Updates from Cyprus
President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades hosted a dinner on Saturday in honour of Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel.
The dinner was hosted in the President’s Limassol residence, in the presence of the two men’s spouses.
A Presidency press release said during the dinner, President Anastasiades and Premier Bettel continued the discussion on the issues that are on the agenda of Bettel’s visit.
Source: Cyprus News Agency
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ioannis Kasoulides, will participate in the teleconference of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus, Greece, Israel and the USA, in the 3+1 format, which will take place on Monday, May 9, 2022.
According to a Foreign Ministry announcement, the Foreign Ministers’ discussions are expected to focus, inter alia, on practical ways to strengthen multilateral cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean in a wide range of areas, as well as on individual initiatives and programs in the fields of energy, climate change and green development, and other current regional and international issues of common interest.
Source: Cyprus News Agency
The readiness of services in battling fires will be reaffirmed during a meeting that will be held on Monday under President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades.
Interior Minister Nicos Nouris told reporters on Sunday that just like every year, everything that needed to be done for the prevention of fires has been done.
Speaking after the memorial service of EOKA liberation struggle heroes Michalakis Karaoli and Andreas Demetriou in Palechori, the Interior Minister said that during Monday’s meeting “we will express our readiness to the President of the Republic to tackle fires”.
All services (Forestry Department, Fire Service, the Ministry of Interior) and the Civil Defence are ready, he added.
Tomorrow’s meeting will reconfirm the readiness so we do not have unforeseen problems and be able to handle any issues, he noted.
The Minister also said everyone is expecting that with the conclusion of the meeting there will be a short period of adaptation and implementation of any new decisions taken”.
Source: Cyprus News Agency
Cyprus’ main issue is the illegal invasion and continued occupation of the island’s northern third, said Interior Minister Nicos Nouris, pledging that President Nicos Anastasiades will continue to work for a fair and functionable reunification of the island, demanding the resumption of talks.
In a speech at the memorial service of the EOKA Liberation struggle heroes Michalakis Karaoli and Andreas Demetriou, at Palechori village, Nours said we pay tribute to those who sacrificed themselves for the freedom of Cyprus.
Noting the 1955-1959 liberation struggle was not the last struggle Cyprus faced, Nouris said 66 years after the heroes sacrifice, we continue to demand our lawful sovereign rights at the international fora.
Despite Turkey’s tactics, he said, “we repeat that Cyprus’ problem is one of illegal invasion and continued occupation and President Nicos Anastasiades will continue to work for a fair and functional reunification of our country, demanding the resumption of negotiations”.
He added that the occupation power, Turkey, is clearly pursuing a de facto division and annexation of half of our homeland, undermining efforts for a fair solution to the Cyprus problem.
Nouris also pledged readiness to undertake political initiatives in resuming discussions for a solution to the Cyprus problem, proposing Confidence Building Measures.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
Source: Cyprus News Agency
Cyprus’ services sector cannot be further affected by European sanctions against Russia, Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said on Sunday, adding that sanctions cannot have a more negative impact on member states than on Russia itself.
Kasoulides was speaking on the sidelines of the Europe Day celebrations, which took place on Sunday morning at Eleftheria Square, in the centre of Nicosia.
Asked about the agenda of the online meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Cyprus, Greece, Israel and the United States on Monday, May 9, the Foreign Minister said that the topics identified are the contribution to the security and stability of the region, economic issues, climate and natural disasters, with Cyprus’ intervention focusing on the blue economy.
Kasoulides added that the online meeting will be followed by a meeting with a physical presence of the parties involved, by the end of the year. “I believe that we will come up with some decisions to launch actions, which will be monitored by experts and the deliverables of which will be the subject of the next meeting” he added.
Asked about the content of Cyprus’ intervention before its European partners in the forthcoming Foreign Affairs Council, in Brussels, the Minister said that “I will focus on what has been proven, namely the unity of the European Union, with which we acted immediately in response to Russia’s invasion and we are participating and contributing to this unity.”
“Because the packages of restrictive measures are increasing, the aggregate effect is also increasing with them, something that the European Commission must take into account when it comes up with proposals, because it must know what the particularities of each member state are. The sanctions are being introduced to be our protest, to stop Russia’s war machine from interfering in Ukraine. These sanctions cannot have more of a negative effect on member states than on Russia itself,” he said.
Asked to comment on the insecurity that currently pervades the commercial world of Cyprus as the sixth package of sanctions specifically targets services and with Cyprus’ services being directly linked to Russian funds, Kasoulides said that “huge efforts have been made to protect our services sector from disproportionate decisions in what concerns us because other member states are facing other problems. For example, we do not have the problem of importing gas or oil from Russia, while others are much more dependent. But we have three sectors, tourism, which has been hit, shipping and services, these cannot be hit further”.
