Day: June 28, 2022

If efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem continue, then the natural gas issue will continue too, said on Tuesday Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides, speaking before the House Foreign Affairs committee which discussed the EsatMed developments, its geopolitical significance and the external dimension of the «EuroAsia Interconnector».

Maintaining the Cyprus problem open, said Kasoulides, entails many unilateral actions on the part of Turkey which create even more problems.

Of course, he added, Turkey would be interested for the natural gas to pass through Cyprus, ending up in Turkey as it is the cheapest route from Cyprus, adding that “with Turkey’s positions and the toxic climate created, we cannot examine this issue at the moment.”

That is why we prefer the Cyprus problem to be resolved and for Turkey to have prospects to benefit from a solution, the Minister added.

Regarding Turkey’s participation in the Euro-Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF), Kasoulides said that a year and a half ago Turkey was hostile to Egypt and Israel and almost all the members participating in the EMGF. However, things have changed and Turkey does not seem to be interested.

To a question that since Cyprus which is a sunny country should fully utilise this property, Kasoulides said that one of the options is the agreement through the UN to fill most of the buffer zone with photovoltaic units so that Turkish Cypriots can benefit as well as Greek Cypriots, noting that the Turkish Cypriot community suffers frequent electricity outages.

Regarding the agreement between the EU, Egypt and Israel to increase the exports of natural gas to the EU, he said Cyprus is not outside the EU, Egypt and Israel agreement and that it is present through the EU.

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.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority (CERA) and the Regulatory Authority of Energy of Greece (RAE) renewed on Tuesday their cooperation through an MoU that had initially been signed in 2021.

As announced, both CERA and RAE have proved their commitment in continuing the excellent cooperation, which has proven to be significant for both authorities, in sharing expertise, as well as on regulatory issues.

During the meeting, a CERA press release says, the discussion revolved around the latest challenges that regulatory authorities are expected to tackle, as well as the major issues that need to be resolved.

Regional cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean was a subject of particular interest during the meeting, the press release adds.

During his two-day visit, the President of RAE will take part in the first “Cyprus-Greek Conference on regulatory issues”, which takes place in Larnaca on Wednesday, along with delegations of the Regulatory Authorities from Egypt and Israel.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The commercial viability study of the EastMed pipeline is not proceeding normally as Turkey is “interfering with the Nautical Geo ship conducting environmental surveys,” Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides told the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs, which discussed recent developments on the EastMed pipeline and the geopolitical importance and external dimension of the EuroAsia Interconnector project, through which the electricity interconnection between Greece, Cyprus and Israel is taking place.

At the same time, he said that Cyprus’ attitude “has not changed on the need to wait for environmental sustainability, because of the new development that has arisen from the war in Ukraine”, adding that “we are looking for other solutions”, such as the immediate solution for the extraction of natural gas from the fields of Israel, Egypt and Cyprus (confirmed Aphrodite field).

Kasoulides also said that Turkey has said with its “toxic rhetoric” that the new drilling rig it has acquired will remain in the Eastern Mediterranean and “we can certainly expect that when it is ready to come to harass either by drilling in what it considers its own continental shelf – the 4 blocks, 5, 6 – or to proceed to drill in the south of the Republic of Cyprus within the plots licensed to Eni and Total, in particular.”

“This will be a much worse development for Turkey,” he stressed.

He also said that it has been said that the Poseidon company, which is part of the Italian company Edison and has recently been French-owned and Italian-managed, wants to change the route of the EastMed pipeline so that it “can go over the border of the EEZ of Egypt and the Republic of Cyprus and proceed to Crete, bypassing the areas within Turkey’s reach to harass.”

“The Cypriot government has not given its consent to the change of route of the pipeline,” he said, adding that “so far no investor has shown interest” in the project and “this is a bad development in terms of viability.”

Noting that investment projects should be divided into immediate, medium or long-term solutions, Kasoulides said the EastMed pipeline “cannot be placed in the category of immediate solutions.”

The Foreign Minister said that in relation to other Cyprus’ fields that Glafkos is not ready yet, while the size of the Kalypso field, where the first drilling has been completed, has not been finally determined.

Regarding the Kronos field, Kasoulides said that Italian Eni is preparing for the first drilling and if it has a positive outcome then a second one will follow for confirmation purposes.

He added that if the pipeline is not viable, none of the three states can bear the cost because it would exceed their budgets.

