Day: March 4, 2022

The European Investment Bank’s (EIB) funding operations in Cyprus this year will not be affected by the crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion to Ukraine, EIB Vice President Lilyana Pavlova has said, with the Bank expected to sign funding contracts estimated at €200 million in 2022.

“I don’t think the current situation will affect (the funding operations), on the contrary we are ready to provide all necessary support needed in Cyprus in the critical sectors of the economy” Pavlova said in a joint press conference with the Finance Minister Constantinos Petrides, who stressed that the Cypriot authorities will not change their development plan for 2022.

“As the developments are taking shape, we don’t believe its appropriate to change our development plan,” Petrides said, adding that the government should expedite and not delay green growth and end the reliance on fossil fuels.

“For this reason, in cooperation with the EIB we should expedite all these investments which are financed by the bank and our teams are in constant contact to review the developments,” he added.

Inflation spiked globally, fuelled mainly by oil prices, due to global demand as the world recovered from the COVID pandemic with analysts projecting further price hikes will further continue.

“In the existing new crisis the world is facing and with respect to the increasing inflation and the new challenges which we are all facing, we now stand ready to support not only the people and the government of Ukraine to whom we want to express our full support and solidarity but also to neighbouring countries and other countries impacted from the consequences of this critical period,” Pavlova said.

Petrides and Pavlova also noted that Cyprus and the EIB are planning to sign in 2022 loan contracts amounting to €350 million, namely €100 million in loan agreements for Cypriot small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) midcaps through the Cyprus Entrepreneurship Fund II, urban infrastructure by Cypriot Municipalities amounting to up to €150 million and private investments amounting to up to €100 million.

Moreover, the Cyprus Finance Ministry and the EIB are in discussions for future projects such as the National Museum, support to the State Laboratory for innovation and research, as well as investments in the context of green transition such photovoltaics along highways and other areas.

In 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic the EIB provided funding to Cyprus amounting to €303 million.

“But now the focus of discussions is renewable, there is huge potential and we are ready to provide financing and also our technical and advisory support, in order to prepare strong and sustainable projects both for the private sector and also with the government,” the EIB Vice President said.

Asked whether in the light of the situation due to the crisis in Ukraine, the EIB considers revising its decision to phaseout financing projects associated with natural gas and oil, Pavlova said that the EIB awaits the final decision to be taken at the European level for the inclusion of natural gas and nuclear energy in the European taxonomy as transitional fuels.

“We have to wait the decision to be taken in the policy level on the final level on European taxonomy and then at the end of this year we are obliged to make a review of our energy lending policy, which was adopted in 2019, and as part of our review the Board will decide whether there is need to adopt our energy lending policies and eligibility criteria” and waht should be the way forward “but for the moment policy remains as it is,” she said.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

In 2021 industrial turnover recorded a historic high, marking a 13.6% increase compared to 2020, data released by the Cyprus Statistical Service (CyStat) on Friday show.

In particular, the industrial turnover index in 2021 increased to 146.4 units, marking a new historical high. The second highest historical level was recorded in 2008 when the Index rose to 139.8 points.

In December 2021, the industrial turnover index reached 154.5 units (base 2015=100), recording an increase of 12.7% compared to December 2020.

In manufacturing, the industrial turnover index for December 2021 reached 159.2 units, recording an increase of 10.9% compared to December 2020.

Increases were also noted in the sectors of water supply and materials recovery by 46.6%, in electricity supply by 14.9% and mining and quarrying by 6.5%.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

A declaration on the children of Ukraine was singed on Friday in Paris by the competent EU Ministers who condemned the unprovoked and unjustified military attack of Russia .

Cyprus’ Deputy Minister of Social Welfare, Anastasia Anthousis, signed the Declaration. An announcement says that the European Ministers stressed the need to safeguard the protection of civilians, including children, by prioritizing compliance with UN Conventions and Resolutions, with a focus on the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Children in Ukraine face the fear and loss of war, and are deprived of their basic rights to housing, health care, education, food and security, the Declaration says.

EU Member States pledge to provide immediate and specific assistance to children and their families, with particular attention to unaccompanied minors, who are among the affected populations in the territory of Ukraine or in neighboring countries.

The Declaration also takes into account the long-term consequences that the state of war will have for children. To address these consequences, measures and mechanisms will be launched to ensure, with adequate funding, that children have access to their basic and fundamental rights, such as education, access to health care and psychological care services.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Interior Minister Nicos Nouris told CNA that the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the European Union Internal Affairs Council has decided to activate the directive to protect Ukrainians fleeing to the EU, but that there is also an issue regarding security and the proper management of the EU’s external borders.

Speaking to CNA after the end of the two day Justice and Home Affairs Council in Brussels, Nouris said that among the Ukrainians who have already crossed into European territory “there is a number of people who should not have crossed the border” but added “at the moment what is most important is the humanitarian dimension of the issue”.

“Europe is experiencing an unprecedented crisis, and of course the Ukrainian people are experiencing a much worse crisis” Nouris said, noting that Europe has shown solidarity in the same way as it showed solidarity during the crisis at the Belarusian border with the EU, as well as that the EU “is here to defend the interests of the Ukrainian people”.

The Justice and Home Affairs Council “has taken specific decisions in addition to the sanctions that have already been decided, including the activation of a specific directive for the protection of Ukrainians,” Nouris noted.

