By Iacovos Constantinou

Over the past few days all football talk in Cyprus has centered around referee Marios Panayi’s corruption allegations and rightly so, but there are also six games to be played this weekend before the Cyprus league goes on a two-week winter break.

Leaders APOEL face a tricky tie against perhaps one of the most improved sides in recent weeks, third placed Ermis Aradippou.
Their task is made even more difficult as four more players (Manduca, Amorin, Morais, Efraim) join long-term absentees Charalambides and Tomas de Vincenti in the stands.

Ermis were desperately unlucky to lose to Apollonas last week and will be looking to return to winning ways. Coach Nicky Papavassiliou, who has done wonders since taking over in the autumn, has just one player missing, the suspended Tsina.

Omonia entertain Nea Salamina at the GSP stadium with both teams’ form slipping badly in recent weeks.
Omonia have managed just two wins in their last five games while Nea Salamina have not won in their last five games. Omonia are almost at full strength while

Nea Salamina, who are perilously close to the relegation zone, welcome back from injury their captain Diego Leon and Eden Monteiro.

Second-placed Apollonas travel to Paralimni to face struggling Ayia Napa and anything other than a win for the visitors will be a major setback to their championship aspirations.

The Limassol side will be without their captains Merkis and Sangoy who are both suspended.
Ayia Napa, currently rooted at the foot of the table, have been playing some good football at times, but they need to start picking up points if they are to stay in the top flight.

In the final Saturday game, Othellos Athienou are at home to Ethnikos Achnas in what can be considered a relegation six-pointer as both teams are in or just above the drop zone.

AEK Larnaca who were involved in an eight-goal thriller last weekend, entertain fast-improving Anorthosis in one of the most interesting clashes.
AEK’s Colautti returns after injury and will be looking to score against his old team while the Famagusta side are at full strength following the return of defensive stalwart Serran Polo.

In the second Sunday game, AEL face Doxa Katokopias at the Tsirion with the Limassol team expected to take all three points.

PAPHOS SOLD the most properties to foreigners during the period from 2010 to mid-2014 across Cyprus, a report by Cyprus Economic Intelligence said on Friday.

According to the report, from 2010 to mid-2014, 156 residences valued at over €1 million were sold, but none were luxury flats as foreign buyers went after detached houses on the beachfront – or at least offering sea views.

But in 2013 and 2014, a declining sales trend was observed.

In 2013, the report said, 22 transactions were recorded, of which 15 related to property valued between €2 and 2.5 million.

During the first half of 2014, 14 sales were made, 12 of which related to properties valued at less than €2 million.

In one notable case, a property was sold this year for more than €4 million, the most expensive property sold in Paphos since 2010.

Island-wide, 52 sales over €1 million each were made over the first six months of 2014.

The report found that Paphos’ most popular areas for luxury properties since 2010 were Neo Chorio, Peyia, Chloraka, Tsada, and Kouklia.

TRANSPARENCY Cyprus, a chapter of Transparency International, has invited Cypriot MPs to voluntarily submit a declaration of their financial interests in line with the code of ethics of the European Parliament.

The invitation came in the wake of a big debate over what constitutes incompatible offices and conflict of interest after it emerged that the Central Governor’s daughter was employed at her former husband’s law firm, which represents ex-Laiki Bank’s strongman Andreas Vgenopoulos, indicating a possible conflict of interest.

There was also the case of President Nicos Anastasiades’ former law office handling Ryanair briefly as the low-cost airline made a bid to acquire state-controlled carrier Cyprus Airways.

These are but a couple of recent examples. Politicians, especially lawyers, often continue to exercise their profession after being elected or appointed to a public office.

The organisation said the statement should include the MPs’ professional activities outside parliament three years prior to their election, their participation in any company boards or other organisations.

They must also declare any other revenues from other activities they engage in, participation in companies and other legal entities or other extracurricular pursuits – including writing, teaching, or consulting, if the fee exceeds €5,000 a year.

MPs must also state their participation in a company if it has any effect on public policy or if it gives the lawmaker significant influence of the organisation’s business.

Personnel or material equipment afforded to the MP by third parties must also be declared.

The organisation said the information must be included in a form prepared by them and submitted by January 2015. The forms will be published on the organisation’s website before February 10.

By Stelios Orphanides

The troika may delay its next mission to Cyprus scheduled for January 27, to evaluate Cyprus’s progress in implementing its economic and financial reform programme following yesterday’s parliament vote, the Cyprus News Agency reported citing an unnamed troika official.

Earlier, the International Monetary Fund, which together with the European Commission and the European Central Bank comprises the troika that supervises bailouts in the euro area, said it will not release the next tranche of bailout money earmarked for Cyprus, Reuters reported today citing the IMF.

International lenders expect explanations from the Cypriot government over how it will manage the crisis, CNA reported adding that the vote angered some euro area members while the parliaments of certain countries of the common currency bloc, which made funds available for Cyprus’s bailout, demanded explanations from the European Commission.

Read full story

By George Psyllides

ENI-KOGAS has not found enough commercially exploitable natural gas reserves in its first exploratory drill at the offshore Onasagoras field, the energy ministry said on Friday.

According to an official announcement, the joint venture will complete drilling within the next few days and move on to the Amathusa field, also located in bloc 9 of the Cyprus exclusive economic zone.

“Drillship Sapiem 10000 will continue as normal, the exploration programme that started last September,” the ministry said.

The Onasagoras drill reached the expected depth of 5,800 metres in what was the first of a series of drills by SAIPEM 10000.

The gas field was not the biggest potential prospect but one with the highest probability of success, according to industry sources.

ENI-KOGAS holds concessions on offshore blocs 2, 3 and 9.

Previous drills by Houston-based Noble Energy at the ‘Aphrodite’ well, in bloc 12, have come up with 3.6 to 6 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas.

It is understood, however, that privately the Americans have narrowed down the quantities to around 3.1 tcf

French energy giant Total has licences on blocs 10 and 11, which border Egyptian waters of the Nile Delta.

The area around ENI-KOGAS’ drill has become the focus of a dispute between Cyprus and Turkey, which dispatched its own research vessel to the area.

The move came after Ankara issued a maritime notice, or NAVTEX, reserving certain areas of the EEZ for surveys from October 20 to December 30.

Turkey’s action prompted President Nicos Anastasiades to pull out of reunification talks.

By Marie Kambas

The chairman of Cyprus Airways Marinos Kallis, the loss making airline, which is scrutinised by European authorities over alleged unlawful state aid and risks having its license revoked by Cypriot authorities, said the company remains upbeat that it can complete a turnaround even as it runs out of both time and money.

“We need to send a message to the EU that we are credible and are determined to continue the restructuring of the company,” Kallis said during a panel discussion on the future of the airline, organized by the Royal Aeronautical Society yesterday. He added that the airline had asked for further sacrifices from staff, and from business partners to accept reductions in charges.