He also said that there is also a way of transporting the gas by tankers on board existing infrastructure facilities located mainly in Egypt, adding that “we are looking at various other alternative solutions” in case the pipeline proves not be viable.

Referring to the Ishai field in Israel’s EEZ, which borders the Cypriot Aphrodite field, Kasoulides said that the two Governments reached an agreement to instruct the companies managing the two deposits to find a settlement and if they fail to do so within a certain period of time, the matter will be referred to arbitration.

Kasoulides also said the Cypriot government is planning a high-level meeting on the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF) on 14 October 2022 with the participation of the European Commissioner for Energy, adding that the meeting coincides with the ceremony for the onshore station from which EuroAsia’s electricity supply will start going to Egypt.

Furthermore, he referred to Turkey’s efforts to convince Israel to have a pipeline going through the Cypriot EEZ into Turkey, adding that Israel’s Foreign Minister told him that Israel has no such plans.

Moreover, Kasoulides said that the electrical interconnection is another environmentally friendly solution “because it answers the philosophy that you use natural gas that exists in the region to produce electricity.”

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Ankara sent on several occasions its seismic research vessel ‘Barbaros’ to Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), following the Republic of Cyprus’ decision, in 2011, to start exploratory offshore drilling. Among other actions, after May 2019, two Turkish drill ships, “Fatih” and “Yavuz”, conducted unauthorised hydrocarbon drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean, at times in areas licensed by Cyprus to international energy companies.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Today, the delivery of the first vaccine doses purchased by the European Commission’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) in response to the current monkeypox outbreak is starting, with an initial 5,300 doses arriving in Spain, out of the total 109,090 doses procured. It is the first of a series of deliveries that will take place regularly in the weeks and months to come to ensure that all Member States are ready to respond to the current monkeypox outbreak, prioritising the most affected Member States.

Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides said: “As of today, the first deliveries of vaccines in response to the monkeypox outbreak are arriving to the most affected countries. This is a European Health Union that responds in real time to new health threats and protects its citizens. This is the first time that we are, through our Health Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA), directly buying and donating vaccines to Member States. With HERA up and running, the EU has significantly reinforced its capacity to respond and address new health threats decisively.”

As was the case with COVID-19 vaccines, the vaccine doses are allocated on a pro-rata basis, according to the population of each country. Member States with higher number of monkeypox cases (on the date of conclusion of the contract) are being prioritised for deliveries, as agreed with Member States. The vaccines are delivered directly by the pharmaceutical company to Member States. Shortly after today’s deliveries to Spain, Portugal, Germany and Belgium will be the next countries receiving doses. Further deliveries to additional Member States will take place in the course of July and August.

From the onset of the monkeypox outbreak, the European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) has been, alongside other Commission services and Member States, closely following the evolution of the outbreak in Europe and supporting the preparedness and response efforts of all Member States. The purchase and donation of 109,090 vaccines, produced by Bavarian Nordic, is just one example of the support being provided to Member States.

It is also the first time that the EU budget is being used, through the EU4Health programme, to directly purchase vaccines to be donated to Member States.

Background

The European Commission is committed to build a stronger and active European Health Union that is prepared and able to respond to emerging health threats. The COVID-19 pandemic showed the importance of coordination among European countries and the added value of a common response in face of cross-border health threats.

Since 18 of May, around 2,682 cases of monkeypox have been reported in 23 EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden), and Norway and Iceland. Monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms very similar but less severe to those seen in the past in smallpox patients. The disease is endemic in West and Central Africa and it is spreading for the first time in Europe.

The European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) is a key pillar of the European Health Union and a fundamental asset to strengthen the EU’s health emergency response and preparedness. HERA was established in October 2021 to replace ad hoc approaches for pandemic response with a permanent structure with adequate tools and resources to plan ahead the EU action in case of health emergencies. HERA will anticipate threats and potential health crises, through intelligence gathering and building the necessary response capacities.

To execute this important mandate, HERA will fund the purchase through the EU4Health programme. The EU4Health programme is one of the main instruments to pave the way to a European Health Union and brings together all EU Member States, Norway and Iceland.

In its risk assessment the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) advised affected countries to consider early post-exposure vaccination, using the 3rd generation vaccine produced by Bavarian Nordic, to prevent the disease or make its course less severe.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

As COVID cases hike in Cyprus, the Cabinet decided on Tuesday to make face masks mandatory again in pharmacies, clinical labs and testing units.

