Day: October 18, 2021

Amid conditions of greater stability than 2020 and with Cyprus moving from a stall in economic activity to recovery and development, the state budget was submitted at the House of Representatives, said Finance Minister, Constantinos Petrides, presenting the budget at the house Finance Committee.

Referring to the budget’s aims, he said it is the protection of the health of the population and the development of businesses, with the transformation of Cyprus into a sustainable business center of the region, the social dimension and green development.

The budget, he said, will continue to be in deficit in 2022, however this will be much smaller than last year when it was close to 5% and will be around 1.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

During 2020, 17.6% of Cypriots were at risk of poverty and social exclusion, according to the latest figures released by Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical office.

The EU average for that same year was at 21.9%, meaning that the percentage in Cyprus was relatively below that of the EU. However, the percentage of citizens aged 65 years or older in Cyprus was larger than the EU average (22.5% compared to 20.4%).

Among the general population, the highest percentages of citizens at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2020 were recorded in Romania (35.8%), Bulgaria (33.6%), Greece (27.5%) and Spain (27.0%). The lowest percentages were recorded in Czechia (11.5%), Slovakia (13.8%), Slovenia (14.3%) and the Netherlands (15.8%).

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The EU Foreign Affairs Council takes place in Luxembourg on Monday morning and is expected to focus on preparing the Eastern Partnership summit which is scheduled for December. According to statements by Ministers before the meeting, the FAC will also discuss the possibility of measures against Belarusian state airline Belavia, due to its role in flying migrants to Belarus as part of the Lukashenko regime’s instrumentalisation of migration. Also, Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides is expected to brief his counterparts on the latest developments regarding Varosha during the discussion on current affairs.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The Foreign Ministers of the EU have decided to ask for the drafting of an options paper by the European External Action Service, which will outline possible ways for the European Union to respond to the fact that Turkey has not taken back any of its actions regarding Varosha, according to statements made by EU High Representative, Josep Borrell, after the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg.

Borrell recalled that during the summer, in a statement on behalf of the member states, he had announced that if Turkey’s negative behaviour continued, the Council would request that the EEAS prepare an options paper.

The High Representative explained that this option paper will provide an analysis of the situation and provide options for several types of measures that can be taken as a response to Turkey’s actions.

Source: Cyprus News Agency