Day: October 31, 2022

The impact taken by the European Union against Russia on Cyprus’ shipping industry are “totaly manageable,” Deputy Minister for Shipping Vassilis Demetriades has said.

 

Briefing the parliamentary committee of finance and budgetary affairs on the Deputy Ministry’s budget for 2023, Demetriades said that 144 ships have been delisted from the Cypriot registry in the first ten months of 2022, as they could not remain under the Cypriot flag because they were mainly trading with Russia.

 

But Demetriades said that in the same period a total of 122 new ships have been listed in the Cypriot registry. “Therefore, sanctions against Russia may have not allowed us to have an increase in ships but the reduction is at a totally manageable extent,” he said.

 

Responding to questions by Cypriot MPs, Demetriades said some sanctions taken against Russia resulted in punishing European shipping without isolating Russia and its economic interests as in the case of the embargo against Russian oil many ships may opt to remove a ship from the Cypriot registry and list to a third-country registry and continue to trade with Russia. “Therefore we shoot ourselves in the leg” he said calling for a uniform implementation of sanctions against Russia. He also recalled that especially on the issue of the cap against Russian oil, the EU and the G7 countries represent only 17% of the global tanker fleet.

 

Responding to a question on the embargo, Demetriades said the Deputy Ministry has been raising the issue in all contacts abroad and acknowledged that the embargo, Ankara has been imposing on Cypriot shipping constitutes a “disadvantage” for the Cypriot shipping which holds the 11th fleet worldwide while the island constitutes the EU’s largest ship-management centre.

 

He added the Deputy Ministry encourages ship-owners who have ships that don’t trade with Turkey to try the Cypriot shipping industry which offers a complete cluster of shipping services.

 

“But if one day the Turkish embargo is lifted the Cypriot shipping industry prospects will spike,” he went on to say.

 

Moreover, the Deputy Minister said that since 2012 the companies that have registered under the Cypriot tonnage tax system has tripled since 2012 increasing the income from the Deputy Ministry to more than €1.5 million in the last two years.

 

On the maritime connection between Greece and Cyprus, which was restored this year following 20 years with a state subsidy, Demetriades said that the ferry connection transferred a total of 7,412 passengers, 1,946 vehicles and 205 pets while only 37 passengers have expressed complaint over the service.

 

He said this year was the first step and next year will be more crucial “to see whether we have recurring passengers and whether we will be able to create a market.”

 

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupies its northern third. The Turkish embargo on Cypriot-flagged ships has been imposed since 1987 against the ships caring Cypriot flag, ownership or management, while it was extended in 1997 against vessels under any flag sailing to Turkish ports directly from any port of the Republic of Cyprus.

 

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The disproportionate migratory flows have led to a situation of force majeure, forcing to their limits the national asylum and reception systems, said Interior Minister Nicos Nouris.

 

Signing on Monday an agreement on the implementation of the Second Swiss Contribution between the Republic of Cyprus and the Swiss Federal Council, in Bern, the Minister said that this financial support comes at a time when the number of asylum seekers in Cyprus has exceeded 16,5 thousand for 2022 and the overall percentage of asylum seekers and beneficiaries of international protection has reached 6% of the country’s total population.

 

The agreement, as he noted, includes substantial financial support in a number of areas such as migration and social cohesion, with particular reference to health programmes for people with rare genetic disorders, programmes to combat violence in the family and the particularly sensitive issue for Cyprus, the investigation of the fate of our missing persons as a result of the Turkish invasion of 1974.

 

Nouris expressed his sincere gratitude to the Swiss Government, for this significant act of true solidarity towards the Republic of Cyprus and the contribution of 10 million Swiss francs, which will be utilized in the effort to effectively manage the increased migration flows that Cyprus is facing.

 

“The gesture of the Swiss Government and the financial support to the Republic of Cyprus show the solidarity that is gradually being established in Europe in the management of the migration issue and especially towards the frontline member states that bear the greatest burden of the problem,” the Minister said.

 

Nouris said that the Swiss contribution will be used in two extremely important pillars. The first pillar is the implementation of efficient and high-quality asylum procedures, under which new infrastructures for the Asylum and Migration Services will be established in order to improve current facilities and, therefore, increase the capacity in handling asylum issues. “The new infrastructures will make it possible to properly accommodate the additional staff the Service will recruit in order to be able to operate more effectively, and manage the increased migratory flows,” he said.

 

The second pillar, Nouris added, is the additional decisive enhancement of returns of those migrants whose asylum applications have been rejected, with respect to the principle for voluntary, dignified and safe return of third-country nationals to their country of origin.

 

As he noted, Cyprus has managed to increase returns in the latest years, while in 2022 we managed to multiply the numbers, exceeding so far 6000 returns. “A figure that puts Cyprus in the first place, per capita, among the EU Member States in terms of returns. I am confident that with this support we will achieve even more in this area”, he went on to say.

