Category: Cyprus News Agency

Department of Meteorology

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

Date 09/10/2025

The European Court of Human Rights unanimously ruled that in the case of Georgios Papadopoulos v. Cyprus that there had been a violation of Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 (right to free elections) to the European Convention on Human Rights.

The case, a Courts press release says, concerned the fact that Cypriot law did not provide for the possibility to fill a parliamentary seat that had become vacant before the start of the parliamentary term. The applicant in the case was a runner-up candidate in the 2016 parliamentary elections, but was appointed when a member of the European Parliament decided not to take up her seat before the start of the parliamentary term. The applicant’s appointment was however annulled in 2017, 2018 and 2020 because the Electoral Court considered that there was no legal or permissible constitutional framework for such substitution.

The applicant, Georgios Papadopoulos, is a Cypriot national who was born in 1965 and lives in Limassol (Cyprus). He was a runner-up candidate in the 2016 parliamentary elections for the Solidarity Movement.

A Member of the European Parliament – and president of the Solidarity Movement – was elected but she decided not to take the seat prior to the start of the parliamentary term because she wished to remain an MEP.

The Cypriot legal system did not, however, expressly regulate this contingency, that is to say when an elected candidate renounced their seat prior to taking office.

Papadopoulos complained that despite being appointed three times, the Electoral Court had annulled his mandate each time, in breach of his right to stand for election and the electorate’s right to choose the legislature.

The application was lodged with the European Court of Human Rights on 21 April 2021. Judgment was given by a Chamber of seven judges.

“The authorities’ failure to effectively resolve this gap or to provide a lawful alternative, whether through legislative or judicial intervention, had ultimately frustrated the choice of the people as expressed in May 2016” the decision says.

The Court found that there had been an interference with the applicant’s rights that had not been ‘lawful’, in violation of Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention.

The Court held that Cyprus was to pay the applicant 8,000 euros in respect of non-pecuniary damage.

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

MEETING DATE: 09/10/2025

INDICES BASE VALUES: FTSEMed=5000, OTH

President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, received on Thursday Cypriot EU Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans, Costas Kadis, with whom he discussed issues related to his portfolio.

According to a statement by the Presidency, Kadis, who was accompanied by his team said that their visit to Cyprus is taking place within the framework of a process of strengthening their collective work and exchanging ideas regarding the progress of the Commission’s work.

He informed the President about the various activities that took place within the framework of their visit, in areas related to fisheries in the Republic of Cyprus. He added that a team of distinguished professionals has been formed, stating that ‘we examine issues that concern all EU Member States with great care, with the remaining members of the team being particularly sensitive and aware of issues that concern Cyprus.’

The next steps for the Greece-Cyprus-Israel electricity link, the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI), have been agreed during a meeting in Athens between Cyprus Energy Minister George Papanastasiou and his Greek counterpart, Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou.

Speaking to CNA following a statement from the Greek Energy Ministry, Papanastasiou said the meeting was ‘very constructive and held in an excellent atmosphere,’ adding that both sides agreed on the next phase of work ‘in the direction set by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides.’

According to the Cypriot Minister, the two sides decided that all outstanding regulatory issues must be resolved, some of which may stem from the project’s transition from the EuroAsia Interconnector to the Great Sea Interconnector.

‘As we are not fully aware of all the pending matters, it was deemed appropriate to arrange a meeting as soon as possible-possibly next week-between the two regulators and the project developer,’ he said, adding that an independent observer may also participate ‘to help ensure a productive outcome.’

Papanastasiou noted that EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen has asked to take part in a videoconference on the project, which was initially scheduled for Thursday but postponed to next week.

‘I believe the Commissioner will want to understand precisely what issues are causing the current delays, which the European Commission is certainly following closely,’ he said.

The Minister underlined that the Athens meeting ‘took place in a very positive climate and confirms the positions expressed by the Greek Prime Minister and the President of Cyprus. It follows the direction they have set, and we are simply moving ahead with its implementation.’

Asked whether the project’s financial aspects were discussed, Papanastasiou said these will be addressed once the regulatory issues are resolved. ‘The matter of the pound 25 million is part of that process,’ he added, stressing that ‘it’s time to start working rather than making statements.’

In its statement, the Greek Energy Ministry described the meeting as constructive and said it was attended by Deputy Energy Minister Nikos Tsafos and Cyprus Ambassador to Greece Stavros Avgoustidis. It confirmed that both sides agreed on the next steps for the GSI ‘in line with the direction set by Prime Minister Mitsotakis and President Christodoulides.’

