Front Page Headlines
Dribble on passports through parliament
MPs raise an issue on (Interior Minister Nicos) Nouris for the non-disclosure of information on naturalisations. A new controversy between the government and the auditor-general on the naturalisations of executives of the casino and Wargaming is being transferred to parliament. In an urgent letter to the head of the watchdog committee, Giorgos Perdikis, asked yesterday for a review of the auditor-general’s reports on naturalisations and the possibility of complaints against the interior minister. Auditor-general’s report: “If what is being recorded in the report proves to be true….” Odysseas Michaelides himself does not know if the information he published is correct. Targeting S. Hasikos and A. Sinkas.
- Cyprob-Lute: Probe for political will
- Defence: In urgent need of €77.2m for armament programmes
The president’s Odyssey at the Supreme Court
(Auditor-general) Odysseas Michaelides is waiting for assistance from the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI). Three lawyers tell Phileleftheros their assessments. What the auditor-general says.
- They are waiting to hear about the positions of each side
- The Oruc Reis’ return to port did not change the EU’s intentions
They are closing down many businesses
Strong reactions on the new measures from many professional circles whose activities are affected. Among those concerned is the union of hotel and recreational businesses’ employees (SYXKA PEO) which is calling on the government for immediate support measures.
- Lute is recording positions
- Turkey will be judged over depth of time, states European Commission spokesman Peter Stano
- Our population is ageing without being replaced, rise in divorce
- Russia banned Cyprus Airways from carrying passengers from Larnaca to Moscow, the company says
Swords drawn in auditor row
State auditor’s actions out of line, wants to take on president’s role.
Reactions from the get-go
Strong reactions from workers who are affected by the new measures. “We are being ruined,” shout food and beverage places that started to close down. Reactions also from other groups of workers. New measures as of today in the occupied areas: everyone will be quarantined.
- The five-party summit will take place in January – Lute will meet today with Anastasiades and Tatar. Turkey is deliberately delaying the appointment with Lute, fearing EU sanctions. Merkel: Turkey is provoking Cyprus.
- Statistical service: Cyprus’ ageing population is 888,000
- Russia banned Cyprus Airways from transferring passengers from Larnaca to Moscow
Main News
Lute to meet with two leaders today
Alithia, Cyprus Mail, Haravgi, Phileleftheros, Politis
Negotiations Process, EU Matters, Regional/International Relations
OVERVIEW
The UN Secretary-General’s special envoy Jane Holl Lute is to hold separate meetings with the two leaders on Tuesday in hopes of finding fertile ground for an informal five-party meeting, the dailies report.
According to the papers, Lute, who arrived in Cyprus on Sunday evening, will meet with TC leader Ersin Tatar at 11am in the north and with President Nicos Anastasiades, at the Presidential Palace at 7pm.
Lute is expected to leave Cyprus on Wednesday and travel to Athens for consultations with the Greek government. She has not scheduled to visit London but she will have talks with British officials via teleconferencing.
Phileleftheros quotes Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides telling Sigma TV that Lute is moving within a specific framework set by the Security Council itself and that everyone is bound by the mandate of the Security Council which determines the intended goal, that of the bizonal, bicommunal federal (BBF) solution.
The minister pointed out that it was the Turkish side that was responsible for the prolonged absence of mobility on the Cyprus problem. On the position of the Turkish side for a two-state solution and how the president will react if put on the table at the informal summit, Christodoulides clarified that there was no question of the GC side walking out. The fact that the Turkish side can raise an issue that moves out of the framework does not mean acceptance either from the GC side or the United Nations, he said. He recalled that the Turkish side, since 1976 when negotiations began, had attempted many times to put ideas on the table that were outside the agreed framework without this being possible.
According to Politis, Anastasiades is expected to convey to Lute his intention for participation in an informal five-plus-one summit (the two communities, the three guarantors – Greece, Turkey, UK – and the UN), based on all that has been agreed at the trilateral Berlin meeting in November last year. He is also expected to raise the issue of Famagusta.
The position of the GC side is that the informal meeting should be of a purely procedural nature and any negotiation on the substance of the issues should be left for when the substantive negotiations resume. Sources with particular knowledge of the developments in the Cyprus issue, however, pointed out that it will be anything but procedural as key issues in view of the formal resumption of negotiations need to be clarified at the informal summit, the daily reported.