 

He also said that the action of the Swiss government takes on even greater significance as it takes place at a time when Europe is overwhelmed by the crisis in Ukraine causing, among other issues, serious economic difficulties.

 

Swiss Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter said that they signed a bilateral agreement on migration and in this framework Switzerland will be contributing 10 million francs towards supporting the asylum system in Cyprus until 2026.

 

She noted that the funding will be used for projects and programmes in the areas of infrastructure, return and repatriation.

 

“Especially the return policies are important to Switzerland so that illegal migrants that come to Cyprus can be returned directly to the country of origin. This agreement is part of the second Swiss contribution to selected EU countries. We are hereby strengthening our cooperation with EU states that are experiencing high levels of migratory pressures,” she noted.

 

The Swiss Minister also said that Nouris has given her a striking insight into the difficult situation in Cyprus adding that secondary migration is a problem of all countries in the Schengen Area and also countries not part of Schengen. “I hope that this contribution will help support the government of Cyprus”, she concluded.

 

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Cyprus tourism did very well, reaching 80% of tourist arrivals in 2019, with arrivals from the EU increasing by 22%, while for the first year in 2022 the budget of the Deputy Ministry of Tourism is fully absorbed, said Deputy Minister Savvas Perdios, who also underlined that the EU tourism market is “the most stable framework for the development of our tourism” over the next three years.

 

He was speaking before a parliamentary committee of financial and budgetary affairs on Monday.

 

Perdios emphasised that the tourism identity of Cyprus has changed, while the amount given to improve the tourist product has increased to 28% of the budget, from 10%, and about a quarter of the amount spent on advertising is directed to digital technology.

 

“What our tourism achieved this year is not only related to this year’s work. It is related to the work of the last four years and we are seeing the results this year”, underlined Perdios, speaking before the members of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, which examined the budget of the Deputy Ministry of Tourism for 2023.

 

He said that the most important thing is not that we are at 80% of 2019 but that while as a total of arrivals “we are at minus 20% (compared to 2019 arrivals), from the EU we are at plus 22% compared to 2019” , he reported and added that “for the first time arrivals from the EU outnumber those from the United Kingdom”.

 

He said 40% of arrivals are from the EU, while arrivals from the UK are around 38%, and noted that “the fears some have had that we will lose the Russians and become over-reliant on the British are not true”.

 

He also reported that arrivals from Germany, among others, increased by 28% compared to 2019, from Poland by 130%, from Denmark by 63%, from France by 105%, and from Austria by 53%.

 

He also said that before the pandemic 70% of our tourism depended on tour operators, while today it depends to them only for 50% – which was our goal – and added that this year’s results highlight Cyprus’ potential to attract visitors from more countries, of various ages and for various interests.

 

In addition, the Deputy Minister of Tourism said that this year’s results show that the tourist product is constantly being upgraded and added that for many years the tourist product was based only on the “sun and sea” slogan which is no longer the case, while he referred to the establishment of 12 quality labels that give identity to the tourist product of Cyprus.

 

The third thing that this year’s results show, according to Perdios, is that the resilience of Cyprus as a tourist destination has been significantly strengthened, adding that we are at 50% compared to 2019, a percentage that is the best in the world.

 

Explaining how the specific results were achieved, Perdios said that the budget in 2019 was approximately 48 million euros and this year “we are delivering a budget of almost 54 million euros”, adding that the most important thing is that previously only 10% of the budget was allocated to improving the product, “while now we give 28% to upgrade the product.”

 

He also mentioned that, in addition to the quality labels, the Deputy Ministry runs 18 grant projects for each special form of tourism, for villages, for the countryside and for winter, adding that “in 2019 we gave 5 million euros for upgrading the product, while in the budget of 2023 we allocate 15 million euros”.

 

In relation to advertising, Perdios said that “the percentage we spend on advertising remains significant” and amounts to almost 38% of the budget or almost 20 million euros, of which 5 million euros concern digital advertising (€3 million for winter months) “allowing us to advertise all year round.”

 

This means that over 0.5 billion mobile phones in the world are “seeing our ad”, he pointed out.

 

Source: Cyprus News Agency

In the first half of 2022, average household electricity prices in the European Union increased sharply compared with the same period in 2021, from 22.0 euro per 100 kWh to 25.3 euro per 100 kWh, according to data released by Eurostat, the statistical service of the EU.

 

The same data show a 32% increase in Cyprus during the same period, from 19.8 euro per 100 kWh during the first six months of 2021 to 26.1 euro per 100 kWh during the same period in 2022.

 

Average gas prices in the EU also increased compared with the same period in 2021 from €6.4 per 100 kWh to €8.6 per 100 kWh in the first half of 2022.

 

Wholesale prices for electricity and gas have increased substantially across the EU. Energy and supply costs impacted by the current geopolitical situation, the Russian military aggression in Ukraine, mainly drove the increase.

