Category: Cyprus News Agency

The Minister of Finance, Makis Keravnos, welcomed the decision of the six Finance Ministers participating in the E6 initiative to strengthen their efforts towards enhancing the European Union’s competitiveness, resilience, and strategic autonomy through the mobilization of private capital, the advancement of the Savings and Investments Union, and the reduction of fragmentation within the European Union, in a written statement issued today, in his capacity as Minister of Finance of Cyprus and the current President of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN),

According to Keravnos, the strategic autonomy of the European Union is a key objective of the Cypriot Presidency, which has consistently promoted this goal through intensive efforts over the past five months.

‘The E6 initiative constitutes a useful additional contribution to the broader European efforts and discussions aimed at advancing the Savings and Investments Union, strengthening competitiveness, and enhancing the strategic autonomy of the European Union, within the framework of common European processes and with the objective of creating added value for the European Union as a whole, as also noted in the E6 statement,’ the Minister concludes.

Cyprus ranks among the countries with the highest shares of foreign visitors in tourist overnight stays in the European Union for the first quarter of 2026, according to data published by Eurostat on Tuesday.

More specifically, Cyprus ranks second with 85.6%, behind Malta with 93.3%, while Luxembourg is third with 85.1%. The lowest shares of foreign visitors were recorded in Germany with 19.9%, Poland with 20.2%, and Romania with 22.4%.

According to the same data, foreign visitors accounted for approximately 46.6% of total overnight stays in the European Union during the first quarter of 2026.

At the same time, Cyprus recorded 368,639 overnight stays in January 2026, 476,000 in February, and 503,579 in March, in accommodation establishments such as hotels, holiday rentals, and other short-stay accommodation. On a year-on-year basis, the country recorded an increase of 14.43% in January compared with the same month of 2025, a rise of 32.17% in February, while March recorded a decrease of 36.81%.

At EU level, total overnight stays in tourist accommodation during the first quarter of 2026 amounted to 471.1 million, marking an increase of 3.4% compared with the same period in 2025. January recorded 143.5 million overnight stays (3.2%), February 154.4 million (3.4%), and March 173.2 million (3.7%).

Eurostat reports that, at member state level, the largest increase in the first quarter of 2026 was recorded in Ireland with 35.3%, followed by Malta with 11.1% and Denmark with 9.3%. In contrast, decreases were recorded in nine Member States, with Lithuania registering the largest drop of 12.9%, followed by Romania with 6.7% and Luxembourg with 3.8%.

A positive picture was recorded in retail trade in Cyprus in April 2026, with turnover showing an increase in both value and volume, according to data announced by the Statistical Service.

The Retail Trade Turnover Value Index, excluding motor vehicles, increased by 5.8% year-on-year in April, while the Volume Index recorded an increase of 2.9%, reflecting a rise in real sales as well.

The increase in turnover is mainly attributed to the strong performance of specific categories, with fuels for transport recording a 16.5% increase in value, household goods (furniture, electrical appliances, construction materials) rising by 10.3%, and information and communication equipment by 6.4%.

An increase was also recorded in supermarkets and basic goods, with food, beverages and tobacco in non-specialised stores rising by 5.9%, while overall food items increased by 5.5%.

Conversely, some sectors showed a negative picture. Clothing and footwear recorded a 1.9% decline in value, while non-store retailing fell by 5.1%. Declines were also recorded in categories such as jewellery, watches and optical goods (-0.2%).

Over the January-April 2026 period, the overall retail trade index increased by 6.4% in value and 5.5% in volume, confirming the steady momentum of consumer demand at the start of the year.

A senior European Central Bank (ECB) official has urged EU policymakers to move beyond passive support and take concrete steps to enhance the euro’s international standing, warning that Europe risks falling behind as China and the United States deliberately promote their currencies.

In an op-ed by Member of the ECB’s Executive Board Piero Cipollone, the central bank highlights that while the euro has modestly gained ground in recent years, Europe can no longer afford to treat the currency’s international role as an afterthought. The piece is being offered exclusively to one media outlet per euro area country and coincides with the ECB’s release today of its annual ‘Report on the International Role of the Euro’.

‘The international monetary system is becoming more contested,’ Cipollone writes. ‘Major economies that once trusted the system to work on its own are now actively shaping the use of their currencies. Europe has so far been an exception.’

Modest gains, but new threats

According to the article, a composite measure of the euro’s international use has risen by around 1.5 percentage points since the mid-2010s. The euro accounts for roughly 20% of global reserves – a level stable for two decades – but issuance of international debt in euros reached nearly pound 1 trillion last year, the highest since the currency’s creation.

During episodes of market stress in 2025, investors turned to euros and euro-denominated assets as safe havens even as they sold US dollars and Treasuries. Cipollone attributes this progress to Europe’s openness, commitment to the rule of law, central bank independence, and the single market.

