategy, guidelines and recommendations for the establishment of a dental CPD programme in Malta.
Methodology
This project was divided into two phases; Phase 1 was the analysis of a survey sent out to 135 members of the Dental Association of Malta. Phase 2 involved the evaluation of eight verifiable CPD events, through pre‐event and post‐event tests and feedback forms, to investigate the effect on short‐term knowledge retention and the respective satisfaction levels of participants at each event.
Results
The survey had a response rate of 78%. The CPD events in Phase 2 all showed statistically significant improvement in short‐term knowledge retention on each subject (p < 0.05). Satisfaction levels ranged from 70% to 99%.
Conclusions
The information gathered from this project was used to provide guidelines and recommendations for the local regulatory body and CPD providers for the set‐up of a dental CPD framework and programmes in Malta, a country where dental CPD is still voluntary. This article is the second article from a two‐part series of articles about the Malta Dental CPD Pilot project.
This paper examines the factors determining variations in spatial rates of overeducation. A quantile regression model has been implemented on a sample of region-yearly data drawn from the EU Survey ...on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) and several institutional and macroeconomic features captured from other data-sets. Potential determinants of overeducation rates include factors such as labour market risk, financial aid to university students, excess labour demand and institutional factors. We find significant effects both for labour market structural imbalances and institutional factors. The research supports the findings of micro based studies which have found that overeducation is consistent with an assignment interpretation of the labour market.
•Overeducation reacts to educated labour supply excess and university enrolment levels.•There is limited evidence that overeducation is driven by high returns to education.•Overeducation is explained by migration- and sectoral composition of employment.•Structural factors play a significant role in determining overeducation rates.
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