Finally, when asked whether Cyprus would support the removal of the necessary unanimity for decision-making in the European Council, the Foreign Minister said that small states cannot accept such a proposal. “There are other very serious issues where many member states have special interests in other areas, not only in the field of foreign policy. Cyprus is in favour of unanimity in the field of foreign policy” he concluded.
Source: Cyprus News Agency
Maintaining peace on the European continent and cooperation between member states for a better future were the main messages of Europe Day celebrations, which took place on Sunday, 8 May, at Eleftheria Square, in Nicosia.
In his introductory speech, the Mayor of Nicosia, Constantinos Yiorkadjis, said that Cyprus as an EU Member State has managed many crises for the benefit of its citizens.
“We have benefited significantly as a state and as societies from the benefits of the Union’s regional policy, which is a true example of European solidarity. The contribution of these European funds for Nicosia is reflected here in particular with the redevelopment of Eleftheria Square, but also the centre of the capital in general,” he added.
“Today, more than ever before, there is a need for Europe to stand united and in solidarity with Ukraine. At such times we have a duty towards our common history to remember that we are both Europeans and patriots because that is what Europe is, united in its diversity,” he added.
Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said that today the peoples of Europe need a united Europe more than ever, as the continent faces internal and external challenges and threats.
“We Cypriots recognize that our participation in the EU is extremely important for our security, stability and prosperity. It is our duty to work together with our partners to ensure peace, stability and prosperity in Europe and the world,” he added.
“The Russian invasion in Ukraine obliges us to remain united. We need a new security architecture, we need a new concept on the European project and that is what we are going to do. The Ambassador of Ukraine is present today, we have applauded him not only as a gesture of solidarity, but also for the heroism of the Ukrainian people. This people is subjected to a barbarous attack and yet they are resilient, they are resistant, and they are admired”, he added, referring to developments in Ukraine.
Head of the European Parliament Office in Cyprus Andreas Kettis said that the building of common supranational institutions, such as the European Parliament and the European Commission, founded the European Union and guarantee the continuation of the many benefits that citizens in all 27 member states of the Union enjoy today.
“The European Union stands with one voice on the side of Ukraine and the European Parliament is doing everything it can to support the Ukrainian people in defending the national sovereignty and integrity of the country. This year’s Europe Day therefore is even more significant as an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to peace, to show our solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people and to uphold universal values such as freedom and democracy in a rules-based world order” he added.
Ambassador Salina Grenet-Catalano of France, on behalf of the country holding the current six-month Presidency of the Council of the European Union, said that the war Russia launched against Ukraine shows that Europe still needs to fully protect its values and faced with this challenge the Union has proven its strength during the past weeks. “We have been able to react promptly and unanimously to this war by putting in place an unprecedented sanctions regime to push Russia to agree on a ceasefire. Even though this war affects our economies, we must stand together if Europe is to emerge stronger” she said.
“We must move towards a greener, more independent and more efficient Europe. We need also to move towards a more humanistic and more democratic Europe, a Europe that really listens to its citizens. Tomorrow on Europe Day we will know the conclusions of the Conference on the Future of Europe and I hope that this unprecedented democratic exercise will enable us to build a stronger Union for the decades to come,” the French diplomat underlined.
The Head of the European Commission Representation in Cyprus Myrto Zabarta stressed that the focus should now be on the Europe of the future, “a Europe that protects, that encourages, that reflects the wishes of our citizens, especially the young people to whom this year is dedicated. The European Year of Youth 2022 aims to involve young people in key consultation processes and focuses on restoring positive prospects for young people in Europe.”
“The time has come for the EU to become a social union with strong rights for all workers, with equality between men and women, with quality and safe work, taking effective measures to tackle youth unemployment, income inequality and the huge differences in living conditions and social security,” she said.
Commissioner for the Citizen Panayiotis Sentonas said that democracy and peace are not a given and the ongoing war in Ukraine is a painful reminder, adding that “what keeps Europe together and makes it strong is its democratic vitality, that it is based on democratic principles and that it has the rule of law at its core”.
He also welcomed the 2022 European Year of Youth and, as the body responsible for the implementation of the relevant actions in Cyprus, he said that his office issued a general call for participation in this effort, inviting young people to submit their proposals for a better Europe.
Finally, the Rector of the University of Cyprus, Tasos Christofides, stated in his speech that the European family is called upon to make the necessary transitions to ensure peace, to translate political developments in order to safeguard the interests of its member states and to protect its citizens as a whole.
“The EU has a lot to offer to European citizens. As Rector of the University of Cyprus, as an academic, I experience Europe’s contribution in the areas of development, research and the promotion of expanded synergies. Europe is many things, we only need to look around us in our own country carefully how many infrastructure projects have received EU funding,” he added.
“It is well known that states do not have positions of principle, but positions of interest. But those who have positions of principle are the citizens, who see the principles of freedom, equality, justice, social justice as fundamental ones. These principles must be the basis of the EU’s construction”, he concluded.
Source: Cyprus News Agency