CYPRUS is not looking for special treatment from Europe on its bailout terms but it does want equal treatment, Finance Minister Vassos Shiarly said yesterday.
The comment came as the president of Eurgroup said the island’s financial bailout was unlikely to be agreed by the end of January, and following a spate of bad press in Germany over money laundering.
"I don't think we will be in a position to find a solution during January. It will take longer," said Jean-Claude Juncker, who chairs meetings of eurozone finance ministers.
At the same time, Shiarly, together with Central Bank officials and members of the anti-money laundering unit (MOKAS) met with EU ambassadors in Nicosia to try and dispel the bad publicity, and to counter statements this week by several German politicians that their parliament would not approve a Cyprus bailout unless the island conformed to EU rules on transparency.
The onslaught continued yesterday. "If Cyprus is not ready to adopt EU rules on transparency and money laundering, then there won’t be any aid for Cyprus," Michael Fuchs, a deputy leader for Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) in parliament, told Reuters.
Similar comments came from a senior member of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s centre-right coalition and the main opposition Social Democrats on Wednesday.
Merkel herself said on Wednesday she expected the island’s bailout talks to take time, and there could be no "special conditions" for Cyprus. Her comment was related to privatisations, which the current government has refused to consider.
Responding to Merkel’s ‘special treatment’ comment, Shiarly said yesterday Cyprus expected “the same treatment other eurozone countries had when they had a similar economic problems.”
“Cyprus too would not have given help to any country that did not follow the EU rules,” the minister said, responding to Fuchs’ statements. “Consequently, this is a statement which I think could be enforced for any country and because we follow all the rules, I do not think it applies for us.”
Yesterday, the EU ambassadors were informed about the procedures Cyprus has in place to fight money-laundering and the latest developments regarding Cyprus’ application for financial assistance.
“I believe we have cleared this issue to a point where it will be difficult for someone to dispute us,” Shiarly said.
The minister said no ambassador had disputed the presentations openly but they did suggest that more attention be paid to certain points like the identities of the beneficial owners of companies registered in Cyprus and the exchange of information for tax purposes.
“We in Cyprus are in a position to reveal the beneficial owner of a company. In fact we can do this much better than other European counterparts,” Shiarly said.
Government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou also responded to Merkel’s comments, echoing Shiarly on the notion of ‘special treatment’.
"What we are asking for is an expression of solidarity - which is a basic EU principle - towards a country which is the victim of a European decision to restructure Greek debt,” he said.
Merkel is due in Cyprus today to attend the summit of the European People’s Party (EPP) in Limassol, but is not scheduled to have contacts with the government.
Cyprus is likely to have a different government by the time a bailout deal is finalised. Elections are only weeks away.  And although presidential candidate Nicos Anastasiades, leader of opposition DISY – a member of EPP- has pledged to sign a bailout, he has not committed to the state sell-off being demanded by Europe.
In an interview with Reuters yesterday, Anastasiades said privatisations were not a priority in his electoral manifesto.
He noted however, the asset sale provision in the draft deal struck between the government and international lenders to ensure the debt remained at sustainable levels.
"For reasons not relating solely to privatisations, I hope our debt levels will remain within sustainable levels. I am actually holding the outgoing government and the central bank responsible for this," he said.

The ministry’s presentations to the EU ambassadors can be found here: http://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/mof.nsf/index_gr/index_gr?opendocument

Finance Minister Vassos Shiarly deep in conversation with German Ambassador Gabriela Guellil (Christos Theodorides)

THE 30-YEAR-OLD policeman, who was suspended last month after being caught exposing himself while shopping at a kiosk, has returned to work, police have said. According to police spokesman Andreas Angelides, the 30-year-old was initially given the standard one-month suspension while investigations took place. On his return he was transferred to another department, awaiting a court hearing, and the decision of an internal review board.
“Even though we are still awaiting a court date for the criminal case against the man and internal investigations have not begun either, the decision to re-instate him falls at the feet of Police Chief Michalis Papageorgiou,” Angelides said.
Police association head Andreas Symeou was left questioning the decision the chief to allow the individual back to work even though neither criminal case nor internal investigation had taken place. “There is nothing stopping him from repeating the offence and giving police a bad name,” Symeou said. “He should have been kept on suspension until criminal proceedings were concluded,” he added.

WORKS on the island’s first photovoltaic park are due to start this year within the UN-controlled buffer zone, the university of Cyprus (UCY) has said.
Works on the 10MW photovoltaic park on university land lying within the buffer zone in Aglandjia are due to start within the next few weeks and be completed inside 2013, UCY press officer Katerina Nikolaidou said.
Nikolaidou said they would be calling for tenders in the next few weeks.
The Nasos Ktorides Foundation will fund the €14 million venture - €7 million as an interest-free loan and the rest as a donation.
The park should be able to meet the university’s current energy needs, placed at roughly 16 million kWh a year, but expected to grow as the university expands.
It is part of a greater vision on the part of UCY rector Constantinos Christofides, an ardent proponent of making use of Cyprus’ nearly year-round sunshine to create an energy independent island.
“Some 0.1 per cent of Cyprus’ land can cover 100 per cent of our energy needs,” Christofides has said.
He has previously proposed selling Cyprus’ natural gas abroad and using the revenues in part to fund renewable energy development.
For Christofides, the UCY’s position as a free from carbon emissions will help it attract more funding on renewable energy development.
“At a time when we are seeking ways for Cyprus to become independent from polluting and expensive fuels, using nature’s resources is more than necessary for our well-being. It is essential for the health and happiness of ourselves and our children,” the UCY said more than a year ago, when the park was announced.
A few weeks ago, the United Nations’ peacekeeping force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) okayed the project, which proceeds with the support of the electricity authority of Cyprus (EAC) and the energy regulator.
The park commemorates the 13 people killed in a naval base blast in July 2011.
A potential €1.0 million from profits from selling the electricity to the EAC will be split between funding UCY scholarships and funding the UCY’s institute of advanced studies.
If Cyprus continues consuming energy as it does now, consumption may increase by roughly 50 per cent by 2020, said environmental scientist with the Technological university of Cyprus, Alexandros Charalambides.
In 2010 Cyprus consumed roughly 5,000GWh and would need to use 7,401 GWh by 2020, Charalambides said.

