Daily Press Review - 2/8/2019

EAC: Negative interest rate by Hellenic Bank

Politis reports that some Board members of the Electricity Authority of Cyprus, were caught off-guard by the information that Hellenic Bank aims to not only reduce the deposit interest rate, but make it negative. This means that the depositor will be charged for trusting the bank with its money. Specifically, according to Politis’ sources, Hellenic Bank has informed its big clients that from 1 October 2019 onwards, it will start charging them for the money they have deposited in their bank, with 0.4%. According to sources, this is the first time that the EAC has come across such a decision and it’s not likely to be the first time that a negative interest rate will be applied in Cyprus. Currently, Hellenic’s interest rate for EAC’s deposits stands at 0%.  Politis has also learned that the EAC is not intending to accept the negative interest rate and it should be considered as a certainty that it will withdraw its money from the bank and give it to another bank with a positive interest rate. We cannot accept a reduction in our deposits due to a negative interest rate, sources have reported. However, so far, the organisation hasn’t issued a final decision on the matter.



The rights of the borrowers will be… cancelled

The government is pushing its clash with the Parliament even further, in relation to the changes in the foreclosures framework. The Plenary is expected to pass today a new legislation (by a majority vote – except Disy) that will reinstate the borrower’s right to appeal to the Court, in order to secure a postponement for the foreclosure of its property, in the case where their loan evidently contains overcharges and/or in cases where the bank did not follow the Central Bank’s code of ethics on restructurings. However, the President will once again proceed to veto the law, referring to the same provisions he said were unconstitutional when he previously vetoed the law. He is also expected to refer to the independence of the Central Bank, reporting that it is the only authority that can confirm whether the Code on restructurings was followed. It should be noted that the new law, involved the Financial Ombudsman in the process, who will be able to confirm whether or not the bank has acted irregularly in regards to a borrower. It should be noted that the new law only covers loans, which the Ombudsman can take up (up to €350K). The previous law covered all loans. Haravgi also goes on to report that according to Central Bank data, that was circulated yesterday, €5.5b-worth of loans are risking immediate foreclosure since they are NPLs and they are not covered by a debt restructuring agreement. It should be noted that the from December 2014, the banks reduced their NPLs by €17.18b or 62.9%. However, a large part of the reduction is related to the transfer of Co-op loans outside the banking system (€7.37b) and the loan sales by the Bank of Cyprus and Hellenic Bank.



Run - we are losing our credibility!

As above, Haravgi’s author argues that today, the situation on the foreclosures law will be clarified and specifically, the right of the borrower to appeal a foreclosure decision. She also argues that the economic crisis was the perfect alibi for some lurking individuals, who wanted to grab real estate and other assets. This happened because, with the crisis as a excuse, many countries approved legislation facilitating foreclosures. She goes on to say that foreclosures have already started in Cyprus and they are expected to intensify in the coming months, with Altamira, Bank of Cyprus and Hellenic Bank auctioning off million-worth of properties. Apartments, houses, cars, fields and expensive cars are being sold-off. This process will intensify from 20 August onwards. Now, she argues, we can all understand why there was such an opposition to Court appeals. Besides, she says, the Bank Association, was clear about this. If borrowers are able to appeal a foreclosure decision, the attractiveness of the banks as destinations for investment and capital will suffer a major blow.



Cyprus’ government debt to GDP ratio stood at 105% in Q1 2019

Cyprus’ government debt to GDP ratio rose to 105% in the first quarter of 2019, according to Eurostat data. The previous quarter it stood at 102.5% or €21.9b, while a year ago it stood at 92.9% or €18.2b. In the first quarter of 2019, government debt in the Euro-area stood at 85.9% of the GDP, compared with 85.1% in the first quarter of 2018. In the EU, government debt rose from 80% to 80.7% of the GDP.



VTTV: Targeted actions for sustainable development

VTT Vasiliko Ltd (VTTV), owner of the oil storage facilities at Vasiliko, has carried out a dynamic campaign called “Step Zero”, aimed at the protection of the environment and sustainable development. Step Zero was launched in January 2019 and lasted six months and focused on achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The results of the campaign were presented at the annual event “Safety, health and environment”, which was recently organised by VTTV. The five main targets of the campaign were more efficient energy consumption, the reduction of single use materials, the reduction of paper consumption, the separation of recyclable materials, and the promotion of a healthier way of life. In order to achieve these targets, the company implemented specific practices, with the participation of the company’s personnel. In order to reduce its energy consumption, the company replaced conventional lamps with LED lamps, while in order to reduce the usage of single-use materials, it replaced single-use plastic and paper cups, with glass, reusable cups and jugs. Moreover, they installed drinking water machines, that are directly connected to the public water supply. As such, the consumption of single-use plastics has been significantly reduced. The company also adopted practices that reduced its paper consumption and installed special recycling cans at its offices, in order to separate waste easily and efficiently.



