Day: October 25, 2022

The European Commission on Tuesday endorsed a positive preliminary assessment of Cyprus’ payment request for €85 million in grants under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), while Cyprus lost €90 million in grants due to better-than-expected economic performance during the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said: “I have good news for Cyprus.”

 

“Sufficient progress has been made in the rollout of its recovery and resilience plan to receive a first payment under NextGenerationEU. Once Member States give their greenlight, Cyprus will receive 85 million euros as a result of its good and swift progress in implementing the plan’s first set of reforms and investments,” she said according to European Commission press release, adding that the reforms include important measures for the green and digital transition, as well as measures to enhance financial stability and to fight corruption.

 

“So, congratulations Cyprus! The Commission stands by your side, to make your NextGenerationEU plan a success,” von der Leyen added.

 

On his part, Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President for An Economy that Works for People congratulated Cyprus for meeting the first 14 milestones set out in its recovery and resilience plan.

 

“Many of these will contribute to Cyprus’ green and digital transitions, with reforms to its electricity market, investments to promote the use of renewable energy, promotion of the circular economy and a national plan to boost digital skills. Cyprus is also strengthening the fight against corruption and improving the environment for reducing non-performing loans,” he said, adding that once the Commission’s assessment is reviewed and approved by Member States, Cyprus should receive €85 million in grants to help create a more resilient economy with higher growth prospects.”

 

Paolo Gentiloni, Commissioner for Economy, said: “today marks a key step forward in the implementation of the Cypriot recovery and resilience plan.”

 

Noting that the Recovery and Resilience Facility is the strongest common tool we have at our disposal, Gentiloni encouraged the Cypriot authorities “to pursue its implementation with determination. Making a success of this opportunity is of fundamental importance as we together navigate the current troubled waters and work to make our economies more sustainable, inclusive and competitive.”

 

Cyprus submitted to the Commission its first payment request on July 28 based on the achievement of the 14 milestones set out in the Council Implementing Decision for the first instalment, the Commission said in a press release. The money will be disbursed in the coming December follower the conclusion of the approval procedure stipulated in the RRF.

 

According to the Commission, these milestones cover reforms and investments in the electricity market, in the areas of energy efficiency and circular economy, and anti-corruption and transparency. Measures in the financial sector and public administration, in the domain of digital skills, as well as Cyprus’ audit and control system for the implementation of the RRF are also covered.

 

“The milestones fulfilled demonstrate significant progress made in the implementation of Cyprus’ recovery and resilience plan and its broad reform agenda,” the Commission said, noting that these milestones include “important measures” such as the reform ensuring the independence of the Cyprus Transmission System Operator from the incumbent Electricity Authority of Cyprus, a National e-Skills Action Plan and laws on transparency in public decision-making and on the protection of whistle-blowers. A reform that aims at reducing the level of non-performing loans is also included.

 

Following its preliminary green light, the Commission will send its positive preliminary assessment to the Economic and Financial Committee (EFC), asking for its opinion. The EFC’s opinion, to be delivered within a maximum of four weeks, should be taken into account in the Commission’s assessment.

 

After the EFC’s opinion, the Commission will adopt the final decision on the disbursement of the financial contribution, in accordance with the examination procedure, through a comitology committee. Following the adoption of the decision by the Commission, the disbursement to Cyprus can take place, the Commission added.

 

Cyprus is the tenth EU member-state to receive a positive preliminary assessment, while it has already received pre-financing amounting to €157 million.

 

Cyprus will lose €90 million of total grants due to better-than-expected economic performance

 

However, Cyprus lost €90 million from the grant’s envelope due to better-than-expected economic performance during the Covid-19 pandemic, with the overall financial envelope for Cyprus under the RRF amounting to €916 million in grants and €200 million in loans, totalling €1,016 million.

 

Sources told CNA the reduction in the allocation of grants was due to “a mechanical exercise” concerning the allocation key for EU member-states following actual macroeconomic data such as GDP growth and unemployment as revised in June 2022.

 

It was an initial formula based on GDP and unemployment back in 2020 and 2021 when the regulation was decided which could not take into account the impact of the covid crisis, the same sources added noting that 30% share of the total envelope was to be updated in June 2022 based on actual data for the period of 2020 and 2021 a statistical exercise of updating GDP figures and unemployment figures of Eurostat.

 

The countries that performed better than the EU average in the Covid-19 crisis lost money compared to other member-states which were more hit even more by the crisis.

 

Indeed, in this context Cyprus lost 90 million from grants as result of the mechanical update, the same sources added.

 

Now Cyprus can compensate this loss either through increased national funds, or possible drawing on increased money from the EU’s Cohesion Funds, as a European Commission decision paved the way for such a possibility.