Targeted European actions have also delivered results. It is noted that the euro has overtaken the dollar as the leading currency in the global green bond market, thanks to the EU’s framework on sustainable finance. Instant payments have grown rapidly following EU legislation and the Eurosystem’s pan-European system.

Rising competition

However, Cipollone warns that competitors are moving with clear intent. Nearly a third of China’s external trade is now settled in renminbi, up from almost nothing a decade ago. The renminbi’s share in global trade finance has reached 8%, surpassing the euro. More than 20% of French trade with China is already invoiced in renminbi.

In the United States, new legislation supporting dollar-denominated stablecoins reflects a strategy to extend American monetary dominance into the digital sphere.

‘The world’s largest economies are taking deliberate action. Europe cannot afford to be the one that does not,’ Cipollone states.

ECB initiatives and call for broader EU action

Within its mandate, the ECB says it is supporting the euro’s role through macroeconomic stability and liquidity provision. It has expanded its EUREP repo facility to give more central banks standing access to euro liquidity. Starting in September 2026, the ECB will issue tokenised central bank money for wholesale settlements, and it is preparing a digital euro for retail payments. Efforts are also underway to link Europe’s fast payment system with those of other countries.

Cipollone stresses, however, that the most important drivers of a currency’s international standing – economic strength, geopolitical weight, and legal certainty – lie with EU legislators. He calls for completion of the single market, a savings and investments union, higher productivity, and stronger external and energy security.

‘A stronger international role for the euro will not come about by itself. We will have to choose it, and put words into action,’ the ECB Executive Board member concludes.

Euro strengthens global role in 2025, but ECB warns of growing geopolitical challenges

The international role of the euro strengthened moderately in 2025, consolidating its position as the world’s second most important currency, according to the European Central Bank’s latest report on the international role of the euro published on Tuesday.

The ECB said the euro’s share across a broad range of indicators of international currency use increased to around 20% last year, extending a gradual upward trend that has been evident since 2014.

One of the strongest drivers of the increase was a surge in euro-denominated international debt issuance, which rose by about 30% compared with 2024 and reached its highest level since the launch of the single currency.

The euro also became the leading currency in the global market for green and sustainable international bonds for the first time, while foreign portfolio investment inflows into the euro area remained close to record levels.

Despite the positive developments, the ECB warned that growing geopolitical fragmentation and the emergence of alternative payment systems continue to pose risks to the international monetary system.

“There is an opening for the euro to enhance its global appeal – provided that European policymakers create the necessary conditions and put words into action,” ECB President Christine Lagarde said.

Lagarde stressed that strengthening the euro’s global role would require reinforcing three key pillars: economic resilience, legal and institutional integrity, and geopolitical credibility.

EU deploys largest ever wildfire response for 2026 summer

With wildfire risks rising across Europe, the European Commission is helping finance and coordinate the deployment of a record number of firefighters, aircraft and emergency experts under the Civil Protection Mechanism.

777 firefighters from 14 European countries will be strategically pre-positioned in high-risk areas across Cyprus, Greece, Italy, France, Spain, and Portugal. This is the highest level of participation since the pre-positioning programme’s launch in 2022. In parallel, 22 firefighting airplanes and 5 helicopters from the EU fleet are ready to support countries under pressure.

As wildfire seasons become longer, earlier and more destructive, the Commission is making sure additional firefighters, aircraft and expertise are ready to back up national services when and where the risk is highest.

President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said: ‘Firefighters from across our continent share one mission: to protect people, homes and forests. As part of our largest-ever operation, nearly 800 firefighters will be pre-positioned where the risk is highest. With European aircrafts ready to deploy at a moment’s notice. This is European solidarity in action.’

Through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, countries affected by wildfires can request operational assistance when national capacities are overwhelmed. The Emergency Response Coordination Centre ensures uninterrupted operations by coordinating offers of assistance and supporting the deployment of personnel, equipment, and specialised capacities provided by participating countries.

Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides pays this week Kazakhstan an official visit.

At 13:55 today Tuesday, the first direct flight of Air Astana will depart from Larnaca International Airport to the capital of Kazakhstan carrying on the President of Cyprus Republic and his delegation, on the first trip of the President of Cyprus to the largest country in the Caucasus.

President Christodoulides will be officially received at 21:15, local time.

His programme tomorrow includes a meeting with the President of Kazakhstan, the signing of Memoranda of Understanding in the fields of Higher Education, Research, Culture, Sports, Information and Communication Technologies, Cybersecurity and e-Government.

A Memorandum of Understanding will also be signed between the Cyprus-Kazakhstan Chambers of Commerce. President Christodoulides will also inaugurate the offices of the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Astana.

