Day: October 20, 2022

European University Cyprus and the Cyprus Integrity Forum have organized an interactive debate on the 13th of October 2022 at the “Start-Up Center powered by Microsoft”.

The event marked the beginning of a series of interesting events that will be jointly organised between EUC and CIF in the future, under the Memorandum of Understanding that has been signed earlier in this year.

Opening statements were given by Dr Pieris Chouris, Dean of the School of Business at EUC, and Mr Marios Skandalis, Chairman of CIF, both sharing their enthusiasm for this promising collaboration between the two institutions. Mr Skandalis initiated his speech by welcoming the guests and went on to describe the mission and the goals of the Cyprus Integrity Forum, as well as future plans of the organisation and especially for the support given to all organizations residing in Cyprus via the prestigious Business Integrity Forum.

The focus of this joint event was on highlighting issues of Business Ethics and Corporate corruption in Cyprus and Internationally, as well as discussing a variety of integrity concepts affecting business and society. The guest speakers were Ms. Victoria Penrice, Honourable President of the Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland, and Ms. Anna Daroy, Independent board Consultant and Non-Executive Director, Chair of the Board of Governors, Warwickshire College Group and Former CEO of the Institute of Directors and Government of Jersey. Their knowledge, expertise and remarkable insight in the real challenges of corporate integrity and governance, captivated the audience and ignited interesting questions and feedback.

In addition, the insightful presentation on “Money Laundering and Cyprus Cases” by the host speaker and professor Dr Simona Mihai-Yiannaki, contributed significantly into a very rewarding content for all participants. Finally, the closing statement by the Vice-Chair to the CIF Boad Ms Elena Tanou was focusing on Gender Issues and Inequalities and added value to an already enlightening event. The audience, a mixture of business executives, professors and business students were captivated by the speakers and presenters and were eager to participate in the discussion with challenging questions.

The event closed with a networking cocktail gathering at the premises, in which everyone had the opportunity to socialise and exchange more information and views.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Presidential Commissioner, Photis Photiou, visited on Wednesday Turkish occupied Rizokarpaso, where he had the chance to talk to several inhabitants of the small town and thoroughly discuss with them the problems they have been facing.

According to a press release issued by the Presidency, Photiou underlined that the government supports every effort that reinforces quality of education in Rizokarpaso schools and the efforts of the community’s inhabitants to continue to live there and live in a decent way in the occupied ancestral homes.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The promotion of regional cooperation with neighbouring states, both within and outside the European Union, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, which have a presence in the Eastern Mediterranean, is a strategic priority for Cyprus, Defence Minister Charalambos Petrides said on Thursday, adding that Turkey’s provocative actions in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and the unprecedented rhetoric of direct threats from Ankara require that we remain constantly vigilant.

In his address at the final phase of the “IRIS 2022” exercise, which was held at the Kalo Chorio firing range in Larnaca, the Defence Minister expressed “great satisfaction and pride in noting once again the high level of training, professionalism and efficiency of the National Guard personnel. The real advantage lies in the quality of the human resources and their flourishing morale. It is widely known that the National Guard personnel are the spearhead and an important force multiplier,” he said.

He added that the exercise held today “is the culmination of a continuous and strenuous effort. But this is a one-way street if we seek high operational readiness”, noting that the National Guard personnel “prove in practice that the National Guard is a serious deterrent factor in the effort to safeguard the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus and a worthy defender of our homeland against any aggression.”

We are moving forward, he continued, “with co-training both in Cyprus and abroad and we clearly see the extroversion. We have signed agreements with more than 15 countries and the National Guard is providing its personnel with co-training and new experiences,” he said, adding that “this is the direction we are moving in to ensure the integrity of our Republic.”

Petrides also said that “we are closely following the medium-term armament programme in order to make the National Guard a small, flexible semi-professional army with state-of-the-art systems. We have gradually increased the budget for defence and this year we have the highest budget in the last 20 years.”

