Day: May 23, 2022

The European Commission has underlined the need for Cyprus to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and to accelerate the development of renewables, in the context of the European Semester for 2022, while also calling on the country to develop a more diverse and environmentally sustainable model for economic growth.

The Commission also calls on Cyprus to improve the governance of state-owned entities in line with international standards, to strengthen the supervision of the financial sector and to strengthen the legal framework for the enforcement of court decisions.

Also, in an assessment in the context of the 2022 Alert Mechanism, the Commission noted that the country is facing excessive macroeconomic imbalances. Also, it is pointed out, public and private debt rates were reduced due to the economic recovery achieved in 2021, with non-performing loans declining, but remaining high.

However, the Commission notes, the Russian invasion of Ukraine causes uncertainty due the country’s exposure to Russia through the sale of services.

The Commission assesses the goals of the country’s Recovery and Resilience Plan and and adds that the economy would benefit from:

– “improving the governance of state-owned entities in line with international standards”,

– reducing “overall reliance on fossil fuel and further diversify energy supply by accelerating the deployment of renewables, in particular by further streamlining permitting procedures and expanding

photovoltaics. Develop energy interconnections with neighbours, while extending and accelerating energy efficiency measures, including in the transport sector”,

– “strengthening the legal framework for the enforcement of court decisions and contractual claims”,

– “strengthening the supervision of the financial sector” and

– “making the country’s economic growth model more diverse and environmentally sustainable, building on the support of the national recovery and resilience plan and by implementing a long-term strategy”.

In the Commission’s assessment on the country’s national reform and stability programmes, it is noted that the county’s Recovery and Resilience Plan includes measures on “strengthening financial and fiscal stability to achieve a sounder banking sector, reducing risks related to private debt, improving supervision of the non-banking sector, and creating a more effective, efficient and fairer tax system”

The report also points out that the national plan works towards “increasing the efficiency and digitalisation of the public sector, including the justice system, and improving digital connectivity as well as introducing further anticorruption measures”. Also, the plan works towards “improving access to quality healthcare as well as enabling the digital health transition”, “increasing the quality of education and training at all levels, including digital skills, and fostering youth employment”, as well as “enabling and increasing recycling, building new and upgrading existing infrastructure to deal with inefficient waste and water management”.

Excessive imbalances, decline in NPLs, uncertainty due to Ukraine war

Executive vice president Dombrovskis said that the Commission analysed the macroeconomic imbalances for 12 member states in the 2022 Alert Mechanism report, and that Greece, Italy and Cyprus were found to be experiencing excessive imbalances.

In the case of Cyprus, the Commission notes in a communication that vulnerabilities in the country’s economy “relate to high government and private debt, large current account deficits and a still high stock of non-performing loans”.

“The government and private debt-to-GDP ratios declined again thanks to a strong economic rebound in 2021. Non-performing loans of the banking sector declined substantially thanks to large sales of such loans to credit acquiring companies but remain high” the Commission notes in its analysis.

Meanwhile, “the current account deficit is large despite an improvement in 2021, and moreover is projected to widen in 2022 and only slowly narrow thereafter, thereby not ensuring a prudent net international investment position over the medium term”.

“Government and private debt-to-GDP ratios are expected to further improve, in part on the back of economic growth” the Commission predicts.

However, it is pointed out, “the economic outlook for 2022 is surrounded by heightened uncertainty related to the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in view of particularly sizeable trade of services exposures”.

“If implemented timely and effectively, the RRP has the potential to contribute to a significant reduction of vulnerabilities, but additional policy action is warranted” the report underlines.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

FOR THE PERIOD FROM 0600 23/05/2022 UNTIL 0600 24/05/2022

Area covered is 8 kilometers seawards.

Winds are in BEAUFORT scale. Times are local times.

Atmospheric pressure at the time of issue: 1007hPa (hectopascal)

Weak low pressure is affecting the area. The weather will be mainly fine.