A press release issued by the Ministry of Health says that a rise of all epidemiological indices as well as in hospitalisations due to new variants and sub-variants has been observed in recent days.

The Ministry urges citizens to use a face mask and sanitize their hands pointing out that personal responsibility is of the utmost importance.

The press release also says that the Ministry in cooperation with the members of the scientific advisory committee assess all data and if needed measures will be taken for the protection of public health.

Face masks in the above places are mandatory as of June 30 and the Ministry reminds everyone that a face mask was mandatory from before for all employees and visitors 12 and older in all hospitals, nursing homes, closed units, clinics, rehabilitation centers and public transport. The Ministry of Health advises the public once again to wear a face mask in crowded places especially persons who belong to vulnerable groups or associate with people who are at risk.

The Cabinet also decided to put a price cap in PCR tests at 30 euro from 50 as of June 30. The price for self-tests is at €1.70 per piece as of July 4 while the price per package is at 6 euros (for 5 pieces). All other existing measures for COVID-19 remain in place untill July 31.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The finals for the Chinese Language Competition 2022 “Chinese Bridge” for foreign students, high school and elementary school students took place virtually on Sunday, for the 2nd consecutive year.

A press release says that the Ambassador of China to Cyprus Liu Yantao in his address noted that since the introduction of the strategic partnership cooperation between China and Cyprus in various fields, the educational cooperation has developed rapidly and has become one of the main points.

He said that the Chinese government provides Cypriot students with scholarships to study in China each year, creating more opportunities for Cypriot students to learn Chinese, exchange experiences, and develop their talents.

Ambassador Liu Yantao stressed that, as the most important Chinese language competition in the world, the “Chinese Bridge” has become an important trademark of international cultural exchanges.

“Learning Chinese will open a window to understanding the development of present-day China and traditional Chinese culture and become an institution for enhancing exchanges and mutual learning between the ancient civilizations of China and Cyprus and for deepening friendship and of mutual understanding between the two countries”, he said.

Cao Li, Director of the Confucius Institute of the University of Cyprus also addressed the event.

In total, more than 80 contestants participated in this year’s competition. The final was attended by 32 contestants where they competed in 3 subjects: speech, knowledge quiz and talent show. The contestants not only showed their ability to express themselves fluently in Chinese, but also performed Chinese songs, guitar, traditional dance, recitation, paper cutting and more.

Awards were given for the first 3 places for gold, silver and bronze metal. Also awards for best eloquence, best performance, best creativity and popularity on the internet as well as other individual awards.

In the non-native Chinese language group, Elizabeth Vasilyeva, a high school student from the American International School, and Yulia Drepenkina, from the Junior School elementary school, won 1st place in the high school and elementary school groups, respectively.

In the Chinese-speaking team, Su La and Zhang Jiaxuan won 1st place in the high school and elementary school teams, respectively.

Filios Fylaktou won 1st place in the adult category.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The economic sentiment in Cyprus deteriorated in July, pushed downwards by weaker business confidence in services, industry and retail trade.

The Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) compiled by the University of Cyprus’ Economic Research Centre (ERC) declined by 1.4 units in June dropping to 99.8 units compared with 101.2 units the month before

“The decrease in the ESI-CypERC resulted from weaker business confidence in services, industry and retail trade,” the ERC said in press release.

In Services, the Confidence Indicator decreased as firms’ assessments of the past business situation deteriorated, while the Retail Trade Confidence Indicator declined marginally as firms assessed their recent sales more negatively and revised their sales expectations downwards, despite more favourable views on current stock levels.

Furthermore, the Confidence Indicator in Constructions remained unchanged as improved assessments of the level of order books were offset by more pessimistic employment expectations, the ERC added.

The decrease in the Industry Confidence Indicator was due to less favourable views on the stocks of finished products and more pessimistic production expectations.

The Consumer Confidence Indicator remained unchanged. Upward revisions in consumers’ expectations regarding the economic conditions in Cyprus and stronger purchase intentions were offset by a deterioration in consumers’ views on their financial conditions.

Moreover, the economic uncertainty in Cyprus declined for a third consecutive month in June, as a result of lower uncertainty among firms. However, uncertainty among consumers rose for the second month in a row.

Source: Cyprus News Agency