Day: September 1, 2022

Young people in Cyprus left the house of their parents on average at the age of 27.2 years in 2021, a little below the European Union average which was at 26.5 years, according to data released by Eurostat, the statistics service of the EU.

This average age varies greatly among different EU member states. In 2021, the oldest average ages, all at 30 years or higher, were recorded in Portugal (33.6 years), Croatia (33.3 years), Slovakia (30.9 years), Greece (30.7 years) and Bulgaria (30.3 years).

By contrast, Sweden (19.0 years), Finland (21.2 years), Denmark (21.3 years) and Estonia (22.7 years) recorded the lowest average ages, all under 23 years old.

In most northern and western countries, young people left the parental home on average in their early to mid-twenties, while in southern and eastern countries, the average age was in the late twenties or early thirties.

In the EU, on average, males left the parental household at the age of 27.4 years and females at 25.5 years in 2021. This trend was observed in all countries, which means that young women moved out of the parental household on average earlier than young men.

Men left their parental home, on average, after the age of 30 in 11 EU countries (Croatia, Portugal, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Greece, Slovenia, Italy, Malta, Spain, Romania and Poland) while this is the case for women in only two countries (Portugal and Croatia).

The widest gender gap was found in Romania, where young males left at 30.3 years and females at 25.6 years (4.7 year gender gap), followed by Bulgaria (3.5 year gap), with males moving out at 32.0 years and females at 28.5 years.

Sweden, Denmark and Ireland recorded the narrowest gaps between young males and females leaving the parental home: 0.4, 0.5 and 0.9 years, respectively.

The gender gap was more pronounced in countries where young people left the parental home later and less apparent in countries where they left earlier.

In Cyprus, young men on average left the parental home at 28.0 years and women left at 26.5 years, a difference of 1.5 years.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The UNESCO Chair on “Visual Anticipation and Futures Literacy towards Visual Literacy” was officially established at the Open University of Cyprus (OUC) in July 2022. Chairholder is the Associate Professor Vicky (Vayia) Karaiskou. OUC joins UNESCO’s prestigious universities network, and the award of this unique Chair through a competitive call builds on the work of Dr. Karaiskou on Visual Literacy. With an aim to enhance individual empowerment and support societal inclusion, transcultural empathy and solidarity the UNESCO Chair focuses on mastering the tools to comprehend the subtexts behind cultural visuals. Its research work will focus on the investigation and questioning of how cultural visuals mould our thought patterns and determine our relations with the past, the ways we experience it in the present and carry it in the future. It will, as well, develop and provide tools for emancipated and critical visual thinking and acting.

Main objective of the Chair is to run Visual Literacy workshops based on the Futures Literacy methodology, and design tools that will enhance and expand the impact of the workshops. The Chair will introduce the Visual Literacy methodology and tools to researchers at a variety of fields enhancing the impact of their work; to students of secondary and higher education; to active citizens; as well as to educators of all levels, enriching teaching methods and fostering the impact of their work. The Chair is committed to support the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which calls all countries, institutions and individuals to act urgently towards enhancing resilience for the sake of a peaceful and prosperous present and future.

The UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme was launched in 1992 intending to promote international inter-university cooperation and networking, and advance knowledge in key priority areas such as education, the natural and social sciences, culture and communication. The UNESCO Chairs and UNITWIN Networks conduct innovative research that addresses pressing challenges and contributes to the development of our societies; they establish new teaching initiatives; and promote cultural diversity and coexistence.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Lineage Logistics, LLC (“Lineage” or the “Company”), one of the world’s leading temperature-controlled industrial REIT and logistics solutions providers, today completed the acquisition of Grupo Fuentes, a major operator of transport and cold-storage facilities, headquartered in Murcia, Spain. The transaction was first announced on August 2nd, 2022.

Grupo Fuentes operates a fleet of over 500 vehicles and trailers, six logistics centers, a cold-storage warehouse, and value-added services supporting those facilities. It is also a founding member of Reefer Terminal, a strategic partnership to create an intermodal transportation platform combining road and rail cold-storage transport services.