 

Cyprus could also consider taking up more loans from the RRF, while the decision RepowerEU for decarbonisation and reducing dependency on Russian fossil fuels allocates to Cyprus an additional €52.2 million. However, these funds will be granted solely for decarbonisation and reducing dependency on Russian fossil fuels.

 

Meanwhile the European Commission has repeatedly pointed out reduced amount should not lead to reduced reforms which are extremely important and cost-free and would yield extremely important results.

 

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defence briefed the members of the Foreign and European Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives about the lifting of the American embargo on the sale of arms to the Republic of Cyprus and about Turkey’s recent provocative actions in the Eastern Mediterranean.

 

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ioannis Kasoulides, said that there has been an innovation in the Ministry with the establishment of a department that will deal exclusively with Turkey. Regarding the Ukrainian issue, the Minister noted that Turkey with Russia’s attack on Ukraine has “managed to greatly upgrade its influence and power in the world because it has managed to play the role of a mediator”. At the same time, he noted that over the years, Turkey has managed to utilize its size and its capabilities and pursues a vigorous foreign policy, which aims to improve its relations with countries in the Middle East and the European Union, but not with Greece and Cyprus.

 

Unfortunately, he said, in the EU “we have never had a common foreign policy, as far as Turkey is concerned, because of complicated interests”, explaining that in this matter “the foreign policy of Germany on Turkey is different, the policy of France is different, the policy of Austria is different and so on”.

 

He added that during this period, Turkey has been focusing on the effort to promote the upgrading of the occupied territory of Cyprus. “He will not get the recognition”, of the illegal regime in the occupied part of the island, underlined the Foreign Minister, but this is their goal. He also said that the President of Turkey is focusing towards this direction, and has “enticed some EU countries, possibly two, to open offices of the illegal regime.”

 

Referring to the lifting of the embargo of the United States on the sale of arms to Cyprus, he noted that “the Americans do not have much confidence in Cyprus and that is why they set a condition that the lifting of the embargo be approved annually”. He underlined that the US set two conditions for the lifting of the embargo, the fight against money laundering, which was achieved, and the ban on the docking of Russian ships, which in the past was impossible to do so, while today with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been implemented.

 

On his part, the Minister of Defence, Charalambos Petrides, told the MPs that the National Guard possesses today state of the art weaponry, the most advanced in the last 20 years. He also noted that there is interoperability in the Ministry, cooperation with other member states and good cooperation with Greece. In September, he added, the American embargo was completely lifted, since all the conditions were met. There is a new cooperation framework, he noted, we are getting more options, but there is no plan now for weaponry from the United States.

 

He said that due to the sanctions against Russia, “we will face special problems regarding the Russian weapon systems and third countries are being sought for the supply of spare parts for the maintenance of the weapons systems”. He added that, in terms of maintenance, there are contracts with Russia and ways to implement them are being sought.

 

Source: Cyprus News Agency

No border change using military force and no act of secession can be acceptable, said the President of the House of Representatives, Annita Demetriou, who participated on Tuesday in the First Parliamentary Summit of the International Platform for Crimea, in Zagreb, at the invitation of Presidents of the Parliaments of Croatia and Ukraine.

 

According to a statement by the House of Representatives, the Summit’s aim was to establish and promote the parliamentary dimension of the Platform for Crimea, which aims to restore international legitimacy to the illegally Russian occupied peninsula of Crimea and bring it back under the control of Ukraine.

 

In her intervention, the House President condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and reaffirmed the unwavering support of the Republic of Cyprus to the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, within its internationally recognised borders.

 

Cyprus, underlined Demetriou, which was invaded by Turkey in 1974 and is still experiencing, after 48 years, the consequences of the continued occupation of part of its territory by Turkey, knows very well how traumatic an experience war is and its consequences. Therefore, she stressed, Cyprus has an additional reason to stand by Ukraine and its people, based on the same principles that have been flagrantly violated in Cyprus.

 

Based on these principles, the President of the Parliament pointed out, the Republic of Cyprus has unequivocally condemned the illegal annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol by Russia in 2014.

 

The Republic of Cyprus, she noted, was fully aligned with the decisions of the European Union (EU) to impose restrictive measures against Russia and condemned the illegal declaration of Crimea.

 

Our position is clear and unwavering, no change of national borders with the use of military force and no unilateral act of secession can ever be accepted, stressed Demetriou.

 

Finally, the House President reaffirmed the full solidarity of Cyprus and its Parliament in the just struggle of the Ukrainian people and its readiness to contribute, in every possible way, to the collective efforts to provide assistance and support to Ukraine.

 

Demetriou’s intervention caused the reaction of the Turkish MP Ahmet Yıldız, who called Demetriou’s references to the Cyprus issue inappropriate. In her answer, the House President underlined that no country has the right to invade a sovereign state and that forty thousand Turkish occupying troops are still illegally stationed in Cyprus.

