Category: Cyprus News Agency

Developments in the region and geopolitical changes, energy issues, as well as the defence and security of the European Union were some of the topics discussed on Friday within the framework of the Cyprus Forum 2025.

The UK sees Cyprus as a really important regional partner, British High Commissioner, Michael Tatham said, in a discussion at the Cyprus Forum on diplomacy, trade and security in the EuroMed region.

‘We very much welcome the fact that Cyprus is well-plugged into the region, has good relationships with Israel and its Arab neighbours, and we find it a really important partner for our diplomacy’, he said.

He also said that the Eastern Mediterranean is an important, strategic region, politically, economically, in terms of energy and transport routes which has been marked by very significant instability and turbulence over recent years.

‘So, when you’re talking about the shift that we would like to see, we would like to see in the UK, it’s a shift from instability to stability, a shift that allows us to do more to explore the opportunities in the region rather than constantly be tackling the problems and the challenges,” he noted.

Tatham said that in practice this means two priorities. One is Gaza. He noted that for the UK is very clear that the immediate steps that are needed there are a ceasefire, the immediate release of hostages and the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

‘We welcome the recent US plan, which we hope can offer a pathway towards those goals. In the longer term, we think that enduring stability requires there to be a political pathway to a two-state solution’, he added. He also expressed hope that all state actors would support it.

Syria, he said, was the other area. ‘I think we now have a chance to embed stability in Syria. So, we are very supportive of that goal and supportive of an inclusive political transition in Syria’, he said.

“Defence is for deterrence, not war”

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Defence is for deterrence, not war, Director of Defence of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Cyprus, Panayiotis Hadjipavlis, noted in the discussion on the militarisation of Europe. The Ambassador of Poland to Cyprus, Marek Szczepanowski, noted that his country would support Cyprus in continuing the work of the presidency trio programme, that begun with Poland’s presidency, currently held by Denmark. Cyprus is to assume the EU Presidency in January 2026.

Asked by the moderator of the discussion whether Poland’s EU presidency contributed to more militarisation or more security, the Ambassador noted that his country’s EU presidency term was ‘strictly oriented on security’, and that the presidency was now taken over by Denmark, with which ‘we have the same, or very similar, priorities of our trio together with Cyprus’. ‘So, we will also support Cyprus in the continuation of all of this work, which we have continued before, but also some projects and initiatives which we have initiated’, he added.

He noted that Poland assumed its EU Presidency ‘in a very turbulent period’, referring to Ukraine, the Middle East, the instrumentalisation of migration, hybrid wars, disinformation, adding that there were many security aspects the EU had to face and find solutions. He said that they decided to focus on security and diversify different dimensions of security, and that they had to identify each problem – external, internal, economic, information, food, and health security.

For decades, he said, the EU was living ‘in a comfort zone’ and was losing its ‘awareness of the necessity that we have to be prepared for any difficult situation’. ‘Now, after the aggression of Russia against Ukraine, we realised that this situation changed dramatically’, he added.

The Ambassador said that very important initiatives and projects were launched during the Polish EU presidency, such as the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) regulation.

He also referred to the ‘omnibus packages’ which facilitate and allows participation in the international market of the European companies in a much more comfortable and much more flexible way as it was before.

The Polish Presidency also prepared and implemented the ‘Democracy Shield’ document, he said, on the implementation of legal measures to protect the democracy mechanism in a democratic society.

Hadjipavlis said that Nicosia would continue what has been done by the previous two presidencies. ‘Defence is number one priority’, he said, noting that Cyprus has some other issues it wants to stress from its point of view. ‘We don’t want to be monothematic’, he said, adding that there is not only one threat in the EU.

‘Of course there is the Russian threat, however, the threats are everywhere, hybrid, asymmetric threats, instability in the Middle East, we have to be insightful, reexamine our assessment as regards horizon scanning and security threats and design our security based on these threats’, he pointed out.

This is what Cyprus will bring to the table – the power dynamics in the area, and Cyprus’ experience in crisis management and as a semi-occupied country, he added.

Hadjipavlis also said that he did not agree there was militarisation in Europe, arguing that what is currently happening was ‘ramping up of armament acquisition’. ‘Europe was far behind’, he said, noting the bloc has awaken from a very long slumber after thinking that ‘peace was eternal’. Europe, he added, woke up after the Crimea crisis and the invasion of Ukraine, noting that some forget there was a war in the heart of Europe, in former Yugoslavia, while that one should ‘always have in mind’ Cyprus’ occupation by Turkey. ‘These are things we need to keep in mind’, he said.

