Daily Press Review - 17/12/2019

On corruption: Claims by the Attorney-general and Auditor-general at event

NGO Cyprus Integrity Forum organised the biggest event against corruption last night, at the Hellenic Bank administration building. The event was coordinated by ANT1 journalist Nikitas Kyriakou. For the first time ever, political party leaders answered questions by the public on matters of concern, in the presence of the Attorney-general, Justice Minister, Police Chief and Auditor-general. The event included a panel discussion with the eight party leaders (DISY’s Averof Neophytou, AKEL’s Andros Kyprianou, DIKO’s Nicholas Papadoupolos, EDEK’s Marinos Sizopoulos, Green Party’s Yiorgos Perdikis, ELAM’s Christos Christou, Solidarity Movement’s Eleni Theocharous and Citizens Alliance’s Yiorgos Lillikas).

Note: Despite the title stating that claims were made by the Attorney-general and Auditor-general, these were not included in the article.



Revelation by Attorney-general: “Newspaper launched a merciless attack against me because it was facing financial problems”

Attorney-general Costas Clerides made revelations yesterday at the Cyprus Integrity Forum’s event entitled “Corruption: Time Zero”, which took place at Hellenic Bank’s offices. According to Clerides, a newspaper, which to begin with had supported him, later told him that because it was facing financial problems and needed money, it was going to change its policy toward him and proceeded to launch a merciless war against him, which is still ongoing. “You were aware of all of this and I had no support, neither I nor the Auditor-general, and you left us to fight this battle alone and so I depart my post with bitterness,” said Clerides. (Also reported in Politis but without reference to Hellenic Bank. The paper reports on statements by Clerides that a lot has been done in recent years, with the help of the supervisory and other investigative authorities, to lead public figures as well as public officials to court, which is something that almost never used to happen.) Politis also publishes a commentary saying that the way the political party leaders were blasting the phenomenon of corruption yesterday, one would think that they were single-man parties and they did not have the power to table law proposals to regulate the matter.



Agreement signed between ETYK and Astrobank

Bank employees’ union ETYK announced the signing of an agreement with AstroBank for the period 2019-2021. As ETYK says in an announcement, the deal was signed last Friday, by the Honorary President of ETYK, Loizos Hadjicostis and on behalf of the Bank, the President of the Executive Committee and CEO, Constantinos Loizides. According to ETYK’s announcement, the most important provisions in the agreement is that the salary scales and incremental pay raises will remain the same, conventional housing loans with increase from €130,000 to €150,000 while they will have a  right to an additional housing loan worth €50,000 for renovation purposes, given that 10 years have passed since the initial loan was granted.



Banking sector is on the right path

Bank of Cyprus (BoC) CEO Panicos Nicolaou referred to the momentum that Cyprus’ banking sector could garner by investing in the future, addressing the Eastmed-London Investment Summit by the Economist, which took place at the London Stock Exchange with the topic “Cyprus-Greece-Israel: Propelling a partnership of growth”. According to a BoC press release, Nicolaou stressed that Cyprus’ banking sector was on the right path to become stronger, safer and looking to the future, more efficient. The Summit looked at the push the Greece-Cyprus-Israel trilateral mechanism could give to the growth of the Eastern Mediterranean region, as well as the promotion of synergies in the sectors of energy and investments, as well as the financial sector.



E-auctions begin tomorrow

E-auctions officially begin tomorrow, 18 December. The auctions will be carried out via ACB E-AUCTIONS LTD, a company registered in Cyprus and full subsidiary of the Association of Cyprus Banks. Its exclusive activity will be to manage the e-auctions. Any anonymous visitor to the e-auction site can be updated on the scheduled auctions, without having to register as a member. However, to participate in the auctions, one must register as a candidate bidder. The application to participate in an e-auction must be submitted along with all the necessary documents and the guarantee for participation, two working days prior to the auction. The e-auctions will take place from Monday to Friday, from 10am until 12pm.



