Day: November 17, 2022

Antimicrobial resistance is “often seen as the next big health crisis”, Commissioner for Health Stella Kyriakides said in a statement ahead of November 18th, European Antibiotics Awareness Day, commenting on a pan-European survey on antimicrobial resistance which has shown that half of Europeans still incorrectly believe that antibiotics kill viruses.

According to the Eurobarometer, only 34% in Cyprus (compared with 50% in the EU), falsely believe that antibiotics kill viruses, while 91% (82% in the EU) know that unnecessary use of antibiotics makes them become ineffective.

“Antibiotics kill bacteria, not viruses. Overusing antibiotics, feeds the resistance of bacteria to our medicines” Commissioner Kyriakides underlined, adding that that is why antimicrobial resistance is often seen as the next big health crisis.

“The survey we present today shows why this risk exists” she added, pointing out that “the fight against the silent AMR pandemic must be tackled through a One Health approach, including the more prudent use of antibiotics in both humans and animals.”

“It is crucial for every citizen and every medical professional should be a part of this collective effort” she stressed.

According to the Eurobarometer survey presented by the Commission on Thursday, 23% of respondents have taken antibiotics over the past year, the lowest figure since 2009. According to the Commission this percentage shows that the work of Member States and the Commission to help raise awareness among citizens on the risks of excessive use of antibiotics is paying off, even though much more needs to be done.

Data published today by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) estimates that, throughout the European Union, Iceland, and Norway, more than 35,000 people die each year due to antibiotic-resistant infections.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry Natasa Pilides said Thursday that the government will continue to support Famagusta Chamber of Commerce and Industry in its efforts for Cyprus to become an attractive and competitive destination for tourism, investment and the development of innovative business activities.

Addressing the annual assembly of the Chamber the Minister spoke of the government’s vision to redefine Cyprus’ economic model and to turn the economy into a green, circular, digital and competitive one.

Pilides said that supporting entrepreneurship is a high priority and the efforts continue for the businesses to become strong and resilient.

She also spoke of the increased budget of the Ministry of 40.5% compared to 2022, which includes projects for institutional reforms and modernization of infrastructure.

She added that in total the Ministry of Energy has secured from the EU more than €580 million for the period 2021-2027, which are granted as incentives to households to invest in green energy and to businesses to modernize.

Projects for the period 2021-2022 exceed 330 mln euro, she said, adding that for 2023 the plans amount to 210 million and will aim to support businesses. Pilides also referred to the promotion of halloumi and the exports of Cyprus products.

She described tourism industry as the driving force of development for the Famagusta region adding that the national tourism strategy implements various actions.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

We have left no stone unturned, with a view to avert Turkish objectives, Cyprus Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said on Thursday in statements to the media after a meeting which the President of the Republic, Nicos Anastasiades, had, at the Presidential Palace, with the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and Americas in the United Nations Department of Political Affairs, Miroslav Jenca.

Kasoulides, who was among the Cypriot officials who participated in the meeting, said that the goal of Jenca’s visit, on behalf of the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, was to find out which is the current situation as regards the UNSG’s Good Offices Mission for a Cyprus settlement.

Responding to questions, he noted that during the meeting President Anastasiades elaborated among others on the Turkish provocations in the buffer zone. Moreover, Kasoulides said he was concerned by the possibility to have some negative developments until the presidential elections, expressing hope that messages highlighting the need for the situation not to worsen until the elections will be heeded.

Kasoulides noted the various and continuing provocations in Cyprus by the Turkish side, in relation to the buffer zone or the pursuit of recognition for the illegal pseudostate by the Turkic States Organization or elsewhere, and the demand for a separate “Status of Forces Agreement” between the UN and the pseudostate.

“They will achieve none of these and they have not achieved all these despite the Turkish propaganda,” he added.

Asked about Nicosia’s reaction to avert Turkish objectives, Kasoulides said that “we have left no stone unturned” about all these issues aiming at the upgrading of the pseudostate, set up in Cyprus’ Turkish-occupied northern part.

He added that he has had various telephone conversations, there were interventions by EU countries and at the Ministers level and at the level of the External Action Service, while the US and China have also made some movements.

Kasoulides noted the possibility of not seeing any developments before the presidential elections as things stand right now, expressing hope and the wish that messages for the need of the situation not to worsen until the elections will be heeded.