‘Defence is part of security’, he said, noting that without it, societies cannot function, while defence was necessary for nation to defend their values and their existence.

“Cyprus could be one of IMEC nodes”

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India’s Ambassador to Cyprus, Shri Manish, referred, among other things, to Cyprus’ interest in the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), noting that it can be one of the nodes.

Speaking at a session on the eastern Mediterranean strategic significance to European and global processes, the Ambassador referred to the IMEC. He said it is an alternative to the traditional corridor, noting it is multi-modal in the sense of sea route, land route, and rail route and that there are two different segments: the southern corridor, which connects India to Israel (India, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel) and the northern corridor that starts from Israel up to France via Italy, and then also connects to Germany.

According to the Ambassador, the corridor will reduce logistics costs by 30% and transportation time by 40%, while that for India, was one of the biggest game-changers that may happen in the 21st century.

He also referred to India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘historic’ visit, as he said, to Cyprus last June. He said that Cyprus has also expressed interest to be part of the overall process, noting that ‘directly, it doesn’t fall in the corridor’. ‘But it can be one of the nodes’, he added, noting that there is a formulation in the joint declaration which both governments issued.

He also said that the eastern corridor connecting India to the Gulf has advanced rapidly, while the northern corridor through Middle East to Europe has experienced delay for the well-known reasons and that now, it was ‘up to the Northern Corridor partners’, including the EU, Italy, France, and Israel to start the process on the northern leg of the corridor.

Cyprus News Agency is a media sponsor of the Cyprus Forum.

CYPRUS DEPARTMENT OF METEOROLOGY

FORECAST FOR THE SEA AREA OF CYPRUS (C)

FOR THE PERIOD FROM 1800 03/10/2025 UNTIL 1800 04/10/2025

Area covered is 8 kilometers seawards.

Winds are in BEAUFORT scale. Times are local times.

Atmospheric pressure at the time of issue: 1010hPa (hectopascal)

Weak low pressure is affecting the area. The weather will be mainly fine with locally increased cloud coverage.

Visibility: Good

Sea surface temperature: 26°C

Warnings: NIL

AREA PERIOD WIND STATE OF SEA

West Coast

Night Northwest 3 to 4, near the coast Northwest to Northeast 3 Smooth to Slight

Morning West to Northwest 3 to 4, soon locally 4 Smooth to Slight, soon locally Slight

Afternoon West to Northwest 4, locally 4 to 5 Slight

South Coast

Night Northwest to North 3 Smooth to Slight

Morning Southwest to West 3 to 4, gradually 4 Smooth to Slight, gradually Slight

Afternoon Southwest to West 4, locally 4 to 5 Slight

East Coast

Night Northwest to North 3, offshore 3 to 4 Smooth to Slight

Morning Northwest to Northeast 3, later Northeast to Southeast Smooth to Slight

Afternoon Southwest 3 to 4, locally 4 Smooth to Slight, locally Slight

North Coast

Night Northwest to Northeast 3, near the coast Southeast to Southwest Smooth to Slight

Morning Northwest 3 to 4 Smooth to Slight, gradually Slight

Afternoon West to Northwest 3 to 4, at times locally 4 Slight

The aim is to ensure that artificial intelligence is used with respect for the values of democracy, equality, and human rights, said Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, Nicodemos Damianou, in his welcome address at the Press and Information Office event on “Empowering Europe with Artificial Intelligence and the European Commission’s multilingual services based on Artificial Intelligence,” which took place on Friday morning at the Presidential Palace. The European Commission has already established a specific policy framework for Artificial Intelligence to improve the provision of public services, the Director-General of the European Commission’s Translation Directorate, Christos Ellinides, told participants at the same event.

According to Damianou, today’s presentation of multilingual Artificial Intelligence tools by the European Commission “is tangible proof of how this technology translates into practical, useful tools that support the daily operations of public and private organizations.”

As he explained, these tools offer capabilities in all 24 languages of the Union that until now required time, cost, and specialized personnel, such as accurate automatic translation, conversion of speech to text, writing assistance, and summarization of lengthy documents, while conveying his “extremely positive” impressions of “both their technological sophistication and their functional value.”

He added that all the above are even more important in view of Cyprus’ upcoming Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2026, as effective communication with Member States and European institutions, as well as the accurate presentation of our positions and policies, are key to a successful Presidency.

