Day: March 26, 2024

The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned on Monday thirteen entities and two individuals, among them one based in Cyprus, for operating in the financial services and technology sectors of the Russian Federation economy including persons developing or offering services in virtual assets that enable the evasion of U.S. sanctions. A press release by the US Department of the Treasury's Office says that five entities were designated for being owned or controlled by OFAC-designated persons. It adds that many of the individuals and entities designated facilitated transactions or offered other services that helped OFAC-designated entities evade sanctions. These designations build upon OFAC's February 23, 2024 action to target companies servicing Russia's core financial infrastructure and curtail Russia's use of the international financial system to further its war against Ukraine, it notes. The list includes Tokentrust Holdings Ltd., based in Cyprus, which is the major ity shareholder of Atomaiz and was designated pursuant to E.O. 14024 for operating or having operated in the financial services sector of the Russian Federation economy. 'Russia is increasingly turning to alternative payment mechanisms to circumvent U.S. sanctions and continue to fund its war against Ukraine,' said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian E. Nelson adding that "Treasury will continue to expose and disrupt the companies that seek to help sanctioned Russian financial institutions reconnect to the global financial system.' It is noted that on February 24, 2024, the G7 Leaders reaffirmed their commitment to step up efforts against the evasion and circumvention of G7 sanctions and export control measures. The companies designated by OFAC on Monday have all either helped build or operate blockchain-based services for, or enabled virtual currency payments in, the Russian financial sector, thus enabling potential sanctions evasion, it says. Source: Cyprus N ews Agency

More than 3,500 people will be elected in the June 9 elections, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior, Elikkos Elia, said on Tuesday after a meeting with the representatives of the political parties on the preparations for the June 2024 Elections. These elections 'are important', he said, since they will concern the election of MEPs, Presidents of District Self-Government Organisations, Mayors, Deputy Mayors, Members of Municipal Councils, Community Leaders and Councils, and School Boards. Elia said that April 2, 2024 will be the deadline for registration in the electoral roll of new voters and invited young people who have not voted before to register to vote by that date, either online or by visiting the District Administrations, Citizen Service Centres (KEP) or Citizens Centers (KEPOs). For this purpose, he added, the District Administrations will remain open on Saturday, March 30 until 14:00. According to Elia, students or other Cypriot citizens living in Greece, the United Kingdom or Bru ssels, may submit online, until midnight, April 2, their declaration to vote in their place of residence. 'June 9 will be the day of Democracy because more than 3,500 of our compatriots will be elected to serve in some position', Elia said, pointing out that the number of candidates, which will be finalised by the end of April, will be many times more than that. He referred to elections that have never been held before in Cyprus and invited everyone to participate and exercise their voting right. Elia said that voters will cast up to six ballots in municipal areas, up to four in communities, up to four in the semi-occupied municipalities, up to three in the occupied municipalities and up to two for the occupied communities. As regard the Self-Government Authorities Elections, Elia said that five Presidents of District Self-Government Organisations, will be elected, as well as 29 Mayors, 93 Deputy Mayors, 443 Municipal Councilors, School District Members for municipal areas. There will also be elected 424 C ommunity Leaders , as well as Members of 2,390 Community Councils. Elia said that, on May 2 'the innovative application' 'Ti psifizo' (What I vote) is expected to be launched, where every citizen will be able to enter their details and receive information about the number of ballot papers they will receive and the number of preference crosses they will be able to mark on each of them. Available to the public will also be a 'Where I Vote' app, which has been used in previous elections. The Interior Ministry permanent secretary expressed the belief that there will be no queues at the polling stations and that each voter would spend five to six minutes inside the polling station in order to exercise their right to vote. Regarding the European elections, Elia said that 30 to 35 special poll centers will operate for the Turkish Cypriots in the areas under the control of the Government of the Republic of Cyprus. Referring to the numbers of voters, until January 2, 2024, Elia said that 547,527 people have been r egistered in the permanent electoral roll (of which 735 are Turkish Cypriot), in the special electoral roll for EU Voters for the Local Government Authorities Elections 11,559 were registered, 9,190 were registered in the special electoral roll for EU Voters for the European Parliament Elections, while 82,925 were registered in the special electoral roll for Turkish Cypriots for the European Parliament Elections. Regarding the new registrations in the electoral rolls from January 3 to March 22, Elia said that 5,941 people were registered in the permanent electoral roll (including 14 Turkish Cypriots), 3,208 people in the special electoral roll for EU Voters for the Local Government Elections, and 519 in the special electoral roll for the European Parliament Elections. The elections road map ------------ According to Elia, April 2 is the last day to register in the electoral rolls and the last day to submit declarations for voting in the polling centers abroad for the European Parliament Elections. On Apr il 12, the decrees of the Minister of the Interior for the conduct of the elections will be published, while the Chief Returning Officer, the Assistant Chief Returning Officer, the Returning Officers and their Assistants will be appointed. On April 24, the nominations for the European Parliament Elections will be submitted, while on the 25th, the nominations for the Self-Government Elections will be submitted. On April 29, nominations will be submitted for the Elections for Community Leaders and Community Council Members. On June 9, the voting, sorting and counting of votes will take place, while on June 10 and 11, those elected will be announced. Details and announcements will be published on the website elections.gov.cy in three languages (Greek, English and Turkish). Source: Cyprus News Agency