CYPRUS DEPARTMENT OF METEOROLOGY

FORECAST FOR THE SEA AREA OF CYPRUS (A)

FOR THE PERIOD FROM 0600 09/10/2025 UNTIL 0600 10/10/2025

Area covered is 8 kilometers seawards.

Winds are in BEAUFORT scale. Times are local times.

Atmospheric pressure at the time of issue: 1013hPa (hectopascal)

Low pressure is affecting the area. The weather will be partly cloudy and at times mainly cloudy with local showers, while isolated thunderstorms are also expected mainly over the western and northern coasts and later over the eastern/southeastern coastal areas. IN STORM THE WIND MAY BE VARIABLE STRENGTHENING. All phenomena are ceasing, since late afternoon.

Visibility: Good, but moderate to poor in showers

Sea surface temperature: 26°C

Warnings: NIL

New Chief of National Guard Lieutenant General Emmanuel Theodorou pledged to command with meritocracy, impartiality and honesty and assured that he will work having as main goal to further strengthen its combat power.

The New Chief made statements during the handover ceremony of the leadership of the National Guard Thursday, at “Stelios Mavrommatis Camp” in Stavrovouni.

Defense Minister Vasilis Palmas said that the new Chief has a heavy duty to safeguard that the National Guard will remain a pillar of security and stability.

Palmas praised the service of the outgoing Chief and spoke of their constructive cooperation. He said that “today’s ceremony shows our unwavering trust in the new Chief”.

He noted that our primary goal is to defend Cyprus’ independence, national sovereignty and territorial integrity and this is achieved by strengthening our deterrent power and upgrading our defensive armor.

Palmas spoke of the challenges before us, in a period in which international security is being tested by new threats. He also called on the new Chief to have in mind the safety and well-being of the members of the National Guard which are the cornerstone of the successful execution of their mission.

The new National Guard Chief in his remarks said that the geopolitical conditions are changing rapidly and the circumstances require vigilance, adding that the National Guard must constantly adapt so that it is in a position, at all times, to ensure the protection of the people of Cyprus against any threat and to defend the independence and integrity of the Republic.

The introduction of the Debt Officer/Schuldenfunctionaris in court proceedings regarding cases of people with problematic debts, submitted by ?he Netherlands was the winner of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice’s (CEPEJ) Crystal Scales Prize 2025 Award. The award ceremony, held at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia, on Thursday, was organised by the Cyprus Judicial Training School and ‘Hope For Children’ CRC Policy Center, as winners of the 2023 competition.

Created in 2005, the ‘Crystal Scales of Justice’ Prize is a competition aimed at discovering and highlighting innovative and efficient practices concerning the functioning of justice, judicial procedures or the organisation of courts.

Opening the Ceremony, CEPEJ President Francesco Depasquale, said that this was ‘a very important day for us’, as it gives ‘a unique opportunity to draw attention to the interesting and innovative initiatives’ that participated in the competition, find solutions and improve day to day experience concerning judicial procedures.

He said that 26 participations from 16 member states of the Council of Europe submitted their project for the 2025 edition of the competition.

Through this prize, organised by CEPEJ every two years he said, there is an opportunity for the exchange of good practices.

Referring to the winner of the 2023 edition of the Crystal Scales of Justice Prize – awarded to Cyprus’ Judicial Training School and ‘Hope For Children’ – CRC Policy Center for its ‘Kids in Court Game’ initiative for children – Depasquale said that this initiative was ‘so innovative’ and beneficial to children who end up having to go to court.

The project ‘Kids in Court Game’ consists of four different games designed to prepare children psychologically and emotionally to testify in court as witnesses.

He congratulated them on their success, noting that it is ‘encouraging’ that the 2023 prize winner project is being used in practice. The jury managed to find the right practice, he said, expressing certainty that they would do the same this year as well.

François Paychère, President of the Jury said prior to the announcement of the 2025 winner, that ‘the rule of law is in danger all over the world and we have to find answers to this problem’. He added that, ‘on a very modest level’ the prize was a kind of an answer to this debate about the rule of law, noting that it helps the judicial system to find good solutions for the citizens. ‘Our aim is to deliver better service to the citizens’, he said. The other Jury members were Simon Cardon de Lichtbuer , Svjetlana Milisic Velickovski, and Phani Hadjiphani.

The winner, ‘Schuldenfunctionaris/Debt officer’ was among three finalists. The three projects were presented at the ceremony.

The Dutch team that presented their project, said that the idea was to help people who appear in court for problematic debt. When presenting court, a judge calls a debt officer to come in and try to guide these people to debt counseling. They said that, since 2023 every court in the Netherlands is using this tool.