Visibility: Good, locally moderate

Sea surface temperature: 20°C

Warnings: NIL

AREA PERIOD WIND STATE OF SEA

West Coast

Morning Southwest to Northwest 4, gradually 4 to 5 Slight to Moderate

Afternoon Southwest to West 4 to 5, at times locally 5 Slight to Moderate, at times locally Moderate

Night Southwest to Northwest 4, gradually 3 to 4 Slight to Moderate

South Coast

Morning Southwest to West 3 to 4, gradually 4 to 5 Slight to Moderate, gradually Moderate

Afternoon Southwest 5 to 6, at times locally 6 Moderate

Night Southwest to West 5, gradually 4 to 5 Moderate, gradually Slight to Moderate

East Coast

Morning Southwest 3 to 4, gradually South to Southwest 4 Slight to Moderate

Afternoon Southwest to West 4, at times locally 4 to 5 Slight to Moderate

Night Southwest to Northwest 3 to 4 Slight to Moderate, gradually Slight

North Coast

Morning Southwest to West 3 to 4, gradually 4 to 5 Slight to Moderate

Afternoon Southwest to West 4 to 5, at times locally 5 Slight to Moderate, at times locally Moderate

Night South to Southwest 3 to 4, at times locally 4 Slight to Moderate

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Cyprus Foreign Minister, Ioannis Kasoulides, stressed, on Monday, the need for the implementation of the UN resolutions on Famagusta and for the reversal of Turkish actions in the fenced off city of Famagusta during a meeting with the UNSG’s Special Representative and head of the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus, Colin Stewart, which lasted for about half an hour.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Demetris Demetriou, has told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) that Kasoulides met with Stewart to express Nicosia’s dissatisfaction and annoyance for the new actions of the occupation authorities at the seafront of the fenced off area of Famagusta.

He noted that “these actions are contrary to the spirit and the letter of the UN Security Council resolutions as well as the recent presidential statements of the Security Council on Famagusta.”

Moreover, he underlined that the UN constitutes the custodian of the Organization’s resolutions and therefore “Kasoulides conveyed the need for the resolutions’ implementation and for the reversal of these actions.”

Varosha, the fenced off section of the Turkish occupied town of Famagusta is often described as a “ghost town”, and the UN Security Council resolution 789 (1992) urged that with a view to the implementation of resolution 550 (1984), the under the control of the United Nations Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus, should be extended to include Varosha. Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar, announced in July 2021 a partial lifting of the military status in Varosha and on October 8, 2020, the Turkish side opened part of the fenced area of Varosha, following an announcement made in Ankara on October 6. Both the UN Secretary-General and the EU expressed concern, while the UN Security Council called for the reversal of this course of action.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The European Commission’s 2022 European Semester Spring Package provides Member States with support and guidance two years on from the first impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and in the midst of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

The Spring 2022 Economic Forecast projects the EU economy to continue growing in 2022 and 2023. However, while the EU economy continues to show resilience, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has created a new environment, exacerbating pre-existing headwinds to growth, which were previously expected to subside. It also poses additional challenges to the EU economies related to security of energy supply and fossil fuel dependency on Russia.

Linking the European Semester, the Recovery and Resilience Facility and REPowerEU

The case for reducing our dependency on fossil fuels from Russia has never been clearer. REPowerEU is about rapidly reducing our dependence on Russian fossil fuels by fast-forwarding the clean transition and joining forces to achieve a more resilient energy system and a true Energy Union.

The European Semester and the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) – at the heart of NextGenerationEU – provide for robust frameworks to ensure effective policy coordination and to address the current challenges. The RRF will continue to drive Member States’ reform and investment agendas for years to come. It is the main tool to speed up the twin green and digital transition and strengthen Member States’ resilience, including through the implementation of national and cross-border measures in line with REPowerEU.

The country-specific recommendations adopted in the context of the European Semester provide guidance to Member States to adequately respond to persisting and new challenges and deliver on shared key policy objectives. This year, they include recommendations for reducing the dependency on fossil fuels through reforms and investments, in line with the REPowerEU priorities and the European Green Deal.

