Month: December 2022

Minister of Transport and Communications Yannis Karousos had a bilateral meeting today in Athens with his Greek counterpart, Konstantinos Ach. Karamanlis. The meeting took place in the framework of cooperation and coordination for the promotion of the positions of Greece and Cyprus on European Union issues.

During the meeting the revision of the Regulation on Trans-European Transport Networks was discussed, which will be on the table at the forthcoming Council of Transport Ministers, to be held in Brussels on December 5, 2022.

The two Ministers agreed on the need for the joint participation of the two regions in EU programmes to raise funding from European funds for the improvement and modernisation of the existing trans-European transport network and to exploit opportunities for investment in new projects.

At the same time, Karousos and Karamanlis discussed developments in the Fit for 55 in relation to air transport and it was agreed that cooperation and coordination between the two countries will continue in order to maintain what has been achieved so far for the benefit of the two countries.

The two Ministers agreed that in the ongoing negotiations between the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, the provision for an aircraft refuelling exemption for airports where the distance between them is less than 1200 km and the allocation of 20 million free greenhouse gas emission allowances with an attempt to increase this to 60 million to assist the use of sustainable aviation fuels to cover the increase in costs compared to conventional fuels should remain in the legislative proposal.

Finally, Karousos thanked Karamanlis for the expert assistance provided by the Civil Aviation Authority of Greece to the Civil Aviation Department of Cyprus for the planning and implementation of the training of the personnel that will staff the surveillance approach unit at Larnaca Airport.

“The Surveillance Approach Unit at Larnaca Airport is expected to operate independently in Summer 2023 with your support. Our cooperation is a two-way street, as we also support the creation of satellite-based approach procedures for Greece’s airports by providing expertise,” Karousos said.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The European Commission announced the disbursement of a first tranche of 85 million euro from the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism for Cyprus.

The decision comes after the fulfilment of 14 agreed milestones concerning reforms and investments in the electricity market, the financial sector and public administration, as well as in the areas of energy efficiency, circular economy, anti-corruption, transparency, digital skills and financial audits and controls.

On 28 July 2022, Cyprus submitted a request to the Commission for a payment of 85 million euro, following the achievement of the 14 milestones.

On 25 October 2022, the Commission provisionally approved the request, paving the way for the disbursement of the funds.

In total, the Cyprus Recovery and Resilience Plan will be financed with 1.1 billion euro (916 million euro in grants and 200 million euro in loans). Payments under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) are conditional on the implementation of the investments and reforms outlined in the Recovery and Resilience Plan.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Cyprus’ Finance Minister Constantinos Petrides and EU Commissioner Stella Kyriakides on Friday praised the disbursement of the first tranche of €85 million from the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism, during an event to mark the day, co-organized by the Republic of Cyprus and the European Commission Representation in Cyprus, in the presence of Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Commissioner Kyriakides.

The Finance Minister said that Cyprus will continue the implementation of the national Recovery and Resilience Plan with consistency.

Presenting the progress of the implementation of the Plan, the Minister said that completing the first payment was a painful and stressful process, describing the plan as an optimistic one which took a lot of work to prepare.

Petrides said that there is a plan for 10 disbursements until 2026 and that, after today’s disbursement, his Ministry is now working on the second tranche.

He added that only 4 milestones of the 18 for the second tranche are pending.

The total goals and benchmarks are 271, he added, which include the sectors of public health (€74,1 mln), Green Economy (€447,6 mln), economy’s resilience and competitiveness (€422,3 mln), transition to digital era (€89,4 mln), employment, social protection, education and human resources (€172,9 mln).

FinMin added that the plan is a holistic one and 41% of the funds are aimed at green transition, preparing Cyprus for the new green era.

Petrides also said that the Plan includes more than 35 sponsorship plans with an amount of €400 million.

EU Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said that today is a historic day as Cyprus received the first trance of €85 million.