He further pointed out that the Deputy Ministry is incorporating the use of these tools into a broader strategy for the effective use of Artificial Intelligence by the public and private sectors, having already taken, as he said, the first step since last December with the adoption of the Digital Assistant, “the first Generative Artificial Intelligence tool in the Cypriot public sector,” which, according to the Deputy Minister, has responded to over 180,000 citizen queries in just nine months.

He added that a specialised Committee on Artificial Intelligence has been set up, the National AI Taskforce, while the new National Strategy, which will include practical measures for the integration of Artificial Intelligence in the public and private sectors, is expected to be completed by the end of the year. At the same time, with the new “AI in Government” funding program, companies are invited to develop AI solutions that respond to real challenges in public administration.

He also said that Cyprus will soon become part of the European AI Factories network, with the proposal to participate in the Pharos AI Factory, led by the Greek Government, which will offer Cypriot entities access to computing power, specialised knowledge and training opportunities.

He further noted that the arrival of international technology companies on the island enhances opportunities for the domestic ecosystem, creating jobs and highlighting Cyprus as a hub of innovation and technology in the region, while at the same time, through the AI Act, the first comprehensive regulatory framework for Artificial Intelligence, Europe seeks to protect citizens from risks and set clear rules for the use of technology, while promoting innovation.

“For us, it is not just about technological progress. It is about ensuring that Artificial Intelligence is used with respect for the values of democracy, equality, and human rights, and in this context, our sensitivity as a society to these values, but also to protecting our children from the associated risks, is a given,” concluded the Deputy Minister.

In his presentation, the Director-General of the European Commission’s Translation Directorate said that it is essential to ensure equal representation of languages in the modern digital age, and this is even more true now, with the development of AI and large language models (LLMs).

He added that the 10 languages most used on the internet include six EU languages, but there is a big difference between the first language and those that follow.

The European Commission has already established a specific policy framework for artificial intelligence, consisting of the EU Regulation on AI, the European Commission’s Policy Guidelines, 2024-2029, the use of AI to improve public service delivery and the exploitation of untapped potential in data and supercomputing infrastructure, he continued.

He further noted that all member states will receive the Strategy for the practical application of AI, which aims to promote the development of the technology and support industry and the public sector in better understanding and using AI with a view to achieving a competitive advantage for the benefit of EU Member States.

He added that the Strategy for the practical application of AI also aims to strengthen opportunities for start-ups within the EU through various programs and investments, facilitating a workforce ready for AI through training programs and academic programs for AI, increasing AI investment in the EU (InvestAI program to mobilize pound 200 billion in investments, including pound 20 billion for Gigafactories) and establishing sectoral flagship initiatives in areas such as healthcare, mobility and transport, manufacturing and construction, climate and environment, agriculture, defence and security, etc.

Specifically for the public sector, Ellinides said that the Commission aims to promote greater adoption of AI by public services, improve the quality of services for citizens through the “Digital Europe” program, promoting the development of productive AI solutions to help citizens and businesses with bureaucratic procedures, and creating an AI toolkit for public administrations with the aim of exchanging practical tools

“The ultimate goal is to create a continent of AI, a continent with digital and technological sovereignty, without dependencies on the right (across the Atlantic) or left (Asia), always based on the right supercomputer infrastructure, European-sourced data, digital skills of the workforce, simplification of the regulatory framework, and development of AI algorithms within Europe,” he stressed.

In her own address, the Director of the Press and Information Office, Aliki Stylianou, expressed her satisfaction that the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Translation, after many years of work and dedication, has developed multilingual digital tools to such an extent that they have now become reliable aids in everyday life, offering a mature ecosystem of language technologies with Artificial Intelligence, “from high-quality automatic translation and writing assistance to speech-to-text services and smart summaries.”

She added that services can benefit from all these useful digital language tools, which are offered free of charge, ensuring accuracy and clarity, greatly facilitating our administrative work.

Further strengthening the defence and security of the European Union is a priority for the Republic of Cyprus, Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said on Thursday, while referring to a meeting, in Copenhagen, between the President of Cyprus and NATO chief.

Speaking at a media briefing, in Nicosia, Letymbiotis referred to the contacts of Cyprus President, Nikos Christodoulides, in Copenhagen, and said that on Wednesday evening, ‘as has already been announced’ the President had a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. During the meeting, the two men ‘certainly discussed the issues of NATO cooperation with the European Union, and of course broader defence and security issues as well’ he went on.