 

Compared with a year ago, the weight of taxes and levies in the final electricity and gas bills charged to households in the EU in the first half of 2022 decreased significantly as Member States put in place governmental allowances and subsidies to mitigate high-energy costs.

 

Source: Cyprus News Agency

According to a Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority (CERA) press release, the meeting focused on the provisions and the way of implementation of EU Regulation 2022/869 regarding the guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructures, in the context of the evaluation of the “Euroasia Interconnector” project .

 

The conference was organized by CERA in cooperation with the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) in the context of the mutual briefing on the project and the renewal of cooperation between the independent regulatory authorities of Cyprus-Israel. The meeting was described by the participants as “a milestone in the joint efforts of the two countries to promote regional cooperation in the energy sector.”

 

During the conference it was mentioned that the effects of the current energy crisis, the turbulence in the energy markets and recent geopolitical developments make the “Euroasia Interconnector” Project more relevant and important than ever.

 

The meeting was attended by CERA President Andreas Poullikkas and officials, representatives from the Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry, representatives of the Transmission System Operator of Cyprus, the Ambassador of Israel to Cyprus Oren Anolik, the President of the Israeli regulatory authority Amir Shavit and officials, the CEO and Chief Operations Officer of the Independent System Operator of Israel (ISO-NOGA) Shiki Fisher and officials, representatives of the Ministry of Energy of Israel, the President and CEO of Euroasia Interoconnector ltd Nasos Ktorides and representatives of the company.

 

The “EuroAsia Interconnector”, is a project of common interest of the EU, which is expected to put an end to the energy isolation of the two countries, while strengthening energy security and contributing to the intergration of the internal market. The implementation of the “EuroAsia Interconnector” project is, as noted in the press release, an important step forward for both countries, providing all the necessary synergies that will accelerate the integration of more renewable energy sources while promoting competition in the electricity market for the benefit of the consumers.

 

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Emirates air carrier announced on Monday its plans to increase the flight frequency of its Malta-Larnaca-Dubai route to a daily service starting 1 December 2022. This will bring back the airline’s operations on this route “back to pre-pandemic levels, signalling a steady recovery amid easing of travel restrictions worldwide”, the airline said in a press release.

 

According to the press release, Emirates flight EK110 will be leaving Malta at 1435hrs and arriving in Larnaka International Airport at 1900hrs for a stop-over and then continuing its journey to Dubai International Airport, landing at 0045hrs.

 

The return flight departs Dubai at 0725hrs, with a stop-over in Larnaca and lands at Malta International Airport at 1305hrs. All times are local for each city, the press release said. It adds that the route is served by the airline’s Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, “the largest passenger plane to operate in the market.”

 

Emirates Country Manager in Cyprus, Mohammed Al Qassim, stated that “Cyprus has always been a strategic market for us and the return of our operations to pre-pandemic levels reaffirms our commitment to supporting the market’s growth and recovery”, the press release said.

 

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The biggest problem faced in the effort for digital transformation is resistance to change, Cyprus’ Deputy Minister for Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, Kyriacos Kokkinos said on Monday in parliament where he presented his Deputy Ministry’s budget for 2023 and the work it has carried out during the past two years since its establishment.

 

Kokkinos also said that an action plan was needed to encourage more young people in Cyprus to study technology-related programmes as there is currently staff shortage in this sector. He also stressed the need for such positions in Cyprus to match the same salary and benefits offered abroad to prevent the brain-drain to other countries. According to the Deputy Minister, however, the fact that Cyprus has now become a technology centre, with many technology companies operating in the country, and employing, in the IT sector alone, around 15,000 professionals, has motivated several young people to return.

 

During the discussion at the House Committee on Financial and Budgetary Affairs, during the presentation of the work of the Deputy Ministry, it was mentioned that within two years, among other things, they implemented a fully digital system for the management of the pandemic, created and developed the gov.cy portal, increased digital services, and upgraded telecommunications.

 

According to the data submitted by Kokkinos to the Parliament, within two years, Cyprus went up four places in the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), which will now be used as a tool to monitor EU countries’ progress in implementing the EU Digital Decade 2030 policy agenda. In 2022, Cyprus ranked 20th among the 27 EU member states, which the Deputy Ministry’s note submitted to Parliament said, marks “a rapid pace of progress” and was “applauded” by the European Commission.

 

Kokkinos also referred to the issue of “resistance to change” regarding digital transformation. He said that changing systems was “the easy part”, but that if structures and processes are not touched, then digital transformation will not be successful. That is why, he said, they exert “tremendous effort” to do so in collaboration, both with the departments and Ministries whose systems are working on but also with citizens, as affected parties.

 

He also said they will be launching a campaign this week to encourage companies that want to establish operation in Cyprus to choose cities other than Limassol, which, he said, “is saturated”. Kokkinos said that there is a problem now in Limassol, and referred to environmental burden, the increase in traffic, and the financial burden, giving rent as an example.

 

Source: Cyprus News Agency