Front Page Headlines
They said yes to GeSY with 75% of the beds
Following the inclusion of big private hospitals during the second phase on Monday. 42 hospitals will offer services. After Aretaieio, Apollonio and “Mitera kai Paidi” Medical Center enter. We can finally forget about waiting lists and appointments… next year.
- LNG bridge from PAEK (Energy Regulatory Authority)
75% of beds in GeSY
50 hospitals, 42 private and 8 public, available to (health) system beneficiaries. Intensified consultations and signatures during the weekend.
- Opening of checkpoints a matter of time
- Greece also greenlights EuroAsia Interconnector
Another step towards implementation of GeSY
Scheduled operations to start Monday. Public hospitals remain a challenge. OKYpY (state health services organisation) proposal to public sector doctors today.
- Company… “war” for arrival of natural gas
- (Antros Kyprianou) We have to make up for lost time and pursue a BBF solution with determination
Experts: no second wave
Virus has run its course, third and final phase of reopening on track.
- The ‘Kitty Street’ crossing (main photo)
Thunderbolts against Odysseas
President Anastasiades drew his sword against the Auditor General in his interview to OMEGA. The A. General can’t turn into a “governor or co-governor”, and can’t act politically. His statements from the past few days have political elements and he is fully in line with a particular party. He cannot replace the Attorney General and rule which issues should go to Parliament.
- Hospital care from Monday, with more than 42 private hospitals participating: Fully armed to GeSY’s second phase – Together with hospital beds of state hospitals, 75% of hospital beds on a national basis are covered
- New cases: Only one yesterday, and that was imported
- Opening of checkpoints goes to bicommunal Health Committee on Monday with participation of epidemiologists
Main News
Both sides examine possibility of reopening checkpoints in June
Haravgi, Phileleftheros, Politis
Internal Security, Human Rights, CBMs
OVERVIEW
The dailies report on Monday’s meeting between the government’s scientific team and the bicommunal Technical Committee on Health regarding possibility of reopening the checkpoints given that the coronavirus pandemic is on its way out on both sides of the divide.
Phileleftheros reports that recent statements by T/C “prime minister” Ersin Tatar show that the “government” is now willing to proceed, but that it is looking for a way not to follow up on an agreement reached between President Anastasiades and T/C leader Mustafa Akinci to start gradual reopenings on June 8th.
The newspaper recalls that “government” officials were initially adamant that the checkpoints could only reopen after a sustained period of zero new cases in the government-controlled areas, but points out that T/C politicians are now considering the effect of the closures on the T/C economy.
Tatar told Turkish Anadolu new agency that the north will reopen to the world through reopening the checkpoints with the south and reestablishing flights with Turkey. He added that all those arriving from the south and from Turkey will have to be quarantined for 14 days.
Politis reports that the T/C “cabinet of ministers” announced it will be allowing flights into the north starting on July 1st in order to allow the return of tourism, but that Tatar has not yet clarified what the “government’s” intentions are regarding the checkpoints.
The dailies report that Monday’s teleconference of the Technical Committee on Health and of members of the government’s scientific team will assess the epidemiological situation on both sides of the island. Reports highlight, citing a source that talked to the Cyprus News Agency, that the final decisions will be taken by the two leaders after they have been informed by the experts. The same source said that checkpoints can reopen when both sides have zero new cases.
The dailies also report that UNFICYP head of mission Elisabeth Spehar participated in an event honoring 26 members of the peace keeping force on Thursday, which is also International Peacekeeping Day.
EuroAsia Interconnector to claim EU funding after green light from Greece
Haravgi, Phileleftheros, Politis
Energy, Regional/ International Relations, EU Matters
OVERVIEW
Phileleftheros reports that Greece has agreed to apply to the EU for funding for the electricity cable connecting Crete and Attica, as part of the EuroAsia Interconnector project proposed along with Cyprus and Israel.
According to the report the agreement was the result of long negotiations between the Greek and the Cypriot Energy Ministers. The newspaper reports, citing information, that Greece wanted to proceed with the Crete – Attica connection without EU funding due to pressures from the private sector.
This however would have threatened the prospect of the project being funded by the EU, since Brussels requires that at least two EU member states are involved in a project for it to be eligible for support by the Connecting Europe Facility.
Phileleftheros reports that Greek Energy Minister Kostas Hadjidakis and Cypriot Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis agreed and informed the EU of their joint support to the project on May 13th.
The section of the cable connecting Greece and Cyprus is projected to be completed by December 2023.
In another energy development, Politis reports that Greek company Energean has started laying down the pipe that will carry natural gas from the company’s floating production storage and offloading unit located in Israel’s Karish gas reserve to the country’s natural gas distribution network. The pieces of the pipe are being transferred from Limassol to specialised ship PLV “Solitaire”.
The newspaper recalls that Energean has already agreed to provide 5.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year to electricity producers in Israel, starting in 2021. Energean has also submitted a proposal to Cyprus to provide the country with natural gas from Israel.
Haravgi reports that the Cypriot Natural Gas Public Company (DEFA) has announced that international companies are interested in taking over the supervision of the construction of the country’s natural gas infrastructure.
The newspaper adds that Energean and Norwegian company Hoegh are at the same time issuing announcements regarding their proposals for providing Cyprus with natural gas until the country starts producing its own natural gas. Both Energean and Hoegh are waiting for the decisions of the Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority and Haravgi reports that there are concerns that the government is not taking the proposals seriously.
In a related development, Phileleftheros reports that Turkey issued four new Navtex covering a wide area, stretching from the Greek islands of Rhodes, Kastelorizo and Gavdos to the coast of Libya. The announcement is part of Turkey’s policy of the “Blue Homeland” and also concerns areas covered by the controversial Memorandum of Understanding with the UN-recognised Libyan government.
The newspaper also reports that President Anastasiades spoke over the phone with his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, regarding Turkish actions in the Eastern Mediterranean and the coronavirus situation in both countries.