Letymbiotis added that one of Nicosia’s priorities during the upcoming Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the European Union, is to further strengthen defence and security in the European Union, but also the government has set it as ‘one of the highest priorities’ in its program.

Moreover, he noted that the meeting of the European Political Community was taking place on Thursday and that the President was expected to have bilateral meetings in the afternoon, including with the Presidents of Switzerland and Moldova, the Prince of Monaco, while he is also expected to meet with the Prime Minister of Denmark.

The European Political Community will also address the issue of strategic autonomy as well as the strengthening of defence and security and the issue of immigration, that are ‘also among the priorities of the Christodoulides Government’ the Spokesman concluded.

Cyprus Independence Day, was celebrated in Brussels, on Wednesday, during an event in front of the Manneken Pis, the iconic statue-symbol of Brussels, which was dressed with the traditional Cypriot vraka.

The event, held during early afternoon on Wednesday in Brussels, drew a large crowd of Cypriots. The Republic of Cyprus and its Permanent Representation to the EU were represented by Ambassador Petros Mavrikios, Head of the Cyprus Mission to the EU’s Political and Security Committee (PSC). The City of Brussels was represented by Karin Lalieux, City Councillor responsible for Culture. Also present were members of the Order of Friends of Manneken Pis, as well as Nicolas Edelman, the Official Dresser of the statue.

In his remarks, Ambassador Mavrikios thanked the City of Brussels for its warm welcome and hospitality.

“Today, we celebrate independence, but we also remember the sacrifice of those who gave their lives to make this goal a reality,” Mavrikios said.

He added that despite the challenges of occupation, Cyprus has worked to build a modern, vibrant, and prosperous nation, with the remarkable achievement of EU accession in 2004 as a testament to its commitment to the values at the heart of the European project, respect for human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.

“Cyprus is proud to be a member of the European family, working closely with the other member states to improve our societies, protect our citizens, and fulfil our potential,” he underlined.

Karin Lalieux, Brussels’ Municipal Councilor for Culture, highlighted that Manneken Pis is a symbol of Brussels, the capital of the European Union, and that today’s event, dressing the statue in Cyprus’ national costume, is a sign of the city’s friendship with Cyprus.

For his part, Nicolas Edelman, who has exclusively dressed Manneken Pis since 2014, told CNA that while the vraka was a bit more challenging to fit compared to other costumes, he was prepared for the task. “It’s was a bit more difficult, but I’ve been dressing Manneken Pis since 2014, and I’m ready for all challenges,” he noted.

The national costume, featuring the vraka, was donated to the City of Brussels by the Cypriot Embassy in 2010 ahead of Cyprus Independence Day and is displayed in the museum’s “Manneken Pis, a Very European Brussels Resident” exhibit alongside other EU national costumes.

Ireland supports all efforts to seek a resolution of the Cyprus problem, in accordance with the original UN resolutions and processes, which would bring immense benefits to Cyprus, the Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence of Ireland, Thomas Byrne, told CNA on Tuesday, in the context of his recent three-day visit to Cyprus, as Ireland will succeed Cyprus at the Presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of 2026.

He also highlighted the need for the EU to understand the specificities of all Member States in terms of security and defence, while strengthening relations with key trade partners and at the same time diversifying its trade strategies.

Asked about the significance of his visit to Cyprus, the Irish Minister of State said it is a very important visit, particularly with Cyprus taking on the presidency of the Council of the European Union next year, adding that it is always good to visit Cyprus as the two countries are so close on many issues, ‘sharing so much in our history and in our modern day attitude to the world as well’.

He further noted that Ireland has a big connection with Cyprus through its involvement with the United Nations and he himself met some of Irish police officers stationed in Cyprus.

He added that his schedule included meetings with the Committee of Missing Persons, UN officials, Deputy Minister for European Affairs Marilena Raouna, the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee, Haris Georgiades, as well as a meeting with the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, who, he said, knows well from his time as Foreign Minister and his participation at the Council of EU Ministers and with whom he had some very good engagements.

Asked about Ireland’s priorities as it will be taking over from Cyprus in view of the next EU Presidency Trio, Byrne referred first to the Multiannual Financial Framework, which, as he said, is going to be a major focus of their work.

‘It is going to be a big feature of the Presidency of the Republic of Cyprus and indeed of our own Presidency as well because that is the timeline for the negotiation. It means there is a lot of work to do during that time. For us in Ireland to advance our own national interests before we take on the Presidency I think is important and we did make some of those points to Minister Raouna this morning, but it is a big piece of work so there is a major priority to achieve that’, he explained.

