Day: October 24, 2022

Cyprus’ gas fields can be significant part of the solution for the energy crisis in Europe, said Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Péter Szijjártó, after his meeting with his Cypriot counterpart, Ioannis Kasoulides, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday.

 

‘We need more gas to be delivered to Europe on more delivery routes. That’s why, instead of sanctions and instead of price caps, we want new sources to be involved in the European gas market and new delivery routes to be built, namely new pipelines and new LNG ports,’ said Szijjártó.

 

“And here, Cyprus -I think- can offer a big chance and a big opportunity for Europe. The big gas fields which have been found here in the zone of Cyprus can be a significant part of the solution for the energy crisis in Europe,” he added.

 

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Most fatal work-related accidents in Cyprus take place in the Constructions sector and are due to fall from a height, according to a study conducted by the CERIDES research team, in coordination with the Department of Labour Inspection.

 

The results of the study were presented at a press conference on Monday.

 

The study looks into all work-related accidents in Cyprus from 1999 to 2020. Its goal, according to the researchers, is to use its findings, in order to “explore our knowledge and better understand the combined factors that can lead to a workplace accident, while revisiting our policy and actions as a country”.

 

The findings of the study, which examined 28,000 accidents, show that work-related accidents happen in the Processing sector by 22.65%, in Constructions by 20.5%, in the hospitality sector by 18.52% and in wholesale and retail trade by 12.6%. However, the stakes are much higher in the constructions sector for fatal accidents, with a 38.36%.

 

Furthermore, analyzing the causes of the accidents, the research showed that 33% of them were due to a fall. In addition, it is noted that all fatal occupational accidents caused by a fall from a height involved men.

 

Another notable finding of the survey was that 1 in 14 workplace accidents and 1 in 8 fatal workplace accidents takes place on a Saturday.

 

At the same time, the study found that 45% of accidents in Accommodation and Catering Services involved 18-19 year-olds. In the Construction sector, 50% of accidents involved people aged 65 and over. In fatal accidents, 25% of 20-24 year-olds were from agriculture, forestry and fishing, while 40% were from constructions.

 

Moreover, according to the findings, 77% of occupational accidents involved men. The rate for fatal occupational accidents rises to 96%.

 

In addition, 43% of fatal accidents concerned foreigners, with an increased probability for foreigners coming from third countries.

 

It is noted that Cyprus has the fifth lowest accident rate in the EU, recording 535 accidents per 100,000 people.

 

In an address delivered on his behalf by Labour Inspection Department acting director Marios Kourtellis, Minister of Labour and Social Insurance, Kyriacos Koushos, noted that information on safety and health at work is a matter to which the Ministry attaches great importance.

 

He said that this marks the start of Occupational Safety and Health Week, at a European level, which aims to enlighten and inform about ways to ensure the health and safety of workers and the sustainable growth of businesses.

 

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) on Monday published its results on the Gender Equality Index for the year 2022.

 

In Cyprus, the gender equality index rose from 57% in 2021 to 57.3%. Cyprus, according to a press release by the Office of the Commissioner for Gender Equality, ranks 22nd in the Gender Equality Index. Its score is 11.3 points lower than that of the EU.

 

The Gender Equality Index is a comprehensive measure to track progress on gender equality in the EU over time. It gives more visibility to areas that need improvement and supports policy makers to design more effective measures for gender equality.

 

The average gender equality in the EU rose to 68.6% from 68% in 2021.

 

Since 2010, Cyprus’ score has increased its ranking by 8.3 points, mainly due to improvements in the power sector (+ 14.7 points). The speed of its progress was above the EU average (5.5 points), moving it up four places in the ranking. However, Cyprus’ score remains essentially unchanged (+ 0.3 points) from 2019. The marginal increase in the overall score since the last edition of the Index is mainly due to improvements in the information sector (+ 1.8 points).