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By Constantinos Psillides

CYPRUS is one of the worst countries in Europe when it comes to match-fixing, European watchdog Federbet General Secretary Francesco Baranca said on Friday, wanting to speak to whistleblower referee Marios Panayi on his allegations regarding match fixing in the country’s top league.

Baranca told the Cyprus Mail that Federbet had kept a close eye on Cyprus matches for some time.

“We are closely monitoring the situation on the island because of the many irregularities when it came to betting. It is clear to us that there is a deep problem. From the data we gathered, we can safely assume that something is wrong,” said the Federbet official, adding that the 34-year-old ref is worthy of praise for having the courage to step forward.

“Panayi is a brave man and we think he should be congratulated,” Baranca noted.

Federbet, a Belgium-based match-fixing watchdog is now looking into interviewing Panayi regarding his claims. What Panayi says to Federbet will probably be reflected in the watchdog’s annual report on match fixing in Europe.

In a report issued in June, Federbet placed Cyprus and Bulgaria at the top of the suspected match-fixing list when it came to the top league.

On Wednesday, Panayi caused an uproar within the football community when he gave a press conference claiming that he had recordings, documents and other evidence proving that members of the Cyprus Football Association (CFA) were fixing matches, in particular those deciding which team would be relegated to the second division.

Panayi identified CFA deputy head Giorgos Koumas as the man behind the curtain, stressing that if he was not removed from the picture, then professional football in Cyprus was a lost cause.

Three days into the match-fixing scandal, Koumas has yet to officially respond to Panayi’s allegations.

Meanwhile, the international referee continued his marathon statement to police investigators for the second day. Panayi spoke to investigators for five hours on Thursday and for five and a half hours on Friday.

Attorney-general Costas Clerides asked to be fully briefed on Panayi’s statement on Friday, according to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), requesting a copy of it as soon as it was ready.

Even if Legal Services doesn’t bring the case to court – at his conference Panayi said he had recorded conversations, which may not admissible in court – the international referee said that he has a “plan B”, hinting that he might leak them to the media himself.

According to a police source, Panayi named sports officials and politicians as being involved in the match-fixing scandal.

Panayi had previously called on the leaders of the three main parliamentary parties, DISY, AKEL and DIKO to publicly declare whether they or their representatives had secret meetings with CFA members. All parties have rejected the accusations, demanding that the case be thoroughly investigated.

POLICE are trying to locate two men who stole €500 in an armed robbery from a bakery in Paphos, early Friday.

According to reports, the two men with their faces covered, entered the bakery on Eleftherios Venizelos Avenue at just after midnight. One of them pointed a gun at the two female employees and demanded the money in the cash register.

The two employees told the police that the perpetrators had a Cypriot accent and that
they were in their early twenties.

Paphos CID is investigating the case.

By Evie Andreou

ERMOU, one of the busiest and most commercial streets of the capital before 1974, will be “revived and re-live 1900” for just today aiming to travel visitors back to the early 20th century Nicosia.

Sahlepi, loukoumadhes and eggs cooked over charcoal, will be some of the delicacies on offer at the open market, while volunteers dressed as crafts-people in period clothes will exhibit various traditional professions.

“Visitors will experience a Cypriot market as it was back in 1900, we even managed to find traditional street lights,” said Rita Severis, Executive Director of the Costas and Rita Severis foundation that is organising the event.

She added that the trip back in time is a first step to revive Ermou street, which runs almost along the capital’s dividing Green line, and expressed the hope that in the future it is reopened to normal traffic from the east to the west part of the walled city.

“Ermou can become a focal point for the town’s traditional centre, where craftspeople will exhibit their art work for locals and for tourists,” Severis said.

The market, Ermou 1900, will be located in front of the Centre of Visual Arts and Research, near Famagusta Gate, and will be opened at 10am by Lisa Buttenheim, UN Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus. It will remain open until 6pm.

For information visit the foundation’s Facebook page: CVAR/Severis Foundation

By Angelos Anastasiou

THE Interior minister should draft a new proposal for local government to facilitate consensus, Municipalities Union head Alexis Galanos said yesterday.

He was referring to the planned overhaul of local administration structures, spearheaded by the creation of second-tier bodies overarching current municipalities and local councils and taking over many of their responsibilities and obligations, with a view to decreasing the number of administrative bodies and improving efficiency.

Speaking to reporters after a session of the union’s executive committee, Galanos stressed the concept of clustering – the administrative grouping together of municipal and local authorities – which was proposed by two studies carried out by British and Italian experts.

“Clustering will take place incrementally and will relate to the number of municipalities in the future,” Galanos said.

He also expressed the wish that local government will not be judged by the scandals that “may have erupted in one municipality, or may erupt in others.”

“Such things happen across the spectrum of Cypriot society,” he said.

“There are serious problems at local-government level,” Galanos said. “But let us not forget that they were the first form of democracy in Cyprus, that they have contributed to growth and that there have been great mayors who have fought.”

He said that while mistakes should be corrected and crimes paid for, they should not be used as an excuse to reduce it to irrelevance, and added that there has never been a confrontational attitude towards any government minister.

“We wish to work with the Interior minister, we want to have a working cooperation with him, because we are all working for this country – because we both want to serve our country,” Galanos said.

“That is why we should all be a little more careful when we characterise things – so that our good intentions aren’t misunderstood,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Municipalities Union’s executive committee elected Nicosia mayor Constantinos Yiorkadjis as vice-president, replacing of former Paphos mayor Savvas Vergas, who resigned last month under the weight of the Paphos Sewerage Board scandal.

Why the Eurozone needs more than financial engineering and quantitative easing

By Erol Riza

The future of the Eurozone has been left by the politicians at the mercy of the European Central Bank and Germany’s commitment to a zero deficit. The evidence is there to see: failure of growth to pick up despite very low interest rates, high unemployment and deflation being the three key risks facing the Eurozone.

Some well-qualified economists, not least the Noble Economics Professor Sir Christopher Pissarides, predict that unless the Germans revisit their internal devaluation approach and strict budgetary control the outlook is bleak. There are many who would disagree with the professor but the omens look quite bad.

In another paper to address the problems of Europe two eminent economists (Prof Henrik Enderlein and Prof Pisani-Ferry) have offered their solution in their submission “An Agenda for France, Germany and Europe”.

Their analysis is summarised in the following words “Europe is falling into a stagflation trap; growth is barely noticeable, private and public debt is heavy and euro area fragmentation has receded not disappeared. Europe is losing relevance internally and externally.”

In their view “investment to boost growth will not come from throwing more money as some have called the ECB to do in the form of quantitative easing. Europe needs reforms and demand support”; the key words being demand support.

The EU Commission’s answer to the lack of fiscal expansion, something which we saw in the USA in terms of increased infrastructural spending, is to come up with financial engineering.

The EU Commission came up with a prediction that its redirection of funds, already budgeted, would mobilise private institutional money to the tune of 15 euros for each euro spent by the Commission. One is not sure how the mandarins of the EU Commission arrived at such a forecast or on what empirical evidence it is based.