ALONG with cattle farmers, milk pasteurisers have announced they will raise prices to accommodate increased production costs.
Milk pasteurisers issued an announcement this week saying they need to raise the price of wholesale milk by nine cents per litre, but said that would mostly go towards covering the price hike coming from the cattle farmers.
Cattle farmers have raised raw milk prices by four cents a litre from January 1 and have said they will also raise prices by an additional 1.8 cents a litre on April 1 to cope with the price of animal feed.
The head of the milk pasteurisers’ association Marios Kampanellas said that they too were trying to cover the rising cost of electricity, fuel, and water.
But he said that the actual cost from cattle farmers accounted for 6.8 cent of the total figure, because the cattle farmers refer to raw milk prices using a baseline that is based on a fat and protein content that is actually lower – and so cheaper – than what they actually buy.
Cypriot consumers pay for the most expensive milk in the European Union, with prices also rising faster than elsewhere in the EU.
Almost two years ago, the cabinet approved a bill giving the commerce minister the right to set a ceiling on the prices of bread, water and milk, but lawmakers have as yet done nothing.
Ruling party AKEL issued an announcement yesterday asking the commerce minister Neoclis Sylikiotis – whose term expires this February – to consider setting price cap on milk, even though lawmakers would need to vote the bill through first.
Sylikiotis reportedly said yesterday he was considering setting a price cap on milk wholesale and retail prices, though it was not immediately clear how and when this would get implemented.
Over 70 per cent of Cyprus’ cattle farmers are part of the cattle farmers' association (POA) which has exclusive agreements with some of Cyprus’ major supermarkets.
A new EU regulation that Cyprus should have implemented by early October states that milk producer groups in small markets – including Cyprus – can only represent 45 per cent of total production.
POA head Nikos Papakyriakou said they were exempt, citing what he effectively perceived as a loophole: POA is not, technically speaking, a milk producers’ body and would need to apply to be recognised as an organised body that would be subject to the regulation, he said.
“We are a milk and meat body, not a milk-only body but at any rate we are only a team of people, not an organisation,” Papakyriakou added.
But it is understood that POA is under investigation by the commission for the protection of competition.

A PRICE reduction in medicines will become effective on February 11 when the price list will be updated for the first time since 2009, health minister Androula Agrotou pledged yesterday.
"Savings to the consumers will come to €10 million a year," Agrotou said during a press conference.
This is just a drop in the ocean given that the public spends €250 million a year on drugs, about €110 million worth through the public sector and the rest through private pharmacies, according to the 2011 report by auditor general Chrystalla Georghadji.
What would make an effective difference would be updating the price list at least once a year that could result in reductions of up to 20 per cent, Georghadji said in her report.
Instead, the health ministry has pushed forward a planned revision and has said that prices would not be reviewed again until 2015.
Next month, prices are expected to drop by an average of 7.0 per cent, a figure that falls short of reductions of up to 50 per cent promised by former health minister Stavros Malas who stepped down in October to run in the upcoming presidential elections.
Presidential elections are in February, a little before the price changes become effective.
Malas, who is backed by ruling party AKEL, eventually agreed with pharmaceutical companies on a lower price reduction based on the existing methodology that gets the average wholesale prices of four EU member states ranging from cheap to expensive.
Medicines costing €10 or less will be untouched to ensure manufactures continue making them.
In 2011, 79.7 per cent of the drugs were bought from only 20 of a total of 88 suppliers. And 25 specialised medicines (out of a total of 1,500 brands bought) accounted for as much as 38.7 per cent of total expenditures.
"It has been observed that in several cases only one operator takes part in the bidding competitions for the procurement of medicines," Georghadji said in her 2011 report, adding that a lot was being spent on patented drugs that are more expensive than generic medicines.
Agrotou said yesterday that from January 1, they have updated their system dealing with the purchases of medical consumable goods – including medicines – that should deal with stock problems. The health ministry now uses an integrated IT system to check the stock levels across the island's clinics and hospitals, allowing their purchasing and supply department to better monitor consumption and expenses, she said.

Consumers are still waiting for the promised reduction in prices

ENERGY Regulatory Authority, CERA, has asked the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) to reconsider the latest rise in electricity prices, which came into effect on January 1.
Prices were adjusted under the EAC’s recalculation of its fuel-cost formula to cover the purchase of carbon credits for greenhouse gas emissions, rising approximately 4.0 per cent.
The EAC adjusts its fuel cost formula - the major component of electric bills - every month. The electricity rate - kilowatt hour (kWh) - is the sum of the fuel cost plus the price of carbon credits.
But in a letter to the EAC,  CERA asked for detailed reasons for the price rise and for its review.  This came after MP’s calls for the EAC to reduce the cost of electricity after Units 4 and 5 at the Vassilikos power station were put back into operation in November.
“The two units consume more fuel but they are more productive,” head of CERA, Giorgos Shammas said, indicating that prices should by this reasoning be lower.
 “We (CERA) believe the formula and the calculations need to be looked at again as the EAC no longer has to rent generators to make up for the destruction caused by the explosion at the Mari Naval Base in 2011,” Shammas added.
According to Shammas, CERA felt the need to intervene to protect the consumer by regulating the already high tariffs.
In a response to CERA’s letter, the EAC will discuss the matter this coming Tuesday at a board meeting. CERA and the EAC will then meet the next day, Wednesday January 16, when the Authority’s recommendation will be submitted after which a decision will be made by CERA whether to revise an adjustment on electricity bills or not.
CERA also announced yesterday they will be working closely with the Natural Gas Public Company (DEFA) to put an agreement in place to import natural gas to help power the island’s power stations.
“During the meeting, matters relating to the activities and responsibilities of DEFA as a natural gas business as they coincide with CERA were discussed in an attempt to secure the necessary permits and planning for the development of the transportation of natural gas,” a DEFA statement said.
CERA also issued a statement highlighting that both sides agreed that it is necessary to continue effective communication as it is in the public interest.

Hard-hit consumers were lumbered with another EAC hike this month

RUSSIA will discuss more lenient terms for Cyprus’s repayment of its €2.5 billion loan, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said yesterday.
Cyprus has officially requested the extension of the repayment of a €2.5 billion loan received from Russia in 2011 by five years -- from 2016 to 2021.
“We’ll cooperate with European countries on the subject of measures needed to shift Cyprus to a more even schedule for debt repayment,” Siluanov was quoted by Bloomberg as saying.
Extending the repayment period would significantly contribute to make the island’s public debt more manageable.
On Thursday, a Cypriot finance ministry official said they expected a favourable response from Russia, adding that the extension would contribute further to the sustainability of Cyprus’ debt.
Earlier this year, the government applied to Moscow for an additional €5 billion in the hope that it would avoid resorting to the EU’s support mechanism.
Russia declined, saying the associated risks were too great to be assumed by any single creditor.
 “It’s obvious that no single creditor can work with Cyprus alone,” deputy finance minister Sergei Storchak said in December. “Anyone who steps up on an individual basis to finance that country’s government or to help recapitalise its banks would be taking an enormous risk.”

MOODY'S ratings agency has downgraded Cyprus’ bond rating by three notches to Caa3 from B3 with a negative outlook on the significantly increased likelihood of a government default due to a rising debt burden.
The key driver of the rating action “is the anticipated rise in the Cypriot government's debt burden, driven principally by the increased recapitalisation needs of its banking system following distressed exchanges on Greek government debt and rising delinquencies on loans to Greek and Cypriot obligors,” Moody’s said. “Given that the resulting increase in the debt burden is likely to be unsustainable, Moody's believes there is a significantly increased likelihood that the Cypriot government may eventually default outright or press for a distressed exchange.”
The agency added however that it did not expect a default or distressed exchange in 2013.
Reacting on Friday to the Moody's downgrade, Finance Minister Vassos Shiarly said he wanted to focus on the positive, adding that he looked forward to the conclusion of a bailout deal.
"A conclusion on a memorandum of understanding does improve the prospects," he told state radio. Asked about the rating action, he said: "We are not at all happy about it."
The agency said its updated stress test analysis suggested that the recapitalisation cost for the three largest banks was higher than originally anticipated which, when combined with the likely needs of the cooperative sector, translates into a bank recapitalisation cost of about €10 billion, which equates to over 50 per cent of GDP.
Moody's said its current estimates of the capital needs of the Cypriot financial sector were likely to push the sovereign's debt-to-GDP ratio to 150 per cent in 2013 -- one of the highest levels in Moody's rating universe.
“More importantly, Moody's believes that these debt levels could continue to rise to above 154 per cent by 2015 in view of the uncertainties regarding the cost of recapitalising the banks and the implementation risks facing the country's fiscal consolidation plan given the uncertain depth and length of the economic downturn,” the agency said. “This upward adjustment in Moody's forecast for Cyprus' debt levels has in turn led to an assessment of a heightened probability of default, given that debt levels of this magnitude are unlikely to be sustainable for a small country with very weak expected nominal GDP growth.”