 

The Greek Cypriot side wishes for the resumption of negotiations as soon as possible to resolve the Cyprus problem in accordance with international law, Demetriou noted. If we all want to work for peace, no country should interpret international law arbitrarily and as dictated by its interests, she concluded.

 

The President of the Parliament will conclude her visit with bilateral contacts on the sidelines of the Summit and will return to Cyprus on Wednesday.

 

 

Source: Cyprus News Agency

 

The proposed regulation on controlling the rise of energy prices must be thoroughly studied to ensure that it is in line with wider EU policies, Energy, Commerce and Industry Minister, Natasa Pelides, said during the meeting of the Energy Council of the European Union in Luxembourg on Tuesday.

 

EU Energy Ministers did not reach an agreement during Tuesday’s meeting, but agreed on the main direction of the measures and asked the Commission to develop the technical details of the proposals ahead of their next extraordinary meeting set for November 24th.

 

Although there is progress on common purchases and solidarity mechanisms, which both the Commission and the Council expect to be approved on November 24th, the Ministers had diverging views on the proposal for a dynamic cap on gas prices and the issue remains open.

 

According to a statement by the Ministry for Energy, the meeting discussed the proposal for a regulation to strengthen solidarity through the better coordination in the gas markets, cross-border gas exchanges and reliable price benchmarks.

 

The main topic of the meeting was the gas and hydrogen package and the adoption of a General Approach on the proposal for a Directive on the energy performance of buildings.

 

During the discussion on the proposal for a Council Regulation on strengthening solidarity through the better coordination of markets, cross-border exchanges and reliable gas price benchmarks, Pelides pointed out that due to the scope and number of actions included in the proposal, it is necessary that it be thoroughly examined to ensure that it is in line with the broader EU policies, both regarding sustainability and security of supply.

 

The Energy Minister welcomed the Commission’s intention to proceed with all the necessary steps to ensure that the EU platform for a common market for gas comes into force as soon as possible.

 

With regard to the proposal for a Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings, the Energy Minister expressed her support to the text for the General Approach presented by the Czech Presidency of the Council, which Cyprus had a leading role in formulating according to the press release.

 

During the debate on the package on natural gas and hydrogen, the Minister pointed out that the specific circumstances of emerging and isolated markets, such as Cyprus, should be taken into account, and stressed that hydrogen produced from renewable energy sources and low carbon footprint technologies should be treated equally.

 

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The permanent secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Andreas Gregoriou briefed the Environment Council of the EU on the Cypriot regional initiative on climate change in the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean and the associated planned meetings on the sidelines of COP27.

 

According to an announcement, the work of the meeting of EU ministers responsible for environment issues was devoted to the discussion on the Council conclusions that will constitute the EU’s general negotiating mandate ahead of the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) to be held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on 6-18 November, as well as the 15th Conference on Biodiversity (COP15) to be held in Montreal, Canada, on 7-19 December.

 

The EU’s Environment Ministers also held a policy debate on the revision of the industrial emissions directive. During the meeting, the results of the ninth “Environment for Europe” ministerial meeting, held in Nicosia on 5-7 October 2022, were also presented.

 

In an intervention during the COP27 debate, Gregoriou stressed the importance of the fact of the summit being held in a European country, and referred to it as an important opportunity to promote European climate diplomacy.

 

Gregoriou made particular reference to Cyprus’ regional initiative to combat climate change in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East. He said that an Action Plan on this issue will be signed on the sidelines of the Summit under the auspices of President Anastasiades and Egyptian President Al-Sisi.

 

In the context of the discussion on the revision of the Industrial Emissions Directive, Gregoriou referred to Cyprus’ concerns regarding the need for compliance, which is expected to be particularly high for a large number of livestock farms that will be included in the revised Directive, at a time when production costs are already at unprecedented levels due to increases in feed and fuel prices.

 

Gregoriou said that the Cypriot position is that the proposed entry threshold for livestock units in the scope of application should be increased, and that the possibility of additional funding for the units to be included should be considered.

 

Speaking on behalf of Cyprus during the briefing on the results of the ninth Ministerial Conference “Environment for Europe” held in Nicosia between 5-7 October, the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary expressed satisfaction with the results of the Conference and stressed that the adoption of the “Nicosia Declaration” reinforces the commitment of European countries to the transition to more sustainable, resilient and inclusive economies, and contributes to the achievement of the sustainable development goals of the 2030 Agenda.

 

Finally, on the occasion of a briefing by the Slovenian delegation, Gregoriou stressed that water scarcity and drought issues are of vital importance for Cyprus as they affect economic prosperity and sustainable development. Briefing the Council on Cyprus’ actions in this regard, he underlined the need to intensify the monitoring of the problem at EU level. In conclusion, he recommended the development of a coordinated early warning system, as well as the creation of a funding mechanism to support policies and measures to address water scarcity and drought.

 

Source: Cyprus News Agency