Protest outside the banks’ association’s offices

The Movement Against Foreclosures will hold a protest outside the offices of the Association of Cyprus Banks tomorrow, 18 December, to protest the launch of the e-auctions platform. The protest will take place at the same time as the first e-auction has been scheduled, with the central message: “Stop electronic auctions now”. Meanwhile, the Social Alliance “Home for All” issued an announcement yesterday saying that e-auctions are one of the tools that have been given to the banks to proceed swiftly and unhindered with the foreclosure of properties. It added that “with this new method, the procedure becomes even more impersonal and inhumane”. The alliance said it supported the Movement Against Foreclosures’ protest tomorrow. At the same time, the Borrowers Protection Association has accused the banks of persisting with foreclosures, when this is harmful for the economy. The only way the problem of NPLs can be solved is with proper restructuring, it added. “The effort for restructuring must not include threats, blackmail, delayed responses and regular replacement of the employees working on the matter,” it said. It also reiterated a November circular by the Central Bank, which called for the banks to offer sustainable restructurings, follow fair and viable pricing policies, and for the charges they impose on NPLs to be within legal limits.



This is who brought the e-auctions

Haravgi newspaper comments that the banks’ expectations from the launch of e-auctions are high, as their association said in an announcement “e-auctions are expected to increase participation of interested buyers, leading to increased recovery of non-performing, mortgage loans”. However, there is great concern that the increase of foreclosures will lead to even bigger societal problems, the paper writes. The biggest concern being an increase of homelessness, which has been steadily on the rise. The paper notes that the law introducing e-auctions was voted through by parties DISY and DIKO, while the relevant decree was signed by former Finance Minister Harris Georgiades on 1 November. The paper also reminds that President Nicos Anastasiades referred back all the laws that were passed by MPs to provide protection to borrowers.



Collusion is alive and kicking among the big lawyers

A law proposal tabled at the House by ruling DISY and main opposition AKEL aimed at putting an end to the collusion between law firms and semi-government organisations has been in the drawers since November 2018. It is a widely-reported fact that there are around four to five big law firms, who are habitually selected by the 20 semi-government organisations as advisors without competitive and transparent procedures. Phileleftheros writes that the fact that the law proposal has not been discussed yet gives off the impression that the two parties only tabled it to show off.

 

Expecting the European Commission for the Greece-Cyprus cruise ferry

The fate of the project for the ferry connection Cyprus Greece is in the hands of the Commission. The Ministry of Shipping together with the State Aid Commissioner have prepared and filed the proposal documents to the European Commission weeks ago.  It is expected that the European Commission will respond whether the ferry connection can be subsidized.  Duer to the Christmas holidays, the response is expected within a month. According to the Deputy Minister of Shipping, there is strong interest from investors while she made it clear that the grant would not apply to commercial part.  She stressed that without state aid it will not be sustainable. In terms of frequencies of the connection, the minimum frequency will be once a week during the summer months of May to September and once every two weeks for the rest of the months.  The length of the trip is 30 hours, and the most likely port is the Limassol Port. The subsidy will cover three years.



Ankara seeks tension and cancellation of EastMed

Ankara is seeking to create a crisis in the wider Eastern Mediterranean region with the involvement of other countries in the region beyond Greece and Cyprus. According to the article, Turkey aims to question the tripartite agreements in the Cypriot EEZ, with methodical movements on all fronts and taking advantage of the temporary political vacuum that exists in Israel.  It is now clear that the agreement with Libya aims to prevent plans for the construction of the EastMed pipeline with Turkey wanting effectively to force its involvement in sharing the wealth of the region, based on its own logic and requirements. At the same time, Turkey brings back the issue of gas transfer through the Turkish pipeline. Turkey is attempting through various moves to 'trap' Greece and Cyprus in a game of impressions with the use of tension. Utilizing media and dispersing false news, Ankara launched a hybrid war wanting to increase the pressure on Greece and Cyprus dragging them into negotiations under Turkish conditions. Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides, speaking on state radio yesterday morning, said that the Cypriot Government was informed from the first moment of what was communicated to the Israeli spokesman, by the Turkish government on East Med. He also added that no reference was made to the Israeli Government to bring back the issue of natural gas transfer through Turkey. He also added that Turkey's aim is to change the geography of the region and cited Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's statements on revising the Treaty of Sevres as an example. He also pointed out that the "Notam" issued at Israel's request had nothing to do with the incident, and also denied reports that Israeli fighters had crossed over Yavuz.