Asked to elaborate further on the arms programmes, the Defence Minister said that it has already been announced “that the installation of the Green Line electronic system has progressed and is proceeding at a rapid pace. We have already made the new purchases of helicopters but we have also made some contracts which are not to be made public,” he said.

For his part, the Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Demokritos Zervakis, congratulated the personnel for the exercise and added that “all these days we have been exercising not only here but all over the free areas of Cyprus. We showed our capabilities, we proved that we know what we can do, the Cypriot people can sleep soundly and be proud of the National Guard.”

As the Lieutenant General said, “especially in this period, during which we are experiencing the deeds and the threats and provocative actions of Turkey on land, sea and air, beyond any concept of international law, with the completion of the final phase of “IRIS – 2022″ we declare to all directions that the security of the Republic of Cyprus is in the hands of capable and determined soldiers. We defend the national sovereignty and sovereign rights of our homeland, we ensure deterrence, which is our main mission, and if it fails, then we will achieve victory.”

Asked whether we are ready for any eventuality, the Chief of the General Staff replied that “we are ready to face anything that might occur and provide options to our political leadership.”

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Cyprus absorbed 80% of its European funds in 2021, is a net recipient of €461 mln since accession, Lazarou says

Member of the European Court of Auditors, Lazaros Lazarou said Thursday that Cyprus has absorbed 80% of its European funds for the programming period 2014-2020, adding that between 2004 -when the country became a full EU member state-until the end of 2021, Cyprus is a net recipient of approximately 461 million euro.

The ECA member was speaking at the joint meeting of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Financial and Budgetary Affairs and the Committee on Development Plans and Public Expenditure Control where he presented his 2021 annual report.

Lazarou, whose term in office ends on the 1st of November, said that Cyprus is doing very well in terms of absorption of funds adding that until the end of September the percentage reached around 80% of the absorption for the previous programming period 2014 – 2020. He pointed out that for that particular period there is room for further absorption of funds until the end of 2023.

In 2021, he said, Cyprus was a net recipient of around 133 million euro of the EU budget.

Lazarou pointed out that every year there is a variation as to whether a country is a contributor or a recipient, as “some years we are net contributors and some years net recipients”. He added that since 2004 when Cyprus joined the EU until the end of 2021 Cyprus was a net recipient, of approximately 461 million euro, in total.

Concluding, Lazarou said that for the period between 2021 – 2027 which includes NextGeneration EU and part of which is the Recovery and Resilience mechanism, Cyprus will receive a total of 2.9 billion euro, of which 1.2 billion euro is for the NextGeneration EU.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The European Commission and the Goethe Institute inaugurated the new office of the EU Scholarship Programme for the Turkish Cypriot community, according to a press release.

The new building is located in the Turkish-occupied part of Nicosia, and will be open to the public.

“This inauguration fulfils our objective of bringing the Turkish Cypriot community closer to the EU” said Director General for Structural Reform Support, Mario Nava.

“This building is part of a strategy to create access, inclusion and a sense of belonging by placing the educational and training needs of the community at the centre. We want to ensure that all Turkish Cypriots have access to information and take advantage of the programme when deciding about what and where to study in another EU country” he added.

The EU Scholarship Programme for the Turkish Cypriot community was established in 2007 and has offered more than 2,000 Turkish Cypriots the possibility to study and train at highly diverse, inclusive and stimulating environments throughout the European Union. This flagship programme is part of EU efforts to facilitate the reunification of Cyprus.

In April 2022, the Commission and the Goethe Institute concluded an agreement in a total of 5 million euro. With the inauguration of the office, the Goethe Institute will start the preparation and launch of the call for proposals for the academic year 2023-2024.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Government spokesperson Marios Pelekanos said in a written statement that Cyprus is satisfied by the specific reference made to Turkey and Serbia and their obligation to align with EU sanctions against Russia in the joint statement issued by the leaders of the European People’s Party before the beginning of the European Council in Brussels.