Fiscal policy guidance

The activation of the general escape clause of the Stability and Growth Pact in March 2020 allowed Member States to react swiftly and adopt emergency measures to mitigate the economic and social impact of the pandemic. Coordinated policy action cushioned the economic blow and paved the way for a robust recovery in 2021.

Policies to mitigate the impact of higher energy prices and support those fleeing Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine will contribute to an expansionary fiscal stance in 2022 for the EU as a whole.

The specific nature of the macroeconomic shock imparted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as its long-term implications for the EU’s energy security needs, call for a careful design of fiscal policy in 2023. Fiscal policy should expand public investment for the green and digital transition and energy security. Full and timely implementation of the RRPs is key to achieving higher levels of investment. Fiscal policy should be prudent in 2023, by controlling the growth in nationally financed primary current expenditure, while allowing automatic stabilisers to operate and providing temporary and targeted measures to mitigate the impact of the energy crisis and to provide humanitarian assistance to people fleeing from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Moreover, Member States’ fiscal plans for next year should be anchored by prudent medium-term adjustment paths reflecting fiscal sustainability challenges associated with high debt-to GDP levels that have increased further due to the pandemic. Finally, fiscal policy should stand ready to adjust current spending to the evolving situation.

The Commission considers that the conditions to maintain the general escape clause of the Stability and Growth Pact in 2023 and to deactivate it as of 2024 are met. Heightened uncertainty and strong downside risks to the economic outlook in the context of war in Ukraine, unprecedented energy price hikes and continued supply chain disturbances warrant the extension of the general escape clause through 2023. The continued activation of the general escape clause in 2023 will provide the space for national fiscal policy to react promptly when needed, while ensuring a smooth transition from the broad-based support to the economy during the pandemic times towards an increasing focus on temporary and targeted measures and fiscal prudence required to ensure medium-term sustainability.

The Commission will provide orientations on possible changes to the economic governance framework after the summer break and well in time for 2023.

Article 126(3) report on compliance with the deficit and debt criteria of the Treaty

The Commission has adopted a report under Article 126(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU) for 18 Member States (Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Estonia, Austria, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland). The purpose of this report is to assess Member States’ compliance with the deficit and debt criteria of the Treaty. For all these Member States except Finland, the report assesses their compliance with the deficit criterion. In the case of Lithuania, Estonia and Poland, the report was prepared due to a planned deficit in 2022 exceeding the 3% of GDP Treaty reference value, whereas the other Member States had a general government deficit in 2021 exceeding 3% of GDP.

The pandemic continues to have an extraordinary macroeconomic and fiscal impact that, together with the current geopolitical situation, creates exceptional uncertainty, including for designing a detailed path for fiscal policy. The Commission therefore does not propose to open new excessive deficit procedures.

The Commission will reassess Member States’ budgetary situation in the autumn of 2022. In spring 2023, the Commission will assess the relevance of proposing to open excessive deficit procedures based on the outturn data for 2022, in particular taking into account compliance with the fiscal country-specific recommendations.

Addressing macroeconomic imbalances

The Commission has assessed the existence of macroeconomic imbalances for the 12 Member States selected for in-depth reviews in the 2022 Alert Mechanism Report.

Ireland and Croatia are no longer experiencing imbalances. In both Ireland and Croatia, debt ratios have declined significantly over the years and continue to display strong downward dynamics.

Seven Member States (Germany, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, and Sweden) continue to experience imbalances. Three Member States (Greece, Italy, and Cyprus) continue to experience excessive imbalances.

Overall, vulnerabilities are receding and are falling below their pre-pandemic levels in various Member States, justifying a revision of the classification of imbalances in two cases, where also notable policy progress has been made.

Opinions on the draft budgetary plans of Germany and Portugal

On 19 May, the Commission adopted its opinions on the 2022 draft budgetary plans of Germany and Portugal.

Germany submitted an updated draft budgetary plan for 2022 in April, after a new government took office in December 2021. Also Portugal submitted a new draft budgetary plan for 2022 in April. The Commission did not assess the draft budgetary plan submitted by Portugal in the autumn of 2021, given that the State Budget for 2022 had been rejected in the Portuguese Parliament.