I am very doubtful that this will work. Unless the Eurozone gets its act together soon we shall be witnessing increased support for the anti EU parties and the periphery (as some rich EU countries call the south of Europe) will be condemned to a decade of slow growth, high unemployment and increasing costs of healthcare due to ageing.

The recent lack of interest by banks in the Eurozone to borrow from the ECB from the targeted long term refinancing operations (TLTRO) at a rate of 0.15 per cent is a rude reminder that the banking system is not interested in borrowing as credit demand is very weak; holding cash at the ECB is a costly affair now.

One would think that after the Asset Quality Review and stress tests conducted by the EBA the banks would start lending widely to businesses, especially small and medium enterprises.

This is completely a flawed expectation since there are two key issues: one is that the stress tests are in the eyes of some a fudge (see article by none other than former Bank of England director Willem Buiter).

Buiter agrees with Professors Viral Acharya and Sascha Steffen, who published an alternative estimate of capital shortfall for 39 banks of 450 billion euros as their benchmark as opposed to EBA under adverse scenario of 24 billion euros for 25 banks (main difference is the model used in the Comprehensive Assessment).

The professors argue that the EBA relies on national regulators which have underestimated the capital shortfall. Notwithstanding the differing views of financial observers, the system will be tested and we will soon see if the banks have ample capital to resume lending on a sustainable basis.

The more worrying issue is that with interest rates at historical lows, especially long dated bond yields, governments cannot borrow to lock in such low rates.

The two countries which have borrowed, the USA and the UK which are not hamstrung by severe fiscal discipline, are in the meantime enjoying growth and low unemployment.

If the European leaders, some already bickering in public (Germany with France and Germany with Italy), do not get over their different approaches to fiscal discipline, we will see more dissent and uncertainty in the Eurozone.

The recent financial market volatility as a result of the Greek election fears will be insignificant if the Italian and French governments resist German pressure.

The Italians have held a general strike calling for the government to step back from labour market reforms. Many young, educated but unemployed French and Italians are flocking to London which offers them job opportunities and a very entrepreneurial environment.

The European leaders’ reliance on the European Investment Bank, or the new Investment Fund for that matter, are not the answer to low growth and high unemployment although a small step in demand support.

The EU needs good old fiscal expansion to take advantage of low interest rates and to see investment in infrastructure which only the public sector can develop and finance cheaply.

The private sector institutional investors (pension funds and insurance companies) will not be attracted to investment in infrastructure unless there is a single European Capital market and government takes part of the risk; even if they invest in public infrastructure it will cost much more according to the experience with PPP.

Will this happen and how long will it take for project plans to be developed and get approved? Project finance of this nature will take time and private sector market experience in PPP or infrastructure finance in the UK has hitherto been disappointing.

The new president of the EU Commission would be well advised to take a bit more advice from Anglo Saxon economic management and some European economists calling for change in the fiscal discipline as the Eurozone cannot come out of the low growth trajectory if there is no change in fiscal policy.

Relying on Mario Draghi to help the Eurozone again via bond purchases will not work on its own. How much quantitative easing (in the form of bond purchases) and hence money pumped in the banking system will be required to reignite the economies of the Eurozone no one knows.

What if this fails and Draghi is out of ammunition? The governments of the Eurozone have to agree a fiscal stimulus which Willem Buiter puts at 1 per cent for two years. Using financial engineering proposed by Jean-Claude Juncker could end up being an excuse for inaction and an act of faith.

Another issue holding back growth, which the IMF heralded with such noise a couple of years ago from their silo thinking (Christine Lagarde’s words), has been debt sustainability.

How ironic when in Greece, despite debt forgiveness and a primary fiscal surplus, there is talk of a need for more debt forgiveness (talk is of converting all official debt to 50 year bonds).

If the Eurozone is to have the debt sustainability Angela Merkel wants, it would probably take a decade according to her estimates. Is this what south European politicians (France included) want? Nicolas Sarkozy certainly does not and neither does Marine Le Pen.

The debt issue can possibly be solved if Germany assumed the role the USA did when Latin America was in trouble. Clearly the issuance of very long dated fixed rate debt i.e. 50 years with zero coupon bonds (using German government bonds) being used to guarantee the principal of investors, would be a golden opportunity for Germany to save the Eurozone and assume some of the cost.

In such a debt relief programme, as in Brady bonds, the debt ridden countries will pay quite low interest on these bonds as the risk profile would be lower due to German risk on the principal provided by the zero coupon bonds.

In order to encourage Germany to partake part of the cost of the principal could be the responsibility of the Eurozone member states borrowing, plus the coupon on the bonds.

This would be attractive to such borrowers as it would allow countries to refinance their debt with longer duration and at very low cost and hence would amount to an overall lower cost of borrowing with a blended risk.

The market for such bonds would be very liquid if large bond issues are made to refinance all the official debt of such countries facing severe fiscal difficulties.

Making such bonds eligible for liquidity transactions with the ECB would make them attractive for banks but more importantly highly rated liquid issues would be of interest to institutional investors (pension funds and insurance companies) which seek long duration assets for their liability management.

In short, the reliance on financial engineering and TLTRO to reignite growth is futile and the sooner governments seek more drastic solutions, the Eurozone will struggle to get out of the slow growth trajectory and become even more irrelevant globally at a time when leadership is desperately needed.

The international economic environment is not very promising with China slowing significantly and the rise of the dollar will add to cost of emerging countries.

The Eurozone cannot rely on banking systems which are still plagued with high capital requirements and risk aversion. The financial engineering, if it picks up, will benefit the northern EU countries where projects are more efficiently planned and executed and not the “periphery”.

The Eurozone leaders need to give up on financial engineering as young people want a prospect of growth and jobs based on public/private investment and less regulation in some markets such as the capital markets of the Eurozone.

If they fail to take action soon, the politicians will have only themselves to blame and in the meantime the rise of anti EU parties will gather pace with all that means for the kind of society Europe was meant to bring to its citizens.
Erol Riza is a former managing director of DEPFA Investment Bank and served as vice chairman of the interim board of directors of the Bank of Cyprus

Without safeguards in place to avert abuse of examinership, the risks of further loss to creditors are clear and unavoidable

By Andri Antoniou

A PROCESS putting companies “on life support with no prospect of survival” is how examinership was described by a judge in Ireland in 2010.

He went on to say he was “more and more reluctant” to afford protection to troubled companies. Yet, this is the regime which is about to be approved by our Parliament before the end of the year as a corporate restructuring tool for troubled companies.

During a recent seminar on examinership held at the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, delivered by a member of the panel of experts that assisted the government in formulating the bill, it was explained that, in his opinion, examinership provides a more creditor friendly option than existing insolvency routes such as liquidation, further suggesting that the dividend to creditors will be much higher.

