Health Ministry is always placing a high priority on the continuous improvement of the health services offered to children and supports every effort that aims at promoting the good health of our children, Minister Michalis Hadjipantela said Thursday.
The Minister addressed a press conference where a donation was offered to the Ministry of €31,830 by the Pediatric Society of Cyprus with the aim of strengthening the Pediatric Clinics operating in the Hospitals of the State Health Services Organization across the island.
Hadjipantela said that the implementation of the largest reform of the country in the health sector, the introduction of the NHS on June 1, 2019, opened new horizons in the provision of medical care, ensuring universal access to high-level health services, through a system that is functional, efficient and financially sustainable.
He thanked the Pediatric Society for the generous offer and for the commendable work it has been carrying out over time, assuring that the Ministry will make full use of the donation, for the benefit of sick children.
The amount is the net proceeds from two musical charity events “Because we believe”, organized last September by the Pediatric Society, as part of its social contribution.
Source: Cyprus News Agency
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PRESS RELEASE – EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Defence of Democracy: Commission seeks views on protecting the EU democratic sphere from covert foreign interference
The Commission is today launching a public consultation on the upcoming initiative on the ‘Defence of Democracy’, which President von der Leyen announced in her 2022 State of the Union Address. The consultation, open until 13 April 2023, will gather views of different stakeholders on what is needed to protect the EU democratic sphere from foreign interference and bolster democratic resilience.
The public consultation will be available in all EU languages. It will feed into the ‘Defence of Democracy’ initiative, which the Commission aims to put forward before the summer 2023. This initiative will include a concrete legislative initiative to protect our democracies from entities funded by or linked to third countries and exercising economic activities in the EU that may impact public opinion and the democratic sphere. It will also aim to promote free and fair elections, to strengthen civil society and civic engagement, and to review measures already taken at EU level under the European Democracy Action Plan.
(For more information: Christian Wigand – Tel.: +32 2 296 22 53; Katarzyna Kolanko – Tel.: +32 2 296 34 44; Cristina Torres Castillo – Tel.: +32 2 299 06 79)
18 EU-supported films featured at the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival
18 EU-supported films will be presented at the 73rd edition of the Berlin International Film Festival, which started today.
‘Someday We’ll Tell Each Other Everything’, by Emily Atef, has been shortlisted under the Competition section, and will therefore compete for the prestigious Golden and Silver Bears. The other 17 films will compete for other Berlinale and independent prizes. These films have been supported by the MEDIA strand of the Creative Europe programme both in their development and distribution.
The winners of this year’s festival will be announced on Saturday 25 February during the closing ceremony.
The Commission will also be present at the European Film Market (EFM) to engage with the industry and discuss current challenges and opportunities. On Friday 17 February, during the event “Your European audience at a glance”, the Commission will present the first results of a multi-country consumer/audience research conducted over the past year focusing on the tastes and preferences of the audience on audiovisual content. The results will serve for the preparation of the “Media Outlook”, a thorough media market report to improve our knowledge base of the media sectors, that the Commission plans to publish in spring 2023.
More information on the Festival is available here.
(For more information: Johannes Bahrke – Tel.: +32 2 295 86 15; Marietta Grammenou – Tel.: +32 2 298 35 83)
Munich Security Conference: College members to discuss security and defence with global partners
From 17 to 19 February, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen; Executive Vice-Presidents Frans Timmermans and Valdis Dombrovskis; High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell; Vice-Presidents Dubravka Šuica and Margaritis Schinas; and Commissioners Johannes Hahn, Ylva Johansson, Jutta Urpilainen will participate in the 2023 Munich Security Conference.
Close to one year after Russia launched its war of aggression against Ukraine, the Conference is an opportunity to discuss how to continue supporting Ukraine defend its country and the rules-based international order, address the global consequences of the war, and tackle global and regional security challenges.
On Friday, Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis will attend the panel discussion ‘The Future of Trade’ together with Katherine Tai, the US Trade Representative. Vice-President Šuica will attend the panel discussion ‘David on the Dnipro: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom’, as well as the panels on ‘Germany in the World’ and ‘France in the World’. Vice-President Schinas will participate in a roundtable discussion ‘From Momentum to Munition: Shifting Gears on European Defence’, as well as in the panel discussion ‘Greyzone’s Anatomy: Dissecting Hybrid Threats’. Commissioner Urpilainen will take part in the event ‘A geoeconomic watershed moment – what is needed for new partnerships between Europe and Africa?’ as well as in the panel discussion ‘It takes two to tango: North-South cooperation in a fragmented world’.
On Friday afternoon, Executive-Vice-President Timmermans will participate in the panel discussion ‘Geopolitics of the Green Transition’. Commissioner Johansson will participate in the panel discussion ‘Resetting Migration: Moving Toward Opportunities’ and deliver opening remarks at the roundtable ‘Under the influence: Disrupting Strategic Corruption’.
On Saturday, President von der Leyen will participate in the panel discussion ‘More than the Sum of its Parts: The Birth of Geopolitical Europe’. Executive-Vice-President Timmermans will participate in the panel ‘Smart Cooperation for Border Global Climate Action’. High Representative Borrell will represent the EU at the meeting of G7 Foreign Ministers convened by the G7 Chair Japan.
On Sunday, High Representative Borrell will deliver a keynote introduction and participate in a panel discussion on European Security, together with the Prime Minister of Estonia Kaja Kallas and the Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson.
College members will also hold bilateral meetings in the margins of the event. More details are available in the calendar. Audiovisual coverage will be available on EbS.
Source: Cyprus News Agency