With the close of the transaction, Grupo Fuentes and its 850 employees become part of Lineage. The Fuentes family will also take up leadership positions within Lineage and continue to drive the strategic direction of Lineage’s operations in Europe. Rafael Fuentes, the CEO of Grupo Fuentes, will focus on developing Lineage’s transportation service offering, where Grupo Fuentes already has a significant international presence. The Fuentes family will reinvest some of the proceeds from the transaction into Lineage, as a sign of their commitment to the business.

“I am delighted that we could move quickly from announcing the deal to finalizing it,” said Fuentes. “This allows us to begin the integration process between Grupo Fuentes and Lineage and realise the benefits that the deal will bring to our customers, employees, and the logistics sector in Spain and across Europe. Joining Lineage will allow us to achieve bolder ambitions than we could have achieved as a standalone company.”

Harld Peters, President of Europe at Lineage, said, “Spain is a major food producer in Europe, and our expanded presence through the acquisition of Grupo Fuentes is a key development in our plans to bring best-in-class cold-storage companies into the One Lineage family. This acquisition will connect the end-to-end supply chain for customers in Southern Europe and beyond, with facilities near food production centres and an extensive transport fleet that will allow us to offer customer solutions that extend throughout the entire value chain.”

Grupo Fuentes is headquartered in Murcia, with offices in Galicia, Madrid, Navarra, Valencia, and the Netherlands. The company counts some of Spain’s major food and retail companies as customers, with a significant share of the business providing cold storage, transport, and international transport services covering Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. Grupo Fuentes has a cold-storage warehouse in Murcia with 60,000 pallet positions and plans to expand the site with an additional 40,000 pallet positions.

Lineage first entered Spain in May 2021, with the acquisition of warehouses in Navarra and Asturias from Frigoríficos de Navarra and Frioastur. The acquisition of Grupo Fuentes and its transport fleet is a complement to Lineage’s recent expansion of its European warehouse facilities.

Deloitte acted as financial advisor and legal counsel to the Fuentes family. Rabobank and Seven Lakes Partners acted as Lineage’s financial advisors and Latham & Watkins and Garrigues were its legal counsels.

About Lineage Logistics

Lineage Logistics is one of the leading temperature-controlled industrial REIT and logistics solutions providers worldwide. It has a global network of over 400 strategically located facilities totaling over 2 billion cubic feet of capacity which spans 20 countries across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. Lineage has industry-leading expertise in end-to-end logistical solutions, an unrivaled real estate network, and develops and deploys innovative technology. This helps increase distribution efficiency, advance sustainability, minimize supply chain waste, and most importantly, as a Visionary Partner of Feeding America, help feed the world. In recognition of the company’s leading innovations and sustainability initiatives, Lineage was listed as No. 3 in the 2022 CNBC Disruptor 50 list, named a Deloitte US Best Managed Company in 2022, the No. 1 Data Science company, and 23rd overall, on Fast Company’s 2019 list of The World’s Most Innovative Companies, in addition to being included on Fortune’s Change the World list in 2020.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

An increase in lending rates and a drop in new loans was recorded in July, according to data published on Thursday by the Central Bank of Cyprus. The statistics are included in the August 2022 edition of “Monetary and Financial Statistics”.

The interest rate on loans for house purchase increased to 2.55%, compared with 2.32% in June. Respectively, the interest rate on consumer credit rose to 3.27%, compared with 2.89% in the previous month, while the rate on loans to non-financial corporations for amounts up to €1 million increased to 3.51%, compared with 3.36% in June. The interest rate on loans to non-financial corporations for amounts over €1 million registered an increase to 3.04%, compared with 2.89% in the previous month.

For deposits, the interest rate on deposits from households with an agreed maturity of up to one year remained unchanged at 0.05%, compared with the previous month, while the corresponding interest rate on deposits from non-financial corporations registered an increase to 0.07%, compared with 0.03% in June.

According to CBC, total new loans recorded a decrease to €302.3 million in July 2022, compared to €436.8 million in the previous month.

