Day: September 16, 2021

Cyprus’ six members of the European Parliament (MEPs) gave a mixed welcome to the European Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen’s annual State of the Union speech during the European Parliament Plenary session held in Strasbourg on Wednesday, but were critical of its general remarks on the relationship with Turkey despite its continued provocations against, Cyprus an EU member state.

Speaking to CNA from Strasbourg, Lefteris Christoforou, of the ruling right-wing Democratic Rally DISI and member of the European People’s Party (EPP), highlighted that the EU could face the challenges stemming from COVID-19 because all member-states joined forces and pooled resources.

Asked about von der Leyen’s remarks on Turkey and the absence of any references to Ankara’s provocations in Cyprus, Christoforou said Cypriot MEPs should observe a principled position con

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Post-programme surveillance for those member states that received financial support after the 2008 financial crisis was appropriate, but needs streamlining, a new report by the European Court of Auditors (ECA) has found. The ECA recommends, among other things, that the Commission considers integrating this surveillance into the European Semester.

The report covers post-programme surveillance for Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Cyprus and Greece, which together received a total of €468.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Cyprus continues to be classified as part of the “red zone” of countries in the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control’s (ECDC) weekly map which captures the spread of COVID-19 in the EU and is published every Thursday on the agency’s website.

Red zone areas are defined as the areas where the 14-day cumulative COVID-19 case notification rate ranges from 75 to 200 and the test positivity rate of tests for COVID-19 infection is 4% or more, or the 14-day cumulative COVID-19 case notification rate is more than 200 but less than 500 (when the cumulative rate exceeds 500 the area enters the “deep red” zone).

For another week, Greece, Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Croatia, Slovenia and Ireland remain in the “red zone”.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Technical Committees from Cyprus and Egypt agreed on Wednesday to proceed with a study concerning the transfer of natural gas from the “Aphrodite” reservoir, in Cyprus’ exclusive economic block 12, to an Egyptian Liquefaction Plant.

Representatives from both countries, who met in Cairo, included five officials from Cyprus’ Energy Ministry and the Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company as well as officials from Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and the Egyptian Hydrocarbon Company.

The meeting was decided by Energy Minister Natasa Pilides and her Egyptian counterpart, Tarek El-Molla, during the first Cyprus-Egypt Intergovernmental Summit, which took place on September 4, in the Egyptian capital.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Total employment in the Broad Public Sector in the 2nd quarter of 2021 reached 71,136 persons, the Statistical Service reported Thursday, adding that the employment in General Government was 65.462 and in the Publicly Owned Enterprises and Companies 5,674 persons.

In General Government, which consists of the Government, Non-Profit Organisations and Local Authorities, total employment reached 53,285, 7,973 and 4,204 persons respectively, Cystat said.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Job vacancies in Cyprus increased by 77.3% in the second quarter of 2021, compared with the same period of 2020, the Statistical Service of Cyprus said on Thursday.

The number of job vacancies in the 2nd quarter of 2021 reached 7,397, increased by 3,225 or 77.3% compared with the same quarter of the previous year when the number stood at 4,172, Cystat said.

The number of job vacancies recorded a monthly increase of 636 or 9.4% compared with the 1st quarter of 2021, it said.

The job vacancy percentage in the 2nd quarter of 2021 was 2.6%. In the previous quarter and the 2nd quarter of 2020 the job vacancy rate stood at 2.0% and 1.2% respectively.

The largest job vacancy rates in the 2nd quarter of 2021 were observed in accommodation and food service activities (7.1%), electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply

Source: Cyprus News Agency

President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades confirmed that a trilateral meeting on the Cyprus issue will be held in New York, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly which he is going to attend.

Speaking to reporters in Athens, President Anastasiades noted that he will have a working breakfast with the Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar and the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York, without specifying the exact date.

Earlier, diplomatic sources had told CNA that possibly the UN Secretary-General would use the opportunity provided by the simultaneous presence of Anastasiades and Tatar in New York to have a joint meeting with them and discuss the situation concerning the Cyprus issue.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The Summit of the Southern Member States of the European Union (EUMED 9) will be held in Athens on Friday, September 17, with the participation of Greece, Cyprus, France, Italy, Portugal, Malta, Spain, Portugal, Malta, Croatia, and, for the first time, Croatia and Slovenia.

The Summit will take place at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre and the agenda of the discussions will include issues related to the region of the Eastern Mediterranean, the climate crisis, civil protection and developments in Afghanistan.

At 15:30 local time on Friday afternoon, a session on climate change and its impact on the Mediterranean will be held with the participation of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

Source: Cyprus News Agency