The delegation includes Minister of Foreign Affairs Constantinos Kombos, Minister of Energy, Commerce, and Industry Michael Damianos, Deputy Minister to the President Irene Piki, Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation, and Digital Policy Nikodimos Damianou, and Deputy Government Spokesperson Yiannis Antoniou. The President of the Republic is accompanied by a trade/business delegation.

Cyprus is recording an estimated annual inflation rate of 3.7% in May 2026, up from 3.0% in April, according to a preliminary estimate published on Tuesday by Eurostat.

At euro area level, annual inflation is expected to stand at 3.2% in May 2026, compared with 3.0% in April, according to Eurostat’s flash estimate.

The statistical office reports that, when examining the main components of inflation, energy continues to record the highest annual rate in the euro area, at 10.9% in May, up from 10.8% in April. It is followed by services at 3.5%, compared with 3.0% in April, food, alcohol and tobacco at 2.0%, down from 2.4%, and non-energy industrial goods at 0.9%, up from 0.8%.

The protection of cultural rights and cultural heritage is among our key priorities, Deputy Minister of Culture, Vasiliki Kassianidou, said in her opening remarks at the informal meeting of European Union Culture Ministers, on Tuesday, at the Philoxenia Conference Centre, in Nicosia.

Kassianidou thanked her counterparts ‘for the successful outcome of the discussions and consultations in the Agora EU programme which led to the adoption of the partial general approach at our Council in Brussels last month’.

Furthermore, she said that, as a result of the discussion and negotiation in the Committee on Cultural Affairs, a provisional agreement was reached in the interinstitutional political debate held on 18 May in Strasbourg on the joint declaration ‘Europe for Culture – Culture for Europe’, adding that the joint declaration will be signed by the President of the European Commission, the President of the European Parliament and the President of the Republic of Cyprus on behalf of the European Council, in June in Strasbourg.

Referring to the topics of the Informal Summit, she noted that ‘they are interrelated, since they concern our common responsibility to preserve culture as a living expression of human creativity, but also cultural heritage, which is under threat’.

Subsequently, the Deputy Minister of Culture stressed that ‘the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the European Union recognises the key role of culture in safeguarding European values and therefore the protection of cultural rights and cultural heritage is among our key priorities’. ‘Cultural creation strengthens the resilience of European democracies and contributes to the protection and promotion of the values of the European Union, promoting cultural and linguistic diversity, creativity and free democratic dialogue,’ she pointed out.

In this context, she underlined, ‘the Presidency places particular emphasis on the protection of cultural rights, continuing the discussion that took place within the framework of the Cyprus Presidency of MED-9, which resulted in the declaration on cultural rights, which was drafted with the assistance of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Cultural Rights, Professor Alexandra Xanthakis.’

At the same time, Kassianidou stated that ‘the Cyprus Presidency seeks to empower creators and support audiovisual media and civil society, as rapid technological developments, such as productive artificial intelligence, are reshaping creative expression and cultural production.’

‘When it comes to protecting cultural property in the age of artificial intelligence, the approach must be focused on people, as highlighted in the 2025 report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Cultural Rights, Professor Alexandra Xanthakis,’ she stressed.

‘Transparency in the training data of artificial intelligence systems is a necessary condition. Also, the diversity and meaningful participation of different individuals and communities in shaping the technological future must be ensured at European level,’ Kassianidou noted.

‘The basis of the legislative framework has already been laid with the recent regulation on artificial intelligence and the regulation on digital services. Accountability and transparency in the online environment have been strengthened, in order to achieve full, full respect for the fundamental rights enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,’ she added.

‘In parallel, with the ”Cultural Compass for Europe” initiative, a specific strategy for artificial intelligence in the cultural and creative sectors is being prepared, with the aim of ensuring that technology will function in support of and not as a substitute for human creation’, she pointed out.

Consequently, the Deputy Minister noted, “our duty is clear, to shape public policies that enhance human creativity, prevent the homogenization of expression and preserve artistic freedom, ensuring that artificial intelligence remains a tool at the service of man.’

At the same time, she said that ‘we also place emphasis on the protection of cultural heritage, focusing on combating the illegal trafficking of cultural goods.”

“The illicit trafficking of cultural goods directly threatens cultural identity and heritage, as cultural heritage is not just an asset but also a vehicle of memory, an element of identity and the foundation of a sense of belonging,’ she pointed out.

‘In times of armed conflict, the destruction of cultural heritage is carried out in a targeted and deliberate manner not only because of the great economic benefits from the illicit trade in antiquities, but also for ideological reasons,’ she said.

‘Looting, illegal excavations and the trafficking of cultural goods have unfortunately become an integral part of all modern conflicts, in Cyprus after the Turkish invasion 52 years ago, and more recently in Syria, Iraq and Ukraine,’ she added.