 

According to the analysis of the European Gender Equality Index 2022, Cyprus ranks 13th among the member states in the money sector, with a score of 83.1 points. The country performs best in the economic situation sub-domain, where it ranks 12th with a score of 91.7 points. Since 2019, Cyprus’ money score has remained stagnant (+0.5 points). During this period, progress in the financial situation sub-sector (+ 1.9 points) was offset by a decline in the financial resources sub-sector (- 0.8 points).

 

Gender disparities are sharper in the power sector (30.1 points), where Cyprus ranks 24th. With a score of 22.8 points, the greatest room for improvement exists in the sub-sector of economic decision-making, where Cyprus has a score of 22.8 points and is ranked 24th.

 

However, despite the highest score (34.6 points), in the sub-sector of political decision-making the country occupies the lowest position (26th). The general stagnation of the country in recent years (+ 0.1 points from 2019) is mainly due to the regression in the social decision-making sub-sector (- 2.0 points), which has canceled out the improvements in the political decision-making sub-sector (+ 2.3 units).

 

Since 2019, Cyprus’s score has improved the most in the field of knowledge (+1.8 points), marking the largest increase among all member states.

 

As a result, the country rose six places in the ranking, currently occupying the 15th place. This improvement is mainly due to the reduction of exclusion in education, which resulted in an increase in the score in this sub-sector (+ 2.6 points) and an improvement in the ranking of Cyprus from 26th to 20th place.

 

In its press release the office of the Commissioner for gender equality in Cyprus notes that balanced participation in decision-making positions and professional empowerment of women, reconciliation of professional and family obligations remain among the top priorities at national level and are key priority objectives in the new National Action Plan 2019-2023 for gender equality.

 

It is underlined that the biggest challenge is not to wait 60 years to reach full equality between men and women, but to continue and strengthen the policies for full equality so that we can reach the desired results faster.

 

Source: Cyprus News Agency

SecurityScorecard Unveils Sophisticated Cyber Intelligence Powering New Solutions to Counter Threat Actors

 

New Attack Surface Intelligence module and Cyber Risk Intelligence service empower security teams to stay ahead of threat actors with contextualized and tailored intelligence

 

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– SecurityScorecard, the global leader in cybersecurity ratings, today announced the launch of two cyber threat intelligence solutions to deliver an unrivaled view of organizations’ global cyber risk exposure. These new offerings, Attack Surface Intelligence (ASI) and Cyber Risk Intelligence (CRI), provide security teams with contextual intelligence, summarized views, and enriched remediations that are understandable and actionable from practitioner to the board room.

 

“Adding sophisticated cyber and attack surface intelligence is a natural progression for our customers’ security programs,” said Simon Hunt, chief product officer of SecurityScorecard. “Our robust contextualized and attribution intelligence, built by expert cyber threat researchers, has powered our security ratings for over a decade and, combined with the services of our intelligence team, enables customers who want to go deeper and have greater visibility to understand the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of even the most complex threats.”

 

Attack Surface Intelligence (ASI)

 

SecurityScorecard’s Attack Surface Intelligence empowers users with a search engine built within the SecurityScorecard ratings platform to help them identify, contextualize, and prioritize critical threats across their global attack surface. This allows customers to understand the adversary’s next steps, confidently make informed decisions, and reduce disruption. The solution solves for a number of critical challenges that cybersecurity teams are tackling today, including:

 

Threat Investigations: Consolidate existing intelligence sources to gain the contextual information behind threats, vulnerabilities, leaked credentials, and more through API or in-platform use.

 

Vendor Risk Management: Enhance your view of threats and critical vulnerabilities that impact your supply chain security.

 

MandA Due Diligence: Quickly validate the security posture and risks associated with your merger and acquisition (MandA) targets.

 

Cyber Insurance Policy Holder Reviews: Identify active threats and risks associated with your policy holders.

 

Regulators and government agencies: Monitor active threats at the national and geographic level, protect critical infrastructure, and essential services.