Winter with few tourists

The article discusses the tourism season at Ayia Napa and claims that the summer tourist season is somewhat extended by a month to five weeks.  The season extends itself from the middle of March to the end of November. According to the article, although Ayia Napa is not completely closed in the winter, the goal for winter tourism has not been achieved with success either.



Emphasis on pensioners

It is expected that in about a month, the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Savvas Perdios will present the detailed National Strategy of Tourism.  In the time he assumed the role of the Deputy Minister of Tourism Perdios presented the axes of the National Strategy of Tourism on a number of occasions  In about a month he will present the timeframes and specific actions to be launched until 2030. The recommendations included suggestions by Spanish experts and other local tourist agencies and will place emphasis on specialised forms of tourism. Specifically, our country aims to develop specialized types of tourism, with an emphasis on mountainous and rural areas and more specifically health, wellness and rehabilitation tourism. The Strategy will especially focus on people with disabilities. The pensioners and the elderly will be at the will be the centre of the strategy. Specifically, efforts will focus on well-off tourists of over 65 years old who can afford a quality retirement and the potential to remain abroad for several weeks in the winter. The most suitable markets are the UK, Ireland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland. The Deputy Ministry has proceeded with an analysis of the demographic needs of Europe and has conducted research on the purchasing power of different nationalities that Cyprus focuses on, while they have specifically studied many types of special tourism that can help us tackle the seasonality issue.



Paphos a leader in tourism and land development sector

Paphos is a leader in the tourism and land development sectors, according to the president of EVE Paphos, Andreas Demetriades. In statements to CNA Mr Demetriades, said in 2018, 1.53 million tourists visited Cyprus recording an approximate increase of 7.3% in arrivals, while the land development sector has recovered with Paphos leading in property sales. Specifically, Mr Demetriades said that the Paphos district is considered to be the new cosmopolitan area of Cyprus, and continues to be a pole of attraction for buyers and investors as well as businesspeople mainly from Europe as well as third-country nationals for 2019. The real estate sector has performed relatively better in 2018, compared to 20107 as he said, noting that Paphos recorded a 5% increase with regards to the number of units sold, compared to a 6% increase island-wide. He also noted that the reduced demand from Chinese and Russian nationals has definitely negatively affected the real estate sector. However, this loss has been covered by the increase in demand by other nationals such as Israel, Lebanon and other Arabic and Asian countries. He added that the industry and commerce sectors are also recording a steady growth.



Bridges of cooperation between Paphos and Israel

Tourism and business stakeholders have been especially encouraged by the launch of contacts with their Israeli counterparts in the past couple of years. The positive climate maintained at the political level with Tel Aviv in the past few years, as well as Ryanair’s flights from Israel to Paphos airport, are considered as ideal conditions for the advancement of deals and projects that have already been agreed during the contacts of the past years. Paphos’ stakeholders estimate that these contacts will be more than positive for the district also for 2020, in sectors such as wedding ceremonies, specialised types of tourism as well as business partnerships. As they note, Israel’s market was up in 2019, and it was the fourth most significant market for Cyprus in terms of arrivals, recording a 50% increase compared to last year. Bookings and interest have also increased for 2020.



Altamira receives €32m offer for SODAP property

Altamira received a €32m-offer for SODAP’s property in Limassol, which is an emblematic complex of industrial infrastructure, which served as the headquarters for SODAP since 1947. The news site’s sources report that the bid was submitted by Russian investors who plan to proceed with a huge development in the area, with multi-storey houses and other high-quality infrastructure. The proposal is currently being looked into and is expected that it will be greenlit before the end of the year. SODAP is located in one of the most popular and central locations of the Limassol Municipality in Tsiflikoudia. Specifically, it is located between the new port and the Limassol marina, while it is only a few minutes away from the My Mall Shopping Centre and the under-construction integrated casino-resort, City of Dreams Mediterranean. The property is comprised of 10 plots, 2 of which belong to the Cooperative Carob Marketing Federation.