From practical experience of the lengths directors will go to to ensure their company remains in their control, despite its viability, the only people who stand to gain from this process will be the lawyers appointed to petition the court, the accountants instructed to prepare the independent accountant’s report and the insolvency practitioners acting as examiners, definitely not the creditors or the shareholders.

Not only will the cost of initiating examinership further burden an already ailing company but, in my professional opinion, this process will serve as a tool to abuse the system.

Once the court is persuaded that there is a reasonable prospect of survival of a company (which means judges, who will need to rely heavily on the accountant’s report, must possess the necessary skills to understand management accounts and feasibility studies), it will grant the examinership order, resulting in a moratorium period (initially) for four months, during which the company will enjoy protection from creditors, whilst directors continue to administer the affairs of the company, potentially further dissipating company assets.

Unfortunately, the safeguards put in place by the regulators, (the bodies or authority that will be licensing insolvency practitioners and monitoring their conduct) to protect creditors’ interests in countries such as the UK, do not exist in Cyprus.

We do not have Best Practice Directives and/or Statements of Insolvency Practice (SIPs). These provide guidance on the standards to which insolvency practitioners must adhere, to avoid disciplinary action which may result in loss of authorisation, to deter those insolvency practitioners influenced by a desire to gain personally over their professional obligations.

They compel them to think twice before they consent to act and put forward applications which knowingly misrepresent the financial position of a company.

Furthermore, it is likely that examiners will claim that the four month period they will have within which to prepare a proposal and obtain creditor approval will not be sufficient time and applications will be made to court requesting extensions (in Ireland this period has been reduced to 70 days extendable up to a maximum of 100 days).

Consequently, when examinership fails, assets will be depleted by soaring professional fees which will no doubt soak up funds which may otherwise have been used to pay creditors, with detrimental implications for secured and preferential creditors.

An alternative option, which the team of experts could have suggested, is a simple application to the court for an interim order, thus affording protection from hostile creditors, whilst a Company Voluntary Arrangement (which is already provided for in existing legislation, s198 of CAP: 113), could be put in place.

In Ireland, only two per cent of insolvent companies enter examinership (16 cases in both 2010 and 2011 and 27 in 2012) because this process places very stringent professional obligations on insolvency practitioners to vet each case carefully.

If they do not, they will face the consequences.

There is no doubt in my mind, where a floating charge holder decides to enforce its right to appoint a receiver manager (RM), within a month of the appointment, the directors, guided by their advisors, will be applying to the court for an examinership order thus, frustrating the RM’s right to take control of the assets.

Ultimately directors of heavily insolvent companies will use the examinership process as a way to “put their companies on life support” despite a lack of any prospect of survival; without safe-guards in place to avert abuse of this process the risks of further loss to creditors are clear and unavoidable.

Andri Antoniou is a solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales and a qualified examiner formerly employed by the UK Insolvency Service. In Cyprus she is a manager at CRI Group www.crigroup.com.cy a firm specialising in all aspects of corporate recovery reconstruction and renewal

By Gwynne Dyer

SAINT Nicholas (also known as Santa Claus, Kris Kringle or Father Christmas) has had to put up with a lot over the years. After the latest blow, he may not show up at all next week.

First they decided that he had to reside at the North Pole, where the temperature often falls to 50 degrees below zero and there are several months of complete darkness each year just when the work-load peaks. The south coast of what is now Turkey, where St Nick originally lived and worked, was much nicer.

Then in a series of ads in the 1930s the Coca-Cola Company crystallised his image as a fat old man wearing clothes that are frankly a fashion disaster.

And now, as a final indignity, they are trying to make him a Danish citizen.

On Monday, Denmark submitted documents claiming the North Pole as Danish territory (since the Danish kingdom includes Greenland). It was a “historic and important milestone” for Denmark, said Foreign Minister Martin Lidegaard. It was also provocative and pointless, but he forgot to mention that.

The Danish government does not actually want or need the North Pole, and does not imagine that it would derive any practical benefit from “owning” it.

It is just responding to the equally baseless Canadian declaration last December that the North Pole is sovereign Canadian territory, or at least that the seabed 4,000 metres beneath it is.

The way that claim came about is quite instructive. Canada has a huge archipelago of Arctic islands, and for years Canadian government scientists have been gathering evidence to support a Canadian claim to exclusive economic rights over the seabed of the Arctic Ocean adjacent to those islands.

All five countries that border the Arctic Ocean have been preparing similar claims to the seabed off their own coasts.
Until last December, Canada made no claim to the North Pole.

It was only days before the country was due to submit its final claim to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf that Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government finally woke up.

The claim wasn’t in the original submission because Canada has no real case in international law. Even if the Commission ends up accepting the contention by Russia, Canada and Denmark (on behalf of its Greenland territory) that the underwater Lomonosov Ridge extends their respective bits of the continental shelf into the central Arctic Ocean, the principle of “equidistance” would give the North Pole itself to the Danes or the Russians.

For the past nine years Prime Minister Harper has travelled to the Canadian Arctic every summer to give the Canadian media a “photo op”. He promises new ice-breakers and an Arctic naval base, he stands on a submarine as fighters fly overhead, he sits in the cockpit of a Canadian F-18, he shoots a rifle in a military exercise – every year a new image of him personally defending Canadian sovereignty from some unspecified threat.

There is no threat to Canadian territory, of course, and even in terms of seabed rights Canada’s only serious dispute is with the United States (over a bit of seabed north of the Yukon-Alaska border in the Beaufort Sea).

But Harper’s pose as the staunch defender of Canadian “rights” serves his conservative, nationalist agenda and plays well with the Canadian media.

So when Harper’s minions belatedly realised that the government’s scientists and civil servants had not included the North Pole in Canada’s claim to the Commission, Harper slammed the brakes on and demanded that they rewrite it.

He will have been told by the experts that Canada has no legal case – but he also knows that by the time that becomes clear to the public, many years from now, he will no longer be in office.

Canada didn’t submit its final claim last December after all. The poor boffins in Ottawa are struggling to reformulate it to include the North Pole, while Harper trumpets his determination to protect Canadian “rights”.

And the Danes, who were previously willing to let sleeping dogs lie, have now responded by making their own rather more plausible claim.
The Russians may be next.

President Vladimir Putin also likes to be photographed in the Arctic, surrounded by military kit and bravely defending Russian sovereignty. It’s getting ridiculous – but might it also be getting out of hand?
Probably not.

There has been much loose talk about allegedly huge reserves of oil and gas under the Arctic seabed, but not much actual drilling is likely to happen in the challenging conditions of the Arctic Ocean when the oil price is below $80 per barrel. (It’s currently in the mid-$50s, and will probably be down there for a long time.)

There’s really nothing else up there that’s worth fighting over.

Gwynne Dyer is an independent journalist whose articles are published in 45 countries.

By Ajay Goyal

The Russian rouble has plunged over 52 per cent this year yet the Russian economic crisis might represent a unique opportunity for Cyprus to secure a major trade relationship with Russia without stepping outside the sanctions regime.