“We are particularly pleased with the content of the statement issued at the end of today’s meeting of the European People’s Party”, Pelekanos said.

“It should be noted that that this EPP statement contains a clear reference to Turkey and Serbia, two countries that are candidates for EU membership which are are required to fully implement the sanctions decided by the European Union against Russia” he added.

“At the same time, members of the Customs Union, especially Ankara, are called upon to comply with the political approach of the West and to stop supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine” Pelekanos stressed.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Clocks should be set one hour back at 04:00 on Sunday morning, October 30, when the 2022 Daylight Saving Time (DST) ends.

According to an announcement by the Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry, the Daylight Saving Time for 2022 ends on Sunday, October 30, at 04:00am. Clocks should be set one hour back, it said.

It is noted that this measure is applied in all countries of the European Union.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The discussion during the first day of the summit of the European Council will focus on the energy crisis, while later at night there will be an opportunity to comment on the European Commission’s enlargement reports, President Anastasiades said in a tweet upon the beginning of the summit.

“First day #EUCO. In today’s discussions, focus will be on the energy crisis, where we’ll try to find a workable solution for temporary gas price intervention” the President noted.

“Further, we’ll examine war in Ukraine and restate our condemnation of illegal annexations and EU support to the country” he continued.

President Anastasiades added that during the working dinner the leaders will review issues pertaining to external relations.

“In this context, with fellow EU Leaders we’ll address EU-China relations and see how to maintain EU climate ambitions in view of #COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh” the President said.

The European Commission’s “Enlargement Package 2022 shall also be commented upon” he added.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

On September 15th, a large delegation from TenCate Protective Fabrics paid a visit to Saxion University’s Sustainable & Functional Textiles research group (Enschede, NL), led by Jan Mahy.

The TenCate Protective Fabrics group, led by Michael Laton, VP, Global Strategy & Innovation, traveled to Saxion from the textile manufacturer’s North American headquarters in Union City, Georgia, US, as well as the company’s Dutch-based operation in Nijverdal, NL. The group enjoyed a comprehensive tour of the Saxion lab facilities, including both the Circular Textile Lab and the Thermoplastic Composites lab of the Lightweight Structures Research Group, led by Ferrie van Hattum.

As a culmination of the visit, the two parties signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) – a representation of their shared collaboration commitment going forward.

Both organisations serve as hubs of new textile technologies – committed to seeking out new advancements around fabric sustainability, comfort, and performance. Recognising the advantages of leveraging their combined resources and industry experience, the TenCate Protective Fabrics–Saxion leadership teams see this partnership as essential in unlocking new protective fabric breakthroughs.

“As two organisations devoted to textile innovation, we’re excited at the chance to unlock this new, scientific partnership. Capitalising on our collective strengths and capabilities will only aid in the shared goal of bringing fresh perspectives and new solutions to the protective textiles market. This is just the beginning of a long, productive collaboration between TenCate Protective Fabrics and Saxion.” – Michael Laton, VP, Global Strategy and Innovation, TenCate Protective Fabrics

“Saxion’s applied research projects have generated growing interest from companies throughout the whole textile chain who wish to enter a sustainable, multi-annual collaboration with Saxion. At Saxion, we look carefully at the company’s ambitions in the area of sustainability. The high-quality textiles produced by TenCate Protective Fabrics are a good match for the work of the Sustainable & Functional Textiles research group. This enables us to link creative technology and innovation with education and so make an impact in the world around us.” – Raimond Bartelink, Head of School of Creative Technology, Saxion

Now formalised by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), this new agreement serves as the foundation of both parties’ commitment to maintaining a structural and strategic collaboration for years to come.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221018006041/en/

This material is not a CNA editorial material and CNA shall not bear responsibility for the accuracy of its content. In case you have any questions about the content, kindly refer to the contact person mentioned in the text of the press release.

Source: Cyprus News Agency