Day: January 26, 2023

Trade Unions representing over 70,000 employees in the public and private sector hold on Thursday a nation-wide strike in Cyprus, for three hours, following the impasse in the talks over the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA).

The three-hour strike, between 12:00 and 15:00 local time, was called on by the trade unions, after the dialogue between trade unions and employers with the mediation of the Minister of Labour, Kyriakos Koushos, failed to reach results. The trade unions also called their members to be “vigilant for further escalation depending on the developments.”

On his part, Koushos has said that the issue will be tackled by the new government to be sworn in following the presidential elections to be held on February 5 and 12 (second round) and has appealed to the responsibility of the trade unions to protect labour peace.

Trade unions say that amid soaring inflation the full payment of COLA is necessary to protect the employee’s purchasing power and reject any effort to abolish its philosophy. On their part, employers say that the current election period is not appropriate for a substantive dialogue and requested the dialogue to continue over a “new holistic, modern and effective system.”

Following the 2013 financial crisis in Cyprus, trade unions and employers signed a transitional agreement over the payment of COLA at 50% of the Consumer Price Index accounted for once a year instead of once every six months. The agreement was renewed until the end of 2022. The agreement stipulated that if no new agreement is reached the previous agreement would continue to apply, something which trade unions say it is not satisfactory.

The trade unions which called for the strike represent more than 70,000 employees in the public and private sectors, education, workers in universities.

In the capital, Nicosia, employees will gather at 13:00 local time in front of the Ministry of Finance and then march to the Ministry of Labour, while gatherings will be held in all other districts.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Our government is the one that restored COLA and the government of those who today were shouting against us, is the one that ended it, President Anastasiades said on Thursday, invited to comment on a nation-wide strike over COLA that paralyzed Cyprus for three hours.

He said that there must be some sense when he was asked about the complaints by the unionists that the government has a responsibility for the collapse of the talks.

He wondered why a government which restored the allowance in 2017 is held responsible and not the one which terminated it.

The President said that COLA is a workers’ right but both sides, unions and employers, must come to a decision and in the talks that preceded, there was a gap between the two sides and therefore the efforts did not yield results. Employers disagree and therefore further dialogue is needed, he added.

He also said that he cannot take lessons from those who ought to apologize to the employees.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Cyprus is now a quality shipping hub that has nothing to be envious about and makes us proud with its performance abroad, said on Wednesday Shipping Deputy Minister to the President, Vassilis Demetriades.

He was speaking during a press conference for the work achieved by the Deputy Ministry in the last five years. Demetriades has been Deputy Shipping Minister since July 2020.

During the presentation, the Deputy Minister stated that a solid foundation has been laid for the future of shipping in our country, despite the challenges caused in the last three years by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine and EU sanctions against of Russia, which negatively affected the Cypriot fleet.

“Since the day the war started we have recorded losses of 3.7 million total tonnage, of which 2 million relate to the sanctions, while the other 1.7 million fall under the expected loss”, he said and indicated that, at the same time, an inflow of 2 million total tonnage was recorded, “with the Cypriot registry proving durable” and total tonnage reaching 23.8 million.

Demetriades recalled that, about a year and a half ago, the Deputy Ministry drafted its vision for shipping, through the “SEA Change 2030” National Strategy, which includes 35 sustainable actions, of which 23 have already been implemented, with another two expected to be launched soon.

He also spoke of the establishment of a one-stop-shipping-shop with the adoption of the legislative framework of the Limited Liability Shipping Company. Moreover, he added, by 2024 all services offered by the Deputy Ministry will be provided digitally, noting that, within the next few days, the mobile app of the Deputy Ministry “CYSh1P” will be launched, with the digital services being accessible to all.

The tripling, in the last decade, of the companies that fall under the Special Tax System governing Cypriot shipping (97 companies in 2012 – 302 companies in 2022) is noted as important, with the largest increase observed in the last five years, following the establishment of the Deputy Ministry.

“These companies are not limited to ship management and ship ownership, but we have attracted telecommunications companies, specialised IT companies, ship insurance companies”, he said and indicated that the ambition is for Cyprus to become a Center for Arbitration and Mediation of maritime disputes.

“We are also cultivating a culture of research and innovation in shipping through a productive collaboration with the Research and Innovation Foundation on the basis of which we created the RISE Program (Research Innovation Shipping Environment), through which RIF has already allocated more than of 10 million euros for research and innovative projects that support the green and digital transformation of shipping, while a call for submission of interest for strategic infrastructure programmes in the shipping sector, amounting to 2.5 million euros, is under development”, he added.

The Deputy Minister underlined the leading presence of Cyprus in maritime events, in recent years, having signed a memorandum of cooperation with the UAE, “while 15 days ago a memorandum of cooperation was agreed with the United Kingdom which is expected to be signed before the end of term of the present Government.”

In addition, he continued, a cooperation memorandum with Panama and Sierra Leone is being prepared, “while we have taken initiatives to strengthen security in the Eastern Mediterranean region and the protection of the marine environment, with the expansion of the Mediterranean memorandum”.

He also recalled that Cyprus has been elected for a second consecutive term in the Council of the International Maritime Organization and announced that “on its own initiative, Cyprus has proposed, to the countries of the Commonwealth, an agenda for the oceans and it is expected, within 2023, that we will host Commonwealth of Nations Ministerial Conference on oceans protection matters.”

“With the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, we responded to the demands of the shipping community and made it possible for affected seafarers, whether Ukrainian or Russian, to open bank accounts,” he said, stressing that “through very hard negotiation, we managed to limit the cost of the sanctions in shipping, highlighting that sanctions must be effective, ensure equal competition and take into account the particularity of shipping”.