Germany’s fiscal stance in 2022 is projected to be supportive. Germany plans to provide continued support to the recovery by making use of the RRF to finance additional investment. Germany also plans to preserve nationally financed investment.

Portugal’s fiscal stance in 2022 is projected to be supportive. Portugal plans to provide continued support to the recovery by making use of the RRF to finance additional investment. Portugal also plans to preserve nationally financed investment. Portugal is expected to broadly limit the growth of nationally financed current expenditure in 2022.

Enhanced surveillance report and post-programme surveillance reports

The fourteenth enhanced surveillance report for Greece finds that the country has taken the necessary actions to achieve the agreed commitments, despite the challenging circumstances triggered by the economic implications of new waves of the pandemic as well as of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The report could serve as a basis for the Eurogroup to decide on the release of the next set of policy-contingent debt measures.

The Commission has also adopted the post-programme surveillance reports for Ireland, Spain, Cyprus, and Portugal. The reports conclude that the repayment capacities of each of the Member States concerned remain sound.

Employment guidelines

The Commission is also proposing guidelines – in the form of a Council decision – for Member States’ employment policies in 2022. Every year, these guidelines set common priorities for national employment and social policies to make them fairer and more inclusive. Member States will now be called to approve them.

Member States’ continued reforms and investments will be crucial to supporting high-quality job creation, the development of skills, smooth labour market transitions, and to address the ongoing labour shortages and skills mismatches in the EU. The guidelines provide steering on how to continue modernising labour market institutions, education and training, as well as social protection and health systems, in order to make them fairer and more inclusive.

This year, the Commission proposes to update the guidelines for Member States’ employment policies with a strong focus on the post-COVID 19 environment, on making the green and digital transitions socially fair, as well as on reflecting recent policy initiatives, including in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, such as measures to enable access to the labour market for people fleeing the war in Ukraine.

Progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals

The Commission remains committed to integrating the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into the European Semester. The 2022 European Semester cycle provides updated and consistent reporting on progress towards the achievement of the SDGs across Member States. Specifically, the country reports summarise the progress of each Member State towards implementation of the SDGs, and include a detailed annex, based on the monitoring carried out by Eurostat.

The country reports also make reference to the recovery and resilience plans of the 24 Member States which have been adopted by the Council. The support provided under the RRF underpins a significant number of reforms and investments that are expected to help Member States make further progress toward the SDGs.

In parallel to the Spring Package, Eurostat has today released the “Monitoring report on progress towards the SDGs in an EU context”. The EU has made progress towards most of the SDGs over the last five years of available data. Most progress has been achieved towards fostering peace and personal security within the EU territory and improving access to justice and trust in institutions (SDG 16), followed by the goals of reducing poverty and social exclusion (SDG 1) as well as the economy and the labour market (SDG 8). In general, further efforts will be necessary to achieve the Goals, in particular in the environmental area like clean water and sanitation (SDG 6) and life on land (SDG 15).

Members of the College said:

Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President for an Economy that Works for People, said: “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has undoubtedly put Europe into extraordinary economic uncertainty. This has resulted in significantly higher prices for energy, raw materials, commodities and food, and is hurting consumers and businesses. With this European Semester Spring package, we are looking to sustain Europe’s economic recovery from the pandemic, and simultaneously phase out our strategic dependence on Russian energy before 2030.”

Paolo Gentiloni, Commissioner for Economy, said: “Ever since the first weeks of the pandemic more than two years ago, the EU and national governments have delivered strong and coherent policy support to our economies, helping to sustain a swift recovery. Today, our common priorities are investment and reform. This is reflected in the recommendations presented today, with their clear focus on the implementation of national recovery and resilience plans and on the energy transition. Fiscal policies should continue to transition from the universal support provided during the pandemic to more targeted measures. As we navigate the new period of turbulence caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, governments must also have the flexibility to adapt their policies to unpredictable developments. The extension of the general escape clause to 2023 recognises the high uncertainty and strong downside risks in a situation where the state of the European economy has not normalised.”