Asked if he is worried about any negative developments until the elections he replied “of course”, recalling that he spoke in public about the dangers for Famagusta and for the dangers related to the Turkish illegal drilling operations in Cyprus’ EEZ.

“I did not do so to raise fear among Cypriots. I did so because we needed to act proactively,” he added.

Asked about information that there will be prospects for resumption of the efforts for a settlement after elections in Turkey he said that he has not spoken about any information that there will be such prospects. We will see if there will be any, he concluded.

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.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

FOR THE PERIOD FROM 1800 17/11/2022 UNTIL 1800 18/11/2022

Area covered is 8 kilometers seawards.

Winds are in BEAUFORT scale. Times are local times.

Atmospheric pressure at the time of issue: 1015hPa (hectopascal)

Weak low pressure is affecting the area. The weather will be locally partly cloudy at times with isolated showers and risk of isolated thunderstorms, mainly over the western and northern coastal areas.

Visibility: Good, but moderate in showers

Sea surface temperature: 23°C

Warnings: NIL

Source: Cyprus News Agency

We are pleased to announce this online seminar in the framework of the innovative project “EMPACT – Empathy and Sustainability: The Art of Thinking like a Mountain”, co-funded by the EU Creative Europe Programme (Grant Agreement No: 101055903 – EMPACT – CREA-CULT-2021-COOP-2). In this one-day seminar, organized in four sessions via Zoom:

We will explore key theoretical discourses and advanced practices in environmental sustainability in the arts and the inter-relations between corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies and the art world.

We will support the capacities of artists and cultural operators, illustrating how to connect effectively their work to corporate initiatives.

We will discuss successful practices in CSR from different countries, incl. Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Greece.

We will analyze opportunities, risks, and future trends and will seek together new ways of cooperation between the corporate and artistic worlds for a more environmentally sustainable future.

The seminar is organized in collaboration between the National Academy of Theatre and Film Arts “Kr. Sarafov” and Cyprus University of Technology and will be held in English language.

Seminar speakers/moderators are renowned experts and professionals in the field of arts management, sustainability and CSR: Prof. Dr. Lidia Varbanova, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Marina Stefanova and Myrto Voreakou. A brief introduction of EMPACT project will be addressed by the project coordinator Dr. Efi Kyprianidou. Representatives from socially responsible business companies in Bulgaria will also join the conversation.

If you are an artist, arts manager, cultural professional, researcher, educator, student, or representative of a business company interested in cultural development, join us! The seminar has a limited number of participants: to reserve your place, please fill in the short registration form here: https://forms.gle/CKAZYNokibDT2Tf9A (please open with Chrome web browser). The seminar is free of charge. You will receive a Zoom link and the detailed seminar program upon registration.

For additional information about the seminar: please contact prof. Lidia Varbanova: email lidiavarbanova@gmail.com.

Join EMPACT social media and keep updated about empathy and sustainability through the arts: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube.

Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

Speakers/Moderators:

Prof. Dr. Lidia Varbanova has professional competence and experience as a consultant, educator, researcher and coach in over 60 countries in Europe, North America, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Africa. Her portfolio focuses on strategy, policiy, entrepreneurship, innovations, environmental sustainability and online technologies in the arts, culture and creative industries. Lidia has been a permanent and visiting professor in prominent universities and training centers in Europe and Canada and has received a number of distinguished academic awards. Currently, she is a full-time professor and Director of the Master Program ”Management of Performing Arts and Industries” at the National Academy of Theatre and Film Arts “Kr. Sarafov” in Sofia, Bulgaria. She is also a member of the UNESCO International Expert Facility for the implementation of the 2005 Convention on Cultural Diversity.

Dr. Marina Stefanova is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at Sofia University ”St. Kliment Ohridski”. She is the director of the Master’s programme “Responsible and Sustainable Governance” and consultant on the “Business for Results” programme of UNICEF in Bulgaria. Marina is the Chairman of the Bulgarian Association of Corporate Social Responsibility Specialists (BAKSOS). Member of the Steering Committee of the Association of the Investor Relations Directors in Bulgaria and the Bulgarian Food Bank. Marina is the Founder and Director of the multimedia information-educational programme CSR AdviceBox of Kauzi Foundation and a Member of the Advisory Council on Corporate Social Responsibility at the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy in Bulgaria.