 

Cyber Risk Intelligence (CRI)

 

Delivered by the SecurityScorecard Threat Research, Intelligence, Knowledge, and Engagement (STRIKE) team, the Cyber Risk Intelligence service leverages the power of expert-led, human analysis coupled with deep intelligence sources, including ASI, to provide organizations with clarity and tailored advice on mitigation controls. With CRI, organizations can arm their threat intelligence teams with board-ready reports to proactively inform strategic decision-makers and prioritize risk controls.

 

CRI includes two offerings:

 

CRI Core proactively illuminates an organization’s risk exposure to external cyber threats that aren’t detected by internal security controls, including leaked credentials, imposter domains, hacker chatter, and signs of advanced persistent threats (APT) reconnaissance.

 

CRI’s Custom Investigations enables organizations to partner with SecurityScorecard’s STRIKE Team to meet their threat intelligence needs. Examples of custom investigations include malicious email analysis, leaked data and code discovery, malware analysis, investigation of cyber bullying, hacktivism, botnet tracking, and more.

 

SecurityScorecard’s STRIKE team is the company’s elite team of cybersecurity experts who have more than 100 years of collective experience in cybersecurity investigations and research. STRIKE Team members have varying backgrounds and experiences working with intelligence services, special operations units, and Fortune 50 cyber threat intelligence teams.

 

“The combination of CRI and ASI provide a critical advantage for organizations looking to constantly stay one step ahead of threat actors,” said Ryan Sherstobitoff, senior vice president of Threat Research and Intelligence at SecurityScorecard. “By partnering with SecurityScorecard’s STRIKE team, organizations will have an extension of their threat intelligence teams, and significantly reduce their cyber risk while better defending their networks from active and emerging threats.”

 

ASI gives customers access to SecurityScorecard’s industry-trusted and robust data lakes to investigate threats. CRI layers in unparalleled research and analysis by SecurityScorecard’s STRIKE team to help meet specific needs and inform the business of critical threats that could negatively impact operations and brand reputation.

 

For more information on ASI and CRI solutions, please visit: https://securityscorecard.com/

 

About SecurityScorecard

 

Funded by world-class investors including Evolution Equity Partners, Silver Lake Waterman, Sequoia Capital, GV, Riverwood Capital, and others, SecurityScorecard is the global leader in cybersecurity ratings with more than 12 million companies continuously rated. Founded in 2013 by security and risk experts Dr. Aleksandr Yampolskiy and Sam Kassoumeh, SecurityScorecard’s patented rating technology is used by over 30,000 organizations for enterprise risk management, third-party risk management, board reporting, due diligence, cyber insurance underwriting, and regulatory oversight. SecurityScorecard is the first cybersecurity ratings company to offer digital forensics and incident response services, providing a 360-degree approach to security prevention and response for its worldwide customer and partner base. SecurityScorecard continues to make the world a safer place by transforming the way companies understand, improve and communicate cybersecurity risk to their boards, employees and vendors. Every organization has the universal right to their trusted and transparent Instant SecurityScorecard rating. For more information, visit securityscorecard.com or connect with us on LinkedIn.

 

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221024005280/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

Cyprus’ gas fields can be significant part of the solution to the energy crisis in Europe, said Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Péter Szijjártó, after his meeting with his Cypriot counterpart, Ioannis Kasoulides, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday.

 

‘We need more gas to be delivered to Europe on more delivery routes. That’s why, instead of sanctions and instead of price caps, we want new sources to be involved in the European gas market and new delivery routes to be built, namely new pipelines and new LNG ports,’ said Szijjártó.

 

“And here, Cyprus I think can offer a big chance and a big opportunity for Europe. The big gas fields which have been found here in the zone of Cyprus can be a significant part of the solution to the energy crisis in Europe,” he added.

 

On his part, Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides welcomed the level of solidarity of the EU towards Ukraine, “acting in unity based on our common principles and values of freedom and democracy through the specter of international law and human rights”.