THE European People's Party (EPP) summit in Limassol yesterday gave a boost to presidential hopeful Nicos Anastasiades image as a worldly, well-connected potential head of state.
But for the DISY leader, the summit with fellow conservative European Union figures commenced amid growing concerns over the deteriorating financial health of Nicosia and the timing of a bailout plan.
Prominent foreign leaders that jetted in for the afternoon event at the Meridian Resort included President of the European Commission José Manuel Barrosso, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny.
With all euro-zone eyes focused on Nicosia, there was a palpable sense of urgency as Anastasiades forged ahead with a string of meetings on the sidelines of the congress in an attempt at securing crucial support, including a private tête-à-tête with Merkel.
Another issue up for discussion was Berlin’s criticism that Cyprus' has become a popular tax haven for wealthy Russians and German unease about bailing out the island's banks.
“He reassured the German Chancellor that Cyprus would implement fiscal discipline fully and without hesitation – we shall meet all timeframes, we are committed to that,” DISY MP Haris Georgiades told the Mail.
“Comments appearing in German media and elsewhere, which portray Cyprus as a money laundering haven, are grossly exaggerated and very simply wrong,” he added.
Commentators say that Merkel, who is eyeing a third term in the job, is under increasing domestic pressure to appeal to German taxpayers with assurances that she is not forcing them into easily contributing  to a country reputed as a centre  for money laundering.
As the media pack descended on the post-summit press conference, Anastasiades appeared to present himself as the future leader of a nation ripe for change, calling for low key discussion over the manageability of the sovereign debt of Cyprus.
“I explained that Cyprus has prospects,” Anastasiades told reporters. “But we also need the support of our EU partners. We are not asking for special treatment.”
For her part, Merkel gave strong endorsement to the DISY leader saying: “We’re here to support our partner, and we hope that Mr Anastasiades is successful in the election.”
Whatever emerges, it is clear that Anastasiades has already feverishly embarked on the groundwork for the signing of a bailout deal, which in all likeliness will land on his desk in the event of him winning the presidency next month.
“Mr Anastasiades and all of us have a lot of work to do to restore the damage, to reorganise the state and to give the people hope and take them out of the insecurity they feel right now,” DISY MEP Eleni Theocharous told the Cyprus Mail.
Asked if Anastasiades would receive a sympathetic ear from European leaders, the MEP added: “He has it already.”
Indeed, sympathy was forthcoming from Romanian President Traian Basescu who said he hoped that Cyprus would succeed in its attempt to tackle the economic crisis, adding that Anastasiades would present Cypriots with realistic solutions.
However, the Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen took a calculated sideswipe at the Christofias administration saying that a change of government would help the process.
"The challenges are really huge, but I am confident that if and when the country can get a new, strong and committed leadership... it will have a tremendously positive impact,” he said.
In an interview with the Cyprus Mail, EPP Secretary General Antonio Lopez Isturiz also criticised the current administration’s handling of bailout talks.
“The economic situation in Cyprus speaks for itself, so it’s not a personal thing about Christofias, but yes, the decisions that have been taken have driven the country into this terrible economic situation,” he said.
“At our meeting today we spoke about the future and what is the line we have to follow regarding Cyprus, including the energy issue, which is key for the European Union.”
Although much of the day was devoted to Cyprus, the main aims of the summit were to discuss next year’s Europe wide elections and the multi-annual financial framework – the spending plan that translates the EU priorities into financial terms. 
The EPP has been the largest party in the European Parliament since 1999, the European Council since 2002 and is also by far the largest party in the current European Commission.

Anastasiades with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso

MANY people remarked about the negligible opposition to the raft of austerity measures that were approved last month after marathon sessions of the legislature. There was a one-hour work stoppage at state schools and a peaceful demonstration by teachers and some protests outside the legislature by disabled people and members of big families who had their benefits cut. The rest of the public sector workers, despite some verbal threats, accepted cuts to pay, pensions and benefits without a protest, showing a remarkable sense of responsibility.
This did not last. On Tuesday, the leadership of the public employees union, PASYDY, which represents civil servants, police and nursing staff met the ministers of health and finance and informed them that the abolition of free healthcare for all its members would be a casus belli. According to press reports, PASYDY was not even willing to negotiate, simply threatening that if the health bill, which would introduce income criteria for everyone, was submitted to the legislature, the public service would come to a standstill. It was blackmail, which the ministers obviously took seriously, as they told PASYDY they would look into the matter.
The health bill is part of the memorandum of understanding and if approved would end the privilege of free healthcare for all public servants. It envisages an increase in hospital charges and the introduction of fees for drugs and use of the casualty wards; only people earning less than a specific income would be entitled to free healthcare. This means that the overwhelming majority of well-paid public employees would be ineligible. PASYDY claims that free healthcare was part of the terms of employment of public employees who had already seen their incomes shrink as a result of the austerity measures.
In short, PASYDY wants the continuation of the social injustice – which it describes as a worker’s conquest – by which a family on an annual income €30,000 would pay for healthcare, while that of a public employee on €100,000 would not. The union also expressed concern for pensioner public employees, which was laughable - they would and should pay because their pension income is higher than the income of many people who were in work. Elderly people, who live on the paltry state pension, would be eligible, quite rightly, to free healthcare and this is how it should be.
The troika’s proposal that everyone earning above a certain income should pay for healthcare is both rational and socially just. It was high time the provocative privileges enjoyed by the public employees were abolished. And the new criteria should also apply to Turkish Cypriots, who cannot carry on enjoying free care, on the strength of their ethnic origin.

