29 June - 5 July 2000

The Maltese e-commerce laws and developments in the European Union

"Malta will basically already be in line with this part of the acquis when this proposed legislation is enacted" - Dr Michael Frendo

For e-commerce to develop there has to be a legal framework, Dr Michael Frendo, managing partner of Gatt Frendo Tufigno Advocates said.

Dwelling on the Maltese e-commerce laws, Dr Frendo said that not just Europe but the whole world was preparing for this new reality. He stressed that with these new laws "we are catching up... in time."

"These developments reflect what is currently being carried out in other parts of the world, including the European Union. The European Union has set out a programme for itself and has set the year 2000 as the target for having all the legal infrastructure ready for e-commerce," he explained.

He spoke of the eEurope initiative which was launched last December to speed up electronic Europe and to reduce the technological divide. While statistics show that e-commerce in the EU will boom to 340 billion euro in 2003, the Union must complete the internal market for online activity before e-commerce can be turned into a mass market and ensure broad take-up by small businesses, Dr Frendo said.

The EU Commission, he added, was hopeful that all the directives related to e-commerce will be in place by the end of the year. Last month the European parliament approved without amendment the common position on the electronic commerce directive, bringing it into force. A period of 18 months has been granted so that states come in line.

"Malta will basically already be in line with this part of the acquis when this proposed legislation is enacted," Dr Frendo said.

He added that the Maltese e-commerce law covers the main EU directives on e-commerce, however he said that one could expect more legislation with regards to the free movement of personal data. Another directive that is being proposed is that on distance marketing of Financial Services - "setting a clear regulatory framework for the marketing of financial services at a distance within the single market. This is still in progress, having been discussed by parliament and revised by the Commission," Dr Frendo said.

He added that the comprehensive package of legislation being put in place was not to regulate heavily this new sector "but to provide legal security in Europe, remove barriers to the free movement of electronic services across borders, and encourage on-line innovation to boost consumer trust."