Myrto Voreakou is an architect holding an MSc in Architectural Design-Space-Culture from the National Technical University of Athens, and a MA in Cultural Policy and Development from the Open University of Cyprus. Her academic work focused on the notion of cultural narratives and their impact on the ways we design and signify spaces. Her recent research deals with the concept of (corporate) cultural responsibility, exploring how the inclusion of the cultural field in CSR practice could benefit the economy, culture, and society. Myrto has been an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Architecture of the University of Cyprus and the University of Nicosia. Currently, she works as a scientific officer at the Cyprus Scientific Technical Chamber, dealing with issues of sustainable development and architectural practice. She is a Ph.D. candidate in the field of Arts and Sustainability in the Department of Fine and Applied Arts of the Cyprus University of Technology.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades has assured that despite provocations and threats by Turkey, Cyprus, as a sovereign and independent state, will proceed unhindered, to implement its energy policy.

At the same time, he assured that Cyprus does not object Turkey’s participation in the wider network of energy synergies developed in the area, provided that it will stop the illegal actions and stop contesting Cyprus and Greece’s Exclusive Economic Zones.

He was addressing the tenth annual Cyprus Energy Symposium entitled “Cyprus – Energy hub in the Eastern Mediterranean”, held in Nicosia, an event which the President praised.

President Anastasiades said the ultimate goal is to exploit our energy reserves and for Cyprus to transition to green energy by enhancing our energy supply, lifting our energy isolation and operating a competitive electricity and gas market, at the lowest possible cost to the consumer.

The strategy followed by the Government on energy issues, President Anastasiades pointed out, always takes into account the great challenges of the sector.

Our fundamental priorities in this framework are to handle the energy crisis and the role that Cyprus can play in the European energy security.

Referring to the unprecedented global energy crisis, he said the EU is constantly seeking energy corridors and to become independent from insecure energy destinations. It is also considering measures to strengthen its energy security, which will accelerate investments for green transition, ensure the storage of sufficient quantities of gas, develop interconnections between Member States and to intensify dialogue on agreements concerning imports of energy products with friendly countries, producers and or suppliers of energy.

Our vision is to create an energy corridor, the East Med Corridor, that will include various resources and routes, speeding up projects currently underway and exploiting the synergies required for viable exploitation of domestic energy resources, he added.

The President referred to the initiatives undertaken by the government in this direction such as participation in the East Mediterranean Gas Forum, trilateral partnerships related to stability and security in the region and the exploitation of energy resources, while he referred to the Presidency of Cyprus at the East Mediterranean Gas Forum where the long-term strategy of the Organization was drawn up.

He referred to the proposal by Cyprus at the European Council to exploit large areas of the desert to produce green energy, noting that through the EuroAfrica interconnector it could be the alternative source of supply of significant energy, thus getting rid of the dependence on other sources.

In his speech President Anastasiades assured of Cyprus’ will, despite Turkey’s provocations, threats and illegal actions, to proceed, as a sovereign and independent state, in the unimpeded implementation of our energy policy, based on specific and targeted planning that has been adopted.

In exercising our sovereign rights, he noted, “we will continue with initiatives to upgrade our energy partnerships with the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean and the EU, honouring at the same time, our contractual obligations either to states or to large companies, and to implement the important agreements that the Republic of Cyprus has signed.

President Anastasiades repeated that Cyprus does not object to Turkey’s participation. We do not want to exclude Turkey from the wider network of energy synergies developed in the region and which promote security, stability and an alternative choice for the EU.”

However, the precondition is that Turkey needs to “end its illegal actions, questioning the EEZ of Cyprus and Greece, or the law of the sea and the sovereign rights of the states in the region. Under these circumstances, of course, it would be a blessing for the countries of the region to cooperate, including Turkey, if there is respect for international law” he added.

Concluding, the President said he has no doubt that on the basis of the strategic partnerships concluded with the countries of the region, the significant deposits that have been discovered in the Levantine basin and the launch of the electricity interconnector with Europe, “Cyprus will become a reliable, secure and alternative energy hub for the benefit of the energy security of the continent and the Eastern Mediterranean.”

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.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Harmonized inflation slowed down in October, compared to the previous months, remaining however at high levels.

According to the Statistical Service of Cyprus, Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices in October 2022 increased by 8.6% compared to October 2021, while compared to the previous month it increased by 0.5%.