CYPRUS appeared to win conditional support for its bailout bid from EU paymaster Germany yesterday, hours after a savage credit ratings cut intensified the indebted island's economic misery.
Germany, wary at the prospect of bailing out a country it says must improve financial transparency, nonetheless said European Union members must stand by each other.
"Cyprus must move forward with its own obligations and reforms to the economy but at the same time we must show solidarity," German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters as she arrived on the island for talks with other conservative politicians, members of the European People’s Party. She said that was a fundamental EU principle.
The chancellor’s comment provided some relief for Cyprus, which earlier saw Moody’s ratings agency pushing the island further into ‘junk’ territory.
Late on Thursday, Moody's slashed Cyprus by three notches to Caa3, with a negative outlook, predicting the country's debt pile would continue to rise because of the capital needs of its banks, and said it saw an even chance of default.
Moody’s said there was also a chance of a haircut – that option however was ruled out by Brussels.
"A haircut is not an option for us," said Olli Rehn, the European Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner yesterday.
A potential rescue bill of €17 billion, roughly equivalent to its entire economic output, has deepened concerns among EU partners about Cyprus’ debts, and some doubt it would be able to repay the aid without more concessions from lenders.
The total amount hinges on an asset review of Cyprus’ banking sector whose results are expected on January 18. Preliminary reports suggest banks will need anything between €7.3 billion and €10 billion.
Under the worst-case scenario, an assessment Cyprus hopes to avoid, the total bill for a bailout could rise to €17 billion.
With fiscal needs, that would push Cyprus’ eventual debt burden to 140 per cent of GDP.
Economists say a debt restructuring would be futile in Cyprus' case as the majority of its debt is held by the domestic banks a bailout would be aimed at saving.
"It might satisfy someone's sense of justice, but it won’t solve the problem," said economist Fiona Mullen. "There aren't any easy answers out there, apart from giving them a thousand years to pay it back."
The good news was that Moscow appeared prepared to discuss more lenient terms for Cyprus’ repayment of a €2.5 billion loan it received in 2011.
“We’ll cooperate with European countries on the subject of measures needed to shift Cyprus to a more even schedule for debt repayment,” Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said.
Nicosia has requested a five-year extension to 2021.
An extension would go a long way in helping to make Cyprus’ debt more manageable, according to Cypriot finance ministry officials.
However, although crucial, debt sustainability may not be the final hurdle before the EU gives the green light for the much-needed aid.
Germany has expressed unease about channelling taxpayers' money into a country seen by some as a hub for money laundering and judging from the utterances of various lawmakers, a bailout for Cyprus does not seem to have good chances of going through the Bundestag at present.
"The issue of bank transparency is among issues that Cyprus certainly needs to tackle as part of structural reforms," German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said yesterday.
Cyprus a popular tax haven for wealthy Russians, says it fully complies with international rules against money laundering.
Commissioner Rehn appears to share the German concerns.
"Cyprus has enacted several laws against money laundering in recent weeks and months," Rehn said. "The crucial thing is implementation, to ensure this is not a problem on the island. It is important Cyprus reforms its financial sector in line with European principles. Then we will work alongside Cyprus as we did in Spain."
It is now clear that signing and implementing the bailout memorandum would be the job of the island’s next president, as Cypriots are scheduled to vote mid-February.
Main opposition leader Nicos Anastasiades, who is a frontrunner to win the election and who received clear support from the island’s main European partners yesterday, said Cyprus was determined to implement all measures required for the consolidation of its economy and the creation of prospects of recovery and growth.
Speaking on the sidelines of the summit of the European People’s Party, Anastasiades, who had a private meeting with the German chancellor, said Cyprus was “not asking for any special treatment and that we will be consistent with all our obligations”.
The DISY chief added however, that press reports on money laundering and Cyprus being a tax haven were totally unfair and exaggerated.
What Cyprus needed to do was to be reliable and consistent with what had already been agreed and what might be agreed if the debt is not sustainable, Anastasiades added.
"I must say that I am fully satisfied with my meeting with Mrs. Merkel, the clarifications given to her and the clarifications she has provided," he said.

Additional reporting by George Psyllides

German Chancellor Angela Merkel with DISY leader Nicos Anastasiades

IN AN effort to raise public awareness of the devastation caused by drink driving, a group of like-minded professionals joined forces to produce a hard-hitting and thought-provoking TV ad of European standards which was aired repeatedly on television networks over Christmas and New Year.
Created in cooperation with a number of local professionals, the ad was conceived by Paul Iacovou, the managing director of the Nicosia-based digital branding agency Navajo Digital.
“Almost a quarter of road traffic fatalities in Cyprus are drink related,” he said last week. “We wanted to develop a hard-hitting campaign that spoke directly to our audience in a thought provoking way that would affect their responsibility as road users. We feel very passionately about getting the public to consider the dangers of drinking and driving.”
All the people involved - from the producers, to the actors, to the cameramen, the directors, the planners and the stylists - donated their time and expertise at no cost.
“We were all motivated to work together in communicating a strong message that applies to every single one of us,” Iacovou said.
The ad was given to the police and aired as a public service announcement on all local TV stations throughout the Christmas and New Year periods.
“This was the best Christmas present we could have ever received,” said police Chief Superintendant Demetris Demetriou.
Iacovou said that when he started on the project he had never anticipated the level of interest, professionalism and sheer hard work ‘donated’ by so many.
“There are a few occasions in one’s life when you are truly moved by people’s selfless actions and their willingness to help. The production of this campaign is firmly rooted on my list of such occurrence,” he said. 
The ad incorporated three scenes set during the festive season - a home, a bar and the scene of a crash. Andreas Tselepos and Emily Koliandri were the well-known Cypriot actors starring in the TV spot.
A microsite was set up to host the video, which also features behind-the-scenes footage, interviews, stills photography and bios for all parties involved in the production. Facebook and YouTube were utilised in an effort to push the ad viral. Youtube received over 1,000 hits within the first two days of the ad airing.
Speaking for everyone concerned in this project, Iacovou concluded: “If this ad saved just one life, the effort will have been worth it.”

Project links: www.navajodigital.com/dontdrinkanddrivewww.youtube.com/ cyprus drink drive

IT’S DONE. The Cyprus EU presidency ended on the last day of 2012 without any major mishaps, collateral damage, or blowback expected.  

On the contrary, the Cyprus government and its Europeanised mandarins passed the reins over to Ireland with their heads held high amid praise from the centres of EU power, confirming Cyprus’ coming of age as an EU member state. 

Swedish Member of the European Parliament Cecilia Wikstrom said before the Committee on Legal Affairs last month: “We will feel the effects of the Cyprus presidency for the decades to come. (The) Presidency did a groundbreaking work.” 

Rewind back to 2011 and expectations were pretty low when Cyprus began preparations for its first EU presidency. 

One EU diplomat- in discussions with the Sunday Mail- scoffed at the idea of the Cypriot civil service taking their performance up a gear to meet the 24-hour demands of the EU presidency. 

Another said the best one could hope for would be no major mess ups or international incidents during the six months in charge. 

Many worried Cyprus would use the opportunity to stand on a soap box and castigate EU candidate country Turkey for the continued occupation of the island’s northern third. 

Turkish President Abdullah Gul had this to say: “Southern Cyprus is a half state, which represents only half of its population. Now this half-country will become the rotating EU president. What a coincidence: a half-country will become the president of a pitiful Union.” 

When former cabinet secretary Andreas Moleskis was given charge of the Cyprus EU Secretariat he decided to create independent, parallel structures from the civil service to handle the workload of running the EU presidency. 

According to one source, this created a sense of ‘not my problem’ within the ministries as everyone thought the presidency was someone else’s job, muddying the waters about who was supposed to do what. 

When Moleskis resigned over dubious hiring practices, the position was empty for three months. In October 2011, just eight months before the EU presidency, diplomat Andreas Mavroyiannis was appointed Deputy Minister for European Affairs. 

