Day: June 1, 2023

Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme (BIP): 'Cyprus Experimental Field School (CEF): From Cultural Heritage to Materials Science - The Female Potters of Cyprus' The Open University of Cyprus (OUC) is organizing an Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) entitled: 'Cyprus Experimental Field School (CEF): From Cultural Heritage to Materials Science - The Female Potters of Cyprus'. The BIP, with scientific coordinator Dr Xenia Charalambidou, will be held in Cyprus (Nicosia, Kornos village and Agios Demetrios village) from July 8 to July 16, 2024. The objective of this BIP is twofold. First, it seeks to provide a fully immersive experience of dynamic pottery cultures from apprenticeship through to vessel use and also in material science analyses. Secondly, it aims to give students the requisite skills, in consultation with potting elders, to apply this knowledge to explore how multistage hand-built pots were made and used in the past. In this BIP, the archives of ethnoarchaeologist Dr Gloria London, who has d ocumented the Cypriot female potters since 1986, serve as a nucleus from which one can thoroughly document the dynamic context of their practices. The BIP is coordinated by the Open University of Cyprus (OUC), and the following Universities from Greece and Poland are the members of the consortium: University of Crete, University of Thessaly, University of the Aegean, University of the Peloponnese, University of Patras, University of Warsaw. In addition to Dr Xenia Charalambidou (, OUC), Dr Gloria London and Beatrice McLoughlin (the Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens), academics and researchers from the University of Cyprus, and the Science and Technology in Archaeology and Culture Research Center (STARC) of The Cyprus Institute are collaborating as guest instructors. Female potters in Cyprus will be contributing to the instruction of the BIP with workshops that will be provided to all participating students. Blended Intensive Programmes are funded in the context of the Erasmus+ Programme, and are short, intensive programmes that use innovative ways of learning and teaching, including the use of online cooperation. By enabling new and more flexible mobility formats that combine physical mobility with a virtual part, BIPs aim at reaching all types of students from all backgrounds, study fields and cycles. Source: Cyprus News Agency

Maintaining a stable and secure environment in the Eastern Mediterranean remains of the utmost strategic importance, President Nikos Christodoulides said Thursday, addressing the 2nd European Political Community Summit taking place in Chisinau, Moldova.

An announcement by the Presidency says that in his intervention at a round table discussion on energy and connectivity, the President noted that the adoption of a strategic approach is required, so that the energy market is ready to move forward the clean energy era. He also said that we need to invest in energy infrastructure.

In his intervention Cyprus President also said that in order to accelerate the development of renewable energy sources in Europe, specific challenges should be addressed, such as, the implementation of the necessary electrical interconnections for the uninterrupted flow of electricity especially from areas with extensive renewable energy sources and simplifying procedures having also in mind the environmental concerns.

President Christodoulides pointed out that speeding up procedures is an incentive for investors, since bureaucracy is a major obstacle for the set-up of large-scale and cross-border projects.

He also emphasized that cooperation is the key to success, noting that the Eastern Mediterranean can be the model.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The Parliamentary Defence Committee asked Germany's and the EU's contribution to the management of the migration issue on Thursday, during its meeting with the Friendship Group for relations with Cyprus and Malta of the German Bundestag. The strengthening of cooperation between the German and Cypriot armed forces and the replacement of the RoC weapons systems were also discussed.

In his introductory remarks, the Chairman of the Defence Committee, Marinos Sizopoulos, said that the presence of the members of the German Parliament's friendship group in Cyprus is of particular political significance given that Cyprus is the only EU member state 37% of whose territory has been illegally occupied by Turkey since 1974, while Nicosia is the last and only divided capital in the EU.

He added that the two countries have to deal with the issue of migration and the services offered by the Republic of Cyprus to the German armed forces in the framework of the UNIFIL mission in Limassol.

For her part, the Chairperson of the Friendship Group in the Bundestag, Derya Türk- Nachbaur, after thanking the Chairperson for the hospitality, said that Germany wishes to deepen and further strengthen relations and cooperation between the two countries, adding that the common challenges the two countries are facing include the expansion and management of renewable energy, climate protection and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

She added that Germany attaches great importance to migration policy and that she was happy for the fact that solutions at the bilateral level on migrant allocation were found, expressing the desire to resolve the migration issue in the most humanitarian and fair way possible.

In their questions, the members of the German friendship group asked for information on the defence budget of the RoC, the possibility of Cyprus joining NATO, as well as the actions Cyprus has taken to replace Soviet and Russian-made equipment with American and Western European equipment respectively.

The members of the Defence Committee were also questioned by their German counterparts on Cyprus-US cooperation in the field of defence, on migration flows to Cyprus, and on the prospect of closer cooperation between the Cypriot and German armed forces in the field of armaments.