The Cyprus-Greece Sea Passenger Link is considered one of the most obvious, for the wider society, achievements of the Deputy Ministry. He indicated that, around mid-February, announcements from the company are expected for the new season, which is estimated to resume at the end of May.

“As far as the Blue Economy is concerned, we have formulated the Maritime Spatial Planning of Cyprus, the marine cadastral registry, with which we seek to develop the potential of our seas in a sustainable way, with its implementation, in about two months”, said Demetriades, expressing the belief that the momentum will be created for investments in our seas “whether they concern RES or other activities”.

He also said that “we managed for Cyprus to undertake the organization of the European Maritime Day in 2026, a great event, where the lights of the entire Europe will shine on Limassol, an event which coincides with the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of EU”.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Cyprus Education, Sports and Youth Minister Prodromos Prodromou has departed for London where he is set to hold a number of contacts.

In particular, according to a press release by the Education Ministry, during his London visit Prodromou will visit schools and will meet with actors who are involved in the education of Cypriots abroad.

He will also meet with Archbishop Gregorios of Thyateira and Great Britain.

The Education Minister returns to Cyprus on January 29.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The UK Minister for Europe Leo Docherty has stated that “the best way to address the situation in Cyprus remains through a just and lasting settlement on the island in line with UN parameters,” thus reaffirming London’s position.

In a response letter to the Board of British Cypriots, the Minister added that “a settlement will increase the prosperity of Cyprus and strengthen the security and stability of the region.”

Docherty also mentioned that the UK actively engages with all parties on this and reminded the diaspora organisation of the agreement between the Cypriot Foreign Minister and the British Foreign Secretary to work closely together for a just and lasting solution to the Cyprus settlement process within the UN parameters.

“The UK continues to call for all sides to avoid any actions or statements that could damage the prospects for a settlement. Ultimately, it is for the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders to decide on the details of a settlement. In the meantime, the UK, as a Guarantor Power and a friend to all parties, will continue to provide support to UN efforts, including through our deployment of military personnel to the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP),” he added.

Docherty also highlighted the “immense contribution” of the Cypriot diaspora in the UK, as well as the strong bilateral relationship.

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

Cyprus is receiving two letters of formal notice, as part of the January infringements package announced by the European Commission on Thursday. The two infringement procedures are related to member states not meeting reduction commitments for several air pollutants, and the incorrect implementation of the EU Regulation on addressing the dissemination of terrorist content online.

The European Commission launches infringement procedures by sending letters of formal notice, and subsequently, if the member state in question does not complain, can issue a reasoned opinion. If the member state continues to not comply with EU law, the Commission can take the case to the Court of Justice of the EU.

Reducing emissions of several air pollutants

The Commission is calling on Cyprus and another 13 member states (Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Sweden) to respect their reduction commitments for several air pollutants as required by?Directive 2016/2284 on the reduction of national emissions of certain atmospheric pollutants (the ‘National Emission Ceilings’ or ‘NEC Directive’).

The NEC Directive sets national emission reduction commitments for several?pollutants?to be attained by each Member State each year between 2020 and 2029, and more ambitious reductions for 2030 onwards. Member States are required to establish national air pollution control programmes (NAPCPs) to show how these reduction commitments will be met.

The Commission analysed the national emission inventories of several pollutants submitted by Member States in 2022 (reflecting emissions from 2020). The 14 Member States mentioned above have failed to meet their commitments for one or several pollutants targeted by the NEC Directive.

The Commission is therefore sending letters of formal notice to these 14 Member States, which now have two months to respond and address the shortcomings raised by the Commission. In the absence of a satisfactory response, the Commission may decide to issue a reasoned opinion.

Terrorist content online

Also, the Commission has called on Cyprus and another 21 member states (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden to correctly implement the EU Regulation on addressing the dissemination of terrorist content online (Regulation (EU) 2021/784).

The Regulation provides a legal framework to ensure removal of terrorist content online within one hour after receipt of a removal order issued by a national competent authority and obliges companies to take special measures when their platforms are exposed to such content. At the same time, it puts in place strong safeguards to guarantee that freedom of expression and information are fully respected.

Following the entry into application of the Regulation on 7 June 2022, not all Member States have adopted all the measures as outlined in the Regulation into their national law. The Commission therefore considers that the aforementioned member states have failed to fully implement the obligations under the regulation and they have now two months to respond to the Commission. In the absence of a satisfactory response, the Commission may decide to issue a reasoned opinion.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The UN have rejected as “wrong and unfounded” allegations concerning what the UNSG’s Special Representative in Cyprus, Colin Stewart, said during a meeting in New York as regards the stance of the Greek Cypriot side in Cyprus.

“We work closely with both sides impartially. We reject any allegations of bias. They are wrong and unfounded,” the UN in Cyprus said in a post on their Twitter account following a story published by Turkish Cypriot daily “Yeni Duzen” about what Stewart said during a meeting in New York with Scandinavian country representatives of the UN and non-permanent members of the Security Council. CNA has learned that what has been published caused Nicosia’s immediate reaction.

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

The negotiators of the two sides in Cyprus talks Menelaos Menelaou and Ergun Olgun met Thursday morning for the first time after the holidays and the New Year celebrations and assessed the course of work in the technical committees.

The meeting lasted for an hour and was attended by UNSG special representative Colin Stewart.

Cyprus News Agency has learnt that the two negotiators discussed issues pending as regards the work of the technical committees and touched base after the holidays.

There was no discussion on a report in Turkish Cypriot daily ‘Yeni Duzen’ on statements attributed to Stewart which caused the reaction of the government and led MFA’s spokesperson to call on Stewart to reject the article and deny the allegations. The government is closely monitoring the situation and has made representations.

As regards a farewell dinner between Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar as Anastasiades tenure is coming to an end, the UN are waiting for a suitable date for both sides and this is the only thing pending.

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