In his first meeting with the permanent secretaries of the ministries at the presidential palace, he told them to forget everything they thought they knew about the presidency. He effectively told them: you will be doing the job of the presidency, not me. 

It was a heavy burden that fell on them that day, but once the clouds dispersed, each ministry saw a clearer picture of what it was they had to do. There was no longer any place to hide. If you were part of the civil service, one way or another, you were going to be a part of the EU presidency.  

According to Mavroyiannis, the state machinery truly stepped up its game during the presidency, after losing its way a little post-Mari. Eight years after joining the bloc, the notion that you could farm out or separate EU affairs from day-to-day governance was finally being challenged. 

In his first press conference in October 2011, the deputy minister explained that the EU works on the basis of the old Athenian democracy, which was fully participatory. If you don’t participate properly, things will happen, and be imposed on you. 

“If you want to secure your interests, you have to participate as early as possible in the decision-making process, because 75-80 per cent of issues are closed at working group levels... You need to be there, have an opinion and understanding if you want to shape decisions,” he said. 

Another government official involved in the running of the presidency said: “It’s about maturity. When we entered the EU, we first came under criticism for having an ‘empty seat’ policy- for not turning up- then we were accused of being an ‘empty suit’, ie, you’re there but not contributing. Now, we have to become fully-fledged participants.”  

Apart from low expectations, the government also faced the threat of Turkey cutting all ties with the EU presidency, and the Turkish Cypriots pulling out of the peace talks. Compounding the challenges, less than a month before the Cyprus presidency, President Demetris Christofias requested an international bailout, leading one German economic adviser to compare Cyprus taking over the EU Council with putting “the dog in charge of the sausage supply”.    

Another matter to contend with- both existentially and practically- was the three-year implementation of the Lisbon Treaty, which reformed and modernised the rules on how the EU’s 27 members work together. 

The new treaty, designed to overcome the failure of the European public to endorse an ‘EU Constitution’, had created a cacophony of distinct voices representing the five main institutions of the EU, each desperate to consolidate their powers under the new setup.

A mingling of discordant sounds made up the EU, coming from the Presidents of the European Council; European Commission and European Parliament, as well as the Presidency of the EU Council and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.   

With this backdrop, ready or not, Cyprus took charge on July 1, 2012. 

The first crisis Cyprus had to deal with was an inter-institutional one. The European Parliament (EP) had cut off all ties with the Danish presidency over a disagreement on Schengen border controls. Within a month, Cyprus replaced Denmark and the EP was still not in the mood for talking. 

The Cyprus presidency spent the next two and a half months finding ways to get the EP to relaunch dialogue with the EU Council. They succeeded the Brussels way, finding the right compromise that gave all sides something to take home as a victory. 

However, the mini-crisis pushed back efforts to close a deal on a Common European Asylum System (CEAS), leaving Cyprus with little time to get agreement on all five dossiers related to CEAS. 

According to Mavroyiannis, the chapter is all but closed, and with one more week, Cyprus could have done the deal before its six months were up. 

A second major challenge was the creation of an EU patent. Negotiations had been ongoing for 30 years and were near completion last June until a dispute between the UK, Germany and France over where the court settling patent disputes should be based. 

In a nutshell, the Council changed the provisions of an agreement with the EP, creating another massive institutional crisis and a hostile face-off between the Council and the Parliament. 

According to sources, it took five months of intense mediation with all interested parties until the Cyprus presidency could announce a deal on the 30-year-old negotiations. 

Limited space does not permit a further analysis of the work of the presidency but it is worth noting that few would hold it against Cyprus for not securing agreement on the EU’s seven-year budget (2014-2020), given the massive discrepancies between the positions of the net contributors to the EU and the European Commission and Parliament. 

However, it did get the EP to sign off on the budget amendments for 2012 as well as the 2013 annual budget. Some commentators had expected the EP to hold the 2013 budget ransom to secure concessions from the Council on the EU’s multi-annual financial framework. 

One source told the Sunday Mail: “Human relations played a 99 per cent role in the Cyprus presidency, which focused on getting the people behind the institutions to talk amongst themselves at every opportunity to achieve specific results. And we made this a practice in inter-institutional relations. This is the effect of the Cyprus presidency that will have an impact for decades.”

Another source said the Cyprus presidency succeeded in making the EU system, which is more complex today than ever before, to function and enhance communication, creating a greater link between the people and the institutions. 

Cyprus also successfully kept a buffer between the presidency and issues related to Turkey, the Cyprus problem and negotiations with the troika for an international bailout.

Perhaps most interesting for Cypriot taxpayers, from the €61.7m approved for the presidency budget (of which €28m was spent on the Filoxenia Conference Centre), the organisers spent only €28m, leaving a €5m surplus. 

So, what plans for the legacy of the Cyprus presidency?

Those behind the presidency want to see the structures and mechanisms set up to continue to be used as a kind of cabinet office coming under the presidential palace, ensuring the smooth flow of information and consistency of policies on EU matters throughout government departments. 

According to Mavroyiannis, the experience of the last six months should permeate throughout the whole state machinery. Also, it’s time for new faces to take over, he said, with the presidency having proven that Cypriot civil servants can step up to the task when challenged, regardless of rank. 

As another presidency official put it: “The authority of expertise and not the position of the person came out the winner.” 

The experience of the last six months have shown that meritocracy, higher productivity, greater efficiency and a willingness to take on responsibility are all possible in Cyprus. It helps of course when those running the show lead by example. 

THE CYPRUS EU PRESIDENCY IN NUMBERS

By Stefanos Evripidou 

NOW THAT the Irish have safely taken the baton and the 184 days of Cyprus’ first EU Presidency are officially over, the Sunday Mail took a retrospective look at the numbers involved in this huge endeavour.

Within the six-month period, over 1,500 meetings were chaired and organised by the Cyprus EU Presidency in Brussels and elsewhere abroad, including approximately 30 European Council meetings, 63 at ambassador level and over 1,400 at technocratic level. 

Putting emphasis on the development of close relations and productive cooperation with the European Parliament (EP), Cypriot Ministers visited the EP no less than 60 times in the past six months, attending the plenary sessions, presenting issues before the competent Committees, and participating in informal political meetings with the European Commission, Council and Parliament.    

Meanwhile, back in Cyprus, with its famed 160 days of sunshine, 225 meetings and conferences were hosted, 15 of which were informal Ministerial Councils. Many of the meetings took place in the coastal areas of Limassol, Larnaca, Paphos and Famagusta, while the majority were located at the ‘Filoxenia’ Conference Centre, in Nicosia which turned into a multilingual microcosmos hosting all EU languages for interpretation, as well as Greek and English sign language. 

While discussing and negotiating important EU issues, approximately 19,000 delegates spent about 26,300 nights in total in hotels all around Cyprus.

The Cyprus Presidency also gave the floor to various institutions and foundations to organise more than 140 meetings and conferences under its auspices, not only in Cyprus, but all over the world, in an effort to engage the private sector more closely with the Presidency.

Apart from the highs and lows of political battles, machinations and eventual compromises, the Presidency offered thousands of people the opportunity to enjoy and become acquainted with Cypriot culture and civilisation through over 350 cultural events organised in Cyprus and around the globe.  