 

As regards the Cyprus issue, Kasoulides said that the creation of the conditions for the resumption of the negotiations on the basis of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions is his “top priority”. Unfortunately, he added, all these efforts are hindered by Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot leadership who promote the international recognition of the illegal regime in the occupied territory of our country.

 

The Foreign Minister underlined that Cyprus is in urgent need of the solidarity and the support of the international community and our partners in the EU. “To this end, I thank our Hungarian friends for their support to our goal for the reunification of Cyprus and in particular for their tangible contribution in peacekeeping in our country through their participation in the UNFICYP”, he added.

 

Kasoulides pointed out that the Memorandum of Understanding in the fields of higher education and research, signed on Monday, and the one in tourism, signed a few days ago in Budapest, are the most recent examples of the enhanced partnership between Cyprus and Hungary that covers a wide range of issues.

 

He also expressed his satisfaction with the substantial growth in connectivity between Cyprus and Hungary through the increase of direct flights. He further added that he had “a frank exchange of views” with his Hungarian counterpart on “pressing issues of the European agenda”, such as immigration. “I underline once again the need for common European action as no single member state can face such immense pressures alone,” he concluded.

 

Answering a question about the steps taken by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in relation to the Turkish provocations in Denia village, Kasoulides said that a series of actions has been launched.

 

Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, said that the Hungarians are in the neighbourhood of the war in Ukraine, so all the impacts of the war are very severe, serious and immediate on them. He went on to say that “the sanctions -which in our understanding have failed- make our situation even more complicated and more challenging”. He pointed out that Hungary is faced with sanction-driven inflation and sanction-driven extremely high energy costs. That’s why Hungary wants peace as soon as possible.

 

The Hungarian FM stated that “Europe is being occupied by a rhetoric of war”, which “brings us even further from the hope of having peace in Ukraine at a certain point of time”. The longer this war lasts, the more the entire Europe will suffer and the more we are going to lose, because we are faced with tremendous challenges from the perspective of security, economy and energy supply as well, he added.

 

“Unfortunately, sometimes I have the feeling that it’s only a few of us who preserve common sense in this regard”, said Szijjártó, adding that Cyprus has not lost its common sense and it is possible to speak to Cypriots on the basis of mutual respect and rationality.

 

“The most serious challenge we are faced with now in Europe, caused by the war and sanctions, is the crisis of supply of energy. All those measures on behalf of Brussels or the member states which decrease the volume of gas on the European market will have the impact of further increased prices,” the Hungarian FM underlined.

 

That is why, he added, instead of sanctions and instead of price caps, we want new sources to be involved in the European gas market and new delivery routes to be built, namely new pipelines and new LNG ports. “And here, Cyprus I think can offer big chance and a big opportunity for Europe. The big gas fields which have been found here in the zone of Cyprus can be significant part of the solution to the energy crisis in Europe”, he added.

 

“That’s why the European Union, instead of thinking about sanctions and price caps, should find out how we can support the very quick start of exploitation of these gas fields and how we can support constructing new pipelines and new delivery routes to make sure that the gas which has been found here can be available for the European market. This would help”, Szijjártó pointed out.

 

The Hungarian Foreign Minister thanked the Cypriot Minister of Education, Prodromos Prodromou, for signing a Memorandum of Cooperation on the field of higher education, adding that he expected the number of Cypriot students in the Hungarian universities to increase. “We are happy to see that the number of Hungarian tourists travelling to Cyprus has increased by 70% compared to the last year before Covid and the number of flights between the two countries definitely helps us to further increase the number”, he stated.

 

Furthermore, he announced that, given the fact that 3,000 Hungarians live in Cyprus, Hungary has established a consulate in the island and it has made a decision to further expand its presence here.