Security and defence in all its facets is obviously a major European priority, a major priority of the Member States as well, he continued, adding that ‘it is very important from an Irish point of view and indeed from a Presidency point of view to understand the specificities of all the Member States’.

‘There are different issues on the Russian border, which is obviously a grave threat from Russia really to all of us in many respects, but also you have your own circumstances here on the Eastern Mediterranean too. We have to be cognisant of all the circumstances that Member States face and we will certainly endeavour to do that during our Presidency’, he further stressed, adding that notwithstanding the fact that Ireland is not a member of NATO, it will ‘certainly be acting as an honest broker and pushing forward the agenda of the Member States who quite simply want to protect their citizens’.

Asked whether Ireland is planning to take advantage of the SAFE initiative, Byrne said that is a possibility, however at this moment Ireland is not taking loans.

‘We may do some cooperation but we do not at this point in time need to take loans. We are increasing our defence spending significantly anyway from our own resources and we want more interconnection, more interoperability with other European Defence Forces’, he noted.

‘We already have that in some of the peacekeeping missions that we undertake and we work closely through Partnership for Peace and are deeply cognisant of what Member States are going through. There is a threat from Russia that we face ourselves, not in the context of a land invasion but in the context of threats to cables and threats to the information space and to the public sphere. We have to be cognisant of that and take action at a European level’, he further explained.

‘I think the concept of defence needs to be quite broad. There is defence material that people need to have and to build up their stocks of, we absolutely accept and understand that and we are doing that ourselves, but we have to think more as well about the whole area of cyber security, the whole area of the resilience of our citizens in the face of crisis that can be caused by adverse actors , the issue of the cables as well and the information space, so that is really important’, he stressed in that regard.

Asked whether there a message by the Irish government concerning the efforts to resume the negotiations process on the Cyprus problem at the United Nations level, Byrne said that the Irish government supports all efforts to seek a resolution to the issue, in accordance with the original UN resolutions and processes.

‘I think that is very important and certainly a message that I gave to the President and the Minister when I met them, it is mainly a UN process. I think if the issues can be resolved in accordance with what we know to be the will of the global community, that would bring immense benefits to Cyprus and I have no doubt about that’, he noted.

Asked about recent developments in the Middle East, the Irish Minister of State said that the American peace proposal has been released and there was an initial welcoming reaction from the Irish government but also from some Arab and Islamic countries.

‘I think that is very important and it is very important that Hamas signs up to this. This is too important to allow an organisation like Hamas to stop it. We must look at all genuine peace efforts, no peace process will be perfect, we know that in Ireland more than anybody, but we must give peace and people a chance and ultimately our belief and our faith is in a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine’, he underlined.

He remined that Ireland was the first Western country to advocate for that back in 1980. ‘It has been a long-standing principle of Irish foreign policy that Israel and Palestine should be allowed to live side by side in peace and in security and that the people of Israel and the people of Palestine can have futures and protection in those futures. So we certainly support any efforts to secure peace and President Trump’s efforts are very welcome’, he added.

Asked whether he is worried about the way trade relations or trade competition could affect the European economy as a whole, Byne said that uncertainty is the enemy of economic development, therefore anything that brings certainty is welcome.

‘We welcomed the agreement reached between the European Union and the United States which is holding and that has given some certainty. Ireland is very much an export-led economy and we need that certainty in our relations with the rest of the world’, he said.

He added that at the same time, it is important that Europe diversifies its trade strategies too and work with Southeast Asian countries and other friends, including in Africa and South America, as best it can to ensure that European products can have the widest possible markets, with Canada being another country with which a trade agreement was concluded and implemented and Europe can do a lot more business with.

‘These are important countries but America is a very important country too and we certainly place great store in really positive relations with the United States. We want to see relations with Britain normalised as much as possible and that process has accelerated under the Starmer administration and this (European) Commission. We welcome that and certainly we expect during the Cyprus Presidency and the Presidency of Ireland of the Council of the EU that relations with the UK would be a big feature and we certainly encourage the work of the European Commission in this respect’, he stressed on the issue.

Asked about the relationship with the UK and what Ireland’s experience with Brexit has been so far, the Irish Minister of State said that the experience since the Keir Starmer government came in has been positive.