In total, around 1,800 people, including 140 volunteers, were involved in the Cyprus EU Presidency, covering the entire range of policy issues, logistical operations and communications. 

Running a smooth and successful operation required the key ingredients of cooperation and coordination, for which the Presidency offered 310 training sessions.

The Presidency’s official website, cy2012.eu, was the gateway to all relevant information, reaching out to the European public in five languages. The hard-working folk behind the website ensured 400 press releases and features were posted, along with 4,760 photos and 170 videos. The website welcomed an average of 87,000 visits per month, while keeping up-to-date around 3,200 newsletter and news alert subscribers. 

Showing a more modern face of the Cyprus Republic, the Presidency’s three twitter accounts– one central and two Presidency spokespersons in Brussels – made in total about 2,520 tweets. At least 3,346 twitter users followed the central Presidency account, while 2,235 followed the ones of the Brussels spokespersons.

In an effort to raise from the ashes Cyprus’ once famous hospitality, the Presidency offered 14,200 ties and 8,200 scarves to delegates participating in the various meetings. And in a sign of careful and comprehensive planning, the 1,750 media representatives who attended meetings in Cyprus received a total of 605 adaptors to plug in their hardware to Cypriot sockets. 

While the debate over registering Halloumi cheese as a product with protected designation of origin still rages, the unique flavour and texture of the Cypriot cheese will hopefully remain in the memories of the thousands who enjoyed some of the 650 kilos offered during meetings at the Filoxenia Conference Centre. 

A total of 21,000 pockets of basil seeds and leaves provided delegates with the opportunity to take a hint of Cyprus aroma home with them, while the 70,000 limited edition postage stamps have set off on travels to the four corners of the world, spreading the word on the Cyprus Presidency.   

Filoxenia conference centre hosted meetings in Cyprus

FOR THE past 12 years, Gaynor Georgiou has been spending hundreds of euros of her own money each month feeding and caring for scores of stray cats living in the old town of Paphos.
The 69-year-old pensioner says she now spends around 490 euros of her 600 euro monthly pension on food and other necessities for more than 130 strays in the area.
“I used to work in Paphos market in the old town and was feeding a few feral cats for years. But for the last 12 years the numbers have grown to more than 130.”
The cat lover, originally from the UK, met her Cypriot husband in London when she was just 16 years old. She married him and the pair moved to Paphos almost 25 years ago.
“My husband and I were very close. He died a couple of years ago and the cats have kept me going; they give me a reason to get up in the mornings,” she says.
Whatever the weather, Gaynor does a daily round, seven days a week, of selected feeding places in Paphos town, armed with food and water for her furry friends.
As she arrives in her small car, which is full of cat food, bowls and other paraphernalia used for her daily tasks, cats run from every direction to greet her.
Gaynor portions out the food into individual bowls, carefully mixing some with water to form what she refers to as a ‘soup’ for a number of cats suffering with dental problems.
After feeding them, a number approach her for a stroke and even jump on and inside her car.
On this occasion, she is accompanied by a local resident and friend, 89-year-old Madge Hughes, who first spotted the cat lover feeding the animals in the dirt car park behind Marks & Spencer a number of years ago.
“I sometimes keep Gaynor company; I think what she’s doing is marvelous,” says Madge.
Gaynor is a well-known face in Paphos old town, which is a popular visiting spot for tourists who often thank her for her kindness and generosity towards the animals.
She says her actions are not always appreciated though and have led to conflict with a number of local officials.
Last summer, she says, street cleaners were ordered to throw away food and water at one of the regular feeding places near the central market.
Not to be deterred, Gaynor managed to negotiate a deal where she throws away any uneaten food and clears away the feeding dishes, but water bowls are permitted to remain in place.
“It was terrible and it made me mad. The cats need water to drink, especially when it’s hot. We promote Cyprus cats to the tourists. There are calendars and other memorabilia with their pictures on sale all over the town and yet some people, even some of the officials, don’t even like cats.”
Eventually, Gaynor is also hoping to spay and neuter them all and regularly takes individuals in her car to Paphiakos and CCP animal welfare - a Paphos-based animal charity - for these operations.
“All of the staff have been a great help. They don’t charge me for spaying and neutering,” she says.
Gaynor grew up in a household of animals in the UK and says she loves them all.
“I couldn’t even kill a cockroach,” she admits.
Although she is plagued with rheumatism and back problems, the sprightly, likeable pensioner braves all weathers to ensure the cats are fed and watered each and every day.
“Even if it’s Christmas, I still do my rounds to feed the cats. I love them all so much and they are used to me coming now. I dread to think what would happen to them if I couldn’t come.”
But she admits it is getting increasingly difficult to do her rounds as she gets older and would welcome any help she can get.
Her commitment to the animals has also prevented her from being able to travel.
“I can’t remember the last time I had a holiday and I couldn’t attend a recent family funeral in the UK because I couldn’t find anyone to take care of the cats. People often say they’ll help, but when it comes to the crunch, they have excuses or ask for payment, which I simply can’t do.”
The Good Samaritan hasn’t named any of the cats, but says she loves them tremendously and knows them all by sight and if any are missing. And it’s clear from the way they react to her that the feeling is mutual.
“Sometimes, I find them and they have died, either from old age, a disease or virus, or they have been hit by a car. I put them in a pillow case and bury them. I would never dream of just dumping them in a rubbish bin,” she says.