 

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Cyprus is a beacon of security and stability in the wider Mediterranean region, Defence Minister, Charalambos Petrides, said on Monday addressing the Opening Ceremony of the 3rd Board of Directors Meeting of the International Military Sports Council (CISM) for 2022, adding that “we aspire to contribute to the spread of these great values and military sports can be a great tool in this direction”.

 

In his address to the Opening Ceremony of the 3rd Board of Directors Meeting of the International Military Sports Council (CISM) for 2022 which began today in Larnaca, the Minister said that “the presence of the delegates in Cyprus confirms their love and interest for the Military Sports”.

 

At the same time, he expressed the hope that “the delegates’ stay in Cyprus will be combined with constructive and fruitful discussions on the future of military sports. It is a great honor for us to organize this meeting”, he said and added that a few days later the CISM European Conference will also take place.

 

In this way, he continued, “we try to contribute to the spread of CISM ideals, based on the inherited sports values.”

 

The minister underlined that, “this land in its long history, has suffered a lot from wars that took place on its soil. The need for peace and friendship is therefore profound to us”. We consider, he continued, Cyprus to be a beacon of security and stability in the wider region, and we aspire to contribute to the spread of these great values, and military sports can be a great tool towards that.

 

He also said that sport has long ago proven its ability to bridge national, political, racial, and cultural differences between people.

 

The International Military Sports Council (CISM), he continued, with its status and international range, has managed to unify the Armed Forces of 140 member states from every continent. Our Military Sports Council, he said, works under the auspices of the Minister of Defence, trying to apply contemporary best practices and expertise in our armed forces, and instill in thousands of uniformed young people, the athletic spirit and love for sports, and promote friendship through sport.

 

It is noted that during the opening ceremony of the Conference, the Minister of Defense was awarded the Medal of the Highest Honor of a Senior Official for his contribution and assistance to military sports.

 

On his part, Colonel Dirk Schwede, Deputy President of the CISM said that “it is an honor for the CISM to be here in Cyprus”, while referring to the history of the Council he said that “we have 140 nations and it is a co-ordination of different cultures and states and to bring all these together in this location is really good because the history is the same as here”.

 

He added that “the CISM is proud to be in Cyprus to discuss our main topics for the progress of the CISM, which are among others, to bring people together to promote friendship, and to promote sports, which is the main topic of CISM, and I think this a great location for it”.

 

Source: Cyprus News Agency

It is only a matter of time before the SARS-CoV-2 virus weakens, Professor of Microbiology/Molecular Virology of the School of Medicine at the University of Nicosia, Dr. Petros Karayiannis told the Cyprus News Agency on Monday.

 

Dr. Karayiannis, also a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of Health Ministry, said that he is cautious but not particularly worried at the moment as regards the three new substrains BQ.1, BQ1.1 and XBB.

 

He said that re-infections will be detected in Cyprus and their occurrence will be due to the fact that these strains can partially escape immunity. But he went on to say that a new wave will not be as bad as the previous ones.

 

He explained that BQ.1 and BQ1.1 are offshoots of Omicron 5, which is currently dominant on the island.

 

Dr Karayiannis said many citizens were infected with Omicron 4 and 5 during last summer’s wave, so there is some immunity.

 

In addition, he notes that the updated vaccines offer protection against Omicron 4 and 5 and therefore could induce immunity.

 

With reference to substrains BQ.1 and BQ1.1, he said that they are trying to dominate Omicron 5 and they seem to have some advantage right now due to partial escape.

 

Regarding the XBB substrain, Dr Karayiannis said that this is a branch of Omicron 2 and was first detected in Singapore and now in 17 other countries in Europe and Asia.

 

He said that this substrain is highly transmissible.

 

Asked about the 4th and 5th booster shots of the vaccine he said that studies have shown that they stimulate immunity and cause a 60% increase in neutralizing antibodies against Omicron 4 and 5. He said that scientists hope that this increase in antibodies will also suppress the new strains to a large extent.

 

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Minister of Finance Constantinos Petrides said the state budget for 2023 is not deemed as a pre-election one, noting it is a responsible budget.