Kyriakides said that every euro allocated has a multiplier effect on the economy, adding that the disbursement comes as a continuation of a comprehensive and ambitious recovery and resilience plan.

The Commissioner said that the plan includes significant reforms and substantial investments and will significantly expand the productive base of the economy and will create new and quality jobs with high added value.

According to the Commissioner the economy will become permanently sustainable but also more resistant to crises, such as the pandemic.

She congratulated, on behalf of the European Commission, the President of the Republic, Nicos Anastasiades, the Ministers and the authorities of the Republic for the achievement of the first 14 milestones of the Plan which are related to the implementation of major reforms and investments.

She noted that reforms such as the new energy efficiency measures and the Action Plan aimed at promoting the country’s circular economy have become today more necessary than ever. These, she said, are a very important contribution to our common goal of accelerating the green transition and transformation.

The Commissioner also said that the national package includes investments to improve the authentication of traditional Cypriot products.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The Cyprus Parliament approved on Friday two bills establishing a new professional pension scheme for the public and wider public service, including local authorities, providing pension coverage to thousands of public sector employees hired after October 1 2011, including casual staff.

The two bills were approved unanimously with MPs speaking of a historic day, noting that the state should address inequalities in the pension system between the public and the private sector.

The new pension scheme will be funded by a 5% contribution per month by both employers and employees.

Christiana Erotokritou, President of the parliamentary Committee of Finance said the new scheme creates a new state of affairs for the employees of the wider public sector.

“This is a step towards the right direction,” she added.

Erotokritou said the committee discussed the two bills in depth and brought amendments with the consensus of the executive.

She highlighted that under one amendment the pension fund’s reserves will monitored by a Committee composed of the Finance Minister, the Permanent Secretary of the Finance Ministry, the Auditor General and the Finance Ministry’ Treasurer who will appoint external advisors over the fund’s investment policy.

She also noted that any change in the contribution percentages will be governed by regulations to be tabled to the Parliament as opposed to a decree of the Finance Minister, as stipulated in the initial bill.

MPs criticised the fact that the pension scheme does not cover approximately 180 employees that were hired in 2011 but retired, with the government assuring that it will cover these employees in a one-off allowance.

However, they stated that they could not amend the bills as this would violate the Constitution, stipulating that the Parliament cannot enact laws increasing public expenditure. They stated that they will monitor in case the new government would not honour this commitment.

Furthermore, MPs said that new regulations on the National Guard will cover non-commissioned officers not covered by the scheme.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Presidential Commissioner Photis Photiou described the missing persons as the most tragic aspect of the Cyprus problem, which the Cypriot State never forgets, while addressing an event held at the “House of Cyprus” in Athens.

Photiou’s speech at the event was delivered by the Counsellor of the Cyprus Embassy in Athens Ioannis Adamou.

During his speech, Photiou analyzed the history of the Cyprus problem, while making special reference to the sacrifice of the Cypriots who defended the independence and territorial integrity of Cyprus in 1974.

Speaking about the missing persons of the Turkish invasion, Presidential Commissioner noted that it is the “most tragic aspect” of the Cyprus problem.

“There are still 800 Greek Cypriots and Greeks missing. For 48 years now, Turkey has refused to cooperate, in goodwill and honesty, in clarifying their fate, despite the decisions of international courts,” he said.

“It is unacceptable 48 years later to still have missing persons. However, despite the difficulties and problems, we are determined to continue our efforts to shed light on every case of our missing persons,” he concluded.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Cyprus is committed to achieving the revised United Nations targets for HIV and AIDS by 2030 said Health Minister Michael Hadjipantela on Thursday, during a press conference held at the Ministry on the occasion of World AIDS Day.

In his address, the Minister of Health said that this year the global message is “equality”, a call for action to ensure universal and unhindered access to health care, but also for a personal and collective rethinking of our attitudes towards the disease, ending the stigmatisation and social marginalisation of people living with HIV.