The Russian government and central bank might impose capital controls to stem the flight of hard currency. Some leading members of the Russian state duma have proposed limits on the foreign exchange withdrawals by outbound Russian tourists.

The collapse of the rouble and potential capital controls bode ill for Cyprus which, along with Finland and Greece, have seen the biggest surge in Russian tourist arrivals since 2009.

The Russian government has political and economic reasons to stem the flow of tourists to Europe. The Russian economy has been brought to its knees by a mix of economic sanctions, plunging oil prices, poor governance and the diversification of the economy. Russia has retaliated with its own counter-sanctions against Europe.

There is no doubt that Cyprus, that had been expecting over 600,000 Russian tourists in 2015, will be hard hit. Russian tourists will take advantage of the weak rouble and travel to Crimea or Sochi – both with excellent tourist infrastructure now.

Whether or not capital controls are imposed, all signs are ominous that Russian tourist arrivals in Cyprus may trickle down to a few thousand. To add to Cyprus’ woes, President Vladimir Putin has put in place robust de-offshorisation measures. He especially singled out Cyprus as a country where Russian money takes shelter from taxation in Russia.

He has offered a carrot and promised a stick – an amnesty to bring the money back, or else. It is doubtful that mainstream Russian corporations or managers affiliated with them will risk Putin’s ire and continue their offshore activities.

There are other punitive laws and measures at work in Russia to limit flight of capital, corruption, transfer pricing and tax shopping.

Despite Russia’s economic woes when Cyprus needed a bailout, Russian government was first to help. Cyprus took a loan of 2.5 billion euros and the Russian government subsequently agreed to delay repayment and restructured the loan. Now Cyprus has been caught in European and American hostility toward Russia, and Russians have also shown contempt for Cypriot interests.

By offering to open a major gas pipeline to Turkey, Russia has essentially guaranteed Turkey a status of an energy hub in Mediterranean. There is increasing apathy toward Cyprus in Russia after the haircut of 2013 in which Russian depositors were the main losers.

It is clear that if Cyprus does not repair its relations with Russia, its services and tourism sectors will face a catastrophic collapse in 2015.

It is time for Cyprus to demonstrate that it is a worthy and honourable player in the international arena and turn this crisis to its benefit. I am proposing that Cypriot hotels reach out to Russian tour operators and accept payment in roubles for 2015 season and essentially guarantee half million or more tourists to the island.

There will be obvious currency risks, but almost all economists agree that the rouble at 90 to a euro is greatly undervalued.

A trade deal like this will earn the loyalty of millions of Russian tourists. For years after, Russian tourists will choose Cyprus over those who shunned them.

The potential losses that could be inflicted will be no more than the money Cyprus throws on subsidising Cyprus Airways or other ailing public sector agencies.

We for one are willing to accept roubles because of our faith in the Russian economy and its long term prospects. The current crisis is more political and psychological, fuelled by aggressive speculation against the rouble than solid economic logic.

Russia is not going to fail and it will remain a major market and power for as long as there is geography.

We also believe the sale of tourist packages in Russian rouble is no more a risk than keeping money in Cyprus banks. After all, there is no guarantee there will not be another banking collapse in Cyprus – all major banks failed stress tests conducted by European Central Bank this year.

A crisis is always an opportunity and this might be the only silver lining for Cyprus in a long time – if Cypriot hoteliers and the government have the courage to rise to it.
Ajay Goyal is the owner of ZENING (www.zening.eu), a luxury wellness resort in Latchi

By Hermes Solomon

TODAY IS the shortest day of the year – sunrise at around 7 am and sunset around 4.30 pm. That’s a total of nine and a half sunshine hours – more than adequate to supply central heating and hot water to the average household via the latest solar panel technology.

Last Sunday Mail’s article (The power of a battery operated Cyprus) by Austrian ambassador to Cyprus, Dr Karl Mueller, read like a pipe dream.
Interestingly, comments on the website failed to support his dream or even suggest alternatives.

Commentators were so immersed in their own disgruntlement with Cyprus, its government, politicians, etc. that they shunned constructive criticism in favour of cynicism, anger, insults and rage aimed at those responsible for the ‘mangled’ state of the republic’s economy.

Disaffection with the republic was the only growth industry this year. I am myself guilty of taking part and realise that the republic cannot be downtrodden interminably lest it be swallowed up by the quicksand of invective rather than rise from the ashes on thermals of our minister of finance’s eternal optimism.

Predictions for 2015 might read: International political pressure applied from all sides on a man who recently underwent open heart surgery (akin to kicking him when down) proves that politics is a dirty business in which compassion plays no part.

The Cyprob fails to escape stasis as easily as it did over the last 40 years.

Nobody votes for “poor invaded Kyproulla” nor sings a song at the EU (or UN) Song Contest. Just a pat on the knee from John Kerry for Cyprus’ last hope, Anastassiades at the mercy of a DIKO orchestrated chaos.

Convalescing president smiles condescendingly, accepting offers of settlement to Cyprob he’s unable to refuse rather than fight to re-enforce the republic’s rights.

President announces BRICS will now be BRICKS (K for Kyproulla) with HQ in Paphos to make up for loss of City of Culture party.

Vergas let off jail for buying a time share in Cy-Air for 6 million euros – ISIS buys controlling interest with right to fly usual routes, including over Akrotiri.

Christofias and Prince Nik ‘fall in love’ to eliminate DIKO leader from ‘pig trough’ and wreck plans of the ‘Oily Ones’ to save poor and honest little Kyproulla before she is irremediably “undone”.

Averof Neophytou, hailed by theatre critics as the Cypriot Marty Feldman, offered lead role in New Vic production of Much ado about nothing
Harris Georgiades buys a mansion in Monaco after foreclosure bill passed.

Middle Class tax revolt fills stadium with volunteer prisoners abandoning NPL houses.

Road to Central Prison jammed with 50,000 protesters waving empty wallets and cheque books.

Dealing in Bank of Cyprus shares halted on Nicosia and Athens stock exchanges as pre-crash shareholders use worthless ‘bits of paper’ to set House of Reps alight.

Local dustbin charge, water and property tax inexplicably double, while IPT state tax remains unaltered.

The number of cars on roads declines dramatically as fuel price falls below one euro a litre.

Bicycles become primary means of transport, a throwback to the 1950s.

Greece leaves the Eurozone and Cyprus follows as repeated general strikes hand over seats of power to the far left – in our case, 94-year-old DrVassos Lyssarides assisted by 84-year-old George Vassiliou!

Households stock up with pasta as fiat currencies collapse and the price of wheat soars from 250 to 2000 dollars per metric ton on commodity markets.

Precious metal prices fall to all-time lows to stop China and India from taking over the planet.
Cyprus tourism relies uniquely on British holidaymakers as skimpily dressed Russians sporting Rolexes are seen begging on the streets of Limassol.

More shops and hotels than ever close down and are replaced by soup kitchens serving trachanas and avgolemeno 24/7.

