Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 16-10-26

Cyprus News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>

CONTENTS

[01] Cabinet approves proposal to extend the term of local authority

officials by two-and-a-half years

[02] Greek and Turkish Cypriot parties agree that the current phase of

negotiations is crucial

[03] BoC's reliance on ELA shrinks by €2.5 billion in 2016

[04] FinMin stresses that no additional fiscal consolidation measures

are needed

[05] Cyprus Property Index records modest increase in second quarter,

RICS says

[06] Immigration, CETA and Russia the focus of EP discussion

[07] Cabinet approves bills on deputy ministries for Tourism and Shipping

[01] Cabinet approves proposal to extend the term of local authority officials by two-and-a-half years

The Council of Ministers approved on Wednesday a proposal by the Ministry of the Interior to extend the term of the local authorities, elected in 2011, by two-and-a half years, and therefore local elections, scheduled to take place in December, will be postponed, pending approval of the proposal by the House.

Interior Minister Socrates Hasikos told the media after the Council meeting that the extension was deemed necessary since the process for the approval by the parliament of a reform regarding local authorities is at an advanced stage. The reform provides for the reduction of the municipalities from 30 to 22 within a two year period.

Asked if the bill for the extension of the term in office of Municipal Councils and Community Councils is related to efforts for a Cyprus settlement, Hasikos said: "Allow me not to connect the two. It is purely to the benefit of the local authority reform. We`ve been discussing the reforms for three years and now is the time for everyone to take his decisions."

The Minister expressed the belief that due to the fact that the discussion on the reform before the House Interior Committee is at an advanced state, the House will take seriously into consideration the government`s bill to extend the term of the current Municipal and Community Councils.

Replying to a question, he said that the aim is not to abolish elections but to extend the term, recalling that such a thing happened also in 1999, when local authorities were appointed by the government and after a decision was taken for elections, an extension to the term of existing authorities was given.

"I do not think this bill is in any way undemocratic," he said. On the contrary, he added, it serves democracy and especially taxpayers, provided that the reforms will be approved by the parliament.

Hasikos also said that the opinion of the Law Office of the Republic was that the government could move forward with this issue.

Furthermore, he noted that the deadline for the approval of this bill by the parliament is the 4th of November, when candidates are due to officially submit their candidacies.

CNA/MK/MM/2016

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

[02] Greek and Turkish Cypriot parties agree that the current phase of negotiations is crucial

The leaders and the representatives of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot political parties, who met on Wednesday at Ledra Palace in Nicosia, expressed opinions on the issue proposed by hosting party, AKEL, on "the constructive role of the political parties with regards the basic pending aspects of the negotiations".

According to the Joint Communique read out by Ambassador of the Slovak Republic, Oksana Tomova, the political parties agreed that the ongoing phase of the negotiations is going to be crucial for the prospect of a final solution of the Cyprus problem.

"By projecting a constructive role, the political parties can contribute positively to this process.

(CNA)

*The full text of the news item is available in the paid version of the CNA web service.

*CNA reserves the copyright to the news stories it files, which is granted to subscribers for specific use only.

[03] BoC's reliance on ELA shrinks by €2.5 billion in 2016

The Bank of Cyprus` reliance on the European Central Bank`s Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) has shrunk in 2016 by €2.5 billion, down to €1.3 billion in September.

According to a monthly balance sheet the Central Bank of Cyprus published on Wednesday, the Bank of Cyprus` reliance on ELA fell to €1.30 billion in September, down from €1.50 billion in August.

In July, the bank`s reliance on ELA had already shrunk by €400 million. From the start of this year, reliance on ELA has fallen by €2.5 billion.

Since April 2013, when the bank`s reliance on ELA had reached the record high of €11.40 billion, it has managed to reduce its reliance by €10.10 billion by the end of September 2016.

CNA/CST/EPH/MM/2016

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

*The full text of the news item is available in the paid version of the CNA web service.

*CNA reserves the copyright to the news stories it files, which is granted to subscribers for specific use only.

[04] FinMin stresses that no additional fiscal consolidation measures are needed

Minister of Finance Harris Georgiades made it clear on Wednesday that Cyprus will not need to take additional measures of fiscal consolidation or fiscal adjustment.

Pierre Moscovici, European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs, and Valdis Dombrovskis, European Commissioner for the Euro and Social Dialogue and Vice-President of the European Commission, have asked Cyprus' Finance Minister to explain his views with regard to the medium term objective of a balanced budget in structural terms in 2017, in a letter they sent to him on Tuesday.

The letter read that a preliminary assessment of the DBP suggests that Cyprus plans to depart significantly from its medium term objective of a balanced budget in structural terms in 2017.

(CNA)

*The full text of the news item is available in the paid version of the CNA web service.

*CNA reserves the copyright to the news stories it files, which is granted to subscribers for specific use only.

[05] Cyprus Property Index records modest increase in second quarter, RICS says

Property prices in Cyprus have registered modest increase in the second quarter of 2016, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Cyprus has said.

According to RICS, the index shows significant increase in approximately all large urban areas in all categories, most notably in Larnaca, whereas prices in all other areas have bottomed out.

According to a press release issued by RICS Cyprus, prices in houses and flats have registered a quarterly increase of 0.

(CNA)

*The full text of the news item is available in the paid version of the CNA web service.

*CNA reserves the copyright to the news stories it files, which is granted to subscribers for specific use only.

[06] Immigration, CETA and Russia the focus of EP discussion

Immigration, the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) recently rejected by Wallonia's parliament, and EU-Russian relations, were the focus of the three-hour discussion held at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on the conclusions of the recent European Council meeting.

Council President Donald Tusk and Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker briefed MEPs on the conclusions of the latest EU Summit. In his speech, Tusk said that the EU leaders' assessment of EU-Russian relations was "without illusions" and referred to "disinformation campaigns, cyber-attacks, political interference" and called for unity in the EU, "as Russia tries to weaken and split the EU".

(CNA)

*The full text of the news item is available in the paid version of the CNA web service.

*CNA reserves the copyright to the news stories it files, which is granted to subscribers for specific use only.

[07] Cabinet approves bills on deputy ministries for Tourism and Shipping

The Council of Ministers approved on Wednesday two bills providing for the establishment of deputy ministries in Tourism and Shipping, Under Secretary to the President Constantinos Petrides has said.

In statements to the press after a the Cabinet`s meeting, Petrides further briefed journalists that consultations for the establishment of a deputy ministry on Growth are near completion and that a relevant bill is expected to be submitted within 2016.

The two deputy ministries for Tourism and Shipping will be politically and administratively self-sufficient, he noted, adding that their political heads will be appointed by the President of the Republic and will be in charge of supervising the implementation of policies across the board but also responsible for drafting policy.

(CNA)

*The full text of the news item is available in the paid version of the CNA web service.

*CNA reserves the copyright to the news stories it files, which is granted to subscribers for specific use only.

Cyprus News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article