New loans for house purchase recorded a decrease to €83.2 million, compared with €103.8 million, while new loans for consumption decreased to €14.6 million, compared with €17.2 million in the previous month. New loans to non-financial corporations for amounts up to €1 million fell to €41.3 million, compared with €50.3 million in June and new loans to non-financial corporations for amounts over €1 million registered a decrease to €153.2 million, compared with €256.5 million in the previous month.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Discussions among the relevant EU institutions to examine how the EU-Russia Visa Facilitation Agreement, that was fully suspended on Wednesday during the informal meeting of EU Foreign Ministers (Gymnich) in Prague, will be implemented, will begin in the immediate future, according to a Foreign Ministry press release issued on Thursday.

During the meeting, the majority of the member states, including Cyprus, opposed a horizontal ban on EU visas for Russian citizens. Instead, European Union Foreign Ministers suspended the visa facilitation deal with Moscow, making it difficult for Russians to obtain visas to travel to the bloc.

This, said the FM, does not imply a visa ban. Instead, it will make the visa process more demanding. EU member states, the Foreign Ministry added, continue to maintain the right to examine visa applications by Russian citizens which they can approve or reject.

In the immediate future, discussions are expected to begin within the competent EU bodies to examine how to implement the decision, the Foreign Ministry added.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Approximately 275,400 individuals have submitted their tax returns for 2021, the final day of submission.

Another 4,300 returns have been temporarily stored, tax Commissioner Sotiris Markides told CNA despite the fact that there is a 100 euro fine for returns not filed on time.

He said the number of people who filed their tax returns was up compared to 2020.

Those who filed for 2021 amount to 275,400 (248,700 employees and 26,700 self-employed) while 4,300 have temporarily stored their returns.

Markides said the Tax Department was satisfied with the “increase in the number of Tax Declarations for 2021 submitted on time, as well as the whole process of submitting the Declaration”.

Cyprus News Agency

Today, the Vice-President for Promoting our European Way of Life, Margaritis Schinas is in Kyiv to discuss and reinforce the European Union’s support for Ukraine in the field of health, education, youth, and culture. Together with the Deputy Minister of Health of Ukraine, Oleksandr Komarid, the Vice-President will visit a children‘s hospital in Kyiv. The EU is directly supporting Ukraine in the areas of health via the Civil Protection Mechanism and the association of Ukraine with the EU4Health programme. To mark the first day of the new school year, Vice-President Schinas together with the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, Serhiy Shkarlet will participate in the re-opening of one of the local schools. The Vice-President will meet with the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk. He will also meet the Minister of Culture of Ukraine, Oleksandr Tkachenko to exchange about the preservation and protection of Ukrainian cultural heritage and the future EU assistance to Ukrainian artists, culture professionals, and cultural organisations. A joint press conference by the Vice-President and Minister Tkachenko will take place after the meeting.

EU opens new office in San Francisco to reinforce its digital diplomacy

Today, the European Union opens its new office in San Francisco, California, a global centre for digital technology and innovation. The office will reinforce the EU’s cooperation with the United States on digital diplomacy and strengthen the EU’s capacity to reach out to key public and private stakeholders, including policy makers, the business community, and civil society in the digital technology sector. High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell, said: “The opening of the office in San Francisco responds to the EU’s commitment to strengthen transatlantic technological cooperation and to drive the global digital transformation based on democratic values and standards. It is a concrete step to further reinforce the EU’s work on issues such as cyber and countering hybrid threats, and foreign information manipulation and interference.” The EU office in San Francisco will seek to promote EU standards and technologies, digital policies and regulations and governance models, and to strengthen cooperation with US stakeholders, including by advancing the work of the EU-US Trade.