‘The illicit trafficking and sale of cultural goods is used to finance criminal networks, circumvent sanctions, launder proceeds from illegal activities and systematically alter or erase national or religious identities,’ Kassianidou said.

‘The international community has recognised these risks and has developed important legal tools; however, challenges remain. Even today, illegally acquired works continue to be channeled into legitimate art markets,’ she pointed out.

In this light, she continued, ‘we are called upon to examine how due diligence procedures can be strengthened and how technological innovations can be used responsibly to enhance research into the provenance of cultural goods and cooperation between competent authorities.’

“In a period of geopolitical uncertainty, technological transformations and shifting international balances, Europe has a particular responsibility,” the Cypriot Deputy Minister said.

“The richness of our cultural diversity, the strength of our institutions and our steadfast commitment to human rights demand that we play a leading role. By placing cultural rights at the heart of the governance of artificial intelligence and by strengthening our action against the illicit trafficking of cultural goods, we reaffirm that culture is a foundation of our European identity and democracy,” she concluded.

The Council of the EU, represented by the Cyprus Presidency, and the European Parliament reached a provisional political agreement Monday evening on a new regulation establishing common rules for the return of third-country nationals illegally staying in EU member states, the Cyprus Presidency announced.

The agreement was clinched during trilogue negotiations held at the European Parliament in Brussels. The Cyprus Presidency was represented by Deputy Minister for Migration and International Protection Nicholas Ioannides, while the Parliament’s rapporteur was Dutch MEP Malik Azmani. Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner also participated on behalf of the European Commission.

“This is a really very important step in making sure that we have control over what is happening in the EU, over who comes but also who has to leave the EU,” Commissioner Brunner told reporters following the deal.

The new regulation establishes strict obligations for third-country nationals who have no right to stay in the EU, notably the requirement to leave the member state concerned and to cooperate with national authorities. Non-compliance may result in reduced benefits and allowances, and where national law allows, criminal sanctions including imprisonment.

The regulation introduces a European Return Order (ERO), a standardised form facilitating mutual recognition of return decisions between member states, which remains voluntary for now. The Commission will reassess the issue three years after entry into force and may then propose making mutual recognition mandatory.

On return hubs in third countries, the regulation allows member states to conclude arrangements with third countries that respect international human rights standards and the principle of non-refoulement. Unaccompanied minors are explicitly excluded. “The next step is working more on migration diplomacy, together with third countries,” Brunner said, without naming candidate countries.

The regulation also increases the maximum detention period for irregular migrants awaiting return from the current six months to 24, with a possible additional six-month extension. For individuals posing a security risk, stricter measures are envisaged, including indefinite entry bans or detention in prison facilities. The regulation also ends the automatic suspensive effect of appeals against return decisions, leaving that determination to the courts.

“The new regulation will speed up the return process and increase returns of persons who have no legal right to stay in the EU. Migration is a top priority for the Cyprus Presidency, and today’s landmark agreement strengthens the credibility of the EU’s migration policy and complements the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, always in compliance with human rights,” Deputy Minister Ioannides said.

He further stressed that the swift conclusion of the negotiations “reflects the commitment of the institutions to establish a set of EU rules on effective returns as part of a holistic migration system.”

On the timeline for implementation, the two co-legislators agreed under Article 52 that the regulation will enter into force the day following its publication in the Official Journal of the EU. However, a number of provisions will become applicable only 12 months later, as they require national legislative and regulatory changes, adaptation of IT systems, and training of staff – elements that formed part of the negotiations between the co-legislators.

This file was one of the key outstanding legislative pieces of the Pact on Migration and Asylum, whose implementation begins on 12 June 2026.

The provisional agreement will now need to be formally endorsed by both the Council and the Parliament following legal-linguistic revision, a process that could be completed within the coming month.

The International Coordinating Committee Justice for Cyprus, PSEKA, has called on the US government to support Ambassador Andreas Kakouris for the position of President of the United Nations General Assembly.

In a statement signed by PSEKA President Philip Christopher, the organisation said it welcomes the decision of the Cyprus Government to nominate Ambassador Andreas Kakouris for the position of President of the General Assembly of the United Nations.

PSEKA noted that the election is expected to be contested between Cyprus and Bangladesh. It stressed that Ambassador Kakouris ‘has the credentials and the experience to deal with the major issues of the United Nations.’

Referring to Cyprus’ relationship with the United States, PSEKA called on the U.S. Government to support the Cypriot candidacy. ‘In view of the fact that the Republic of Cyprus is a strong strategic partner of America, we urge that our Government support the candidacy of Ambassador Andreas Kakouris,’ the statement said.