Month: April 2022

Cyprus’ health professionals are ready to deal with a case of an acute hepatitis on the island, Head of Cyprus Paediatric Society Dr Michalis Anastasiades told the Cyprus News Agency.

He was invited to comment on the number of acute hepatitis cases of an unknown aetiology which appeared in infants and toddlers mostly in the UK the last days and whether Cyprus is ready to deal with cases. Dr. Anastasiades said that so far no such incident was detected or reported in Cyprus, adding that most of these cases will develop mildly. He reassured the public saying that these incidents do not cause any serious, permanent damage to the liver.

Dr. Anastasiades said that is most likely that the conditions of pandemic foster the outbreak of viral infections. He explained that because of the pandemic and the restrictions in place many of these infections did not appear and now due to the lift of restrictions they come back in an endemic form.

Asked if such cases are likely to be diagnosed in Cyprus, Dr. Anastasiades said that no one can be certain about it. He added however that he does not personally think that any cases will have an epidemic outbreak similar to Covid.

Dr. Anastasiades also said that last summer and beginning of Autumn we were faced with infections which mostly appear during winter and the same will most probably happen with viruses such as adenovirus which has high transmissibility. He said that symptoms include gastroenteritis and respiratory problems.

He said that so far 169 cases were detected around the world, 112 of which in the UK.

Dr Anastasiades said that the authorities globally are studying whether there is a certain mutation of a particular strain. He added that the situation is under assessment by World Health Organization and EU authorities. He also said that there is no correlation with COVID 19 vaccinations.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Total imports and exports of goods to and from EU states and third countries recorded an annual increase in January 2022, according to the Statistical Service of Cyprus, adding that there was an increase in the trade deficit.

A press release issued on Tuesday says that total imports of goods (from EU Member States and from third countries) in January 2022 amounted to €746.0 mn as compared to €590.6 mn in January 2021, recording an increase of 26.3%.

Total exports of goods (to EU Member States and to third countries) in January 2022 were €222.4 mn compared to €156.3 mn in the same month of 2021, registering an increase of 42.3%.

The trade deficit was €523.6 mn in January 2022 compared to €434.3 mn in the corresponding month of 2021.

Meanwhile, the European Union was the main source of supply of goods to Cyprus with a share of €520.8 mn of total imports, while imports from all other European countries totalled €47.7 mn in January 2022. Imports from the rest of the world amounted to €177.5 mn.

In addition, exports to the European Union accounted for €70.7 mn, while exports to all other European countries for €22.5 mn in January 2022. Exports to the rest of the world amounted to €129.2 mn.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

President Nicos Anastasiades travels to Estonia on Wednesday on an official visit during which he will hold consultations with the President and the Prime Minister and will sign an updated MoU on digital transformation.

A press release by the Cyprus Presidency says that the President, head of a delegation, and his spouse Andri , will be welcomed by the President of Estonia, Alar Karis, at the Presidential Palace on Thursday, to be followed by talks between the delegations of the two sides and press statements.

The two delegations will discuss the Cyprus issue and Turkish provocations, bilateral ties, the situation in Ukraine, EU-Turkey relations, energy, green economy and digital transformation.

On the same day the President will meet with the mayor of Tallinn and will attend an official luncheon to be hosted by President of the Parliament Jüri Ratas.

The President of Estonia will be hosting an official dinner for Cyprus President and his spouse in the evening.On April 29 the President will meet with Prime Minister Kaja Kallas. During the meeting an updated MoU on digital transformation will be signed which aims at enhancing Cyprus’ efforts for digital reforms in sectors such as Civil registry and migration and cybersecurity.

The President and his delegation will also visit CybExer Technologies, a company which specializes in cybersecurity issues.

Deputy Minister of Innovation who will be accompanying President in Estonia will also hold bilateral meetings.

President Anastasiades returns home on April 29.

The delegation comprises Government Spokesperson Marios Pelekanos, Deputy Minister to the President Kyriacos Koushos, Deputy Minister of Innovation Kyriacos Kokkinos and other officials.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The hope that the tourism movement that started during the Easter holidays will continue, so that this year will be better than the last, expressed on Tuesday Director General of the Cyprus Hotels Association, Philokypros Roussounides.