Nicolas Schmit, Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights said: “The Commission’s Employment Guidelines are a vital aspect of Member States’ priority-setting and policy coordination for employment and social policies. In the wake of the pandemic, it is crucial that the Union and its Member States ensure that the green and digital transitions are socially just. The Commission’s 2022 Guidelines pave the way towards creating more and better jobs and promoting social fairness, which includes supporting the integration of people fleeing the war in Ukraine into labour markets.”

Next steps

The Commission invites the Eurogroup and Council to discuss the package and endorse the guidance offered today. It looks forward to engaging in a constructive dialogue with the European Parliament on the contents of this package and each subsequent step in the European Semester cycle.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

HAI ROBOTICS, the pioneer in Autonomous Case-handling Robot (ACR) systems for warehouse logistics, will exhibit its cutting-edge automation technology at LogiMAT 2022, Europe’s biggest annual intralogistics tradeshow, from May 31 to June 2 in Stuttgart, Germany.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220522005089/en/

HAIPICK A42T can reach a max picking height of 10 meters. (Photo: Business Wire)

The company will show how the ACR systems, a highly flexible goods-to-person solution that improves operation efficiency and storage density, could meet the current needs of Europe’s warehouses and distribution centers.

The live demo at Booth D71, Hall 3 will be led by HAIPICK A42T, the tallest robot in HAI ROBOTICS’ ACR systems that can reach a max picking height of 10-meters. Featuring a telescopic lift, the robot can also descend to as low as 0.28m to pick totes and cartons stored on the bottom level of the shelf. It can carry 8 loads to feed HAIPORT, goods-to-person workstation, in one move. The robot has been titled the “Best in Intralogistics” in IFOY 2021.

HAIPORT, also to be displayed at LogiMAT, is another warehousing efficiency and throughput booster. With the ability to load four to eight cases in only three seconds from a robot, and unload the same number of cases in five seconds at the same time, a single workstation is able to handle up to 900 cases per hour, an order-fulfillment speed that is 16 times faster than robot-to-conveyor belt transport.

ACR systems, “much more attractive”

HAI ROBOTICS sees the ACR systems a good fit for European users, especially in the age of e-commerce when more consumers are longing for faster deliveries and omni-channel shopping experience.

Mr Kai Ramadhin, the company’s VP of Sales & Marketing Europe, said: “HAI ROBOTICS solution provides more flexibility in terms of expansion ability, rapid deployment times and so on. So the sweet-spot of our solution is much more attractive.”

Mr Ramadhin noted the company is focused on creating a local network of system integrator, installation and service partners, so that any user of ACR systems can expect rapid and high-quality service wherever they are in Europe.

Since setting up its regional headquarters in the Netherlands in late 2021, HAI ROBOTICS has built a strong localized network in countries of France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the Benelux and the U.K.

The ACR systems are presented by its global partner Savoye at Log!Ville in Belgium in an initiative to make the high-density warehousing technology widely known to the European supply chain. The company has also teamed up with U.K.-based Invar System and Greece’s Voyatzoglou Systems to enable tailored service accessible to regional business operators.

When the market gets increasingly dynamic and volatile, the company sees the systems can bring users some key benefits, including:

1. Alleviating labor challenges

Through the automation of practices, warehouses can meet the demands of the modern world by improving employee productivity and filling job vacancies, when recruiting and retaining gets tough.

Robots also free workers from doing repetitive and labour intensive work in the warehouse. The ACR systems, for example, save a worker 40,000 to 60,000 steps of walking per day, on average, according to the company’s statistics.

2. Storage space utilization to save land investment

As warehouse ceiling heights have continuously risen, the ACR systems, with the max picking height reaching 10 meters, allow the warehouse to easily use the upper storage space. That may also save the user investment in warehouse expansion, in particular in countries where land costs are high.

