Month: March 2022

The Wise Persons Group on Challenges Facing the Customs Union (WPG) has today presented a report that will feed into a wide, inter-institutional debate on the future of the EU Customs Union. The WPG was appointed by Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni in September last year to propose innovative solutions for the most pressing issues faced by the Customs Union.

The report concludes that the Customs Union needs to be better prepared to address forthcoming challenges, such as growing trade volumes and new trade models, technological developments, the green transition, the evolving geopolitical context and security risks.

The WPG proposed 10 sets of measures to be implemented by 2030:

A package of reforms, relating to processes, responsibilities, liabilities, and governance of the Customs Union.

A new approach to data aiming to diminish reliance on customs declarations, obtain better quality data from commercial sources, and provide businesses with a single data entry point for customs formalities.

A comprehensive framework for cooperation, enabling better data sharing across the Customs Union, with the involvement of market surveillance authorities, law enforcement bodies and tax authorities.

Setting up a European Customs Agency to complement the role of the Commission and support the work of Member States.

Reforming and expanding the Authorised Economic Operator scheme.

A new framework of responsibility and trust, in which businesses would seek Authorised Economic Operators status to gain commercial access to the EU market. Small non-commercial consignments would continue to be sent through the usual processes, but without priority and subject to a level of control that reflects their “non-trusted” status.

No more customs duty exemption threshold of €150 for e-commerce, together with simplified rates for low value shipments.

A package of measures to green EU customs, digitalise procedures, ensure that prohibitions and restrictions related to sustainability are properly implemented on imported products, as well as possibly reform the World Customs Organization Harmonized System Nomenclature to allow for the proper classification of environmentally friendly products that the EU wants to promote in international trade.

Properly resourcing, upskilling and equipping customs administrations, to ensure their full capacity to fulfil their missions.

An annual estimate of the Customs Revenue Gap to better manage customs revenue collection.

Paolo Gentiloni, Commissioner for Economy, said: “First the pandemic and now the invasion of Ukraine have highlighted the essential role played by EU customs in crisis management. Today, customs authorities are facilitating the provision of humanitarian support and ensuring that the sanctions imposed on Russia are properly implemented. Efficient customs clearance and controls are vital to protecting EU citizens and businesses, while at the same time enabling legitimate trade, which is crucial to growth and jobs. These proposals will be of great support in making our Customs Union ready for the challenges of the future.”

Arancha González Laya, Chair of the Wise Persons` Group said: “This report calls for an urgent structural change of the way European customs are organised and equipped. A strong Customs Union with a protective “one external border” is essential to Europe`s strategic autonomy, to its trade might and to its security and defence ambitions. Standing still would effectively mean less protection to European citizens, less competitiveness for European businesses and less security for the EU.”

The WPG`s report also identified the lack of a common list of prohibitions and restrictions legislation as a serious problem, as it leads to divergent approaches and practices across Member States. To address this issue, the Commission has today published a compilation of the existing prohibitions and restrictions at EU level. This should serve as a practical instrument for the EU institutions and national authorities, as well as other interested stakeholders.

Next steps

The recommendations of the WPG will now be discussed with the European Parliament and Member States. As announced in the 2020 Customs Action Plan, the Commission will set up a ‘Reflection Group`, involving Member States, to debate and operationalise the recommendations. Based on this input, and on broader consultations with stakeholders, the Commission will table a customs reform package by the end of the year.

Background

The Customs Union is a cornerstone of the Single Market. It keeps EU borders safe, protects our citizens from prohibited and dangerous goods such as weapons, drugs, dangerous toys and environmentally-harmful products, and facilitates business with the rest of the world.

The EU accounts for 15% of the world trade. In 2020, the value of the EU trade with other countries amounted to €3.7 trillion. To manage this volume of international trade in 2020, more than 2,000 EU customs offices, working 24 hours a day and 365 days a year, handled the import, export or transit of over 1,069 million articles. The amount of customs duties collected in 2020 reached €24.8 billion.

The WPG is an independent, high-level group, comprised of members from politics, industry, trade and academia. It prepared the report in full independence, having spent several months examining customs from all angles and consulting with stakeholders at EU, national and international level. The full list of members is available online.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

High concentrations of dust are observed in the air today, 31 March 2022, according to measurements from ground stations of the air quality monitoring network operated by the Department of Labour Inspection.

