Category: Cyprus News Agency

Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Maria Panayiotou has told her EU counterparts about the importance of accelerating circular transition to protect citizens, ecosystems and competitiveness, noting that sustainability and resilience are a collective responsibility.

She was addressing an EU Environment Council, on Turesday, in Brussels.

The main points on the agenda were the Conclusions on the Circular Economy and Climate Resilience of Europe, and the EU Strategy for the Bioeconomy.

The Council Conclusions, titled “Europe’s Environment – Building a More Circular and Resilient Europe,” were approved by the ministers, emphasizing the urgent need for action against climate change, the promotion of the circular economy, and the protection of biodiversity and natural resources.

In her intervention, Panayiotou welcomed the Conclusions as a solid foundation for a common understanding of the EU’s challenges, with respect for different realities and an emphasis on supporting the most vulnerable regions, strengthening resilience, and coordinating sectors. She stressed the importance of accelerating the circular transition to protect citizens, ecosystems, and competitiveness, noting that sustainability and resilience are a collective responsibility.

Subsequently, the “27” exchanged views on the EU Strategy for the Bioeconomy, a key initiative for the transition to a clean and competitive economy and for strengthening the EU’s strategic autonomy by utilizing renewable biological resources from land and sea and reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels.

The Minister welcomed the new Strategy as a significant step toward a greener, competitive, and resilient Europe, while also offering sustainability opportunities in agriculture, fisheries, and waste management. She added that the Strategy provides a solid basis for further discussion and cooperation among Member States.

During the presentation of the work program of the Cypriot Presidency on environmental issues, Panayiotou pointed out that the Presidency will focus on water resilience as a strategic resource within the negotiations on the Climate Change Adaptation Plan.

At the same time, it will promote ambitious actions for climate and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, making the transition to a circular economic model a central pillar of the EU’s competitiveness and sustainability. “Our goal is to build a greener, more resilient, and competitive Europe, a Europe that leads globally and delivers tangible results to its citizens,” she said.

As part of the Council’s work and preparations for the Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the EU, the Minister held bilateral meetings with the Commissioner for Environment, Jessika Roswall, the German State Secretary of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection, Jochen Flasbarth, and the Irish Minister of State for Nature and Biodiversity, Christopher O’Sullivan.

On Monday, Panayiotou participated in the European Commission’s event, EU Agri-Food Days, taking part in a high-level panel discussion on the role of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in food security and the competitiveness of the European agri-food sector. Additionally, she attended the traditional meeting of the Green 10, co-organized by the Permanent Representation of Denmark and the European Environment Bureau (EEB), where the Minister presented the work programme of the upcoming Cypriot Presidency.

The profitability of the banking sector in Cyprus has declined in the first nine months of 2025, while total assets within the banking sector have risen in the third quarter of 2025 according to the updated aggregate Cyprus banking sector data (profitability, balance sheet and capital adequacy data) with reference date 30 September 2025 published on Tuesday by the Central Bank of Cyprus.

In a press release, the CBC says that the profitability of the banking sector has declined in the first nine months of 2025 by pound 237 mn, from pound 953 mn in September 2024 to pound 716 mn in September 2025. This decrease is primarily driven by a reduction in net interest income.

Total assets within the banking sector have risen in the third quarter of 2025 by pound 835 mn or 1.2%, from pound 66,976 mn in June 2025 to pound 67,811 mn in September 2025. This growth is primarily driven by an increase in loans and advances.

The Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio of the banking sector has declined in the third quarter of 2025 by 0.2 percentage points, from 26.3% in June 2025 to 26.1% in September 2025.

This decrease is primarily due to an increase of total risk exposure amount, which has outweighed the increase of the CET1 Capital, the press release concludes.

Climate change poses serious risks to Cyprus’ sectoral structure and macroeconomic stability, according to a new study by the Economics Research Centre (ERC) of the University of Cyprus, released on Tuesday.

According to the ERC, the analysis shows that sectors such as air transport and electricity generation mainly cause direct pollution, while others, such as food manufacturing, generate significant indirect effects through their linkages with the rest of the economy.

Examining a Business-as-Usual (BAU) scenario, the study finds that cumulative discounted GDP losses from climate change could reach pound 29 billion by 2050. However, the study notes that ‘timely mitigation measures – if well designed – can significantly limit both total and sectoral damages.’

Analysing three climate change scenarios, the study shows that under the BAU scenario cumulative discounted GDP losses could reach pound 29 billion by 2050 and pound 162 billion by 2100. Under the Sustainability (SUS) scenario, losses are limited to pound 4 billion and pound 23 billion, respectively, although impacts remain particularly severe in sectors exposed to climate change.