3. Fast & flexible implementation, more affordable

Business owners are facing a fast-changing and less predictable market nowadays than ever before. The growing customer expectations for faster deliveries and omni-channel shopping experience are driving companies to rethink their supply-chain operating models. The ACR systems have the high level of flexibility to allow a project to be deployed within months, and can be easily scaled according to business volume. A warehouse owner can choose to scale operation by adding or removing robots without disrupting any ongoing operations since the ACR systems require no structural changes to an existing facility.

That also means the systems are more affordable, especially for smaller businesses.

In Europe, many small-to-medium-sized enterprises see a need for automation, but their limited budget does not allow them to spend years implementing large projects. The ACRs turn out to be a fit in that case too.

ACR systems allow any business to start automation small, and grow as business grows. Many of its subscribers started to customize their solutions with a few robots and adding more when their demand expands.

4. Ideal for the age of e-commerce

In the age of e-commerce, businesses across the globe need to deal with flurries of online orders, which often come scattered and in large numbers. Plus the need to shorten delivery time to improve customer satisfaction, they need to significantly boost the order-fulfilment speed of their warehouses and DCs.

E-grocery emerges to be the channel embracing the growth capabilities. According to McKinsey, e-grocery channel grew by more than 50 percent in 2020 – compared to 2019 growth – for key European markets, creating an even stronger need for efficient e-grocery fulfillment solutions. Smaller unit picks, mixed orders, and a high speed of delivery make e-grocery labor intensive and therefore ideal for automation.

The ACR systems can boost order-fulfillment efficiency when handling large SKU portfolio as well as small orders with a high share of single-unit picks in e-grocery warehouses.

In several micro-fulfillment centers in Europe, the ACR systems have been implemented to handle home-delivery orders as well as click-and-collect orders with contactless deliveries over the counter at the storefront.

ABOUT HAI ROBOTICS

HAI ROBOTICS, the pioneer in Autonomous Case-handling Robot (ACR) systems, is committed to providing efficient, intelligent, flexible, and customized warehouse automation solutions through robotics technology and AI algorithms. It aims to create value for each factory and logistics warehouse. The HAIPICK ACR system, independently developed in 2015, is the world’s first of its kind.

Founded in 2016 in Shenzhen, China, HAI ROBOTICS has offices in the U.S., Europe, Japan, Southeast Asia, Australia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, serving customers from more than 30 countries and regions.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, published today the ‘Sustainable development in the European Union — 2022 monitoring report on progress towards the SDGs in an EU context’,which provides a statistical overview of progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the EU.

The data included in the report show that the EU has made progress towards most goals over the last five years, in line with Commission’s priorities in key policy areas such as the European Green Deal, the Digital Strategy and the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan. While progress towards reaching some goals was faster than for others, movement away from the sustainable development objectives occurred only in few specific areas.

The unprecedented instrument of NextGenerationEU adopted by the Commission in response to the pandemic, and the reforms and investments envisaged by Member States in their Recovery and Resilience Plans, will make a major contribution to achieving the SDGs in the EU in the future.

Commissioner Gentiloni, Commissioner for Economy, said: “Europe is facing its second ‘black swan’ event in three years. But while managing the impact of the economic shock caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine must not lead us to lose sight of our goal of transforming the EU’s economic model. It must instead galvanise us to redouble our efforts to boost our resilience and the sustainability of our production processes and everyday activities. In this collective effort, the Sustainable Development Goals remain both our compass and our measure of success.”

Key findings

The report shows that, over the last five years, the EU has made significant progress towards five SDGs and moderate progress toward most others. In particular:

Like in previous years, the EU continued to make the most progress towards fostering peace and personal security within its territory, improving access to justice as well as trust in institutions (SDG 16). The share of the EU population reporting crime, violence and vandalism in their neighbourhoods has fallen from 13.2% in 2015 to 10.9% in 2020. Moreover, the share of the EU population considering the justice system in their country to be sufficiently independent, increased by 4 percentage points between 2016 and 2021 (from 50% to 54%).

Significant progress was also made towards the goals of reducing poverty and social exclusion (SDG 1), the economy and the labour market (SDG 8), clean and affordable energy (SDG 7), as well as innovation and infrastructure (SDG 9). In the area of poverty (SDG 1), available data partly refer to the pre-pandemic period and therefore do not yet fully capture the impact of the pandemic.