After introduction of National Health Scheme, hospitals close down as online quack remedies claim to cure arthritis with rosehip syrup as well as Cypriot kleptomaniacs of bribery and corruption with specious threats of long term prison sentences.

Eni-Kogas Onasagorou drill-hole reveals six times the find of Aphrodite – Turkish navy seals off the area.

The republic sends our two patrol boats to within 20 nautical miles of Onasagoras – Greece intervenes, insisting we let Turkey take 37 per cent of the gas.

Breakdown of this, the first republic (France had five in less than 140 years) when settlement of Cyprob achieved by rewriting the constitution; permanent partition, the north becoming a tax haven for mainland Turkey and the south a tax hell for Greek Cypriots.

President steps down and is replaced provisionally by the Speaker of the House, Yianakis Omirou, who calls a general election.

Nobody votes at these elections when the Cyprus Football Federation (politics running a very poor second to football) is added to endless list of those accused of malfeasance.

Sewage works in Paphos completed with outlet terminating at auditor general’s office.

Judges and courthouse staff go on indefinite strike due to insalubrious working conditions.

Auditor general resigns, his final statement to the press ending with the phrase, “Good bye Pepsi-Cola…” which translates as, “I’ve had enough of this island of liars, thieves and cheats…” he paraphrasing historian, Elias of Pesaro’s letter dated at Famagusta on 18 October, 1563.

Fellow Cypriots, ask not what you can do for your country, but how you can continue ‘doing’ your country!

May readers of the Sunday Mail enjoy a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, ‘cos next year is going to be a year to remember!

By John V Whitbeck

THE EUROPEAN Parliament, after a late compromise in pursuit of consensus, passed on December 17, by a vote of 498 to 88 with 111 abstentions, a resolution stating that it “supports in principle recognition of Palestinian statehood and the two-state solution and believes these should go hand in hand with the development of peace talks, which should be advanced.”

This compromise language bypasses the fundamental question of when the State of Palestine should be recognised, using vague words whose imprecision neither those who genuinely wish to achieve a decent “two-state solution” (and thus support recognising Palestine now so as to finally make meaningful negotiations possible) nor those who support perpetual occupation (and thus argue that recognition should await prior Israeli consent) can strongly object to.

In doing so, the European Parliament has missed a rare opportunity to be relevant by joining the United Nations in recognising Palestine’s “state status” or following the recent trend of European national parliaments urging their governments to join the 135 UN member states, representing the vast majority of mankind, which have already extended diplomatic recognition to the State of Palestine.

The overwhelming 274-12 vote in the British House of Commons on October 13 has been followed by favourable votes in France (339-151 in the National Assembly and 154-146 in the Senate), Ireland (unanimous in both houses), Portugal (203-9) and Spain (319-2).

On October 30, Sweden took the essential further step of actually extending diplomatic recognition to the State of Palestine, becoming the first European Union state to do so after becoming a member of the EU. However, it was not, as some media reported, the first European state to do so.

It was the 20th.

The State of Palestine had already been recognised by eight other EU member states (Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Romania and Slovakia) and by 11 other states which are commonly considered to be “European” (Albania, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine).

Since the British, French, Irish, Portuguese and Spanish parliamentary resolutions are not binding on the executive branches of their respective governments, they have commonly been dismissed as “symbolic”, even while those favouring perpetual occupation have expended major efforts to prevent the votes from taking place. It is also commonly asked whether they matter at all.

Whether they matter, at least in a constructive sense, depends entirely on what happens afterwards. European parliamentary resolutions urging their governments to recognise the State of Palestine would not only be purely symbolic but actually counterproductive and dangerous if they are not followed relatively rapidly by actual recognitions of the State of Palestine.

These resolutions offer hope, but if, even after the latest Israeli onslaught against the people of Gaza, the European governments which have not yet recognised the State of Palestine prefer to ignore the clear will of their own peoples, as expressed by their elected representatives, and to continue prioritising the wishes of the American and Israeli governments, then the last hope of the Palestinian people for ending the occupation and obtaining their freedom by non-violent means would have been extinguished.

These resolutions are thus a double-edged sword, offering both immediate hope and the potential for definitive despair.

The hope for peace with some measure of justice which actual European recognitions would generate is based on the assumption that the occupation by a neighbouring state of the entire territory of any state which one recognises as such is not something which any state with the influence and capacity to take meaningful action to end that occupation could tolerate indefinitely.

By virtue of diplomatic recognition, meaningful action to end that occupation (including economic sanctions and travel restrictions) would become a moral, ethical, intellectual, diplomatic and political imperative for European states, which, alone, possess the requisite influence and capacity.

The occupation of Kuwait by Iraq was permitted to last seven months. The occupation of Palestine by Israel is in its 48th year, the entire lifetimes of the great majority of Palestinians in occupied Palestine.

European governments are conscious of Europe’s unparalleled leverage as Israel’s primary trading partner and cultural homeland. Their realisation that diplomatic recognition of Palestine would make meaningful action to end the occupation imperative surely constitutes a primary reason (in addition to the fear of upsetting the American and Israeli governments) why even those European governments which do not support perpetual occupation and genuinely wish to see the achievement of a decent “two-state solution” are reticent, hesitant and nervous about extending diplomatic recognition to the State of Palestine now.

Yet if not now, when? It is now or never – if, indeed, it is not already too late.
European governments must seize their unprecedented opportunity to have a positive and potentially determinative impact on Israel’s March 17 election and the composition of the next Israeli government by writing indelibly on the wall a new reality which could convince a critical mass of Israelis, for the first time, that a fair peace agreement is preferable for them personally to perpetuation of the currently comfortable status quo.

Only then can a new and true “peace process”, under new management, based on international law and relevant UN resolutions and with both Israel and Palestine negotiating with a genuine desire and intention to reach an agreement, begin.

The Israeli electorate has been estimated to be divided roughly equally into three groups – those firmly on the right and extreme-right, those firmly on the centre-left and those “swing voters” in between.

Those in between will determine the composition of the next government. European governments have the influence and capacity to move them in a positive direction – in the best interests of Israelis, Palestinians, the region and the world.

It remains to be seen whether European governments have the wisdom, courage and political will to do so.

John V Whitbeck is an international lawyer who has advised the Palestinian negotiating team in negotiations with Israel

Like many I always believed that justice would prevail in Cyprus and never entertained the thought of a portioned island. I started to write a list of facts and conclude that the outcome from a delayed settlement has determined the solution to be the very same taboo word partition, or else after a few years of a ‘United Cyprus’ we will be begging Turkey to allow us a divorce from her majority of Turks they call Turkish Cypriots.

Can we demand that after the quota of 50,000 settlers is reached, all the parents and their first and second generation Cypriots, (some from the deliberately encouraged mixed Turkish marriages, be shipped to Turkey? No.