The public, and particularly any vulnerable groups of population (children, older people, and the infirm) are urged to avoid circulating in open spaces until the observed episode has elapsed, as the small size of respirable particles in dust may have negative effects on human health, a Department of Labour press release said.

Employers must take appropriate measures (organisational and/or technical) after assessing any risks that their employees may face while working in open spaces, and it is recommended that workers in such spaces use appropriate means of personal protection.

In detail, the latest hourly dust concentrations measured at 8:00 am in the following areas are:

Nicosia:103.7µg/m3

Limassol: 73.9µg/m3

Larnaca: 56.8µg/m3

Paralimni: 85.1µg/m3

Paphos:87.8µg/m3

Zygi:20.2µg/m3

Ayia Marina Xyliatou:38.9µg/m3

It is noted that ‘dust’ refers to respirable particulate matter of a diameter smaller than 10 µm (PM10) in the air. According to the relevant legislation, a limit value not to be exceeded is set for the daily average concentrations at 50 µg/m3 (micrograms per cubic meter).

More information on the measured pollutant concentrations and real-time updates is available online at www.airquality.gov.cy, and also through the free mobile application ‘Air Quality Cyprus’.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

A new Call Center, aiming to provide comprehensive information to refugees from Ukraine regarding immigration, education, welfare and other relevant matters, starts operating on Thursday, March 31, according to the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy.

The Ministry announced that the service will be available to citizens Monday to Friday, from 08:00am to 20:00pm, in both Greek and English. For Cypriot phone numbers people may call 1477, while those with foreign phone numbers can reach the call center at +357 22 285777

Source: Cyprus News Agency

A group of Cypriot volunteer doctors and nurses who have been in the Romanian border town of Siret since Tuesday, are providing health care to Ukrainian refugees fleeing their war-torn country by car, bus or even on foot.

There are a lot of people crossing the border, CNA photographer Katia Christodoulou, who is accompanying the group, says, adding that because of the night curfew in Ukraine, the influx of refugees begins at first light.

The queue of cars is kilometres long, she notes, adding that there are also people who walk for ten hours on foot from Terebleche, the closest village in Ukraine. There are about 200,000 displaced people there, who are waiting to see whether the attacks will continue, to decide whether to flee their country completely.

According to information provided by local authorities, she adds, already approximately 600,000 refugees have crossed to Romania from Ukraine.

At the border, volunteers offer refugees a hot soup or drink, first aid is given if necessary.

According to the head of the Cypriot mission Dr. George Makrygiannis the Cypriot mission is the only volunteer mobile unit with doctors at the border town where it will remain until Monday noon, providing health care to refugees. The Cypriot medical team also helps out a team of Greek Red Cross nurses which is operating on site.

At the same time, the mobile unit also responds to calls for medical help from towns close by where refugees are being hosted.

Dr. Makrygiannis adds that there is definitely going to be a second Cypriot mission in the coming weeks.

Asked whether they have enough equipment and medicines he replies that what they have is sufficient. He adds that for more serious conditions where a specific drug needs to be purchased refugees are given financial help in order to be able to do so.

A family with two young girls, two-year-old Anya who cuddles her teddy-bear and six-year-old Roushia together with their cat Daisy pass the border with their car loaded. They tell Katia they are going to stay with friends in another Romanian city.

“We love our country very much and we want to return,” the family`s mother, Natalie, says, explaining that there was an airport close to their city which was constantly bombed and that is why they took the decision to leave.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

In recognition of Poland`s essential role in supporting refugees fleeing the invasion of Ukraine, the Stand Up For Ukraine pledging event, convened by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau will take place in Warsaw on 9 April.

The President of Poland Andrzej Duda will participate alongside President von der Leyen, while Prime Minister Trudeau will participate remotely.

The pledging event will conclude a broader social media campaign launched by the European Commission and the Government in Canada on Saturday 26 March, in partnership with international advocacy organisation Global Citizen.

The aim of the campaign is to raise funding and other types of support to cater for the needs of internally displaced people in Ukraine and of refugees. The campaign answers a call for support launched by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

6.5 million are internally displaced. In addition, the European Union is hosting more than 3.8 million refugees. Poland is hosting more than 2.5 million refugees and plays an important role as a humanitarian hub, dispatching to Ukraine support from all over Europe.