Western Limassol takes the reins of development

Without a doubt, Limassol has seen rapid development in the past few years and is slowly transforming into a cosmopolitan city that can rightfully compete with similar other countries around the world. Being a leader as it comes to development projects, the changes that have come as well as the different projects that are already underway, contribute to the economy as well as the upgrade of the quality of life of its citizens. The upgrade of the western part of Limassol is also of crucial importance, with continuous projects that have taken place as well as the projects of crucial importance that are either under construction or have been planned for the next one or two years. With projects worth millions of euros, which result from the private sector, state budgets as well as funding from the European Union, the Western areas of Limassol have entered a development path attracting even more investment in the wider area. Specifically, the Limassol Municipality, will proceed with the implementation of green neighbourhoods and roads project, focusing on people and the upgrade of their quality of life. Moreover, private investments worth millions of euros, are promoted in the Western Limassol area, changing the area’s profile and prospects, transforming it into one of the most advantageous locations. As such, the wider area is also attracting many investments in the land development sector, with a high rate of return. The area’s landmark will of course be City of Dreams Mediterranean, which will be the largest integrated casino-resort in Europe and will be completed at the end of 2021. The project worth over €500m is the biggest investment ever made in Cyprus and is expected to make Cyprus an internationally recognised tourist destination all year round. The casino-resort is being built on two plots covering 545,000sqm, according to the highest sustainability standards, so as to harmonically adjust it to the natural environment in the area. The development, apart from the spacious casino facilities, will include a 16-storey luxury hotel with restaurants and bars, a shopping mall, pools, entertainment spaces, playgrounds, sports facilities etc.



Independent Committee to likely issue a decision on Hellinikon this week

The independent committee that has taken up the Hellinikon casino tender will most likely issue a decision on the Hellinikon casino within the week, according to Adonis Georgiades. Speaking to the radio station “Thema”, the Development and Investment Minister reminded that LAMDA’s share capital increase will be completed today. Sources report that the share capital increase is going well, while by the end of the week, the committee will most likely issue a decision. “Our target is for the real operations at Hellinikon to start in the beginning of 2020”, he stressed. At the same time, in an interview at Real FM, called to comment on the delays that have been observed so far, he underlined that these weren’t so significant but aimed at the completion of the whole procedure with transparency and legal certainty, so that any disillusioned party appeal the decision without a problem. Interested parties have a 10-day deadline from the decision to file an appeal, while the Court needs to take a decision within 20 days. In this way, in the case of an appeal, the delay will not be over a month.



HIO and PASIN reach verbal agreement

The wild behind-the-scenes climate that has developed in the past period between the HIO and the Ministry of Health and the Pancyprian Association of Private Hospitals and Clinics (PASIN), seems to have borne fruit. The lengthy meeting between PASIN and the HIO on Sunday lasted about 7 hours and manged to bridge the gap between the two sides. Without a written text, PASIN has not officially given its opinion, despite the fact that it managed to gain many of the demands that it had tabled. The memorandum of understanding which was verbally agreed between the two sides, includes according to Politis’ sources five points that have to do with: the guarantee of the private hospitals’ viability, the compensation fees of private hospitals, which are slightly lower than the compensations the currently receive by insurance companies, the diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) system which has to do with the manner that the hospitals will be paid for their services, the issues arising from the operation of private hospitals, clinical laboratories and diagnostic centres, the separation of doctors’ payments and the hospital payments. The HIO offers a three-year guarantee to clinic owners. Yesterday, PASIN’s central committee, heded by Savvas Kadis informed all the members for the result of the negotiations in the past period. The meeting was not devoid of attacks against Kadis, with regards to the informal meetings between the HIO and the Ministry of Health. The mutual realisation of the central committee, was that no decision can ever be taken, without a written text by the HIO. The central committee has set a new meeting on 27 December, given that up until then it will have the HIO’s final proposal in writing. A positive reply by PASIN will pave the way for separate meetings between the HIO and the private hospitals. As it is well-known, each hospital will receive a different financial proposal depending on its activities.