 

Presenting the budget at the House Finance and Budgetary Affairs Committee, Petrides said the government did not exploit the budget for pre-election purposes and “therefore it is bombarded on a daily basis with false figures.” The Finance Minister added that it is “a responsible budget” that aims for recovery, has increased development expenditure by 12% and at the same time maintains healthy finances, respecting future generations.

 

The 2023 budget will be the government’s last budget as Cyprus is headed to presidential elections in February 2023 and a new government will assume office by March next year.

 

The 2023 state budget, Petrides said, provides the coming government with the tools to face the great challenges. He noted that no cuts were imposed while social expenditure have been increased and cash buffers have been generated.

 

“This budget includes the largest social expenditure in the history of the Republic of Cyprus, includes the largest development spending in Cyprus’ history as well as expenditure aiming to green growth and digitisation,” he said.

 

Regarding the Cypriot economy, Petrides said that the rate of growth by the end of 2022 is expected to be 5.7%, surpassing all forecasts. He talked about an economy with resilience and prospect, adding that Cyprus is the only country in the EU that has managed to upgrade its economy. For 2023, he added, the growth rate will drop to 3% with a high degree of uncertainty.

 

According to the Finance Minister, Cyprus’ public debt is expected to continue its downward path and from the peak of 115% in 2020 will decline to 89.3% of GDP in 2022 which would constitute one of the biggest reductions among the EU member states.

 

“This is very important for the future, so that more upgrades (of Cyprus credit ratings) will emerge and debt servicing costs would not rise,” he added.

 

Turning to the fiscal finances, Petrides said the expected surplus of 1.7% of GDP this year should be higher, noting however that the government did not aim at high surpluses to avoid social costs. But he added that this surplus has satisfied capital markets which have upgraded Cyprus credit ratings this year.

 

The Minister also said that according to European indexes, there is a sharp decrease in inequality on the island and social cohesion indicators, despite everything that is being said by the opposition.

 

He furthermore, said it would be highly irresponsible to propose tax reform currently with the international uncertainty and inflation. As for raising corporate tax to 15%, he said that it was a condition to be agreed at a European level, something which was not done.

 

Referring to the fiscal dangers, he talked about a protracted period of high inflation, a risk of problematic loans increasing but also the immigration issue as it might significantly affect the welfare state in the long-term.

 

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Increased interest revenue stemming from the monetary policy normalization should not overshadow the Cypriot banks’ structural vulnerabilities, Constantinos Herodotou, Governor of the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) said on Monday.

 

Speaking to the parliamentary committee on Financial and Budgetary Affairs, Herodotou said that Cypriot banks are expected to have significant increase in interest income due to the European Central Bank’s interest rate hikes.

 

“This significant increase in income should overshadow or hide structural vulnerabilities of the banking sector which should be addressed in spite of the increased profits,” Herodotou said.

 

He referred to the non-performing loans (NPLs), high operational costs, strengthening corporate governance, high competition from non-traditional banks as well as the quality of customer service.

 

Herodotou said NPLs declined to €2.8 billion by end-July 2022, corresponding to 11.2% of total loans in the banking system and reiterated that NPL reduction is due to the larger banks which achieved 80% of NPL reduction whereas smaller banks achieved only 26%.

 

The CBC Governor also said the Cypriot regulator is against extending the moratorium on foreclosures, noting that this would create new risks to the banks, as they are coping with the challenge of borrower’s reduced disposable income due to high inflation.

 

He also pointed out that these NPLs are legacy loans created during the 2013 financial crisis and did not emerge as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and the was in Ukraine.

 

“This is a new challenge and by allowing banks to manage the backlog (of NPLs) while we know that in 2023, we will have new challenges we are placing new risks which could affect the economy,” he added.

 

Asked on the impact of rising interest rates to debt-servicing capacity, Herodotou said that there is concern over the rising interest rates but added that macroprudential rules concerning loan origination could protect both lenders and borrowers.