Poland: EU opens medical evacuations hub to facilitate transfers of Ukrainian patients

Today, the Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic, is in Poland to officially open the new EU Medevac Hub for medical evacuations of Ukrainian patients together with the Ministers of Health of Poland and Ukraine. The hub is strategically located near the Polish city of Rzeszów, which hosts one of the closest airports to Ukraine. The new EU Medevac Hub, financed through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, is part of a broader medical evacuation scheme launched by the European Union in March 2022. The hub will offer a safe space for the patients arriving from Ukraine before they are flown out to receive treatment in a hospital in another European country. At the hub, the patients will be granted 24/7 nursing care, screening for diseases, vaccination and mental health support. The hub is also designed to facilitate the work of medical personnel as they tend for vulnerable patients arriving from Ukraine. The medical evacuation scheme includes two medevac flights a week offered by Norway, and transporting patients from Rzeszów to countries offering onward treatment. Commissioner Lenarcic said: “The number of wounded people in Ukraine grows every day, and hospitals already short in supplies are struggling to keep up with the needs. At the same time, the destruction of healthcare facilities deprives chronically ill patients of the treatment they need to survive. We cannot abandon these people. In response, the EU steps up its medical evacuation operations of Ukrainian patients with a new hub near Rzeszów, Poland. The Medevac Hub will play a key role in transferring the patients swiftly to hospitals across Europe. I want to thank all countries who have offered to accept the patients from Ukraine and help save their lives. This is a true example of EU solidarity.”

Executive Vice-President Timmermans and Commissioner Simson participate in G20 Energy Transitions Ministerial Meeting

Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal, Frans Timmermans, and Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson are in Bali, Indonesia, to participate in the G20 Energy Transitions Ministerial Meeting on Friday, 2 September. While the EU continues to pursue its European Green Deal, the Executive Vice-President and the Commissioner will discuss energy accessibility, development of clean and smart energy technologies and innovative ways of financing the clean energy transition with international partners. While in Bali, Executive Vice-President Timmermans and Commissioner Simson will both meet bilaterally with Australia’s Minister for Climate and Energy, Chris Bowen; and Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Nishimura Yasutoshi. Executive Vice-President Timmermans will also hold bilateral meetings with India’s Minister for Energy, Raj Kumar Singh; Turkey’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Fatih Dönmez; and Deputy Secretary of the US Department of Energy, David Turk. Commissioner Simson will meet several other counterparts in Bali as well, including Indonesia’s Minister for Energy and Ministerial Resources, Arifin Tasrif; and OPEC Secretary General, Al Ghais. She will then continue her official visit to Indonesia until Tuesday, 6 September.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The President of the House of Representatives, Annita Demetriou, on Thursday received the rapporteurs of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Armed Forces of the French Senate, Catherine Dumas and Isabelle Raimond – Pavero, with whom she discussed the Cyprus issue, the developments in the ?astern Mediterranean and the Ukrainian crisis.

Demetriou noted that the Turkish provocations jeopardize the efforts for the resumption of the talks that will lead to a solution on the island.

The members of the Senate are paying visits to Greece and Cyprus as rapporteurs of the committee for the preparation of a report on the issue of rearmament and alteration of the strategic situation in the Eastern Mediterranean that will be discussed and approved by the Plenary of the French Senate.

The House President, a press release says, underlined the importance of the close ties of friendship and cooperation between Cyprus and France, on the basis of common principles and in the light of the challenges that EU is faced with right now. Particular concern was expressed about the intensifying instability in the Eastern Mediterranean region.

The President of the Parliament expressed her appreciation for France’s principled position and firm support regarding the Cyprus problem, stressing the commitment of the Greek Cypriot side for the resumption of the talks in order to reach a solution on the basis of international law, the relevant UN Resolutions and European principles and values.

She noted that the unacceptable stance of the Turkish side for a “two-state solution” and the escalating Turkish provocations, both in the Cypriot Exclusive Economic Zone and in the fenced off town of Varosha undermine the prospects for a solution.

She said that Cyprus could be an example of peaceful coexistence, in conditions of security and respect for the human rights of all Cypriots for the benefit of the region and Europe.

Referring to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the President of the House emphasized Cyprus’ full support to the Ukrainian people on the basis of principles, referring also to her own painful experience as a displaced person, as a result of the Turkish invasion and the continued occupation.

She emphasized the need for European states to invest in diplomacy, dialogue and international cooperation as tools for conflict prevention and resolution.