For the period January – October 2022, there was an increase of 8.2% compared to the corresponding period last year.

Harmonized inflation for October is the lowest recorded since April 2022 when it had risen again to 8.6%. From June to September 2022 the index did not fall below 9%, peaking at 10.6% in July.

Compared to October 2021, the largest changes were noted in Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels (22.2%), Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (12.6%) and Transport (11.9%).

Compared to September 2022, the largest change was recorded in the Clothing and Footwear category (5.3%).

For the period January – October 2022, compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, the largest changes were noted in Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels (22.4%) and Transport (15.3%).

As regards the economic origin, the largest change when compared to the index of October 2021 was observed in Energy with a percentage of 25.6%. When compared to the index of the previous month, the largest change was monitored in categories Energy (-2.4%) and Non energy industrial goods (2.3%).

Source: Cyprus News Agency

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres is committed to stay engaged in the process, searching for common ground, finding understanding to move forward the issue of a Cyprus settlement, Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas Miroslav Jenca said on Thursday.

In statements at the Presidential Palace, after having been received by Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades Jenca said that “we have had as usual a very frank, a very constructive discussion” with President Anastasiades, the Foreign Minister and the delegation.

“I just would like to underline the commitment of the Secretary General to stay engaged in the process, searching for common ground, finding understanding to move forward the issue of settlement, for the benefit and prosperity of the people on the island,” he noted.

So, the UN official concluded, “we will continue in this good spirit.”

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded and occupied the island`s northern third. Numerous rounds of talks under UN aegis to reunite the island under a federal roof failed to yield results.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The current challenges of the energy sector and the energy plans of Cyprus and the wider Eastern Mediterranean region were the focus of discussions at the 10th Energy Symposium entitled “Cyprus: energy hub in the Eastern Mediterranean”, which takes place on Thursday in Nicosia.

On behalf of the organisers, Financial Media Way CEO Iosif Iosif welcomed the participants and stressed that the energy symposium seeks to shed light on the landscape of three pillars of energy, namely natural gas, electricity and renewable energy.

The Chairman and Executive Director of the Institute of Energy of Southeast Europe, Costis Stambolis, said in his address that the main challenge today is the energy transition, while he also focused on the Greece-Cyprus axis, which offers many opportunities for synergies across the energy spectrum.

In his own message, CCCI President Christodoulos Agastiniotis noted that the energy resources of the Cyprus EEZ can change the strategic data in the region and make Cyprus a pole of stability and security in the South-Eastern Mediterranean, as well as a regional energy centre in the effort to decouple from Russian gas.

Hellenic Bank’s Chief Banking Officer Phivos Stasopoulos referred to the bank’s investments in the energy sector and especially in renewable energy sources, such as the Alexigros and Orites wind farms, while he also mentioned indicative credit products that offer more favourable borrowing terms based on ecological criteria.

In her speech, President of the House of Representatives Annita Demetriou said that Cyprus, as a key partner of the Eastern Mediterranean countries with hydrocarbon reserves, has the potential to make a substantial contribution to the Union’s independence from energy imports from Russia, both through the development and exploitation of its energy reserves, but also as an energy hub for the hydrocarbon reserves of the wider Eastern Mediterranean region.

In order to achieve this goal, she continued, there is a need to take decisive and holistic action for the development and exploitation of our country’s natural gas reserves as a fuel to bridge the transition to renewable energy sources, adding, however, that, considering the planned gradual elimination of hydrocarbons from the energy mix imposed by both the European Green Agreement and the global action against the climate crisis, the implementation of our plans should be immediate.

Cyprus’ actions in the energy sector should also cover a wide range of activities capable of opening the way for the transition of our country to renewable energy sources, such as solar energy, wind energy, but also the transition to clean forms of energy of the future, such as hydrogen.

Demetriou added that measures should be taken to strengthen the electricity transmission and distribution network of Cyprus, so that it has the necessary capacity for increased production of electricity from renewables, a perspective to which the EuroAsia Interconnector cable will make a decisive contribution.

House President said that it is also necessary for Cyprus to strengthen research, development and installation of electricity storage systems, as well as to pursue the conclusion of electricity interconnection agreements with other neighbouring countries, while she assured that the House of Representatives remains supportive of the effort to create a competitive electricity market.