Under the BAU scenario up to 2050, tourism is expected to lose around pound 3.8 billion, with losses falling to pound 2.4 billion under the Middle-of-the-Road (MOR) scenario and just pound 0.5 billion under the SUS scenario. Financial services face losses of around pound 2.3 billion under BAU, compared with pound 1.5 billion under MOR and pound 0.3 billion under SUS. In addition, agricultural output is projected to contract by pound 0.5 billion under BAU, with losses halved under MOR and reduced to just pound 60 million under SUS.

According to the ERC, the study also evaluates the effectiveness of fiscally neutral mitigation policies (around 1% of GDP until 2030), including a carbon tax, public investment in clean energy infrastructure and subsidies for the adoption of green energy.

Among its main findings, the ERC notes that the air transport sector recorded the highest greenhouse gas emissions multiplier in 2018, at 3,129 tonnes per pound 1 million of output. The multiplier increased significantly between 2010 and 2018, by 112%, indicating a growing environmental burden from the sector.

The electricity generation sector is identified as the largest producer – both directly and indirectly of sulphur oxides (SOx), at 10.8 tonnes per pound 1 million.

‘Given that Cyprus must reduce SOx emissions by 45% over the period 2020-2029, decarbonisation of this sector is a priority,’ the study stresses.

At the same time, the maritime transport sector recorded the largest reduction in emission multipliers for all pollutants over the period 2010-2018, suggesting an improvement in its environmental efficiency. Its multipliers remain significantly lower than those of the corresponding sector in the EU-28.

Cyprus-EU comparisons

According to the ERC study, shipping in the EU-28 has the highest emission multipliers for most air pollutants (SOx, NOx, PM2.5, PM10), while air transport in Cyprus shows significantly higher pollution multipliers than the EU-28 average. The study notes that most EU-28 sectors are less polluting than their Cypriot counterparts due to better technology and more efficient production processes.

The ERC says that the findings highlight the importance of economic structure in generating air pollution and point to the need for targeted interventions, prioritisation of air transport, and continued decarbonisation of electricity generation.

ERC notes that pollution reduction policies should be tailored to the specific characteristics of each economic sector, taking into account both direct and indirect effects. Regarding air transport, it notes that the upward trend in pollution multipliers in Cyprus requires immediate attention and the implementation of measures to modernise the sector and improve energy efficiency.

As for electricity generation, the ERC says that despite significant progress, further measures are needed to reduce SOx emissions, including the expansion of renewable energy sources and the introduction of natural gas.

The European Commission said on Tuesday that it has signed a new agreement with the UNDP to continue in 2026 the EU financed Support Facility to the Technical Committees in Cyprus.

“The European Union Aid Programme for the Turkish Cypriot community continues to provide assistance to facilitate the reunification of Cyprus and, as part of its efforts, the European Commission has signed a new agreement with the UNDP to continue the EU financed Support Facility to the Technical Committees in 2026,” the Commission press release said.

It noted that the Support Facility opened in 2019 to support and enable the Technical Committees, established by the two leaders under the auspices of the United Nations, to adopt island-wide and intercommunal solutions for issues of common concern for the communities.

“This programme is now in its second phase as a key EU funding instrument that facilitates the interaction and builds trust between the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot communities. The Facility benefits people across Cyprus as it funds different initiatives from feasibility studies, capacity building activities and creation of digital tools on areas such as health, gender equality, environment, education and culture,” the Commission further said.

As it is noted “the European Commission allocated an additional 500,000 EUR for activities of the Support Facility in 2026. In consultation with relevant stakeholders, including the UN presence in Cyprus, this facility will continue to contribute to strengthen the capacity of the Committees, while fostering mutual understanding and cooperation.”

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) All Share Index closed at today`s stock exchange meeting as follows:

MEETING DATE: 16/12/2025

INDICES BASE VALUES: FTSEMed=5000, OTHERS = 1000

EURO (pound )

TRADED VALUE 275.213,31

INDEX

VALUE

%DIFF.

VALUE

FTSE/CySE 20

165,930

-0,340

161.195,750

MAIN MARKET INDEX

223,080

0,100

85.874,160

INVESTMENT COMPANIES MARKET INDEX

3.045,640

0,300

18.485,020

CSE GENERAL INDEX

273,700

-0,320

163.641,850

HOTELS INDEX

1.995,510

0,930

92,820

ALTERNATIVE MARKET INDEX

1.821,200

-1,030

77.767,690

It is imperative to have substantive progress in the investigation to locate our missing persons, Minister of Interior of the Republic of Cyprus, Constantinos Ioannou, has stressed, adding that the Committee on Missing Persons has reached a deadlock due to Turkey’s intrasigent stance.