‘They have a new openness they want to do things that will benefit them and ultimately benefit all of us. We have always said that we need the closest possible relations with the UK, that is the position, we maintain that bilaterally as well. We have our own summit with the UK and our own arrangements under the Good Friday Agreement as well with this cross-border cooperation and east-west cooperation’, he explained.

‘Any move towards bringing the European Union closer to the UK would be welcomed by us and that has happened in the area of security and defence, which we very much welcome, and we certainly hope that either during Cyprus’s Presidency or Ireland’s Presidency that a an SPS agreement, as envisaged by the recent EU-UK agreement, can in fact be put together and finalised and that I think would bring would bring great benefits to all of us’, he concluded.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

The Cyprus Composite Leading Economic Index (CCLEI)1, which is constructed and estimated by the Economics Research Centre (CypERC) of the University of Cyprus, recorded a year-over-year increase of 1.8% in September2 2025.

According to a press release, issued by the Economic Research Centre of the University of Cyprus, this increase follows year-over-year increases of 2.1% in August and 2.2% in July 2025, according to the most recently revised data.

The year-over-year CCLEI growth slowed slightly in September, reflecting developments in both domestic and international leading indicators.

Specifically, the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) in the euro area, the temperature-adjusted volume of electricity production, as well as property sales contracts contributed to the slowdown in the rise of the CCLEI in recent months.

On the contrary, the positive development of the other leading indicators that make up the CCLEI, such as tourist arrivals and retail trade, combined with the fall in the weekly price of Brent crude oil, partially offset the negative pressures and strengthened the overall growth of the CCLEI.

In summary, the CypERC said, “the slowdown in the year-over-year growth of the CCLEI in September suggests that the growth momentum of the Cypriot economy which despite maintained positive course, remains vulnerable to geopolitical developments and prevailing economic uncertainty.”

We have an obligation, as a semi-occupied country, to constantly strengthen our defence, Government Spokesperson, Konstantinos Letymbiotis, said on Thursday, in Nicosia.

Asked, during a media briefing at the Presidential Palace to comment on statements by Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar on the Republic of Cyprus’ armament programme, following Wednesday’s military parade for the anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Cyprus, the Spokesperson said that all the actions the government has been taking, ‘regarding the defence of our country are aimed at exactly what I have described, the defence of our country.’ ‘A country which, let us remind Mr Tatar and Turkey, has been experiencing the tragic consequences of a barbaric invasion and an illegal occupation for 51 years. A country where 37% of its territory is under occupation, where 30,000 Turkish soldiers are illegally in our country and where over 160,000 Greek Cypriots are refugees in their own homeland’, he added.

What we are doing, he said, ‘is to strengthen, to further shield our country’s defence, to strengthen the deterrence of our country, a member state of the European Union’, in cooperation and full coordination ‘with our large European family, utilising programmes such as SAFE, with funds exceeding one billion euros, precisely because we have an obligation, especially as a semi-occupied homeland, to constantly shield our defence’, he said.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

The launch of the Competitive Electricity Market is a strategic reform, Government Spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said on Thursday, adding that this is the first step in a broader energy policy plan that the government is implementing with the aim of reducing energy costs.

In statements during a media briefing at the Presidential Palace, the Spokesman said that as of the 1st of October Cyprus has turned a page in the energy sector.

For the first time, he pointed out, citizens and businesses in Cyprus can freely choose their supplier within a competitive environment that includes nine producers.

The Competitive Electricity Market, which is now operational, ‘is a strategic reform’, he stressed.

Referring to the benefits for the citizen, he said that, from today, they will be able to compare prices, choose the supplier that is most beneficial to them, have access to new products and packages, and even green energy options.

From January 2026, he continued, changing suppliers will be done within 24 hours, at no cost and with complete transparency, while consumers will be able to become active participants in the energy market, either as self-producers from renewable energy sources (RES) or as members of energy communities.

The benefits for businesses are equally important, he went on to say, noting that ‘the ability to negotiate with more suppliers allows for better prices and tailored solutions, reducing operating costs”.

Letymbiotis added that participation in savings and RES programs enhances the sustainability and competitiveness of businesses.

The Spokesman stressed that the most important is that the Competitive Electricity Market enhances competition and that this is expected to lead to lower prices, but also to innovative services that will adapt to the needs of households and businesses. He added that the dependence on limited suppliers is reduced and the decentralization of production is promoted.

‘The government proves once again that with a plan, methodical manner and political will, it can solve chronic problems and implement reforms that improve the everyday life of citizens,’ he concluded.

Weather Temperature for Cyprus

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

Date 02/10/2025