Category: General

Job vacancies in Cyprus increased by 77.3% in the second quarter of 2021, compared with the same period of 2020, the Statistical Service of Cyprus said on Thursday.

The number of job vacancies in the 2nd quarter of 2021 reached 7,397, increased by 3,225 or 77.3% compared with the same quarter of the previous year when the number stood at 4,172, Cystat said.

The number of job vacancies recorded a monthly increase of 636 or 9.4% compared with the 1st quarter of 2021, it said.

The job vacancy percentage in the 2nd quarter of 2021 was 2.6%. In the previous quarter and the 2nd quarter of 2020 the job vacancy rate stood at 2.0% and 1.2% respectively.

The largest job vacancy rates in the 2nd quarter of 2021 were observed in accommodation and food service activities (7.1%), electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Total employment in the Broad Public Sector in the 2nd quarter of 2021 reached 71,136 persons, the Statistical Service reported Thursday, adding that the employment in General Government was 65.462 and in the Publicly Owned Enterprises and Companies 5,674 persons.

In General Government, which consists of the Government, Non-Profit Organisations and Local Authorities, total employment reached 53,285, 7,973 and 4,204 persons respectively, Cystat said.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Technical Committees from Cyprus and Egypt agreed on Wednesday to proceed with a study concerning the transfer of natural gas from the “Aphrodite” reservoir, in Cyprus’ exclusive economic block 12, to an Egyptian Liquefaction Plant.

Representatives from both countries, who met in Cairo, included five officials from Cyprus’ Energy Ministry and the Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company as well as officials from Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and the Egyptian Hydrocarbon Company.

The meeting was decided by Energy Minister Natasa Pilides and her Egyptian counterpart, Tarek El-Molla, during the first Cyprus-Egypt Intergovernmental Summit, which took place on September 4, in the Egyptian capital.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Cyprus continues to be classified as part of the “red zone” of countries in the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control’s (ECDC) weekly map which captures the spread of COVID-19 in the EU and is published every Thursday on the agency’s website.

Red zone areas are defined as the areas where the 14-day cumulative COVID-19 case notification rate ranges from 75 to 200 and the test positivity rate of tests for COVID-19 infection is 4% or more, or the 14-day cumulative COVID-19 case notification rate is more than 200 but less than 500 (when the cumulative rate exceeds 500 the area enters the “deep red” zone).

For another week, Greece, Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Croatia, Slovenia and Ireland remain in the “red zone”.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Post-programme surveillance for those member states that received financial support after the 2008 financial crisis was appropriate, but needs streamlining, a new report by the European Court of Auditors (ECA) has found. The ECA recommends, among other things, that the Commission considers integrating this surveillance into the European Semester.

The report covers post-programme surveillance for Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Cyprus and Greece, which together received a total of €468.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Cyprus’ six members of the European Parliament (MEPs) gave a mixed welcome to the European Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen’s annual State of the Union speech during the European Parliament Plenary session held in Strasbourg on Wednesday, but were critical of its general remarks on the relationship with Turkey despite its continued provocations against, Cyprus an EU member state.

Speaking to CNA from Strasbourg, Lefteris Christoforou, of the ruling right-wing Democratic Rally DISI and member of the European People’s Party (EPP), highlighted that the EU could face the challenges stemming from COVID-19 because all member-states joined forces and pooled resources.

Asked about von der Leyen’s remarks on Turkey and the absence of any references to Ankara’s provocations in Cyprus, Christoforou said Cypriot MEPs should observe a principled position con

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works has announced that according to Eurostat, Cyprus ranks sixth among EU countries with the smallest drop in flights in 2021 compared to those in 2019.

It said that the initiatives undertaken by the Ministry, in collaboration with the Deputy Ministry of Tourism regarding Cyprus’ connectivity are yielding results. In 2020, passenger traffic to and from Cyprus’ Airports was 1,804,187 passengers while in 2021 it rose to 2,881,631.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Cyprus Police fined 28 individuals and 2 establishment owners for violation of protective measures in place to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Police spokesperson told CNA that in the last 24 hours ending at 06:00 local time on Wednesday, police officers carried out a total of 2,975 checks across the government-controlled areas of the island.

Most fines were issued to individuals not wearing protective masks in public spaces and establishments.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Any proposals or ideas related to the Cyprus problem must not deviate from the UN Security Council resolutions framework, always aiming at the evolution of the Republic of Cyprus to a functional and viable state, without anachronistic systems of guarantees and the presence of foreign troops, Cyprus President, Nicos Anastasiades stressed to the UK High Commissioner to Cyprus, Stephen Lillie, during a meeting they had on Wednesday.

According to a written statement by Government Spokesperson, Marios Pelekanos, on his part, the British High Commissioner reaffirmed the position of Britain for the resumption of negotiations on the basis of the agreed framework, giving some explanations as to the initiatives which are taken by the British government.

Pelekanos said that during the meeting, which took place at the High Commissioner`s request, Anastasiades and Lillie

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The Cyprus Cheesemakers Association and 11 other applicants have appealed to the General Court of the Court of Justice of the European Union, arguing that the Court should annul the European Commission’s decision to enter the terms ‘?a????µ?’ (Halloumi)/’Hellim’ into the register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications. The claim was filed a few weeks before the decision is set to take effect, on October 1st 2021.

According to the text of the plea, the applicants claim that the European Commission:

– “has conducted a manifest error of assessment on the conformity of the application” with Regulation No 1151/2012 and “failed to properly scrutinize the application”,

– has infringed Regulation No 1151/2012 “by non-verifying the compliance with the procedure laid down” in said regulation,

– “infringed the princ

Source: Cyprus News Agency