The French senators reaffirmed their country’s firm support as regards the Cyprus issue and the solution on the basis of a bizonal, bicommunal federation, in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions.

Referring to the escalation of threats in the Eastern Mediterranean, Dumas and Pavero pointed out the militarization of Turkey’s foreign policy and the growing influence of outside actors in the region.

Demetriou also underlined the importance of keeping high on the priorities of the political agenda issues related to the defence of democracy and human rights, gender equality and women representation in areas related to security and defense and the peaceful resolution of conflicts, climate change etc.

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.

Cyprus News Agency

New Sovereign Base Areas Administrator, Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Peter Squires, was officially sworn in at Flagstaff House in Episkopi on Thursday.

A press release by the SBA says that the AVM, who has enjoyed more than three decades of service in the RAF having joined in 1989, spoke of his pride at taking up the dual roles of Administrator and Commander British Forces Cyprus, and said he was now looking forward to all that Cyprus has to offer.

As a pilot, whose career has seen him fly all over the world, AVM Squires is clearly keen to take on this new challenge, and speaking during his swearing-in he said: “It is an immense privilege and honour to be the Administrator of the SBAs and CBF. The sense of responsibility and the sense of expectation has been underlined by this morning’s ceremony and I must confess to a degree of nervous excitement at the prospect of what lies ahead.”

After finishing his previous tour as Head of Defence Operational Capability, AVM Squires was quick to pay tribute to his predecessor and said he was looking to build on his hard work, the press release reads.

“I have much to thank my predecessor for – Major General Rob Thomson – whose energy and passion were remarkable. His desire to work in a spirit of cooperation and a spirit of friendship were evident to all – principles I intend to emulate”, he said.

Outlining some objectives for the next two years AVM said “clearly, it is too early to offer anything specific, but I can say this, for those who live and work in the SBAs, I want you to feel valued and your voice to be heard and I want the SBAs to make a positive contribution to the citizens and Government of the Republic of Cyprus’’.

“We have shared opportunities and, undoubtedly, will face shared challenges. I am looking forward to working with the local communities and with members of the government, as part of our collective responsibility to look after this jewel of an island for future generations’’, he said.

He was also keen to highlight the importance of the team he has around him, both from a work and family perspective, according to the press release.

“I will not be doing this alone. I have an excellent team in the SBAs bringing this to life and I know I have excellent support from community leaders and RoC Government officials and ministers who will help me in my journey. I have much to understand and much to learn from you all. I also have the fabulous support of my family. We are all very excited about being here and can’t wait to immerse ourselves in all that Cyprus has to offer,” the AVM concluded.

Cyprus News Agency

Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign and European Affairs, Harris Georgiades, met on Thursday with the members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Armed Forces of the French Senate, Catherine Dumas and Isabelle Raimond – Pavero, who are paying visits to Greece and Cyprus as rapporteurs of the committee for the preparation of a report on the issue of rearmament and alteration of the strategic situation in the Eastern Mediterranean.

According to a House press release, Georgiades pointed the need to strengthen the role of the European Union and its member states, especially France, in the Eastern Mediterranean region, because of the potential effects of the developments taking place in the region.

He pointed out the obvious parallels between Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and that of Turkey in Cyprus and the Aegean. Georgiades said that Cyprus fully supports Ukraine, on the basis of principles, and criticized at the same time the approach of the EU, based on which violations of international law by authoritarian regimes are ignored for the sake of dependencies and economic interests, as he said.

As regards the migration crisis, the Cyprus parliamentarian pointed EU’s inability to draw a common line on this issue. He spoke of the disproportionate pressure and burdens on Cyprus which is faced with huge influxes of migrants from Turkey who end up in the Cyprus Republic via the occupied areas.

Pavero in her statements spoke of the close ties and the high level of cooperation between France and Cyprus, especially in the field of defense. She underlined that France condemns any violation of the sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus by Turkey, pointing out the need for the EU to play a more active role in the negotiations to solve the Cyprus problem.

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.

Cyprus News Agency