Day: January 7, 2023

Erdogan’s threats against Greece “are entirely unacceptable”, US Democrat Senator Bob Menendez has said, adding that “these absurd intimidations” must stop.

The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman tweeted on Friday that “Erdogan’s continued threats against Greece are entirely unacceptable behavior for the leader of a NATO country. These absurd intimidations must stop”.

Earlier this week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had threatened Greece with a missile strike.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Cyprus ranks fifth among EU member states as regards absorption from the EU cohesion funds, Finance Minister, Constantinos Petrides, has said, noting that, that the “challenge” now is to record the same results on the Recovery Fund in the next four years.

In a tweet on Friday, the Minister, citing a data chart on EU payments by country for the period 2014-2020, notes that, according to the latest data on absorption of Cohesion Funds, Cyprus is in 5th place (out of 28 countries), “with a rate of around 90%, while EU average is 78%”.

“It is a political and technocratic challenge to have the same results on the Recovery Fund in the next four years”, the Minister said.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The TOTAL-ENI consortium, operator of Block 6 in the Cypriot EEZ, has shown willingness to take faster steps in terms of exploitation, Minister of Energy, Commerce, and Industry Natasa Pilides said on Saturday.

Pilides said there is a lot to be done and discussed about what the next steps will be in relation to the investment activities to be done, as well as the investment plan and the various scenarios for transporting gas to the markets.

In her remarks in the Pelathoussa area of Pafos district and asked about the meeting that President Nicos Anastasiades will have on Monday with Vice President of TOTAL Laurent Vivier, she said that the Vice President of TOTAL is also responsible for the Eastern Mediterranean region and Cyprus in particular.

“It is very important to see how we are progressing,” she said, adding that “the TOTAL – ENI consortium, which is the operator of Block 6, has shown willingness to move more quickly towards exploitation.”

She added that it is expected to be an interesting meeting and expressed hope that things will move faster given the opportunities presented.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The enthronement of Archbishop George III, contacts with a TOTAL delegation and the presentation of the new rural development programme stand out in the agenda of President Nicos Anastasiades in the coming week, according to a written statement by Director of the President’s Press Office, Andreas Iosif.

In particular, Iosif says that President Anastasiades will attend the enthronement of the new Archbishop of Nova Justiniana and All Cyprus George III on Sunday January 8, with the ceremony having been scheduled for 16:00 local time (1400 GMT) at the Apostle Barnabas Cathedral in Nicosia, followed by a dinner hosted by His Beatitude at the Hilton Hotel in Nicosia at 19:00.

On Monday, at 10.30, at the Presidential Palace, the President of the Republic will receive a delegation from TOTAL, Iosif continues, while on Tuesday, January 10, the new rural development programme 2023 – 2027 under the New Agricultural Policy will be presented at the Presidential Palace.

Iosif notes that during the five-year period 2023 – 2027, 461.9 million euros will be allocated, of which 83.6 million euros will be a national contribution, with the new programme including nine objectives, among which targeted aid, such as increasing the amount of aid in mountainous areas, while efforts will continue to strengthen the role of producer groups/organisations in the agricultural production chain.

He adds that the Cyprus Tomorrow Plan, President Anastasiades’ legacy to future generations, includes projects and reforms linked to the green transition, with a budget of around half a billion euros, representing 41% of the total budget of the Plan.

He further points out that during the ten-year administration of President Anastasiades, for the first time the Republic of Cyprus has introduced a register of farmers so that subsidies are targeted at real farmers.

In addition, the Director of the President’s Press Office says that in order to safeguard agricultural production, the government has reformed the whole system, abolishing the OGA and introducing the institution of the agricultural revenue guarantee fund, while from 2013 to date, farmers who have suffered damage to their production due to natural disasters, adverse weather conditions or extreme weather events have been paid more than €100 million.

He adds that during the implementation of the previous Common Agricultural Policy, more than €750 million of European and national funds have been targeted to the agricultural community.

Moreover, at 18:30 on the same day, President Anastasiades will attend and address the presentation by the Office of the Commissioner for the Citizen of the National Strategy for Active Citizenship and Participatory Governance, which concludes the activities of the Free University of Citizens, with the event taking place at the Presidential Palace.

On Wednesday 11 January, at 10:00 a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers will be held, followed at 11:30 by the New Year’s cake cutting event organised by CyBC. At 13:00 the President and his spouse will host a lunch for the staff and the Presidential Guard at the Presidential Palace.

It is also stated that on Thursday 12 January, at 21:00, President Anastasiades will attend and address the 50th Best Athletes Awards Ceremony organised by the Cyprus Sports Writers Association at the Nicosia Municipal Theatre.

Finally, it is noted that on Saturday 14 January the President of the Republic will be in London where he will attend a Gala Dinner on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Republic of Cyprus, where he will be honoured by the National Federation of Cypriots in the UK and the All-Party Parliamentary Group For Cyprus.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The EU is appalled by the execution of Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini, arrested and sentenced to death in connection with the ongoing protests in Iran, said the Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the EU Nabila Massrali in a statement on Saturday.

“This is yet another sign of the Iranian authorities’ violent repression of civilian demonstrations”, she added.

As stated, the European Union calls “once again on the Iranian authorities to immediately end the strongly condemnable practice of imposing and carrying out death sentences against protesters, as well as to annul without delay the recent death penalty sentences that were already pronounced in the context of the ongoing protests, and to ensure that those who are under any form of detention or imprisonment are not subject to any form of mistreatment.”

Furthermore, the EU appeals to Iran to strictly abide by their obligations enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a party, and reiterates its firm and principled opposition to the use of capital punishment at all times and in all circumstances, noting that the death penalty is a cruel and inhumane punishment, which fails to act as a deterrent to crime and represents an unacceptable denial of human dignity and integrity, a definite punishment that makes possible miscarriages of justice irreversible.

Source: Cyprus News Agency