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Cyprus has cleanest swimming sites in Europe

By Stefanos Evripidou 22/05/13
ALL 112 beaches tested in Cyprus for a recent European report have “excellent” water quality, putting the island at the top of the EU for bathing.Ninety-four per cent of bathing sites in the European Union meet minimum standards for water quality, with Cyprus and Luxembourg having the highest quality of bathing sites in the bloc, according to the European Environment Agency (EEA) annual report on bathing water quality in Europe. Cyprus, along with Luxembourg, scored full marks in the report, with all 112 coastal bathing sites deemed to have “excellent” water quality. The EU average stands at 78 per cent, showing a two per cent increase compared to the previous year.   ... 8 comments

CIPA: energy sector will prove catalytic for Cyprus

06/04/13
THE Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA) expressed its regrets yesterday over the raid on bank deposits imposed by the EU but also welcomed the finalisation of a bailout deal with international lenders.“As CIPA, we have for some time now, advocated that penalising depositors would be an unfair and short-sighted measure,” a news statement said. “Despite all efforts, unfortunately, this solution was at the end simply imposed on Cyprus.”On the other hand, CIPA being the main point of contact for foreign investors, welcomed the stability that the finalization of the memorandum of understanding between Cyprus and the Eurogroup is expected to bring after a long period of uncertainty... 1 comment

Tensions over bailout underscore pitfalls ahead

By Michele Kambas and Laura Noonan 28/03/13
THE INK is barely dry on a deal struck in Brussels to save Cyprus from bankruptcy, but rising tension between the island's conservative president and the communist-appointed governor of the central bank foreshadow difficulties ahead.Thinly veiled disdain for governor Panicos Demetriades expressed by officials close to President Nicos Anastasiades has reinforced the perception of a Cypriot leadership reeling under the backlash against an unpopular, last-minute accord hammered out in fraught negotiations in Brussels.Small and so-far peaceful street protests appear to be gaining momentum, and the opposition - denied the right to challenge the deal in parliament - is calling for a referendum... 9 comments

Goodbye to all that, or the other face of Venus

March 28th 2013

Let's face it, the last week or so has been rather ugly in this little corner of paradise.

Cypriots have been bombarded by all sorts of dire proclamations that their (still relatively recent) way of life (read: affluent) is dead. People are bracing themselves for austerity, hardship, layoffs, pay cuts, spirals into heavy debt, belt-tightening and all-round general grimness.

For an island associated with Venus, the goddess who loves pleasure (and money), and all the things that indulge the senses, this is rather dispiriting news, to say the least.

Second chance for BoC in draft deal

By George Psyllides 25/03/13
Cyprus and international lenders reached a draft deal in the early hours of this morning. Details of the deal were sketchy but involved heavy levies on both of Cyprus’ biggest banks. Other banks appeared to have been spared. And no charges will be incurred against any Cypriot bank account with less than 100,000 euros in them, EU officials said.Reuters reported that the deal involves setting up a "good bank" and a "bad bank" and will mean that Popular Bank of Cyprus, known as Laiki, will effectively be shut down... 68 comments

TIMELINE: Bailout deal reached

24/03/13
UPDATED 2.58am   Cyprus and international lenders reached a draft deal in the early hours of this morning, which had to be approved by the Eurogroup.Details of the deal were sketchy but involved heavy levies on both of Cyprus’ biggest banks. Other banks appeared to have been spared. And no charges will be incurred against any Cypriot bank account with less than 100,000 euros in them, the officials said... 70 comments

Orphanides predicts the end of the European project

By Stefanos Evripidou 23/03/13
FORMER CENTRAL Bank governor Athanasios Orphanides launched a scathing attack on EU policymakers for their handling of the eurozone crisis, warning that a Cyprus euro exit would trigger the break-up of the common currency. In an interview with the Financial Times, Orphanides predicted the eventual dissolution of the EU-bloc. “The European project is crashing to earth,” he told the Financial Times. “This is a fundamental change in the dynamics of Europe towards disintegration and I don’t see how this can be reversed.”The former governor also had some choice words for his former colleagues at the European Central Bank (ECB) as well as for the European Commission. ... 14 comments

ECB gives Cyprus bailout ultimatum, banks face cutoff

By Michele Kambas and Paul Carrel 21/03/13
  The European Central Bank gave Cyprus until Monday to raise billions of euros to clinch an international bailout or face losing emergency funds for its banks and inevitable collapse.The ultimatum came with the island's leaders locked in talks on a "Plan B" to try to raise 5.8 billion euros demanded by the EU under a 10 billion euro ($13 billion) rescue, after angry lawmakers threw out a tax on deposits as "bank robbery... 10 comments

Deputies throw out bailout deal

By Stefanos Evripidou 20/03/13
 PARLIAMENT last night rejected a second draft bill on the proposed levy on bank deposits in Cyprus, considered a precondition to any bailout of the troubled island. The initial deal banged out in Brussels at the weekend imposed a 6.75 per cent levy on small savers with insured deposits of under €100,000 and 9.9 per cent on those over €100,000.Following the global and local backlash to the idea of taxing insured depositers, eurozone finance ministers decided on Monday night that the finer details of the levy could be left up to Cyprus as long as the near-bankrupt member state is able to come up with a €5.8 billion ‘bail-in’ which would then trigger a €10 billion EU/IMF ‘bailout’... 33 comments

UPDATED: Cypriot draft bill drops levy on deposits below 20,000 euros

By Michele Kambas and Karolina Tagaris 19/03/13
THE government proposed on Tuesday to spare small savers from a divisive levy on bank deposits but said it expects parliament to reject the measure, needed to secure an international bailout and avoid default and a banking collapse. Unless parliament accepts the levy on deposits, EU countries say they will withhold a bailout, plunging one of the smallest European states closer to financial oblivion with potentially severe consequences for the rest of the troubled euro zone... 53 comments
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