Commenting on the aforementioned points, Sizopoulos said that the defence budget of the Republic of Cyprus amounts to 1.5% of the GDP and the arms budget ranges between 170 and 180 million euros per year, while with regard to weapons systems, he said that after the end of the US arms embargo in the last two years, efforts are being made to further enrich the weapons systems of the Republic of Cyprus from other countries as well.

He added on this issue that at present the country that mainly supplies Cyprus apart from France is Israel within the framework of inter-state agreements, but this does not prevent the exploration of possible supply of other weapon systems that will enhance the deterrent power of the Cypriot armed forces and contribute to the security of the region.

He also said that replacing weapon systems is not an easy task, especially in a country with relatively small armed forces, adding that it takes time to adapt to the new weapon systems in order to avoid a decrease in the combat effectiveness of the armed forces. He noted that there are already plans for gradual weapon systems upgrades and a possible purchase of new, modern, high-tech systems.

Regarding the cooperation between the Cypriot and German armed forces, Sizopoulos said that this is an important issue for Cyprus as it allows for the creation of security conditions in the Eastern Mediterranean region. He added that the Cyprus Armed Forces have already been in continuous cooperation in recent years with the US, France, Greece and Israel, thus the participation of Germany will add particular value and importance to these joint exercises.

Regarding the possibility of Cyprus submitting a NATO membership application, Sizopoulos asked what Turkey's response would be in such a case, adding that everyone sees what is happening with Sweden's application.

Finally, on the issue of migration, Sizopoulos asked for the contribution of Germany and the EU in general so that Cyprus could manage this problem, adding that possible solutions could include the conclusion of transnational repatriation agreements by the EU with sub-Saharan African countries, as well as the equal distribution of refugees among EU member states on the basis of population ratio.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The European Commission has called on Cyprus to comply with EU VAT rules for dwellings by sending a reasoned opinion to the country, included in the Commission’s June infringements package. If Cyprus does not comply with EU law in time, the Commission could take the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

According to a press release, the European Commission decided to send a reasoned opinion to Cyprus (INFR(2021)2093) for its failure to properly apply EU VAT rules for dwellings purchased or constructed in Cyprus.

Cyprus, it is noted, allows a reduced rate of VAT of 5% on the first 200 m2 of dwellings used as the principal and permanent residence by the beneficiary, without any other limitations.

The VAT Directive (Council Directive 2006/112/EC) does allow Member States to apply a reduced rate of VAT on housing as part of a social policy. However, the wide scope of the Cypriot legislation and the lack of limitations therein indicate that the measure goes beyond that objective, the Commission points out in its press release.

In particular, the reduced rate is applied regardless of the income, assets and economic situation of the beneficiary, the members of the family that will reside in the dwelling, and the maximum total area of the dwellings concerned.

Consequently, the Commission considers that Cyprus has failed to fulfil its obligations under the VAT Directive.

Thursday’s reasoned opinion is the second stage in an infringement procedure that the Commission opened in July 2021 by sending a letter of formal notice.

Cyprus now has two months to address the shortcomings identified in this reasoned opinion. If Cyprus does not act within the next two months, the Commission may decide to refer the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Cyprus has a total of 14 meteorological stations that have been in continuous operation for at least 100 years. Five of them were designated as "centennial stations" during the 19th World Meteorological Organisation Congress that is currently underway from 22 of May to 2 June in Geneva.

The Cyprus Department of Meteorology was represented at the congress by its Director Dr. Kleanthis Nicolaides in his capacity as permanent representative of Cyprus to the WMO.

Among the resolutions examined was the designation of Centennial weather stations. The World Meteorological Organization has so far recognized 291 centennial weather stations and Congress increased this by a further 118 by including, for the first time, hydrological and marine stations. Cyprus has several such stations, and during the 19th Congress, five more stations from the Department were named centennial. These stations are the rainfall measurement stations in Drousia, Agios Neophytos, Kykkos, Kalos Chorio Limassol, and Palechori.

The designation of these five stations as centennial stations, the Department of Meteorology said, brings the number now to a total of 14 centennial stations, which is a significant number considering the size of the island.

According to the WMO, observations from long-term observing stations and other platforms are vital inputs to climate models that scientists use to understand the climate and create credible scenarios of future climate change.

They accurately measure how high-impact events such as intense heatwaves or extreme rainfall are changing in terms of occurrence, and so make it possible to evaluate risks and find solutions.

The WMO attaches great significance to centennial stations with long and continuous time series of observations, as they provide much more reliable climate data over a long period of time, while simultaneously validating climate models, the Department of Meteorology added.

Source: Cyprus News Agency