“As the Ministry of Health, we remain committed to achieving the revised targets set by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS, with a 2030 implementation horizon. In this context, 95% of people living with the virus know their diagnosis, among whom 95% access and receive antiretroviral treatment, and among those on treatment, 95% achieve viral suppression. As the Ministry of Health, we remain committed to achieving the above in the light of zero stigma, universal equality and social acceptance,” he stressed.

According to Hadjipantela, for the year 2021, there were a total of 148 HIV infection diagnoses in Cyprus, of which 113 concerned primary diagnoses, while the remaining 35 were diagnoses in people with an already known history of HIV infection.

He added that for the same year it is estimated that 91.6% of HIV positive people residing in Cyprus have been diagnosed with the disease, adding that 93.7% of them had access to healthcare and are receiving antiretroviral treatment, while among those receiving antiretroviral treatment, 96.6% have achieved virological suppression.

“The Ministry of Health offers full access to antiretroviral treatment regardless of insurance coverage and nationality and provides free hospitalization and medical care for all complications related to the disease,” the Minister of Health stressed, adding that recently, by a decision of the Council of Ministers, dated August 31, 2022, the incentive plan for HIV-positive people was increased from 300 euros to 350 euros, which will be paid in December with retroactive effect.

“On the occasion of World AIDS Day, we must review our attitude towards HIV infection and work together towards a brighter future. Together we can achieve more. Together we can end the HIV pandemic,” he concluded.

Next, Infectious Disease Specialist at the Gregorios Clinic Dr. George Siakallis provided detailed statistics in relation to HIV/AIDS cases over the period between 1986 and 2021.

As he mentioned, during this period a total of 1579 HIV positive persons were diagnosed, of which 784 are Cypriots (49.7%), in 2021 148 new HIV positive cases were recorded, of which 46 are Cypriots, while in the period between January and October 2022 172 new HIV positive cases were diagnosed.

He added that in terms of gender distribution, of the 1579 total cases from 1986-2021, 1182 cases were men (74.9%) and 397 women (25.1%), adding that among the 784 Cypriot HIV-positive cases, 716 are men and 68 women (10:1 ratio), while among foreigners the ratio is 1:1 (466 men and 329 women).

Finally, the main mode of transmission, according to data from the last five years, is sexual intercourse (92%), which includes Sexual Contact Between Men (52.3%) and Heterosexual Contact (39.7%), Dr. Siakallis added.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Minister of Commerce Natasa Pilides said Wednesday that the first National Action Plan to promote Cypriot wine seem to be bearing fruit, as exports of wines in 2021 saw a rapid increase of over 60%, compared to the previous year, in a statement on the occasion of International Maratheftiko Day.

The International Maratheftiko Day has been officially established on December 1st. The dominant rare, red, wine grape variety from Cyprus, occupies the first place among the Cypriot red varieties.

In relation to investments in the wine sector, Pilides said that grants totalling approximately €15.3 million have been approved for the benefit of forty-five wine companies, including thirteen new wineries, while a total €13.5 have been distributed to date in forty-three wineries.

In the framework of the implementation of the National Action Plan, according to Pilides, the Ministry created a modern and dynamic campaign to promote Cypriot wine, in Cyprus and abroad, which includes a series of targeted actions and is currently ready to be implemented.

At the same time, she said that “we have intensified the implementation of measures to strengthen the extroversion of Cypriot wineries and wine industries, such as the Ministry’s Sponsorship Plans for participation in foreign exhibitions, the organization of wine tasting events inside and outside Cyprus and the publication of articles and advertisements in specialized magazines and websites.”

She added that in the last twelve months there have been around thirty targeted actions for Cypriot wine in Cyprus and abroad.

In addition, she said that the Ministry operates the Export Help Desk, which is responsible for facilitating contacts between wineries and importers in forty-four countries, which are covered by sixteen Cyprus’ Trade Centers.

Source: Cyprus News Agency