If you would like to help Gaynor call 99 778962

Old town cats at feeding time with Gaynor

TRUTH be told, the presidential election campaign has thus far been rather dull, taking a back seat to the New-Year austerity blues. It needed a shake up. Enter independent presidential candidate Giorgos Lillikas.
And shake it up he did. The delivery device? A conspiracy theory which, though subsequently dismissed as ludicrous, nonetheless has dominated the news this week.
Lillikas accused DISY of planning to give some of its votes to AKEL-backed candidate Stavros Malas in the first round of voting on February 17, thus boosting the latter’s unimpressive numbers and allowing him to progress to the runoff ballot a week later. The objective is, apparently, to knock Lillikas out of the race on the first Sunday of voting.
The underlying assumption is that Anastasiades - the frontrunner in the upcoming elections - would much rather face Malas than Lillikas in a second round. That much is probably true. Received wisdom has it that AKEL people would rather commit hara-kiri than vote for Anastasiades. So should Lillikas make it to the second round, they would tend to gravitate toward him.
A series of opinion polls have shown that Anastasiades stands a far better chance of winning in round two if he faces Malas rather than Lillikas. In fact, surveys indicate that in this scenario, Malas’ is a lost cause, making the DISY leader the sure-fire winner. Conversely, Anastasiades would have a substantial lead against Lillikas, but it would be a tougher battle.
If a candidate obtains at least 50 per cent of the vote (valid votes) from the first round, a runoff is not necessary.
But there’s a small problem with Lillikas’ theory. DISY’s slogan from the outset has been that they want to elect Anastasiades to office from the first round. So why would DISY risk such a ploy, when every single ballot counts?
AKEL’s reaction to Lillikas’ allegations was instantaneous and instinctive. Offended at the idea that their own candidate needed “help” to progress to the second round - and help from arch-enemies DISY no less -  the communist party went on the warpath to rubbish Lillikas’ claims.
For a couple of days, DISY kept radio silence. Lillikas kept harping on the point, daring DISY to issue a denial.
By Thursday DISY had had enough and spokesman Harris Georgiades issued a brief, yet biting statement.
“Mr Lillikas talks nonsense and then expects us to comment. But since he insists, here is our answer: we are striving to elect Nicos Anastasiades from the first Sunday. Mr Lillikas’ panic confirms how close we are to our goal.”
So what was Lillikas trying to pull off?
Sources at Lillikas’ election HQ have told the Sunday Mail that over the past few weeks they have been receiving “dozens” of reports from DISY supporters. These DISY people complained that their party has contacted them asking them to consider voting for Malas if the need arises.
Angry that their party was treating them like sheep, these DISY folk decided to report the manipulation to Lillikas’ staff, the Sunday Mail was told.
But why would DISY attempt a manoeuvre like that, jeopardising their chances of winning outright from the first ballot? It did not sound rational.
Lillikas’ staffers explained their thinking: DISY would execute the move on election day, but depending on how the voting goes.
“If the exit polls indicate a straight victory for Anastasiades, sure, they won’t do it,” a source said.
“But if it becomes apparent that no one can secure 50 per cent, and Malas is trailing Lillikas, DISY could start SMS-ing a section of their supporters to go out and vote for Malas. It’s not inconceivable, given past experience.”
The Lillikas team is also convinced that it is their man who will progress to the second round along with Anastasiades. “And there will be a second round, count on it,” they say.
But Takis Hadjigeorgiou, a spokesman for AKEL’s Malas, called all this “garbage”.
“Of course their hypothesis doesn’t make sense,” he said. “The only possible explanation for these allegations is that the Lillikas team are trying to muddy the waters, confuse voters. And that’s because they’re running scared.”
Both he and AKEL MP Nicos Katsourides ooze confidence when asked if their own candidate will make it to round two.
Hadjigeorgiou said internal surveys gave Malas a “clear” lead over Lillikas, disproving published gallups. “You’ll be surprised,” he added.
And Katsourides spoke of a major ongoing drive to mobilise the AKEL grass roots, noting that “the signs are very encouraging”.
Likewise, analysts the Mail spoke with dismissed Lillikas’ claims as a flash in the pan.
To Louis Igoumenides, it’s almost a given that Lillikas won’t go to round two, hence the ploy.
“I expect his support base to dwindle the closer we get to election day. Slowly but surely, AKEL will rally its supporters, and the polls will reflect this. Once the assortment of DIKO cadres who have joined the Lillikas camp see this, they will start deserting him and return to the fold, ensuring that they end up on the winning side.”
Then there’s the political dynamics; Igoumenides expects that, given that the present administration will likely not be the one to sign the long-awaited bailout deal with the EU and IMF or troika, AKEL will feel safe to amp up its ant-bailout rhetoric. That’s likely to be fuelled by the troika adopting a harsher stance toward Cyprus, for example by demanding the privatisation of semi-state organisations.
As a result, two camps would then be openly anti-bailout, and that would sap the momentum of Lillikas, who up until now has been the anti-memorandum candidate par excellence.
Either way, Igoumenides feels that Anastasiades is a dead cert, and could even win from the first round.
Polls give Anastasiades around 36 to 37 per cent. Undecided voters are approximately 20 per cent. Igoumenides says the results on election day will be a different story.
Under the familiar weighting system, one assumes that each candidate will get his share of undecided voters. In Anastasiades’ case, that would bring his numbers up by another 7 to 8 percentage points - not far off the 50 per cent mark. And the candidates’ percentages on election day are worked out based on valid ballots alone, and not on the total ballots cast (valid, invalid and/or blank ballots).
Stavros Tombazos, assistant professor at the Department of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Cyprus, suspects Lillikas’ ruse was calculated at “upsetting” some DISY and DIKO supporters who would then presumably vote for him as a sign of protest.
He, too, thinks it extremely unlikely that Malas won’t progress to round two: “No doubt AKEL will take some losses, but how much? Won’t they at least garner 23 or 24 per cent? And that automatically eliminates Lillikas.”
Political analyst Christoforos Christoforou says it’s the undecided voters who will ultimately define the outcome.
“Lillikas is banking on the broader disillusionment with politics. It seems he believes he’ll scoop up the vast majority of the undecided. But today’s voters are more critical, more demanding, they cannot be taken for granted.”
As for Lillikas’ claim that DISY would deliberately “prop up” Malas, Christoforou thinks it’s too far-fetched.
“Perhaps for a brief moment someone at DISY may have considered the tactic, but to actually do it...no.  There were similar allegations in the wake of the 1988 elections. Rumours circulated then that DISY had backed George Vassiliou (supported by AKEL) to prevent Spyros Kyprianou from winning. But an analysis of the numbers I did post-election showed this to be completely false.”

Polls show Nicos Anastasiades has 36 to 37 per cent of the vote with 20 per cent so far undecided

SOME 5,500 new job posts will be created this year in sectors dealing with the environment, labour minister Sotiroulla Charalambous said yesterday.

Another 5,500 jobs will be made available because of the need to replace outgoing people, bringing the figure of available jobs to 11,000, Charalambous said referring to an unpublished survey by the Human Resource Development Authority (AnAD).

The AnAD survey will be published at a later stage, Charalambous said but did not specify when.

She said that a number of programmes were in place targeting youth unemployment, including schemes from AnAD, and called on people to make use of available resources.

“I would like to point out that now is the time for young people to use their knowledge and experience but also be inventive and take better advantage of the opportunities offered, geared towards securing employment,” she said.

Youth unemployment accounts for 20.8 per cent of the jobless rate even and comes to about 11,142 people, Charalambous said.

“The risk against young people remaining unemployed can be reversed depending on their qualifications, knowledge, and skills,” she added. 

Charalambous’ statements were made during a trade union DEOK conference and were read out by a labour ministry official.

A GROUP of Orphanides suppliers said yesterday they were  pushing ahead with plans to take over management of some outlets in order to secure the indebted supermarkets’ ability to stay afloat.

The suppliers have formed a new entity, Orphanides New Era and have proposed taking over management of sixteen key outlets 

“A large number of suppliers have committed in writing to participate in Orphanides New Era. The rest are expected to respond by Wednesday the latest,” an announcement said yesterday. 

Orphanides owes millions to suppliers and major banks, and a large number of contractors – many present at yesterday’s meeting –have stopped supplying the chain.

Over 300 suppliers present at the meeting were told yesterday that the chain’s assets were lower than the €340 million figure that has been touted, actually coming to about €140 million that would all go to the banks in the event of closure.

THE labour ministry has called off plans to cut benefits for disabled people although reductions will go ahead on a car allowance and the holiday grant scheme, the umbrella organisation for the disabled has said.

“The reductions have been called off,” said the head of the Cyprus Confederation of Organisations of the Disabled (KYSOA), Christos Nicolaides.

The government originally planned to cut benefits for the severely disabled and to the blind by 9.0 per cent.