With no end to the conflict in sight, it is essential to provide additional resources to cover the needs of internally displaced people in Ukraine and of refugees.

“Stand Up For Ukraine” seeks to mobilise governments, institutions, artists, companies and individuals to raise funding and other types of support to cater for the needs of internally displaced people in Ukraine and of refugees.

Artists from around the world have already joined the campaign – including Bono, Madonna, Elton John, Miley Cyrus, Adam Lambert, Céline Dion or Alanis Morissette, to name just a few – and more will be joining.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The latest annual report of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe focuses on the serious challenges faced by the system of implementation of the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights.

According to the report, the Committee reviewed progress on a record 161 cases or groups of cases in 2021, and closed a total of 1,122 cases following measures taken to implement decisions by member states, compared to 983 cases in 2020.

However, there was a significant increase (around 40%) in the number of new judgments delivered by the Court and transmitted to the Committee. As a result, the number of cases pending at the end of 2021 increased to 5,533, including 1,300 “leading” cases that often highlight systemic or structural problems.

The preface of the report, drafted by the three chairs of the 2021 meetings of the Human Rights Committee, notes that the challenges posed to the application process by such cases are likely to intensify, with the Court aiming to issue more judgments in complex cases.

The Chairs also underline that the departure of the Russian Federation from the Council of Europe has implications for the system, including the implementation of judgments. “The European Convention on Human Rights has an renewed relevance in these very difficult times,” they stress in this regard.

The report includes an overview of the most important developments in 2021, by Christos Giakoumopoulos, the Director General of Human Rights and the Rule of Law of the Council of Europe. It highlights many positive steps forward during the year, as well as the record number of communications received by the Committee from civil society organisations and national human rights institutions.

At the same time, the overview highlights that the implementation process still faces some serious challenges. These include in particular the limited capacity of Member States to implement Court judgments rapidly and the increasing number of highly complex cases, including transnational cases and judgments relating to conflict situations.

The execution of Court judgments is done “at home”, writes the Director-General, stressing that there is an urgent need for Member States to strengthen their capacity to enhance the implementation process at national level and to provide timely information.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy Kyriacos Kokkinos attended the World Government Summit 2022 in Dubai between 29-30 March.

The Summit took place in the premises of Expo2020 Dubai when it was wrapped up, a deputy ministry press release says.

Heads of state, Ministers and high ranking officials as well as company executives and experts from 190 countries attended the Summit and exchanged opinions on issues related to promoting cooperation for policies, models and toolboxes for tackling consequences of COVID 19.

Kokkinos took part in a roundtable discussion and referred to Cyprus` digital transformation especially in the public sector services, the press release adds.

He said that the cooperation between the public and private sector is a catalyst for the digital goals Cyprus has set and this could also be beneficial in the long term for a rapid recovery and a resilient green development.

The Deputy Minister met with head of Public Services of UAE Mohamed Bin Taliah, with whom he discussed prospects for bilateral cooperation. He extended an invitation to further discuss and explore this issue.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The Police issued fines against 5 individuals in the last 24 hours, after 1,503 checks carried out nationwide, in order to ascertain compliance with and implementation of the provisions of the Infectious Diseases Act.

A spokesman from the Police Headquarters Communication Department told CNA that 401 checks were carried out in Nicosia, without any fines, and 102 checks were carried out in Limassol, also without any fines.

In Larnaca, 309 checks were carried out, which resulted in 2 fines against individuals, 87 checks were carried out in Paphos, which resulted in 1 fine against an individual, 351 checks were carried out in Famagusta with 2 fines issued against individuals, while in the Morphou area 77 checks were carried out without any fines.

In addition, the Traffic Police carried out 157 checks nationwide, without any fines, while the Port and Maritime Police carried out 19 checks, also without any fines.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Developing Telecoms: Huawei`s Philip Song Corrects Misconception on Green Development and Pushes Sustainable Development

LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Developing Telecoms reported the view of Huawei Carrier Business Group CMO Dr Philip Song who corrected the five biggest misconceptions on green development at the Huawei Day0 event.

First, Song stressed that innovations in the ICT industry will not increase carbon emission levels but enable other sectors to “significantly” reduce their carbon footprints. In the next eight years, the ICT industry has the potential to reduce global emissions by 20%, which is 10 times the carbon emission emitted by the ICT industry itself. Song argued this will “decouple” economic growth from emission growth.