Public stocks at the pharmacies next week

Pharmaceutical stocks from the public warehouses will start being distributed to the private pharmacies as of next week. Following the Cabinet decision last Monday, the Health Insurance Organisation (HIO) proceeded to open a tender to assign the process to a private distribution company and it is expected that medicines that are in shortage currently at the private pharmacies will start being distributed so they can be available to GHS beneficiaries from next week. There are ten different pharmaceutical products in shortage at the moment and there are no interchangeable medicines to replace them to cover patients’ needs. According to the HIO, the company that has won the tender will be responsible for picking up the stocks from the warehouses and distributing them to the pharmacies that need them.

 

Medicines as of Monday

As above. Politis adds that for the past two weeks now, since the software was changed to allow pharmacists to replace medicines with the corresponding more expensive alternative (beforehand they were only allowed to replace them with cheaper options), the problem with pharmaceutical shortages was limited significantly. However, the paper learns that there are still some serious shortages. Currently there is a shortage of cholesterol medicine Crestor. But the most serious problems have arisen with medicines that are not interchangeable. In these cases, the pharmacists’ hands are tied. And so next week priority will be given to the distribution of 10 specific medicines from the warehouses that are not interchangeable. According to the paper’s sources, the stocks will be able to cover the needs for these 10 medicines for around one month. The HIO in cooperation with the Health Ministry have drawn up a plan for the next few months to ensure that these medicines are available to patients without interruption. In the event that pharmaceutical importers are unable to supply the market with new quantities, these will be purchased by the Health Ministry’s Purchases and Supplies Services to cover the needs. They will again be distributed via the HIO.



Dangerous gap in the law for medical cannabis

A huge gap has been spotted in the law for medical cannabis, which gives the ability to doctors of any specialty to prescribe the drug, and leaves open the possibility of quantities entering the illegal market as it does not limit the monthly quantities that can be prescribed to patients. This gap had been covered in the initial bill that was submitted by the Health Ministry to the House. However, when passing it at the House Plenum, these provisions were removed following parties’ amendments, and as a result the law no longer includes the specialties that can prescribe medical cannabis, nor the conditions for which the drug can be prescribed. Furthermore, the bill set a 30g limit for the quantity that could be prescribed per patient per month, and this was also removed, which means any doctor can prescribe any quantity he/she deems fit, which raises the risk of the drug then being sold illegally. This was all included in a document by the Pharmaceutical Services, which have now been instructed by Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou to put an amendment to the law to public consultation, so certain restrictions can be put back in place.



Larnaca A&E without doctors

The organisation of state healthcare services (OKYPY) is trying to deal with the problems that have arisen at Larnaca General Hospital’s A&E department, after a doctor resigned while another is on sick leave. Another doctor has been transferred to the department as a temporary solution. But there are just seven doctors left I the midst of the summer season.



Gastroenterologists in the GHS

The HIO is in constant contact with doctors’ scientific societies. The list of activities that includes the compensation per medical practice offered on the GHS has been revised for a number of specialties. Over the past few days, the HIO has been meeting with gastroenterologists and the new list for this specialties’ practice in the GHS will be published. At the moment, the GHS list includes six gastroenterologists, four from the public sector and two from the private sector.

 

Medical predictions

Artificial intelligence can now predict one of the leading causes of avoidable patient harm up to two days before it happens, as demonstrated by latest research by Google-owned DeepMind, published in Nature. Working alongside experts from the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), DeepMind has developed technology that, in the future, could give doctors a 48-hour head start in treating acute kidney injury (AKI), a condition that is associated with over 100,000 people in the UK every year. These findings come alongside a peer-reviewed service evaluation of Streams, DeepMind’s mobile assistant for clinicians, which shows that patient care can be improved, and health care costs reduced, through the use of digital tools.



From automated to manual checks

It has been two and a half years since the management of Limassol port passed into private hands, and yet the gap that was spotted in the environmental management of tires by importers has not yet been filled, Politis reports. When the port was managed by the Cyprus Ports Authority, based on the Solid Waste Regulations of 2011, tire importers were obliged to present the Authority with documentation proving that they had met their environmental duties, before they were allowed to receive their shipments. Now, according to Agriculture Minister Costas Kadis in a response to MP Charalambos Theopemptou a few days ago – and as the paper reports it has known for a while now – since the port was privatised, no checks are being carried out. For this reason, the Environment Department, CPA, Transport Ministry and Customs Department are discussing ways of resolving the issue. At present, in an effort to deal with the problem that has been created in implementing the law on the producer’s and importer’s responsibility to recycle tires, the Environment Department has included tire importers in the checking programme it implements in the customs clearance of products, said Kadis. Essentially, the paper reports, we have gone from an automated process that prevented importers from clearing new tire shipments if they did not meet their environmental obligations and pay the relevant duties, to manual controls – it is not clear if these are thorough or sample checks – by the Environment Department, which also has a lot of other duties to fulfil. According to available data, Cyprus imports more than 1.2 million pieces of net tire in excess of 11 million kg every year. Their value is close to €37m. Another interesting fact is that from 2011 until 2018, the price per piece of tire imported to Cyprus has dropped considerably; in 2011 a tire would cost on average €57, while in 2018 the cost was €41.



