The position of the European Commission has been clear for a long time regarding the lifting of the Turkish embargo on Cypriot-flagged ships and airplanes, said Commissioner for Transport Adina Valean, who at the same time praised Cyprus’ efforts and contribution to the implementation of green transport policies.
Speaking in the context of a joint press conference with the Minister of Transport Yannis Karousos and the Deputy Shipping Minister Vassilis Demetriades on the sidelines of their meeting in Limassol, where the “Maritime Cyprus” conference is taking place Valean said “we are standing by Cyprus on this and we are using all the opportunities internationally we have to raise this issue”.
She went on to say that “there are political issues with the overall situation” and “the European Commission made it clear a long time ago and will continue to do so”.
Cyprus’ Shipping Deputy Minister said that “it takes two to tango” adding that it is not only up to us or the European Commission.
He noted that the EC made it very clear and it is showing its support, adding that “our problem not only on shipping but also in aviation well reflected in the annual report on Turkey and this is actually the reason the transport chapter has never opened for negotiations with Turkey.”
Demetriades went on to say that we are ready to negotiate with Turkey any time and reminded that Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades included this as one of the confidence building measures for the peace negotiations to resume.
“Of course Turkey refused that offer so we still continue to raise this issue in all international fora and of course we do believe that the Commission always stands by our side because this is an issue against all the principles of international law and the acquis communautaire”, the Deputy Minister underlined.
During the Commissioner’s meeting with the Minister of Transport and the Deputy Shipping Minister, a number of issues related to sea and air transport were discussed and Commissioner Valean stressed the importance of Cyprus’ connectivity with the rest of Europe and hailed the implementation of the decision for a passenger connection between the port of Limassol and the Greek port of Piraeus.
EU Commissioner noted that decarbonisation is the main challenge for the entire transport sector and indicated that, in addition to shipping and air transport, as citizens we want cleaner cities, less crowded cities with less traffic congestion.
Valean congratulated Deputy Minister Demetriades for his efforts in international fora for the decarbonization of shipping industry, while maintaining its competitiveness and also praised Minister of Transport Yiannis Karousos for the policies adopted by the Government to promote electric mobility on the island.
Replying to a question about LNG EU Commissioner said that we need to cut emissions in a dramatic way in all transport modes and we have to use everything in our power “and LNG is part of the solution for a transitional period”.
“The challenge we face is to see what fuel is more appropriate for what”, she said. She added that in the sectors of aviation and maritime we will need more liquid fuels.
“So this is why we proposed, for aviation, refuel EU, which creates an obligation of blending for fuel providers in order to have sustainable fuel on board and for maritime we leave it very open depending on operation to have flexibility. And that leaves quite an array for fuel types”, she added.
As regard the issue for fuel price cap for Russia’s oil, she said that “we are working in the context of G7 on price cap so is not [up to] the Council. The work is ongoing”.
Welcoming the Commissioner, Yiannis Karousos, Minister of Transport said that during the meeting several issues related to the Green Deal and especially “Fit for 55″ were discussed. He expressed his satisfaction because the Commissioner recognizes Cyprus’ efforts at the highest level.
Karousos said that Cyprus initiatives and proposals such as air connectivity and the Green Agreement are being promoted. The Minister also said that the Commissioner was briefed on measures taken, in cooperation with Tourism Deputy Ministry, as regards the loss of tourists from the Russian and Ukrainian markets due to the crisis. He said that we have managed to cover part of the loss and efforts continue.
Demetriades in his statements said that we’ve just reached a political agreement on the intention to impose the Russian oil price cap subject to a number of conditions which includes finalizing the implementing tools” while noting that something that is beyond transport “is to agree on the price.”
There is work to be done in the forthcoming weeks to make this measure effective, transparent and uniformly applying for everybody, he said adding that for Cyprus it is important to have “a clear framework”, note the responsibilities of each entity, such as shipowners, operators, flag states, coastal states, in order to make the measure as effective as possible and “to avoid loopholes.”
Valean later took part in a panel discussion with students from Cyprus University of Technology. Shipping, innovation and Turkey’s embargo were issues students raised in their questions. Valean was accompanied by Transport Minister Yiannis Karousos.
Source: Cyprus News Agency