Day: August 17, 2022

Cypriot GDP increased by 6.1% during the second quarter of 2022 compared with same quarter the previous year, according to a flash estimate published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. During the first quarter of the year, there was an increase of 6.0% in the GDP compared to last year.

According to the same data, Cypriot GDP increased by 0.6% compared with the previous quarter. During the first quarter of 2022, GDP had increased by 1.3% compared to the last quarter of 2021.

Both in the euro area and in the EU, seasonally adjusted GDP increased by 0.6% compared with the previous quarter.

Eurostat recalls that GDP had grown by 0.5% in the euro area and by 0.6% in the EU, and employment had increased by 0.6% in the euro area and 0.5% in the EU during the first quarter of the year compared to the previous quarter.

Updated data on employment in Cyprus and several other countries were not available by Eurostat for the second quarter of the year.

Cypriot Finance Minister Constantinos Petrides wrote in a post on Twitter, referring to the Eurostat data, that Cyprus has marked the “5th largest increase in the EU, above the EU average” referring to the annual increase. Petrides added that the economy of the country remains resilient among the ongoing international crisis.

Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, seasonally adjusted GDP increased by 3.9% in the euro area and by 4.0% in the EU in the second quarter of 2022, after an 5.4% increase in the euro area and a 5.5% increase in the EU in the previous quarter.

Employment, when compared with the same quarter of the previous year, increased by 2.4% in the euro area and by 2.3% in the EU in the second quarter of 2022, after having increased by 2.9% in euro area and by 2.8% in the EU in the first quarter of 2022.

Eurostat also provides data regarding GDP growth in the United States for the sake of comparison. During the second quarter of 2022, GDP in the United States decreased by 0.2% compared to the previous quarter (after a 0.4% decrease in the first quarter of 2022). Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, GDP increased by 1.6% (after a 3.5% increase in the previous quarter).

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The Finance Ministry said it will prepare the 2023 state budget in two formats, in the context of the public service’s transition to the new management system Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP).

According to the Finance Ministry’s annual fiscal blue print, the Strategic Framework on Fiscal Policy, due to the dynamic nature of the ERP reform in the public service and the need for a smooth transition to the new state of affairs, the Ministry will prepare two budget documents, one in the traditional form and one in the form of an Activity Based Budget (ABB) “with a view to tackling any unforeseen technical situations.”

Speaking to CNA, Melina Catsounotou, Director of the Finance Ministry’ Budget Directory, said that the Ministry must make sure that the ERP system, which is necessary for the implementation of the ABB, will be ready so that an ABB budget proposal will be submitted to the Parliament.

“But we cannot risk not to submit the budget to the Parliament and so we have also prepared the budget in the traditional form as well,” she said.

Catsounotou said the final form of the budget document will be decided in the next weeks. Our aim is to submit the ABB budget but for whatever technical reason this cannot be possible we will submit the traditional budget, she added, noting that no final decisions have been taken yet, she noted.

The Finance Ministry official also said the main difference of the ABB and the traditional budget format is that ABB facilitates accountability, efficiency and provides more flexibility to the Ministries to monitor their budgets, facilitating better management of financial and human resources.

The ABB is considered as a mechanism used by various countries to promote better results in governance, Catsounotou added, noting that the big difference of the ABB budget is that it links the use of resources with the strategic planning of every Ministry and consequently the government as a whole.

The 2023 state budget is expected to be discussed by the Council of Ministers in the end of September. According to law on fiscal responsibility the state budget should be approved by the Cabinet and submitted to the Parliament by September 30.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Cyprus recorded a positive GDP growth during the second quarter of 2022, according to a Flash Estimate announced on Wednesday by the Statistical Service of the Republic of Cyprus.

It is noted that the GDP growth rate in real terms is estimated during the second quarter of 2022 at 5.8% over the corresponding quarter of 2021. Also, based on seasonally adjusted data and working-day adjustments, the GDP is estimated to have grown in real terms by 6.1%.

According to the Statistical Service, the positive GDP growth rate is mainly attributed to the sectors of “Hotels and Restaurants”, “Transport and Storage”, “Information and Communication”, “Wholesale and Retail Trade, Repair of Motor Vehicles”, “Arts, Entertainment and Recreation” and “Other Service Activities”.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Europe is expected to approve a COVID bivalent vaccine in September, that will cover both the original strain and the Omicron variant, Dr. Christos Petrou, Associate Professor of Pharmacology and member of the National Advisory Committee on Vaccination, told CNA, adding that the vaccine may be available in the last quarter of 2022.

Dr Petrou said that the need and optimal timing for further additional booster doses in autumn and winter with the tailored vaccine may vary from country to country, especially depending on the timing of the second booster doses in spring and summer 2022, as well as evidence of continued protection against severe disease in those who have received the second booster dose.

Professor Petrou also notes that future vaccination strategies may differ depending on the availability of updated vaccines and their characteristics, to add that countries may need to use different types of vaccines, for different strategies and population groups, depending on the characteristics of updated vaccines compared to those of the first generation and, of course, depending on the emergence of new variants.

He also stresses that it is extremely important to administer the 4th dose to people over 60 and to the vulnerable, as defined, and underlines that “they should not be complacent in anticipation of new vaccines, whenever they become available.”

Referring to the twin-dose vaccine, prepared by Moderna as a booster for adults and already approved in the UK, Petrou said that this vaccine covers the original strain and the ‘Omicron’ variant, and appears to provide sufficient protection against ‘Omicron 4’ and ‘Omicron 5’.

Asked about the approval of such a vaccine in Europe next month, Dr Petrou said it is possible that it could become available sometime during the last quarter of 2022, adding, however, that there are no clear timelines.

In addition, he notes that developments are also expected for a vaccine specifically tailored to ‘Omicron 4’ and ‘Omicron 5’, while the practice followed for the influenza vaccine could potentially be applied against coronavirus.

Asked by CNA whether there is a possibility that the vaccine against coronavirus could become seasonal, like the flu vaccine, Dr Petrou answered that “it is possible that the practice followed for the flu vaccine could be applied against coronavirus”, explaining that there could possibly be a twin or multi-valent vaccine platform and a strain could be changed to deal with the prevailing variant.

“Of course,” he notes, “the big goal is to develop vaccines that greatly reduce the spread and transmission of the virus.” According to Dr. Petrou, “this can probably be done with intranasal vaccination” adding that on this point the news from the studies are less encouraging.

Source: Cyprus News Agency