The Ministers for Agriculture of the nine Mediterranean member states of the European Union (MED9) discussed ways to coordinate before meetings of the Council of the EU, during a working dinner hosted in Brussels on Monday by Minister for Agriculture Maria Panayiotou, as Cyprus currently holds the presidency of the group. According to a press release by the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, the working dinner was held before the Tuesday's Agriculture and Fisheries Council, with the aim of identifying ways to promote common positions that will strengthen the demands of the European Mediterranean countries on agricultural issues. The EU member states participating in the MED9 format are Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Malta, Slovenia, Croatia, Greece and Cyprus. During the dinner, Panayiotou stressed the importance of cooperation and coordination between the Mediterranean countries ahead of meetings of the Council of the EU, especially during this critical period for agriculture. O ne of the common positions that the MED9 have agreed to promote is the need for increased flexibility for farmers and national authorities in order to reduce administrative burdens and improve the implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy. The MED9 will also support the European Commission's plan to set up an observatory on production costs, profit margins and commercial practices for the benefit of farmers. They will also take joint action to strengthen the position of farmers in the agri-food chain. The Ministers also agreed to call for additional measures and funding opportunities to address challenges in agriculture, as well as to strengthen actions on water management, resilience and water efficiency in agriculture. They also welcomed the Commission's proposal to amend the CAP Regulations with a deadline for completing the reforms in April this year. Source: Cyprus News Agency

The future of European fisheries and aquaculture was discussed by EU Fisheries Ministers at an informal Council of Fisheries Ministers, organised by the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU, in Bruges, Belgium, on 24-25 March. In a press release, the Ministry of Agriculture said that Ministers of Fisheries noted their will to chart a course for the next political cycle, after the European elections, in June 2024, while at the same time it was emphasized that both sectors are of strategic importance for maintaining food security, but they face many challenges which makes it necessary to examine specific actions at the European level. Permanent Secretary of the DG Environment of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment Costas Hadjipanagiotou participated in the Informal Council, accompanied by the Director of the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research Marina Argyrou. The meeting was chaired by Hilde Crevits, Vice-President and Minister of Welfare, Public Health, Family and F isheries of the Flemish Government of Belgium. The meeting was also attended by the President of the Northwest Waters Regional Advisory Council (NWWRAC) Emiel Brouckaert, the President of the European Association of Fish Producers Organizations (EAPO) Ebsen Sverdrup-Jensen, and the Secretary General of the European Federation of Aquaculture Producers (FEAP) Javier Ojeda. Also participating were representatives of the EU institutions, Pierre Karleskind, Chairman of the European Parliament's Committee on Fisheries and Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevicius. In his intervention Hadjipanagiotou said that "the fisheries and aquaculture sectors face numerous challenges, such as overfishing, habitat destruction, the effects of climate change, market volatility and administrative complexity," adding that the recent crises "have highlighted these challenges and the need to address them in order to have a resilient, attractive, sustainable and innovative fisheries and aquaculture sec tor'. According ot the Cypriot official addressing these challenges requires a comprehensive approach that includes legal, economic and other aspects. He also noted that the European Marine Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund should be significantly strengthened so that it becomes an essential and useful tool for promoting the Common Fisheries Policy and the challenges faced by the fisheries and aquaculture sector in the EU. Source: Cyprus News Agency

US Ambassador to Cyprus Julie Fisher briefed President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, on Tuesday during a meeting at the Presidential Palace, in the afternoon, on the stages and progress of the decision to build a temporary port dock on the Gaza coast to increase humanitarian aid. According to a post by President Christodoulides on platform "X", the President had a meeting with US Ambassador to Cyprus Julie Fisher and Lieutenant General Patrick Frank, where they discussed the close cooperation between the two countries for the effective implementation of the Republic of Cyprus' initiative to provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza. It is added that "as part of the meeting, the US side briefed on the stages and progress of the implementation of the decision to build a temporary port dock on the Gaza coast to increase humanitarian aid destined for those in need." Source: Cyprus News Agency