Speaking on Monday evening at the photographic exhibition by Christoforos Skarparis titled ‘Digging for Peace’ the Minister noted that the position of the Greek Cypriot side on the humanitarian issue of the missing persons is clear and is based on European and International Law.

‘The issue of the missing persons, the most tragic aspect of the Cyprus problem, is primarily a human rights issue. The truth about the fate of their beloved ones is a non-negotiable right for every family.’

It is for this reason, he continued, that the government’s efforts continue with determination.

“We utilize all diplomatic means at our disposal, demanding the clarification of the fate of our missing persons. We exert pressure in every direction, with the sole aim of finding out the truth for each of our compatriots who are still missing” he stressed.

He noted that the solution to the Cyprus problem must ensure full respect for the issue of the missing persons.

It is imperative, he pointed out, that there be substantive progress in the investigation to locate the remains and to lift the impasse, which the Committee of Missing Persons has reached, due to Turkey’s refusal to cooperate.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory. Since then, the fate of hundreds of people remains unknown.

A Committee on Missing Persons has been established, upon agreement between the leaders of the two communities, with the scope of exhuming, identifying and returning to their relatives the remains of 492 Turkish Cypriots and 1,510 Greek Cypriots, who went missing during the inter-communal fighting of 1963-1964 and in 1974.

According to statistical data published on the CMP website by September 30, 2025 out of 2002 missing persons 1,707 were exhumed and 1,057 were identified. Out of 1,510 Greek Cypriot missing persons 761 were identified and 749 are still missing. Out of 492 Turkish Cypriot missing persons 296 were identified and 196 are still missing.

Relations between Cyprus and Ukraine have strong prospects, particularly in areas such as logistics, postal communications, security, agriculture and the rehabilitation of Ukrainian children affected by hostilities, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Cyprus, Serhii Nizhynskyi, said Tuesday in a press conference.

He also pointed out the positive role played by Ukrainians living in Cyprus, noting that the community is actively integrating into local society. As he said Ukrainians on the island are learning the Greek language, working, opening businesses and contributing to the Cypriot economy through taxes, according to the embassy. Official data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus he cited indicate that around 24,000 Ukrainians are in the country under temporary protection status, while the total number of Ukrainians living in the Republic is estimated at about 33,000. The embassy clarified that Ukrainians with temporary protection status do not receive regular cash payments but are entitled to work.

The remarks were made as 21 December marks 100 days since Serhii Nizhynskyi assumed his post as Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Cyprus. The ambassador officially began his diplomatic mission on 12 September, after presenting his credentials to President Nikos Christodoulides.

According to the embassy, Ambassador Nizhynskyi set as key priorities the provision of accurate information about Ukraine, the reactivation of the Intergovernmental Commission for Ukrainian-Cypriot Friendship, the establishment of working relations with key institutions and preparatory work for a future visit by the President of Cyprus to Kyiv.

According to Ukrainian diplomatic mission, confidence in the potential for joint projects was further strengthened during President Nikos Christodoulides’ visit to Ukraine on 4 December 2025, which marked the first meeting between the leaders of the two countries in 11 years.

Weather Temperature for Cyprus

Today’s weather and temperatures for Cyprus according to the Department of Meteorology

Date 16/12/2025

Station

TEMPERATURE (C) (FROM 20:00 PC of the previous one until the time of the show)

Humidity at

1200 UTC

The European Commission counts on the Cyprus’ EU Council Presidency, to help ‘wake up the single market giant’, European Commission’s Director-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Kerstin Jorna told the Standing Committee on Energy, Trade, Industry and Tourism of the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

The Committee was discussing the Draghi Report. The Committee’s Chair, Democratic Rally (DISY) MP, Kyriakos Hadjiyiannis, noted the need for national parliaments to contribute to the implementation of the actions deriving from the Report. He highlighted the need to move towards implementation of the Draghi Report’s suggestions and asked the Commission to fast-track evaluating the national plans for the Report’s implementation.

Jorna compared the European single market economy to a ‘sleeping giant’ with a GDP of pound 3 trillion, who, however, ‘is not getting up and flexing his muscle’. Naming some of the problems the EU economy is facing, she noted that innovation is not ending up to the market, she spoke of EU’s dependencies on raw materials, energy exposure, and the weaponization and disruption in supply chains.

‘It’s time to wake up the giant’, she said, noting that we need to act on the Draghi Report. ‘We need Cyprus and its Presidency to wake up the giant,’ she stressed.

Giving examples on what the Commission is working on towards that direction, she said that we now have the European Economic Security Strategy, with a common risk analysis and toolbox, on what we can do to make sure that we diversify and that technologies have a chance to get to the market.