The favourable assessment of SDG 7 was strongly influenced by a remarkable reduction in energy consumption in 2020 (minus 8 % compared to 2019) as a result of COVID-19 related restrictions on public life and lower economic activity. Therefore, the EU was able to reach its 2020 energy efficiency target and, based on the progress achieved so far, appears to be on track towards its 2030 target. Moreover, the use of renewable energy has grown continuously, with its share doubling since 2005. By 2020, renewable energy accounted for 22.1 % of gross final energy consumption. However, imports of fossil fuels still cover more than half of the EU’s energy demand, and lower energy consumption recorded in 2020 is likely to be temporary.

Likewise, progress toward SDG 8 on the economy and labour market, for which the latest available data is 2021, was positively influenced by strong economic growth and labour market performance of last year. For example, the employment rate went up to 73.1 % in 2021, even exceeding its pre-pandemic level.

Progress towards the goals in the areas of health and well-being (SDG 3), life below water (SDG 14), gender equality (SDG 5), sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11), reduced inequalities (SDG 10), responsible consumption and production (SDG 12), quality education (SDG 4), climate action (SDG 13) and zero hunger (SDG 2) was moderate.

The overall assessment of EU progress for partnerships (SDG 17) and clean water and sanitation (SDG 6) was neutral, which means that they were characterised by an almost equal number of sustainable and unsustainable developments.

Finally, a slight movement away from the respective Sustainable Development objectives over the past five years has been found for life on land (SDG 15), indicating that ecosystems and biodiversity remained under pressure from human activities. While both the EU’s forest area and the terrestrial protected areas have slightly increased, pressure on biodiversity continued to intensify. As an example, the occurrence of common birds is an indicator of biodiversity because many of them require specific habitats to breed and find food, which are often also home to many threatened plant and animal species. Since 2000, the number of common birds is estimated to have declined by 10%. However, after many years of decline, it appears that the numbers of common birds have started to stabilise.

The EU SDG indicator set is reviewed every year. The indicator set for the 2022 report was reviewed to align with the 8th Environment Action Programme and the new targets of the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan. There is also an improved analysis of spillover effects covering CO2 emissions, land footprint, material footprint and gross value added generated outside the EU by consumption inside the EU. Finally, the report includes a specific analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on the SDG.

Background

Sustainable development objectives have been at the heart of European policy-making for a long time, firmly anchored in the European Treaties and mainstreamed in key projects, sectoral policies and initiatives of the von der Leyen Commission. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by the United Nations (UN) in September 2015, have given a new impetus to global efforts for achieving sustainable development. The EU has fully committed itself to delivering on the 2030 Agenda and its implementation, as outlined in ‘The European Green Deal’ and the staff working document ‘Delivering on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals — A comprehensive approach’.

Today’s publication is the sixth in a series of annual monitoring exercises launched by Eurostat in 2017. It is based on the EU SDG indicator set that was developed to monitor progress towards the SDGs in an EU context. The SDG monitoring report aims to present an objective assessment of whether the EU — according to the selected indicators — has progressed towards the SDGs over the past five- and 15-year periods.

Indicator trends are assessed on the basis of their average annual growth rate during the past five years. For the 22 indicators with quantitative EU targets, progress towards those targets is assessed. These targets mainly exist in the areas of climate change, energy consumption and education. All other indicators are assessed according to the direction and speed of change.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Cyprus received a SPAMI certification on May 20th in Monaco, for Lara-Toxeftra area. The Director of the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research, Marina Argyrou, attended the event for the first SPAMI publication and received the certificate on behalf of the Republic of Cyprus.

SPAMI lists 39 Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance in 11 countries, including Cyprus. The certificate received by the Department of Fisheries, verifies that Lara-Toxeftra as a SPAMI area is of great importance, as green turtles (Cheloniamydas) and Caretta Caretta turtles regularly nestle there.

