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Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 10-04-13Cyprus News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>CONTENTS
[01] PRESIDENT - POLISH PRESIDENT - CONDOLENCESCyprus President Demetris Christofias signed the book of condolences at the Embassy of Poland for the death of Polish President Lech Kaczynski. According to an official announcement in the book of condolences, President Christofias expresses ``our feelings of deep grief for the air tragedy of 10 April which resulted in the untimely death of President Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria and caused the loss of so many human lives amongst them many leading Polish personalities``.He added that ``at this moment of mourning I extend our most sincere condolences to the Government and the friendly people of Poland for their immense national loss and our deepest sympathy to the family of President Kaczynski and particularly his daughter Marta``. President Christofias also wrote, that ``I convey our grief to the families of the deceased who were on board that fatal flight``. ``During these tragic moments our thoughts are with them and with the people of Poland``, the President concluded. The book of condolences was also signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Marcos Kyprianou. Cypriot FM expressed his deepest condolences. He added that ``the hole of Cyprus mourns together with the Polish People``. [02] FM - EU - DIRECT TRADEThe European Commission insists on a regulation that is legally and politically wrong, Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou has stated, referring to a proposed regulation set to govern direct trade between Cyprus northern Turkish occupied areas and the EU, that is being promoted through the European Parliament. Kyprianou also said that he was not briefed by the European Commission on its intention to communicate the regulation on direct trade to the European Parliament. Speaking here after a meeting with Minister of Education and Culture, and asked about the issue of direct trade, Kyprianou said that he was expecting from the European Commission to have had a consultation with the Republic of Cyprus, before the issue was sent to the European Parliament last December.The European Commission insists on a regulation that is legally and politically wrong, he said, noting that the regulation does not conform to the 2004 Council conclusions and it is against the interest of an EU member state. Kyprianou said that the objective of the government and particularly the Foreign Ministry is to prevent any decision on direct trade with the Turkish occupied areas of Cyprus being taken. In this framework he had a meeting on Monday with the Cypriot members of the European Parliament and on Thursday he will hold meetings with political parties.He agreed with the Cypriot Euro MPs on their next steps within the European Parliament Kyprianou said efforts will be made towards the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council, with a view to prevent any decision which might be taken by the European Parliament on this issue. Cyprus President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat have been engaged in direct negotiations since September 2008 with a view to solve the problem of Cyprus divided since the Turkish invasion of the island in 1974. [03] CBC - ECONOMYGovernor of the Central Bank of Cyprus Athanasios Orphanides has said that the Stability Programme of the Cyprus economy, submitted by the government to the European Commission, includes many measures, which aim to the right direction, but expressed the view that a delay in taking measures has had a negative impact on growth. The most important element in the Stability Programme, is the recognition of the existence of a very serious structural problem in our economy, Orphanides said, adding that measures must be taken to solve this problem. The Governor, who was speaking before the House of Representatives Committee on Financial and Budgetary Affairs, in the presence of Minister of Finance Charilaos Stavrakis, expressed concern over the fact that according to the Stability Programme public expenses as a GDP percentage reached in 2009 the historic high of 46,4%, while for 2010 an increase to 47,6% is expected. This trend is dangerous and must be reversed, he warned.The CBB Governor said that the economy of Cyprus remains in recession, adding that we can not rule out a negative growth rate for 2010``. One more negative element, he said, is the deterioration of the public finances by 10% in the past two years. Unfortunately, the delay in taking substantive structural measures has already had a negative influence on growth, he pointed out. In his statements, the Minister of Finance called upon all, the political parties, the government, the House of Representatives, the opposition and independent authorities, to cooperate for the benefit of the Cyprus economy. ``We can take now the right measures for our economy, which can prevent the worse, because if we don`t take them now, we will take them in some months time, and they will be even harder, he stressed. Referring to Orphanides, he said, he is an independent official and we should all respect his opinion, even if in some points, his assessment may not be in agreement with ours. The government, he said, has stressed already some months ago the need to take measures for fiscal purification, adding that despite the fact that some of the measures have not been ratified by the Parliament, the government has proceeded with some measures that will contribute to the reduction of fiscal deficit. In statements after the meeting, Orphanides said that in 2009 the economic activity in Cyprus has recorded the first shrinkage since 1974-75, due to the world economic crisis. Real economy shows deterioration and real GDP has recorded a decrease of 1.7% in 2009, Orphanides went on to say. Comparing Cyprus with the rest of the Eurozone countries, he said that its fiscal deficit is not among the highest, but there is an important difference, namely, ``in most eurozone countries the economic recession was more intense in comparison to ours, and thus their fiscal deficit was more influenced by the recession. [04] CYPRUS - INFLATION - MARCHThe harmonised inflation of Cyprus declined to 2.3% in March 2010, on annual base, from 2.8% in February 2010, according to data released on Tuesday by the Statistical Service of Cyprus.In March 2009, the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices or harmonised inflation was 0.9%. During the first three months of 2010, the harmonised inflation rose 2.5%, compared to the corresponding period of 2009. Cyprus News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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