“However, along with the protection of Ukrainians there is also an issue regarding the security of the European Union, and it is for this reason that there is a particular focus on how the EU`s external borders are managed, particularly in the countries neighbouring Ukraine,” he added.

“It is well known that among the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians who have already crossed into the EU’s territory, there are several who should not have crossed the border,” according to Nouris.

“Nevertheless, at the moment what is most important is the humanitarian dimension of the issue” the Minister stressed, adding that “this is the lens through which we are approaching the issue”, and underlined that “we have activated all necessary mechanisms to also ensure security in the European Union”.

Meeting with Belgian Minister on DR Congo

On Friday, the Interior Minister also met the Belgian Minister responsible for asylum and migration Sammy Mahdi. Their discussion focused on cooperation between the two countries on arranging flights to return citizens of the Democratic Republic of Congo to their country of origin.

As noted in the statement, the first such flight, jointly organised by Belgium and Cyprus has already taken place, with the two Ministers agreeing to organise more at regular intervals. The aim, according to a statement from Nouris’ office, is to help Cyprus handle the recently increased number of arrivals from the country.

MoU signed with FRONTEX

Regarding the memorandum of understanding which Nouris signed with the executive director of FRONTEX, the Minister’s office said that this was an agreement to “increase returns of those people whose asylum applications have been rejected, which is one of the most important objectives for the Ministry of the Interior in the context of the effort to relieve the country of the burden created from increased flows of migration”.

Nouris thanked the executive director of FRONTEX, Fabrice Leggeri, for the agency’s support to Cyprus, and announced the creation of a Returns Office in the Ministry of the Interior “which aims to maximise the use of the assistance that FRONTEX provides, in order to simplify and accelerate procedures”.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Interior Minister Nicos Nouris officially signed the memorandum of understanding on migration that was recently agreed between the Republic of Cyprus and the Commission, as well as relevant EU organisations, during a meeting on the margins of the second day of the EU’s Justice and Home Affairs Council.

According to a post by the Permanent Representation of Cyprus on Twitter, Nouris and FRONTEX executive director Fabrice Leggeri signed a memorandum which “sets the cooperation between Cyprus and FRONTEX on a new basis, through a significant increase in support and in the organisation’s operations in Cyprus”.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The members of the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the European Union expressed their solidarity with the Ukrainian people during the second day of the meeting held on March 3rd and 4th in Brussels. Minister of Justice and Public Order, Stephie Dracou, who represented Cyprus during the discussions regarding justice, expressed Nicosia`s support for joint solidarity measures in the judicial sector.

According to a statement, the 27 ministers held a teleconference with the Ukrainian Minister for Justice, Denys Maliuska, who briefed his counterparts on the situation in his country. The Ministers of the EU expressed their support to the Ukrainian people and stressed that the Union remains united and on Ukraine`s side, providing all possible forms of assistance.

The ministers also exchanged views on a proposal, submitted by the French Presidency, to adopt common solidarity measures in the judicial field through the suspension of the application of judicial cooperation agreements between member states and Russia.

During the debate there was a broad consensus among Justice Ministers regarding these measures, which aim to exert pressure on the Russian government, while also examining the possibility of extending the measures to the field of civil and commercial law.

In her intervention, the Minister of Justice and Public Order expressed Cyprus` support for the proposal under consideration, as well as for the Presidency`s approach of applying this practice on a case-by-case basis, so that Member States exercise the necessary control to ensure this measure is not taken advantage of by criminals.

On a different note, the Council tabled the issue of the political governance of the Schengen area, with ministers continuing the discussions initiated at the informal Council held in France at the beginning of February.

The Minister of Justice supported the proposal to establish a Schengen Council at the highest political level and in this context supported the establishment of a European Schengen Coordinator, who would be able to make policy recommendations and propose priority areas for action to the Council.

This coordinator would also be able to monitor the implementation of the EU strategy and improve communication and cooperation with third countries.

Dracou made particular reference to the need for practical solidarity, in addition to financial assistance, to give additional relief to front line Member States through the redistribution of migrants and refugees.

She also expressed Cyprus` support to the proposal for the creation of a solidarity platform, which in times of crisis can address issues such as the instrumentalisation of migrants, a phenomenon that affects Cyprus.

The 27 ministers also exchanged views on the establishment of a European status for lawyers, which would strengthen the independent exercise of the profession and contribute to the preservation and promotion of the rule of law, while in the same context, they discussed the challenges faced by lawyers and whether there are examples of behaviour in the member states that cause concern or that hinder lawyers from exercising their role in defending the rule of law.

The Cypriot Minister of Justice stressed the essential role of lawyers in maintaining and protecting the rule of law, fundamental rights and the independence of the judiciary, both at European and national level.

Referring to the institutional framework in Cyprus, she explained that the legal profession is by law an independent body which is not subject to the control of the state, but instead has its own procedures for the registration of lawyers and the exercise of their profession.

On the margins of the Council, the Minister of Justice had a bilateral meeting with her Irish counterpart Helen McEntree, with whom she discussed matters of mutual interest.

During their meeting they discussed issues relating to incidents of gender-based violence and in particular measures to prevent and suppress femicide following the adoption of legislation by both countries.

They also exchanged views on best practices and operational tools to combat child sexual abuse on the internet and cooperation with providers to limit the dissemination of child pornography.

Source: Cyprus News Agency