Would we agree to the Turkish demand that our immigrants who claim to be of Greek descent and now settled in Cyprus must also pack their bags to return to their homelands? No

Under EU laws, could we use ethnic selection and prohibit Turks from settling on our side but still allow other EU citizens to do so? No.
Would a Greek Cypriot give up his job to return to the north and compete for work with the Turks? No.

Are there any practical benefits from a loosely United Cyprus that is basically ‘in name only? No.
Is the answer to negotiate for maximum possible return of territory for a two-state solution? No doubt Turkey, the long-term planner, would approve.

A Dinou, Nicosia

Just reflecting on our holiday with my grand children for the second time near Argaka, both during October. However during our visit to the wonderful site of Kourion the peace and tranquility was spoilt by men with dogs and guns below us near to the sea.

We then became aware of shooting around our area, and on subsequent visit to Nicosia, a car parked next to the motorway filled with hunting guns.

It’s sad that these actions can spoil the environment for visitors.

Maureen Falkner, UK

By Constantinos Psillides

Marios Panayi, 34, has blown a lot of whistles since he became a referee back in 1999 but none like the one he blew this week about match fixing on the island. On Wednesday the international referee gave a press conference, announcing to the world that he would go to police with evidence to shock the football world to its core.

While declining to go into specifics, Panayi did point the finger at Cyprus Football Association (CFA) deputy chairman Giorgos Koumas. He said Koumas, along with other sports officials and parliamentary party officials, run the show when it comes to referee appointments. Panayi claimed that the “clique” named referees  who they knew they would give them a favourable result to relegation matches.

Panayi claimed that the “clique” named referees to relegation matches who they knew they would give them a favourable result.

As of Friday afternoon the CFA deputy head has not responded to the allegations.

Panayi is the first person within the football scene to have stepped up. What he said though was not news to many, especially sports journalists. “He took what everyone was talking about around the watercooler and made it public. Everyone knew what was going on, but nobody dared to speak. Until now,” a sports journalist who knows Panayi said.

The sports journalist – who wishes to remain anonymous – called Panayi “a determined man, armed with the right amount of crazy to take on the establishment.”

Panayi got into refereeing at the age of 18, when a neighbour took him to a football match and talked to him about being “a man in black.” Panayi told the Sunday Mail that he was instantly intrigued.

“At the time I was a senior and in the afternoon I was working towards my pilot’s licence. I flew small aircraft and managed to get my first diploma when I first came in contact with the refereeing world,” said Panayi, adding that he gave up being a pilot to pursue a football referee career.

He told reporters on Wednesday that he has since bitterly regretted that decision, in light of current developments.

His rise through the ranks was meteoric. In only ten years Panayi earned the prestigious title of ‘international referee’.

His first match as an UEFA Category 2 referee was Scotland versus Montenegro (under 19) on May 19, 2010. Since then he has refereed 20 international matches, the last one in September 2014.

But he “always had a bit of crazy in his eye”, said the journalist. “Not crazy in the bad sense. He is a driven man and once he sets his sight on something he would anything to achieve that goal. When he told reporters that he will not back down and that he won’t be intimidated, he meant it.

If there is one man not afraid of the people behind the scenes it’s him”.

Being unafraid is a character trait that will come in handy, since Panayi has already reported that he received death threats.

But those threats were buried in the avalanche of comments on the referee’s Facebook profile.

“Finally! A man of courage has spoken! We are right behind you,” wrote one user.

But Panayi first admitted to knowing that something was wrong with the refereeing world two years ago. But, he said first he had to first take care of his other businesses, coffeeshops in Paphos and Nicosia.

Panayi was forced to find another source of income since he has not been appointed to a game since September. According to him, the head of the Cyprus Referee Association Hans Reijkwart said they would remove his name from the international referees list, citing “poor performance.”

Panayi was appointed to two international matches in 2013 and four in 2014.

The referee also claimed he was told that he would be relegated to the country’s second division. The news, according to the sports journalist, made him furious. “He wasn’t about to their bidding so he could keep his position, he is just not that guy,” the journalist said.

Panayi voluntarily removed himself from the referee list and worked towards completing the evidence gathering he started two years ago.

Whether this leads to being just another case that goes uninvestigated or the beginning of clearing up the football scene remains to be seen.

By Patroclos

COMMERCE minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis lost his swagger on Friday when it was officially announced that the drilling by ENI-KOGAS in bloc 9 found no hydrocarbons and all his plans for the future had to be changed.

But to his credit he kept a brave face, speaking to the cameras on Friday afternoon and later sitting at the glass coffee table in the CyBC’s cocktail-bar-style news studio sharing his thoughts with the delectable news presenter Vivienne Kanari. You half expected a cocktail waitress to come and take their order.
I was very disappointed to notice Ms Kanari stopped using the bright red lip-stick she was sporting when she first started reading the news at the start of the month. I suspect the boring old fuddy-duddies that run the corporation may have been behind this unnecessary de-glamorising.
Lakkotrypis, who until a few weeks ago was strutting around like an energy Sheikh talking about selling gas to Jordan and Egypt (he was to sign a sale agreement), putting down a gas pipeline all the way to Greece and establishing a gas liquefaction terminal in Kyproulla, has been brought back down to earth, his glowing public image receiving a bit of a blow.
His grand plans for regional energy domination may have collapsed but this was just a temporary setback. The would-be Sheikh told Ms Kanari that the focus would now be on the Aphrodite plot, which had significant quantities of gas, but all options were open.
So open, the plan to sell gas to Egypt, that was a dead certainty a few weeks ago and all that remained was the signing ceremony, would now have to be put on hold, as he conceded when asked if the government was going ahead with the Egypt deal.

WHO HAD created all these expectations about the drilling in bloc 9? We were being told that bloc 9 had much more gas than bloc 12 in which Noble Energy had found substantial quantities but not enough to make us a major energy player.
So optimistic was Sheikh Lakkotrypris that he was having discussions about the sale of gas to Egypt and the possibility of using the country’s idle liquefaction plants to export our gas to other countries. But on Friday he said that the government’s strategic planning “prepared us for all possibilities of exploitation”.
It did not want the “the one-dimensional choice of the land terminal.” Really? How many times over the last 18 months had the Sheikh and his boss prez Nik assured us that the government would be going ahead with building of an LNG land terminal regardless? And they kept repeating this one-dimensional choice even after it was quite clear that the gas quantities found by Noble made the terminal unviable.
We should have guessed that once Nik pledged that the land terminal would go ahead, it was never going to happen.