Roussounides told CNA that there has been tourism movement in April, mainly in the Pafos district and the mountainous areas, where bookings, on average, are expected to reach 50% of the overall capacity this month, while bookings during the Easter week were at around 60%.

As regards other districts, Roussounides said bookings were at lower levels.

He said that it seems, however, there are also tourist arrivals, that are expected to gradually increase, and, given the weather conditions, this could be the official start of the summer season.

Asked about how 2022 compares to last year so far, Roussounides said that in the first half of last year, due to restrictive measures in general due to the pandemic, there was almost no tourist traffic.

“Judging by the first half of 2021, I think we are at a better level, and we hope that this trend will continue in the coming months so that we can achieve our goal this year which is none other than having a better year than the previous one,” he said.

The head of the Pafos Hotels Association, Thanos Michaelides, told CNA that, during the Easter holidays the district’s hotels saw bookings rise to 60% of their capacity while, in addition to British tourists, there has been increased interest from locals as well. He said that the district has had visitors from the UK, Poland, Germany, Israel and other countries.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Roberta Metsola, the recently elected President of the European Parliament, has reiterated the body’s “full solidarity” with Cyprus in a letter to Dr Vassilis Mavrou, President of the Famagusta Association of Great Britain.

In the letter, seen by the Cyprus News Agency, Metsola has also reiterated the EP’s position regarding the reunification of Cyprus: it supports a fair, comprehensive and viable settlement on the basis of a bi-communal, bi-zonal federation with a single international legal personality, single sovereignty and single citizenship and with political equality between the two communities.

“We firmly believe that the sustainable resolution of the Cyprus issue would benefit all countries in the region and reiterate our call on Turkey to commit and contribute to a comprehensive settlement in line with the relevant UNSC resolutions. The EP regrets that the highest Turkish authorities have endorsed the two-state solution for political and nationalistic purposes and urges the Government of Turkey to commit to the UN Secretary-General’s call for renewed negotiations in concrete terms,” her letter reads.

Roberta Metsola has also pointed to the European Parliament’s condemnation of Turkey’s activities in Varosha and the warning that its partial “opening” weakens prospects of a comprehensive solution to the Cyprus problem, exacerbating divisions and entrenching the permanent partition of the island.

“The EP called on Turkey to transfer Varosha to its lawful inhabitants under the temporary administration of the UN, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 550 (1984), and to refrain from any actions that alter the demographic balance on the island through a policy of illegal settlement,” she has added.

The European Parliament President was responding to a congratulatory letter by Dr Mavrou on her election, in which he was also calling for a continuation and intensification of efforts to bring justice to Cyprus.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Cypriot Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday said Turkish businessman Osman Kavala should be immediately released pursuant to the European Court of Human Rights judgement.

Kavala was sentenced for life yesterday facing charges associated with the events of the Gezi park back in 2013.

“#OsmanKavala should be immediately released as per the legally-binding judgement of European Court of Human Rights,” the Cypriot MFA said in a post on Twitter, adding that “as an #EU candidate country and a #CoE member, #Turkey is obliged to abide by international commitments and respect human rights & international conventions.”

Source: Cyprus News Agency

At the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, the government debt to GDP ratio in the euro area stood at 95.6%, compared with 97.5% at the end of the third quarter of 2021, according to data released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

In the EU, the ratio also decreased from 89.9% at the end of third quarter to 88.1% at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021.

The government debt to GDP ratio in Cyprus decreased by 5.4 percentage points compared to the third quarter of 2021, and by 11.4 percentage points compared to the end of the fourth quarter of 2020.

For the euro area, the decrease in government debt to GDP ratio is due to an increase in GDP and a slight decrease in the nominal debt in absolute terms, while for the EU the nominal debt continued to increase slightly but was outweighed by the increase in GDP.

Compared with the fourth quarter of 2020, the government debt to GDP ratio decreased in both the euro area (from 97.2% to 95.6%) and the EU (from 90.0% to 88.1%). The decreases are due to the increases in GDP outweighing the increase in government debt.

At the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, debt securities accounted for 82.6% of euro area and for 82.3% of EU general government debt. Loans made up 14.2% and 14.7% respectively and currency and deposits represented 3.1% of euro area and 3.0% of EU government debt.