‘It became very clear that we need a policy to secure supplies, a policy based on promoting projects and investments,’ she said, noting that the Commission has chosen 29 projects in the areas of rare earth, batteries and defence materials. These 29 projects, if they go ahead as planned, ‘then in 2029 we reduce our dependencies on these areas,’ she added.

On energy, she underlined Europe’s path to decorbanisation. ‘Sun and wind are the only energies we have in Europe’, she warned, explaining that decarbonisation means lower cost of energy and no dependencies. ‘It requires investments. We need to focus and mobilise investments on that. It makes sense long-term’, she stressed.

She then talked about EU’s maritime strategy, that the Commission is presenting during the Cyprus Presidency. ‘We will look at our EEZ, which is four times our landmass in Europe. Are we able to secure it? No. We don’t have the ships or drones to patrol and maintain cables and pipes,’ she said, adding that ‘we want to make sure that we can build that equipment to have the capability to secure and use our EEZ.’

On simplification, she said that there are two pieces of legislation going forward. The first one is the Accelerator Act and the second the Public Procurement Reform. She noted that importance of these legislations, that will overwrite the national procedures.

Jorna also added that, based on a study, the Commission has identified ‘the 10 most stupid economic barriers’. Seven of them come from member states and three of them come from the EU. ‘We count on Cyprus’ Presidency to help us wake up the single market giant’, she highlighted.

The Director General said that the EU is no longer just about rule making. ‘It’s about creating investment conditions, having the right financial tools,’ she said, referring to a new instrument, the Competitiveness Fund. As she explained, for the first time, ‘we make the money come to the projects rather than the other way around.’ Jorna noted that ‘it will require a lot of grit from the Presidency to negotiate that’ fund, which will be funded with pound 451 billion, for seven years. Additionally, she estimated that with the private sectors contribution, the overall investment could be 10 times that.

DISY’s MP, Averof Neophytou, argued that the EU needs to shape up its political architecture, in order to ‘wake up the giant’. ‘In Europe we have 27 national policies and you explained the obstacles, even in the internal market of EU’, he said, naming overregulation and bureaucracy as barriers.

On manufacturing, Neophytou said that ‘we didn’t plan in advance and we may run out of raw materials’. Additionally, he noted that the EU is an aging continent and will face radical problems pretty soon. ‘We see in all the EU people against migration. At the same time, without labour hands we’ll be in trouble in continuing to be a competitive economy.’ He stressed that the EU needs a stronger leadership that will ‘wake up the giant and be able to compete.’

Finally, he added that the Trump administration ‘is a blessing for the EU’, as a wake up call for Europe to shape up, to solve its problems and become competitive.

CYPRUS DEPARTMENT OF METEOROLOGY

FORECAST FOR THE SEA AREA OF CYPRUS (A)

FOR THE PERIOD FROM 0600 16/12/2025 UNTIL 0600 17/12/2025

Area covered is 8 kilometers seawards.

Winds are in BEAUFORT scale. Times are local times.

Atmospheric pressure at the time of issue: 1017hPa (hectopascal)

Weak low pressure is affecting the area. Today, locally increased cloud coverage will be present while isolated showers are expected from the afternoon onward.

Visibility: Good, but moderate in showers

Sea surface temperature: 21°C

Warnings: NIL

AREA PERIOD WIND STATE OF SEA

West Coast

Morning Northeast to Southeast 3 to 4, later Southeast to Southwest 3 Slight to Moderate, later Slight

Afternoon Southwest to Northwest 3 to 4, later locally West to Northwest 4 Slight

Night North to Northeast 3 to 4, later locally 4 to 5 Slight, later locally Slight to Moderate

South Coast

Morning North to Northeast 4, locally 4 to 5 Slight, locally Slight to Moderate

Afternoon North to Northeast 4, at times locally 4 to 5 Slight

Night Northwest to Northeast 3 to 4, gradually locally 4 to 5 Slight, gradually locally Slight to Moderate

East Coast

Morning North to Northeast 4 to 5 Slight to Moderate, locally at first Moderate

Afternoon North to Northeast 4 to 5 Slight to Moderate, later locally Slight

Night Northwest to Northeast 3 to 4, gradually North to Northeast 5 Slight to Moderate, gradually Moderate

North Coast

Morning Northeast to Southeast 4, later Northeast to East 3 to 4 Slight to Moderate, later Slight

Afternoon Northwest to Northeast 3 to 4, locally Northeast to East Slight

Night Northeast to Southeast 3 to 4, gradually Northeast to East 4 to 5 Slight, gradually Slight to Moderate