Alithia reports that the informal five-party summit is expected to take place in January citing, however, diplomatic sources saying that it will all depend on the stance of Turkey that has yet to set a date for contacts with Lute. Reports also suggest Lute’s contacts in Ankara are expected to take place on December 14.
Politis reports that this means that the meeting will take place after the EU leaders’ summit where Turkey’s conduct will be discussed, an indication that Ankara wants to wait to see the EU’s stance before discussing what’s next on the Cyprus problem.
According to Alithia, the delay by Turkey is considered an attempt to exert pressure in view of what is expected to be decided at the European Council where there are pending requests from Cyprus, Greece and France for sanctions due to Ankara’s illegal actions in Famagusta, in the marine zones of Cyprus and Greece, but also in Syria, Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh.
Alithia and Phileleftheros report that the withdrawal of the Oruc Reis from Greek waters was a tactical move, ahead of the EU leaders’ summit but the bloc has warned any decisions on Turkey will not be based on just one move.
Haravgi points out that the Yavuz, however, is located off the south coast of Turkey while the seismic survey vessel Barbaros is still south of Cyprus. The daily argues that the return of the Oruc Reis in port was a glaring attempt by Ankara to appease reactions in Brussels over the strategy of provocations it pursues in the Eastern Mediterranean.
European Commission spokesperson Peter Stano said at a press briefing on Monday, that the leaders will decide which direction they will move regarding Turkey at the December summit and that everything is on the table.
“We have started working on the positive agenda and the necessary preparation and also on the Eastern Mediterranean conference, but we continue to monitor the situation, the actions of Turkey,” Stano said.
He added that the EU leaders will examine whether Turkey has met the expectations, which were in favour of de-escalation and a commitment to a constructive dialogue. The review will not take place in the context of one announcement or one action, but on the basis of actions, announcements and behaviour over a specific period, he said.
Phileleftheros, Haravgi and Alithia also quote German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying on Monday: “We have not made as much progress on the EU-Turkey relationship as we wanted.”
Speaking during a virtual session of the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union (COSAC), Merkel said the return of the Turkish vessel Oruc Reis to port was a “good sign”. She added, however, that Turkey was still carrying out drilling activities off Cyprus. What is happening in the Mediterranean both against Cyprus and on the issue of reunification of the island but also on the issue of exploitation of resources are issues that have a very aggressive and rather provocative nature, she said, Alithia and Haravgi report.
Alithia, in another article, also reports that Turkey reacted to the aeronautical exercise “Medusa 10”, in which units from Greece, Egypt, France and Cyprus, take part, in a sea area north of Alexandria. Turkey was particularly annoyed, with the Turkish defence ministry announcing that this exercise has shown once again which parties want tension and try to avoid peace and dialogue, the paper reported.
KEY ACTORS
Christodoulides (RoC FM)
>> Lute & everyone else are bound by the framework set by the UNSC for a BBF & just because the Turkish side calls for a two-state solution this does not mean the GC side or the UN will agree to that.
>> The GC side will not withdraw from the negotiations table if the Turkish side tables a two-state solution. This is not the first time the other side tried to table alternative ideas which were not possible to discuss.
Stano (EC spokesperson)
>> Everything is on the table as regards discussion on Turkey by EU leaders later this month. Work began on the positive agenda with Turkey but the bloc also monitors whether Ankara has met expectations on de-escalation & commitment to constructive dialogue.
>> The EU will review relations with Turkey not based on one positive step but on actions, announcements and behaviour over a specific period.
Merkel (Germany)
>> Does not see much progress on the EU-Turkey relationship as the bloc would like.
>> The return of the Oruc Reis to port is a good sign but what Turkey is doing in the Med against Cyprus, on the issue of reunification of the island but also on the exploitation of natural resources have a very aggressive & rather provocative nature.
MPs asked to approve supplementary defence budget
Cyprus Mail, Politis
Internal Security
OVERVIEW
The dailies report that parliament has been asked by the finance ministry to review a supplementary budget of €77.2 m which is to be spent this month on armament programmes for the National Guard.
Politis, citing sources, reports that this fund is intended to cover down payments for the purchase of new armament programmes but also costs for upgrading existing ones. The daily reports that the budget earmarked for armament purchases for 2020 was just €43.56m while with the approval of the supplementary budget amounting to €77.19m the total amount will reach €120,75m.