This contributes to the preservation of the species in the Mediterranean Sea. Lara-Toxeftra area was included in the SPAMI list in 2013 by the Contracting Parties of Barcelona Treaty and it was successfully revaluated in 2021.

The Department of Fisheries expressed its gratitude towards the creators of the Programme for the Protection and Monitoring of Sea Turtles, Andreas Dimitropoulos, first Director and founder of the Department of Fisheries, as well as Myroula Chatzichristoforou, for founding and essentially contributing to the protection and preservation of the two species, as well as for indicating Lara-Toxeftra as a protected area since 1989.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

EU Green Week 2022 will take place from 30 May to 5 June 2022.

EU Green Week is an annual opportunity to debate European environmental policy with policymakers, leading environmentalists and stakeholders from Europe and beyond.

This year’s edition focuses on the European Green Deal – the EU’s sustainable and transformative growth strategy for a resource-efficient and climate-neutral Europe by 2050.

The Green Week hybrid conference opens on 30 May with a high level debate on what happens to the EU environmental policy in times of crisis.

The following day, three important aspects of the transformation – circular economy, zero pollution, and biodiversity, will be in the spotlight. Throughout the week, partner events will be taking place across Europe and beyond.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ioannis Kasoulides, is meeting with the Special Representative of the United Nations in Cyprus, Colin Stewart, on Monday morning, following the latest developments in the fenced area of Famagusta, Varosha. The meeting takes place at the Foreign Ministry.

Speaking to journalists on Friday, Kasoulides said that he intends to meet with Colin Stewart, to remind him that the Republic of Cyprus has responded to his request for certain actions for the benefit of the Turkish Cypriots, therefore “we demand a similar response from the other side, and not what we witnessed by the occupation forces” he added.

Answering questions, the FM said that in case of no progress over the Confidence Building Measures (CBM) more incidents will occur, like the latest one in Varosha. “We all need to realize that we must do everything in our power for the sake of the fenced off area of Varosha and this is what we are trying to do” he noted.

He also said that CBMs are under negotiation and that he will listen to other proposals but “for us, the backbone of the whole effort is to salvage Famagusta”.

Varosha, the fenced off section of the Turkish occupied town of Famagusta is often described as a “ghost town”, and the UN Security Council resolution 789 (1992) urged that with a view to the implementation of resolution 550 (1984), the under the control of the United Nations Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus, should be extended to include Varosha. Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar, announced in July 2021 a partial lifting of the military status in Varosha and on October 8, 2020, the Turkish side opened part of the fenced area of Varosha, following an announcement made in Ankara on October 6. Both the UN Secretary-General and the EU expressed concern, while the UN Security Council called for the reversal of this course of action.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

House President Annita Demetriou on Monday met with Slovak Ambassador to Cyprus Martin Bezák with whom she discussed the latest provocations in the fenced off town of Varosha by the Turkish occupied forces.

Demetriou condemned once again the provocations and noted that the Greek Cypriot side is focused on efforts to resume the talks for reunification in conditions of peace and security.

During the meeting, a press release by the House says, they reviewed bilateral ties based on mutual principles and the European identity and they agreed to enhance these relations especially on the parliamentary level.

House President thanked the Slovak ambassador for his country’s support on the Cyprus issue and the significant contribution to UNFICYP.

During the meeting they also discussed the situation the Ukrainian people are faced with because of the Russian invasion. Demetriou referred to Cyprus’ support and solidarity and talked about Cyprus’ invasion by Turkey in 1974.

Demetriou also said that the EU should show a unified stance as regards the refugee influxes.

Varosha, the fenced off section of the Turkish occupied town of Famagusta is often described as a “ghost town”, and the UN Security Council resolution 789 (1992) urged that with a view to the implementation of resolution 550 (1984), the under the control of the United Nations Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus, should be extended to include Varosha.

Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar, announced in July 2021 a partial lifting of the military status in Varosha and on October 8, 2020, the Turkish side opened part of the fenced area of Varosha, following an announcement made in Ankara on October 6. Both the UN Secretary-General and the EU expressed concern, while the UN Security Council called for the reversal of this course of action.

Source: Cyprus News Agency