Second, in terms of reducing the emission caused throughout the whole lifecycle of network equipment, Song argued the focus should be on the use of equipment through innovative technologies.

What`s more, ICT supply chains are greener than assumed. According to a GSMA report, the proportion of energy use by ICT supply chains will be 45% renewable by 2030. Song presented a three-layer architecture strategy to tackle this larger problem, involving the use of better technology in data centres, optical cables, and migrating users to 4G and 5G networks.

Besides, Song believes the overall network energy efficiency should be managed from a holistic and long-term perspective. Huawei proposed a jointly defined unified energy indicator system to drive energy flows in tandem with information flow, which will result in energy savings for an entire network, instead of a certain part.

Last, Song conceded there will be a small sacrifice in peak rates and some other indicators for vital sustainability targets, however it is negligible. Operators can for example shut down some operations at night when data traffic is low to save power, this will admittedly lower download speeds but only marginally and still yield a good service for consumers.

About Developing Telecoms

Developing Telecoms is the leading online news portal for telecoms in emerging markets, delivering telecommunications news and information for senior management and decision makers at network operators, governments and end users. Developing Telecoms receives 6.5 million yearly page views and gets over 1.2 million yearly unique users. Its weekly emerging markets newsletter has over 50,000 subscribers. Developing Telecoms publishes a range of special reports about telecoms in emerging markets spanning topics including 5G, IoT, Smart Cities and Last Mile Connectivity.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Economic growth in Cyprus will slow sharply before recovering, due to the shock associated with the war in Ukraine, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said, adding that the key near-term challenge “is to calibrate a policy response to the economic fallout from the war in Ukraine.”

In Staff Concluding Statement over the completion of the 2022 Article IV Mission to Cyprus, IMF said while the 2022 budget provides sufficient fiscal support in the baseline, “additional discretionary support may be needed if the impact of the shock is larger than expected”, stressing that such support should be temporary, targeted, and not hinder reallocation of labor to expanding sectors.

In the medium-term, the IMF calls for a gradual fiscal adjustment should aim to rebuild buffers by bringing the budget close to balance by 2024.

“Despite a reduction in exposures to Russia, Cyprus is highly vulnerable to the economic fallout from the war in Ukraine,” the IMF said recalling that the island’s tourism sector is highly dependent on arrivals from Russia which represent about 20 percent of the total.

It also notes that the direct impact on the financial sector from sanctions will likely be limited given that exposures to Russia have diminished since the financial crisis and even more so after winding down operations of RCB Bank.

On the growth prospects, the IMF says that growth is projected to slow from 5½ percent in 2021 to around 2 percent in 2022 reflecting mainly the impact of the war and sanctions on export of services (including indirect from slower growth in Europe), and the negative terms-of-trade shock from higher energy and food prices. In its October WEO, the IMF projected a 3.6% growth rate for Cyprus.

The Fund said recovery should regain momentum in 2023 if the situation normalizes, and it is projected to continue in the medium term with potential growth gradually increasing (from 2½ percent to about 3 percent by 2027), supported by investments and structural reforms in the Recovery and Resilience Plan, while inflation is expected to rise this year and then start declining but will remain elevated in 2023 and beyond given the prolonged pass-through.

Pointing out that risks are tilted to the downside, the IMF added that the key risk is an escalation and longer duration of the war and the sanctions.

According to IMF, fiscal policy should continue providing support as needed but aim to gradually rebuild buffers.

Noting that there is room, if needed, to provide further support in the face of the war-related shocks (especially considering a stronger-than-expected fiscal position last year, the IMF stresses however that given the post-pandemic elevated public debt level (104 percent at end-2021), policy should aim at restoring buffers through a gradual fiscal adjustment.

It also notes that although the government fiscal target of a 0.75% percent of GDP surplus in 2024 is consistent with this strategy “but achieving it might be challenging given the war-related shocks.”

Furthermore, the IMF says the mission recommended a more forceful implementation of the existing deleveraging strategy and highlighted that structural reforms, such as strengthening governance, make the judicial system more efficient, and address skills gaps and mismatches and infrastructure gaps, are key to improve growth prospects.

Source: Cyprus News Agency