Due to the involvement of EU Member States’ governments in financial assistance to certain Member States, quarterly data on intergovernmental lending (IGL) are also published by Eurostat. The share of IGL as percentage of GDP at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021 accounted for 1.8% in the euro area and to 1.6% in the EU.

The highest ratios of government debt to GDP at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021 were recorded in Greece (193.3%), Italy (150.8%), Portugal (127.4%), Spain (118.4%), France (112.9%), Belgium (108.2%) and Cyprus (103.6%), over the EU average.

The rest of the member states had ratios lower than the EU average. The lowest were recorded in Estonia (18.1%), Luxembourg (24.4%) and Bulgaria (25.1%).

Compared with the third quarter of 2021, seven Member States registered an increase in their debt to GDP ratio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, nineteen a decrease, while the ratio remained stable in Germany.

Increases in the ratio were observed in Slovakia (1.8 percentage points), Czechia (1.5 pp), Latvia (1.3 pp), Bulgaria (0.9 pp), Romania (0.6 pp), Malta (0.4 pp) and Sweden (0.3 pp).

The largest decreases were recorded in Greece (8.3 pp), Cyprus (5.4 pp), Slovenia (5.0 pp) and Italy (3.8 pp).

Compared with the fourth quarter of 2020, seven Member States registered an increase in their debt to GDP ratio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021 and twenty Member States a decrease.

Increases in the ratio were recorded in Czechia (4.2 pp), Malta (3.6 pp), Slovakia (3.3 pp), Romania (1.6 pp), Latvia (1.5 pp), Germany (0.6 pp) and Bulgaria (0.4 pp).

The largest decreases were observed in Greece (13.1 pp), Cyprus (11.4 pp), Portugal (7.8 pp), Croatia (7.5 pp), Denmark (5.4 pp) and Slovenia (5.1 pp).

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The Republic of Cyprus aims to gain know-how from Estonia to Cyprus in matters of digital transformation projects, the Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, Kyriakos Kokkinos, told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), in view of the upcoming visit of Cyprus President, Nicos Anastasiades, on April 27-29, in Estonia.

During the visit, a Memorandum of Cooperation between Cyprus and Estonia will be signed, with the aim of strengthening the Government’s efforts towards the implementation of reforms in the field of digital transformation.

Asked about Cyprus-Estonia cooperation in the fields of e-government and digital transformation, Kokkinos said that “the goal of the Republic of Cyprus through this visit and the forthcoming signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation between the two countries is the transfer of know-how from Estonia to Cyprus in matters of digital transformation projects, which are currently being implemented”.

He further added that Estonia is one of the pioneers in the field of e-government, adding that “e-government is a prerequisite, it is high on our priorities as a State”. Kokkinos also stated that leaps have been made during the last two years through the cooperation which Cyprus is developing with Estonia, as it has already developed with the United Kingdom, Germany and Greece.

The aim of Cyprus is to accelerate e-government so that citizens and businesses are served online, in a digital environment that is friendly, easy to use and with a holistic approach, Kokkinos told CNA.

Regarding the relations between Cyprus and Estonia at the present stage in the fields of e-government and digital transformation, the Deputy Minister of Research recalled that Cyprus signed in 2016 a Memorandum of Cooperation with Estonia.

Now, this cooperation, he added, reaches a more formal, productive and comprehensive level, with specific areas of action in the areas of cybersecurity, planning a holistic life cycle of digital public services and the exchange of know-how between experts of the two countries e-government on specific projects.

In addition, Kokkinos stated that Cyprus has done remarkable work in e-government and that Estonia can also learn some things from Cyprus, mainly in matters of land registry and urban planning.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The Erasmus+ youth exchange programme “Youth 4 Health” took place from 14 to 22 April at Agros village of Nicosia district, with the participation of 68 young people from Greece, France, Hungary and Cyprus.

The programme was funded by the EU and was held under the Erasmus+ programme.

According to a press release, the aim was to direct young peoples’ lives in a more positive way through outdoor and sport activities, explore what healthy lifestyle means in practice, exercising in the right way and inspiring their peers to become more active and live a healthier lifestyle.

Participants engaged in sport and health programmes and through various activities understood better obesity issues, mental health and lack of physical exercise and were informed on ways to address problems that young people are concerned about.

Source: Cyprus News Agency