 

He specifically said that loan origination stipulates that loan to value ratio amounts to 80% for first home purchase and 70% for second, which protects the borrower, while an additional provision states that debt repayment should amount to 80% of a borrower’s disposable income which protects the borrower from assuming a loan he could not repay.

 

“These (measures) protects both parties but this does not mean that interest rate hikes will be create problems,” he said.

 

On the economy, Herodotou said that the Cyprus’ output is estimated to rise by 5.5% in 2022 despite the war in Ukraine but is expected to slow down to 2.5% in 2023, compared with the Finance Ministry 3% projected growth rate.

 

Herodotou said the state’s macroeconomic scenario is “realistic” but added there is great uncertainty due to the war in Ukraine.

 

He also stated that public finances are expected to come under pressure due to increased expenditure from rising Cost-Of-Living Allowance in public sector salaries and pensions due to the rising inflation, increased cost of goods and raw materials and increased debt servicing costs.

 

Herodotou however, noted that despite pressures, Cyprus’ public debt is expected to continue its downward trajectory, stressing that “it is important to continue prudent fiscal management and to swiftly absorb funds from the national Recovery and Resilience Fund.”

 

Replying to a question, Herodotou called for targeted fiscal support to vulnerable households and businesses due to rising inflation.

 

As monetary policy aims to reduce inflation a wide fiscal support policy would not be conducive to mitigating inflation, he added.

 

Source: Cyprus News Agency

In 2021, 54% of the population of Cyprus and 67% of the EU population (16-74 years old) bought/ordered goods or services over the internet during the 12 months prior to the survey, according to data released by Eurostat, the statistical service of the EU.

 

According to the same data, 65% of the population in Cyprus and 58% of the EU population used the internet for banking during the three months prior to the survey, while 79% of the population in Cyprus and 57% of the EU population participated in social networks during the three months prior to the latest survey.

 

Regarding the percentages of people that bought or ordered goods or services online in the year before the survey across the EU, the share reached a peak of 93% in three Dutch regions (Drenthe, Utrecht and Zeeland).

 

More generally, there was a very high tendency to use e-commerce in all but one of the remaining Dutch regions (Limburg being the exception), all of the Danish regions, all but two of the Swedish regions, two out of three Irish regions and Corse (France).

 

The Bulgarian regions of Yugoiztochen and Severen Tsentralen had the lowest proportions of people making use of the internet to purchase goods or services over the internet (26% and 27%, respectively, in 2021).

 

Meanwhile, 65% of Cypriots and 58% of the EU population used the internet for banking during the three months prior to the survey.

 

At least 90% of people across the EU made use of internet banking in every region of Denmark, Finland (no data available for Åland), as well as 8 out of 12 regions in the Netherlands. The Finnish capital region of Helsinki-Uusimaa had the highest share of internet banking (96%).

 

Every region of Bulgaria and Romania (except for the capital regions of Yugozapaden and Bucureşti-Ilfov) reported less than one quarter of all people making use of internet banking; this was also the case for Kentriki Elláda in central Greece.

 

Finally, 79% in Cyprus and 57% in the EU used the internet to participate in social networks (such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or Twitter) during the three months prior to the latest survey.

 

The participation rate for youths aged 16–29 years (83%) was almost four times as high as the corresponding rate for older people aged 65–74 years (23%).

 

In 2021, there were 19 NUTS level 2 regions across the EU where at least three quarters of the population aged 16-74 years old participated in social networks.

 

The 21 regions where less than 45% of people participated in social networks were exclusively located in Germany and France. Several of these were characterised as predominantly rural or outermost regions.

 

Participation in social networks was particularly low in the eastern German regions of Thüringen, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Sachsen-Anhalt (each of these had a share within the range of 34–37%) and in the outermost regions of La Réunion (35%) and Guadeloupe (36%) in France.

 

Source: Cyprus News Agency