In anticipation of a positive signal from the two leaders

UNSG Antonio Guterres sent a message that was conveyed to President Anastasiades by the UN Special Representative Elizabeth Spehar that he is expecting a positive signal from the two leaders in Cyprus that will allow him to become more involved in the Cyprus issue. A similar message was conveyed by Elizabeth Spehar to Mustafa Akinci, whom she had previously met. If the message that comes before him is a positive one, then he will send Jane Hall Lute to Cyprus for further follow up.

 

Nicos Christodoulides: Ozersay-Tatar are counting on August 9 failure

Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides in his statements on public radio responding to questions relating to a number of current critical issues, including Famagusta, Turkey's challenges in the Cyprus EEZ and other energy related issues, argued that for the much-awaited meeting between Anastasiades and Akinci, there is a concerted effort by specific circles in the “TRNC” for it to result in failure. "Mr. Ozersay and Mr. Tatar will try to cause problems through very provocative statements because they do not want the meeting to have positive results. This is obvious in their daily statements, and that is why we all need to be very careful in how we react."

 

Geny Safak: ‘Piracy’ the works of TOTAL and ENI in the Cyprus EEZ, Block 7

In its front-page article, the Turkish pro-government daily Yeni Safak, refers to the hydrocarbon exploration works in Block 7 of the Cyprus EEZ, as "Piracy", and a ‘new provocation’ from the Republic of Cyprus. Retired Admiral Jem Gurdeniz tells the Turkish newspaper that if TOTAL wants to carry out operations in an area that Turkey considers its own, then even if TOTAL is accompanied by the French military, it will not change anything. He claims that “the unilateral declaration of blocks 1,4,5,6,7 by the Republic of Cyprus as its continental shelf is a theft of Turkey's share”. “This actually means violating the borders of the 'blue homeland'. ‘If Total carries out operations in violation of the Turkish borders, there is no doubt that our country will take steps to defend itself,” the retired lieutenant general said. Turkey’s Supreme Military Council in its recent meeting, sees an increase in threats in the eastern Mediterranean and northern Syria, as well as a violation of the integrity of the Turkish nation and the rights and interests of the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

 

Turkey sees ghosts in the Cyprus EEZ

Daily Phileleftheros writes that the Turkish aggression in the region in its efforts to block Cyprus’ energy program, has evolved into a graphic and dangerous one. The latest example that demonstrates it, is the fact that it is trying to block the activity of a large international company specializing in the repair and maintenance of international underwater electronic communications cables. The company is the CSnet International, based in Melbourne, Australia, which co-operates, inter alia, underwater telecommunications cables in the Eastern Mediterranean. In recent days it has requested permission from the Republic of Cyprus for inspection and maintenance of submarine cables south of Cyprus, within the area of ​​responsibility of the Republic of Cyprus for 11 days, that is from Sunday 4 August to Wednesday 14 August. The Republic of Cyprus, in accordance with procedures, after turning on the green light, has issued the relevant Navtex, NR 381/19.  Turkey, apparently because of the Navtex reference to underwater operations and the specific ship PSV (Platform Supply Vessel), assumed that it was an activity related to hydrocarbon exploration and reacted strongly with two (irregular) Navtex, of which, the second was also of a threatening nature indeed complaining that Cyprus has entered Turkey's ‘jurisdiction' areas, meaning the blocks 6,7,9 that it is illegally claiming south of Cyprus for hydrocarbon purposes.



Greece's Energean snaps up four new Israeli offshore licenses

Israel-focused Greek oil and gas group Energean was awarded four new Israeli offshore licenses in the so-called Exclusive Economic Zone, the company said on Wednesday. “Energean has identified a prospect within Zone D analogous to the prolific Tamar Sand fields (Karish, Tamar, Leviathan etc) offshore Israel,” Energean said, referring to existing discoveries. Energean had bid for the licenses with Israeli Opportunity which holds 20% in them. Earlier this month, Energean agreed to buy the oil and gas division of Italian energy company Edison for up to $850 million. The other consortium to have bid for the Israeli offshore licenses was made up of Cairn Energy, SOCO International and Israel’s Ratio Oil. In April the Greek energy firm made a vast discovery of 28-42 billion cubic meters of natural gas at the North Karish field off Israel’s northwest coast, the company said on Monday. The discovery is located not far from the company’s floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit, which aims for a total export capacity of 8 billion cubic meters per year. Energean has already presold some of the gas to independent Israeli power producer I.P.M. Beer Tuvia in an agreement set to last 19 years and earn Energean $900 million.