The Jury members said that the project was helping the most disadvantaged litigants, and that they liked the idea of humanity, and of a judge who takes a larger view of the problem and proposes a solution. ‘Not paying the bills is a sign that often hides a more complex reality’, they said, noting that, the earlier the detection, the better the solution.

The winning team, after accepting the award, said that it was a ‘great honour’ considering the effect and that is now growing in the Netherlands, while it is now getting European attention. They also said they would like to see this idea implemented throughout Europe.

The other two projects – from Spain and Belgium – received a special mention.

Spain’s project concerns the hyper-automation of order of payment procedures in justice, which according to the team from Spain’s Ministry of Justice who presented it led to reduction of up to 100 days in resolution times, less errors and higher efficiency, but also greater legal certainty.

The Jury said about the Spain’s project expedites orders for payment, and the delivery of justice, saves time for staff to do other tasks, but also deploys digital tools and a sophisticated automation, and AI, thus fully embracing the digital era. In theory, they said, the solution is transferable, but also, they acknowledged that not all countries have the same resources to implement it.

The third candidate concerned the creation of the Center for Conservatorship in Belgium, which is an accessible point of contact, to answer to questions of those interested and lawyers on the conservatorship procedure. The team that presented the project said that 150.000 people were currently under conservatorship in Belgium that this number was increasing each year due to aging population. They said the aim was to become a centre of expertise on conservatorship.

Delivering their assessment, the jury said that project was about dedication to protecting one of the most vulnerable groups in societies, while noting that conservatorship is not an area usually addressed, and that they appreciated the innovation behind this project. It illustrates an important trend that the judiciary is trying to get closer to citizens and directly respond to their needs, they said.

Prior to the awards ceremony, representatives of all stakeholders in the field of child-friendly justice in Cyprus (Hope for Children, State Law Office, Judges, Bar Association), spoke about their experience and how the ‘Kids in Court Game helped children have a more positive experience in relation to court proceedings.

We want to build on the technology sector momentum, on the strength of the economy and on our elevated geopolitical role, and solidify Cyprus as a hub, not just for technology, but also for innovation, for skills and for knowledge, Deputy Minister for Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, Nicodemos Damianou, said on Thursday, in his presentation during the Digital Agenda Cyprus Summit held in Nicosia.

He added that the Cypriot research and innovation ecosystem was ranked two places higher this year on the Global Innovation Index, taking 25th place globally, having currently six times more startups than 2020, with approximately 100 new startups every year, while was awarded first prize by the EU Commission at the European Digital Connectivity Awards of 2025 for the nationwide project of rolling out gigabit connectivity in non-urban areas, covering 100% of the population with high-speed gigabit Internet.

According to the Deputy Minister, the pace and level of change that is happening is forcing governments to think technology across their policies and strategies, but also in everyday communication.

‘National digital power is no longer only about military power. It is a battle for semiconductors, for energy, for the rare and critical earth minerals that will be needed or are needed for the manufacturing process and this leads to a race for AI investments’, he continued.

He referred in this context to the Stargate project that US President Donald Trump announced when he took office, which will use $500 billion of investment to get the country to 10 gigawatts of data centre capacity by 2029.

He added that the situation in China is very similar, the main difference being that the US is funding that growth essentially with private money while China is doing it with public money.

As far as the EU is concerned, he said that the European Commission announced the intention to build five or six AI gigafactories, starting hopefully from next year, but is still struggling to find a way to make this growth sustainable, to draw private investments.

He added that the battle is quite similar in terms of talent, as, despite the fact that the EU has 30% more researchers in AI, it has to deal with a huge brain drain issue, while a similar situation applies to startups, with a lot of them being launched in Europe, but only 8% of global scale-ups staying in the continent, which the Commission is looking to address mainly through the startup and scale-up strategy.

Citing Nobel prize winner, Demis Hassabis, who said that we should make sure that we do not follow with AI the toxic playbook of social media, he noted that Cyprus will be joining the initiative announced by the President of the European Commission last week on the protection of minors online.

Moving on to the situation in Cyprus, Damianou said that the technology sector is growing in double digits and with a lot growing activity in AI.

He added that the Cypriot research and innovation ecosystem was ranked two places higher this year on the Global Innovation Index, taking 25th place globally, having currently six times more startups than 2020, with approximately 100 new startups every year.

‘We want to build on that momentum, on the strength of the economy and on our elevated geopolitical role, and solidify Cyprus as a hub, not just for technology, but also for innovation, for skills and for knowledge’, he stressed in that regard.