ON FRIDAY the sheepish Sheikh even talked about selling CNG (compressed natural gas), which was a big no-no until recently as it indicated limited ambitions – you can only sell it to nearby markets because the cost of shipping it is much greater than with LNG.
He did however learn one crucial lesson from this colossal disappointment. That this business was characterised by uncertainty and “nobody could know (if there are hydrocarbons) from looking at seismic data.” One thing was proved beyond doubt. “If there is no drilling, especially at such depths, nobody could know what there is down there,” he said.
Lakkotrypis is wrong about this. There is one man that knows what quantities of hydrocarbons lay hidden under the sea without drilling – gas guru, former head of our energy service and current advisor of the Greek Prime Minister on energy issues, Solon Gasinis, who can smell gas from thousands of miles away. In Nicosia he could smell if someone has left his gas cooker on in Paphos.
Speaking on radio yesterday Gasinis said he knew from the seismic data that gas quantities in the Onasagoras plot were “not very big”. A pity he did not tell ENI-KOGAS and left the consortium to waste some 80 million bucks drilling where there was no gas.
But he was very optimistic about the Amathusa plot, at which the new drilling would take place. This would have “substantial and big quantities of gas,” Gasinis said yesterday, making a mockery of Lakkotrypis’ claim that “if there is no drilling, nobody could know.”
Gasinis knows because he has the nose and we hope he is right, for the sake of the drilling joint venture as nobody wants it to be become known as ENI-NOGAS.

Putin compound his recent betrayal of Kyproulla

THIS WAS not the only disappointment we suffered last week. A day before the gas news, we were all devastated to hear the president of Mother Russia Vladimir Putin compound his recent betrayal of Kyproulla by referring to “Northern Cyprus and the Republic of Cyprus in the south,” during a news conference.
And it got worse. He also spoke about a “solution that would suit both the northern, Turkish, and southern, Greek, parts of the island.” He then said “we have very good relations with Turkey” and spoke about his recent visit and how bilateral relations were becoming stronger. “Russia and Turkey have very many – I’d like to stress this – coinciding regional interests,” he concluded, callously hurting the feelings of our politicians and hacks.
Russia’s most loyal and faithful supporter, Phil, said Putin “surprised negatively” by resorting to “ambiguous diplomatic terminology”, his “references to north and south raising questions”. The paper tried to reassure its concerned readers by saying that “Russian sources in Moscow told Phil ‘there is no change on Russia’s policy on the Cyprus problem’.”
Did the Moscow source mean it would remain as duplicitous and two-faced as it had always been?

OUR WISE politicians also had an explanation for Putin’s “verbal slip”. All parties, with the exception of DISY, blamed our government’s “one-dimensional foreign policy” for Moscow’s change of stance. Nik’s government had driven Putin into Turkey’s arms by siding with Yanks, the simpletons concluded.
“With the Americano-centric tactic of Anastasiades we are gradually losing the support of our traditional allies,” lamented DIKO while EDEK “could not forget that the Russian Federation, as the Soviet Union before it, was a steady friend and supporter of the Republic.”
The Perdikis party believed “Russia turned to Turkey because the Cyprus Republic did not ensure – taking it for granted as an ally – strengthening relations with Russia by developing common interests.” What common interests could we have developed? Should we also have annexed a part of the Ukraine or sent weapons to Bashar al Assad?

YIORKOS Lillikas, who, like all Paphite villagers, thinks he is a great brain, expanded on the Perdikis theory. Prez Nik had to pursue “the re-kindling and deepening of relations with Russia,” he said adding that “we must broaden our common interests with Russia, signing a series of substantial agreements that have been pending for long time.”
Perhaps we should sign an agreement with Russia, like Turkey has done, for the construction of a €20 billion nuclear power station (its site should be in Paphos because there will be millions in backhanders). Even then we would be at a disadvantage because we cannot order as much natural gas from Russia as Turkey does every year.
Our politicians are smart enough to know that relations between countries are based on common interests, but not smart enough to realise that Russia stands to gain infinitely more from developing its common interests with Turkey than with an inconsequential midget country that has nothing to offer it.
Lillikas’ comments should be taken with a bag of salt. He was the guy stridently claiming that we could avoid the bailout in 2013 by pre-selling our natural gas deposits that only Gasinis knew existed for billions of bucks.

THE CON-MAN smartness of our politicians (in Greek the word is bagabontia) was evident at the House on Thursday, when the parties, apart from DISY, approved the EDEK bill suspending the foreclosures law until the end of January.
As the implementation of the law was a condition for the release of €350 million sixth tranche of aid from the ESM, the parties waited until the money was received by the government before suspending it. Not only did the parties pull a fast one on the dumb Franks and Krauts, they could also pose as the guardians of impoverished home-owners who could not repay their bank loans.
The absurdity was that they had advertised their dishonesty to our lenders for no reason – the foreclosures law cannot be implemented because the accompanying regulations have not been prepared yet.

NOT ONLY did we fool the Troika last week, we also prevented attempts to unblock two chapters in Turkey’s accession

Foreign minister Ioannis Kasoulides put up a fight at the EU General Affairs Council

negotiations with the EU. Foreign minister Ioannis Kasoulides put up a fight at the EU General Affairs Council that was discussing the conclusions of the enlargement report and succeeded in keeping all chapters blocked.
Reading a report from Brussels in Alithia, we were informed that the three countries supporting the unblocking of the two chapters at the Council were France, Germany and Luxembourg, while the UK which always backed the Turks, adopted a “mild stance”.
Was it possible for the unfailingly pro-Turkish UK not to have stabbed us in the back? I picked up Phil whose Brussels correspondent Pavlos Xanthoulis uncovers a British conspiracy against Kyproulla at least once a week to get a more balanced view and I was not disappointed.
France, Germany and Luxembourg “insisted on the unblocking of the chapters right to the end,” reported Xanthoulis and added: “As Phil has been informed the role of maestro of the ‘chorus’ that had been set up, for one more time, belonged to Britain.” I am sure Xanthoulis’ information is absolutely right, even though it is a bit surprising to hear that the Germans and French are now following instructions from the Brits.

THE SCHEMING deputy Attorney General Rikkos Erotokritou has been doing a fine job undermining his boss Costas Clerides.
The latest manifestation of this undermining sparked a reaction from Clerides who issued a statement condemning “leaks to the press that serve expediency, providing selective information about what had been discussed at meetings regarding a big criminal case.”
The case he was referring to was the prosecution of the five Bank of Cyprus officials. When the names of the three directors and two executives were released Rikkos had been telling friendly hacks that he had wanted to prosecute 11 BoC officials but in the end the view of the AG prevailed.
In this way Rikkos could be seen as being tougher than his boss and wanting to punish more people for the collapse of the banking sector than the AG.
In his statement, the AG said: “The only criterion for every decision taken is that it is based on sound legal data that can be documented and not on impressing the public or gaining praise for seemingly brave decisions.” He could only have been referring to tricky Rikki.

PREZ NIK should be back in Kyproulla today, but we do not know if he will wait until after Xmas to return to work. Hopefully he will choose to stay at home and we can enjoy a peaceful and quite Christmas. I will leave you with the religious imagery in an eloquent report about Nik leaving hospital last Sunday, that appeared in Phil.
“From the Mount Sinai where he underwent surgery to repair two valves, President Anastasiades started his march for his return to the Golgotha of office.” If I were religious I would take great offence at this irreverence, but unfortunately I am not, but I will still wish you Merry Christmas.