OKYPY announces 40 vacancies

The State Health Services Organisation (OKYPY) announced 40 new vacancies as part of the effort to enhance the operations of the different hospital departments and especially the A&E departments. Due to the continuous resignations of doctors from the specific departments. Specifically, as the relevant announced reports, which was posted on the Ministry’s website, applications for 40 vacancies of healthcare professionals are now open. These include 10 vacancies in the Accidents & Emergencies Departments (General Practitioners or Pathologists or Orthopaedic doctors or General Surgeons). The remaining vacancies aim to cover the needs of specific hospitals and specialisations.



Knowledge relating to healthcare reform crucial

Cyprus needs to comply and implement the EU legislative framework and to be monitored for it by the European Commission, which is the gatekeeper of the compliance and implementation of EU law in all member states, the Health Miniser Constantinos Ioannou said. He added that the European Union is a unique political, economic and social endeavour, which is based on the country cooperation. In a welcome address at the Summit entitled State Aid and National Healthcare Systems, Mr Ioannou said that the EU legislation, which concerns state aid is comprised by a framework of regulations established by the European Union, which is setting the terms and conditions for the grant of state aid in businesses and is part of the EU’s general policy framework that aims to safeguard and maintain an environment of health competition. He added that the Office of the Commissioner for State Aid Control is the gatekeeper of the EU legislation which relates to state aid by the Republic of Cyprus, adding that the summit does not only aim to informed all stakeholders about the specific legislation but also analyse it, especially with regards to public health. The need of the specific knowledge is all the more important in the framework of the country’s healthcare reform, the Minister of Health said.



Increase of hourly labour costs mainly due to GHS

The GHS contributions increased the hourly labour costs in Cyprus, which despite the increase remains at a low level compared to the EU average. In fact, Cyprus’ hourly labour costs increased by 6.1%) in Q3; nearly three times the eurozone average (2.6%) and double that of the EU28 (3.1%). In the second quarter of 2019, hourly labour costs increased by 2.8% (euro area), 3.2% (EU28) and 6.1% (Cyprus), according to data published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In Cyprus, the costs of hourly wages & salaries rose by 4.0% and the non-wage component rose by 16.7% in Q3 2019. In Q2 2019, annual changes were +4.1% and +17.1% respectively. In Q3 2019, compared to last year, hourly labour costs in the euro area rose by 2.9% in industry, 2.3% in construction, 2.5% in services and 2.6% in the (mainly) non-business economy. In the EU28, labour costs per hour grew by 3.3% in industry, 3.2% in construction, 3.1% in services and 2.9% in the (mainly) non-business economy. In Cyprus, hourly labour costs rose by 5.3% in the business economy, 7.6% in the mainly non-business economy, 4.8% in the industry, 6.4% in construction and 5.2% in services.



4D convenience store from glo

British American Tobacco Hellas, one of the largest international groups, created, in collaboration with Athens City Museum, the first multimodal convenience store honouring the important role of convenience stores for the Green economy and society over the years. It’s a 4D, original construction that every aspect of the convenience store takes you back to a different time of both older and modern history of Greece and Greek retail, until today. This initiative is the result of the company’s recent decision to move forward with significant investments of about €20m in order to extend their heated-tobacco ‘glo’ product to 2,000 retail points (convenience kiosks and mini-markets). Greece is one of the first European countries to receive this product.



T/C diaspora: demand the right to vote and be voted

The Turkish-Cypriot diaspora is demanding the right to vote and be nominated as candidates in the occupied areas. In its announcement, the T/C diaspora association also expresses the view that T/Cs must continue striving for direct flights, direct trade and the participation of T/Cs in sports.