On government digitisation in the context of what is happening with AI in particular, the Deputy Minister mentioned as the first priority fixing legacy infrastructure and changing how computing is done in the government, moving towards cloud computing capabilities. He added a tender has been issued for a hybrid government cloud, which will implement the government’s public cloud-first policy.

The second thing we need to fix is our data across the government systems, continued Damianou, adding that the government is now running a significant portfolio of projects and expects significant progress in the next 12 months across the digital landscape, which will enable better technical capabilities, but also better interoperability.

He included among key highlights the new school management system which is starting to roll out this month, the new post office counter automation system to be launched in November, a unified system to replace all those fragmented tax systems by next year, the new integrated social insurance system starting to launch from this year, the new integrated register of company system, and the new road transport system, the deadline for which is September next year. He also said that the electronic justice system is back on track and its main phase is expected to be delivered by mid next year.

He also referred to the redesigned main websites for the ministries, the first fully public cloud service, the Digital Citizen app, which now has 120,000 registered users, and the first gen AI tool in the public sector, the Digital AI assistant, which, as he said, has answered or nearly 200,000 questions about more than 110 topics, as well as the national eID signature, a tool for signing legally binding documents.

He added that new services are coming for social insurance, social welfare, town planning and building management, new online services for the Citizen Service Centre and a call centre to support citizens.

As regards embedding AI in government, the Deputy Minister said that at the top level there is the AI strategy, which is going to be delivered by the National AI Task Force by year end.

‘It is going to touch on how we leverage AI to accelerate both the public sector and the private sector and also build efficiency. We are joining forces with the Greek government through the AI factory, Pharos, and that is a partnership, actually, to build a common Greek language AI space’, he further explained.

He added that at investments to build HPC infrastructure and chip design capacity for the research and innovation ecosystem in areas that are of strategic importance for the government are also being explored

‘If we zoom out from what is happening in the core government, the real benefit for the citizens will be when we manage to integrate all that with the rest of the ecosystem, with the industry. The tools that we are finally being able to deliver, the eID, the eSignature, the eInvoicing, these are all tools that the industry can use to build products and services for their customers, but also integrate with the government. The most important, though, is to make government a single source of truth for citizen data and for company data’, he stressed.

He also said that, the Smart Citizen Act for interacting with the local authorities and the community will be launched this year. ‘This is coming from a project we call Smart Cycles. It was launched end of July this year and essentially it is an AI-enabled platform, a single platform for the whole country to build that innovation on its own, to build any smart solution in collaboration with the local authorities’.

In closing, Damianou noted the Cyprus, as one of the leaders in terms of connectivity in Europe, was awarded first prize by the EU Commission at the European Digital Connectivity Awards of 2025 for the nationwide project of rolling out gigabit connectivity in non-urban areas, covering 100% of the population with high-speed gigabit Internet.

Total motor vehicle registrations in Cyprus recorded a sharp annual increase of 25.2% in September 2025, compared with September 2024, while the share of electric vehicles rose to 4.7% in 2025 from 3.6% in 2024, and hybrids to 44% from 36.7%.

According to the Cyprus Statistical Service’s ‘Motor Vehicle Registrations’ report for the period January-September 2025, total registrations reached 5,544 in September, compared with 4,428 in September 2024. Passenger saloon car registrations rose by 26.8% to 4,364, from 3,442 in the same month last year.

For the first nine months of 2025, total vehicle registrations increased by 3.6% to 40,212, compared with 38,819 in the same period of 2024. Passenger saloon car registrations grew by 3.2% to 31,325, from 30,344 last year. Of these, 11,806 (37.7%) were new cars and 19,519 (62.3%) were used. Rental cars recorded a notable rise of 32.6% to 4,559.

By fuel type, the share of petrol cars fell to 42.8% in January-September 2025 from 49.7% in 2024, and diesel cars to 8.5% from 9.9%. In contrast, electric cars rose to 4.7% from 3.6%, and hybrids to 44% from 36.7%.

Bus registrations increased to 132 in January-September 2025 from 119 in the same period of 2024. Goods transport vehicles rose by 6% to 4,569, compared with 4,311 last year. Specifically, rental vehicles increased by 17.5% to 215, heavy trucks by 6% to 534, light trucks by 5.7% to 3,650, while road tractors (trailers) remained unchanged at 170.

Moped registrations (50cc) fell to 170 in January-September 2025 from 603 in the same period of 2024, while motorcycle registrations (>50cc) rose by 20.1% to 3,522, compared with 2,933 last year.