The floor was then given to Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry, Natasa Pilides, who said in her speech that given the need to import gas from alternative sources, the EU has created a platform for the common market for natural gas, in which Egypt and Israel can already participate, while Cyprus has the opportunity to contribute, with gas discoveries in the Cypriot EEZ estimated at 340-420 bcm.

In relation to the exploitation of hydrocarbons in the Republic of Cyprus, the Energy Minister said that nine exploration and one exploitation licence have been granted, while a total of eight companies were operating in the EEZ of the Republic of Cyprus.

In total, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, she continued, $200 million worth of work has been done within the Cypriot EEZ, the A3 drilling in the Aphrodite field is scheduled for 2023, seismic surveys have been completed in Blocks 10 and 5, and the process following the drilling in Zeus-1 to collect additional data in relation to the findings of the Kronos-1 drilling earlier this year in Block 6.

In relation to electricity interconnections, Pilides referred to the EuroAsia Interconnector, which envisages the electricity interconnection between Cyprus, Greece, Israel, and said that construction work will start before the end of the year, as well as the LNG import terminal (FSRU), which is scheduled to be completed in the second half of 2023.

The Minister also spoke about the current situation with regard to renewables, saying that the use of renewables in gross final consumption in 2020 was over 17% compared to the mandatory target of 13%, while the use of renewables in electricity generation was over 12% in 2020. She also presented preliminary figures for 2021, according to which the participation of RES in electricity generation was around 15%, which could even exceed 20% were it not for problems related to the need to upgrade the electricity grid, which is being rolled out with investments included in the “Cyprus-Tomorrow” plan and other funds, and the need for storage projects.

In his address, delivered by the Ambassador of Greece to Cyprus, Ioannis Papameletiou, the Minister of Environment and Energy of Greece, Kostas Skrekas, said that Greece and Cyprus can make a decisive contribution to the achievement of the strategic choice to decouple from Russian hydrocarbon imports by 2027, by becoming both producers and exporters of natural gas through the exploitation of the potential deposits located in their maritime jurisdictional zones, and by achieving their energy transition through the production of more clean energy, for which a key prerequisite is the existence of strong electrical interconnections, such as the EuroAsia Interconnector.

The start of its operation in 2027, Skrekas continued, will end Cyprus’ energy isolation and will help it to achieve its green transition goals and exploit its large solar potential. Greece stands by this effort, he said, referring to his participation in the inauguration of the project in Nicosia.

In the gas sector, he said that the pact signed between the EU, Egypt and Israel last June can facilitate the procedures for the production and export of Cypriot gas to the EU through Egyptian liquefaction terminals, the construction of new floating terminals, as well as the implementation of high-capacity pipelines, such as the EastMed pipeline.

Moreover, according to a statement by Energean, the company will take decisions in 2023 and, most likely, in the first half of the year on how to develop the new gas fields it has discovered during its drilling programme in the sea of Israel.

As Energean’s Vice President in Greece Dr. Konstantinos Nikolaou said at the Energy Symposium, the export via pipeline to Cyprus with FLNG liquefaction and further export to European markets, is among the prospects the company is considering for the exploitation of the new fields, with the other two scenarios the company is looking at being the export of gas to Egypt and the channelling of additional volumes, beyond the already contracted 7.2 bcm per year to the domestic market in Israel.

According to Dr. Nicolaou, Cyprus is a strategically important country for Energean’s activity and if the project is implemented the benefits for the Republic of Cyprus will be very significant, as the country will become a natural gas hub without having to make investments itself and its geopolitical role will be upgraded at a time when the European Union is looking for new sources of gas supply.

At the same time, he noted that Cyprus’ cooperation with Israel and Greece will be further strengthened, while in the case that the Republic of Cyprus wants to use gas for domestic use, security of supply and competition will be enhanced for the benefit of the Cypriot economy and consumers.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Ukrainian nurses and midwives who have sought asylum in the Republic of Cyprus may apply to be included at the Registry of Nurses and Midwives in the country on the basis of an EU recommendation to do with the recognition of professional qualifications of people forced to flee Ukraine due to the war.

In a press release, the Ministry of Health specifies that applicants should have a temporary protection permit, which is valid for one year, with the option of six monthly renewals

For more information interested parties may contact the Cyprus Nursing and Midwifery Council at the Ministry of Health (office 002), telephone number: 22605455 or at the emails: cyprusnmc@moh.gov.cy and nmccyprus@gmail.com.

Source: Cyprus News Agency