In the state budget for 2021, which is pending parliamentary approval, €104.3m was earmarked for the purchase of military equipment, but the daily, citing information, reports that Defence Minister Charalambos Petrides received assurances for additional funds if needed through a supplementary budget.
Cyprus Mail reports that MPs on Monday reviewed the fifth supplementary budget for the fiscal year 2020, worth €254 million.
The major line items are €77m on defence expenditures; €116m on the general government contribution to the Social Insurance Fund; €12m on pensions; €6m on promotions of police officers, firemen and special constables; a €6m credit line to be tapped, if needed, to deal with the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic; and €4m on the assistance provided to Lebanon after the massive explosion at the port of Beirut in August.
A previous supplementary budget for 2020 – relating to payment of contract soldiers in the National Guard – had not been passed by parliament, the paper reports.
Latest data reveal growing but ageing population
Alithia, Cyprus Mail, Haravgi
Migration & Citizenship
OVERVIEW
The dailies report that though the population in the government-controlled areas at the end of 2019 had risen by 1.4 per cent to 888,000, it is ageing.
Citing data released on Monday by the state statistical service (Cystat), the dailies report that the population in the government-controlled areas was 888,000 at the end of 2019 compared with 875,900 at the end of 2018.
Life expectancy, however, dropped for both men and women. Life expectancy at birth in 2019 was estimated at 80.1 years for men and 84.2 years for women, compared with 80.7 years for men and 84.6 years for women for 2018.
The dailies report that according to Cystat net migration contributed to the increase in population last year which stood at 26,170, up from 23,442 in 2018. This concerns both Cypriots repatriating and foreign nationals arriving for permanent residency or temporary employment for over one year.
Cystat also pointed out that there was a gradual increase in the percentage of the elderly and a decrease in the percentage of children, indicative of the aging trend of the population. The percentage of children under the age of 15 was estimated at 16 per cent in 2019 and the percentage of older people aged 65 and over stood at 16.3 per cent, compared with 22.3 per cent and 11.3 per cent respectively in 2000.
Fertility rate last year stood at 1.3, the same as 2018, which remains below the replacement level of 2.1. In 1982, the fertility rate was 2.5 but has steadily declined since, dropping to 2.1 by 1995 and further declining since. In 2019 the number of births in the government-controlled areas increased to 9,548 from 9,329 the previous year and the gross birth rate was estimated at 10.8 per 1,000 inhabitants.
The average age of a mother giving birth to her first child in Cyprus in 2019 was 29.6 years.
The study also revealed a rise in divorce. In 2019 the number of divorces increased to 2,308, from 2,114 in 2018. The total divorce rate, which shows the percentage of marriages expected to end in divorce, reached 361.7 per 1,000 marriages in 2019, up from 41.6 in 1980.
Weddings also increased last year to 14,854 from 13,783 in 2018. Church weddings increased from 3,918 in 2018 to 4,173 in 2019 and civil weddings from 9,865 in 2018 to 10,681 last year. From a total of 10,681 civil marriages that took place, only 3,673 were marriages between residents of Cyprus. The total number of marriages of the inhabitants of Cyprus amounted to 7,846.
CA accuses Russia of arbitrary actions & unequal treatment
Alithia, Haravgi
Economy, Regional/International Relations
OVERVIEW
The dailies report that the Russian authorities have banned Cyprus Airways from carrying passengers to the country.
The company said in a written statement that its new weekly flight from Larnaca to Domodedovo airport in Moscow that was to start at the end of November was not available due to the recent actions of the Russian authorities that are arbitrarily limiting or completely prohibiting Cyprus Airways to carry passengers to the Russian Federation.
Chief Operations Officer of Cyprus Airways George Mavrocostas, said the company was extremely disappointed with the discrimination and unfair treatment of the Russian authorities against Cyprus Airways, taking into consideration that two Russian air carriers recently started operations on the route Moscow-Larnaca-Moscow without having similar restrictions by the Russian authorities. This violates the principle of equal treatment underlining the bilateral air services agreement between the Republic of Cyprus and the Russian Federation, he said.
He added that the company was relying on the Cyprus government’s assistance to protect fair and equal opportunities to the air carriers of each side.
The company said it continues flights from Moscow to Larnaca.