Disabled groups protested, arguing that the measures would be hard to bear for many of their peers who are already on the poverty line.

Although the disabled have extracted a promise that their main benefits will be untouched, KYSOA called on the state to act responsibly at a time of hardship for vulnerable groups.

“We can’t say we’re satisfied, as of the moment disabled people will be impacted even to a small extent,” said KYSOA’s vice-head Dimitris Lambrianides.

“Our position is that during a financial crisis the state has a responsibility to protect disabled and vulnerable groups, and of course strengthen their support where necessary given the cost of living has unfortunately risen,” Lambrianides said.

People with disabilities have previously lamented the scarcity of infrastructure and resources that bear in mind mobility issues. 

Public parks do not cater to the needs of disabled people, many buildings still lack disabled access and some public buses cannot accommodate people on wheelchairs. 

KYSOA has also taken issue with the biggest charity event of the year, the annual Radiomarathon charity drive, which they say perpetuates the notion that disabled people only need charity, rather than equal treatment. 

KYSOA has said that they want integration in society rather than the marginalisation that comes from asking people to donate money once a year.

WITH ONLY a few weeks left in office and their puppet candidate having no chance of winning the elections, our clapped-out commie rulers, have come out of the closet, no longer bothering hiding their Stalinist mind-set.

AKEL’s apparatchiks at the Central Bank (CB) decided to step up their ongoing character assassination attempts against the former Governor Athanasios Orphanides, by bringing up, once again, the ridiculous matter of the hard disks, which they have insisted, he was keeping illegally.

On Tuesday, they sent one of the four big-muscled bodyguards Professor Panicos hired to protect him to Orph’s house in Lefkara to deliver a letter requesting the return of the two hard disks of the Central Bank lap-tops used by Orph. 

The hard discs had been given to Orph with the agreement of the bank’s IT department, when he left last May, so he could carry on receiving personal correspondence that went to the bank’s server. This has been explained in public, but AKEL deputies and the CB apparatchiks insist on creating the impression that Orph was committing a crime by holding on to the discs.

On Wednesday the front page of the AKEL mouthpiece Haravghi carried a banner headline that read ‘The bailiff finds closed doors,’ explaining with big letters that “Orphanides refused to take delivery of letter requesting him to return immediately the hard discs he is holding on to.”

Orph refused to take delivery, because he was in the US, a point the newspaper put way down in the report, presenting it as a claim made by a member of his family that it did not believe.

THE MENTION of the word ‘bailiff’ (epidotis in Greek) in the headline created the impression that a court writ was being delivered, but it was nothing more than a letter from the Central Bank delivered by one of the Governor’s henchmen.

The members of the Orph family in the house were understandably afraid to open the door to the henchman, in what could only be seen as a form of harassment. In the past, letters from the CB were delivered to the law office representing Orph and it never refused to take delivery, so why this time was the letter delivered to the ex-Gov’s Lefkara home?

And how did Haravghi know the contents of the letter that was eventually slipped under the door by Professor Panicos’ muscleman? And who told the paper about the contents of the letter, which were supposedly private, considering the CB took the trouble to deliver it by hand?

The Governor’s office was quite clearly behind this stage-managed farce and subsequently informed Haravghi which did its best to present Orph as some kind of outlaw, refusing to accept a letter from a ‘bailiff’ and holding on to hard disks which it implied contained “secrets and highly confidential information,” needed by the investigation of Alvarez and Marsal.

If this were the case and Orph is behaving unlawfully, why has the CB not gone to the courts to secure an order for the return of the hard disks, instead of sending a Panic muscle to Lefkara, to deliver a letter when it knew Orph was several thousand miles away? 

EVERYBODY knows that this pitiful farce was organised by the Governor’s office, but it is unclear whether his personal secretary, Elena Markadji, a stalwart Akelite who enjoys great power since the change of the CB regime, was acting on her own initiative, at the behest of the party, or on the instructions of Professor Panicos.

The professor had every reason to be pissed off with Orph because, during his recent visit the latter had alerted politicians to the skewed terms of reference for the PIMCO investigation of the banks’ financial needs, which were guaranteed to make the Cyprus debt unsustainable. 

Realising that the CB representatives on the committee deciding the PIMCO terms of reference had agreed to assumptions and worst case scenarios that would push the banks’ re-capitalisation needs to unnecessarily high amounts, deputies demanded explanations from the professor. Had the CB gone out of its way to ensure the financial needs of the banks would be the highest possible so as to satisfy the government’s propaganda plans?

Deputies demanded an answer and called the professor to the House finance committee on Tuesday to examine ways of changing the methodology used by PIMCO, the final report of which is expected this week. The committee arranged to meet again, later in the day, with finance ministry and CB officials to explore ways of saving the situation, but Panicos did not take part. He may have been too busy dealing with the more important issue of Orph’s hard disks.

THE PROBLEM for the Professor is that he would look very stupid if he went back to the troika and demanded a change of PIMCO’s terms of reference and the of assumptions on which it was basing its investigation. After all his representatives on the steering committee had agreed to them, while the objections of the finance ministry officials were ignored.

So now he has realized he that the banks’ needs would make our debt unsustainable he hired another big consultancy firm, Black Rock, to carry out another investigation, in the hope it arrives at a lower recapitalisation figure which he could use to haggle with the troika. We wish him success, because we are all screwed if he fails, but we will know who to blame if he does.

In effect while the government was supposedly negotiating the best possible deal for public parasites with the troika, it had given instructions to the Central Bank to negotiate the worst possible deal for the banks. The government may have failed but the CB did not and will no doubt, blame the catastrophic consequences of its resounding success on Orph’s refusal to return the hard disks.

OUR AMBASSADOR to Washington, Pavlos Anastasiades received orders to return to Kyproulla next month because Tof the Terrible decided he does not like him. Anastasiades was posted to the Washington embassy in September 2010 and was not guilty of any disciplinary offence.

In fact Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou Marcoullis considered him a good ambassador and had three times ignored instructions from the comrade submit a proposal to the Council of Ministers for his transfer to Lefkosia. But the comrade is a stubborn man and on Wednesday ensured Erato obeyed his orders. A proposal for his transfer was submitted to last Wednesday’s Council of Ministers meeting and, not surprisingly, it was approved.

According to press reports, there were complaints that Anastasiades’ relations with the Cypriot expat community were non-existent. Other rumours were that the comrade was disappointed that he had failed to arrange for him to meet President Obama or at least vice-president Joe Biden. The truth is even if Nelson Mandela was our ambassador to Washington, the White House would not have invited Tof for a meeting with Obama.

The weirdest aspect of this story was that the decision was backed by a damning report against Anastasiades, written by Olympia Neocleous, his number two at the embassy. In our egalitarian, commie society the subordinate’s appraisal of the boss’ performance is what counts.

RUMOURS are that Anastasiades’ posting in Washington was cut short, because he fell foul of a leading member of the Cypriot community of the US - the Supreme President of the Cyprus Federation of America, Panicos Papanicolaou, who is a bosom buddy of the comrade.

Panicos, who currently faces charges of corruption and bribery of a public official in the US, was always photographed by the side of the comrade when the latter visited the US. During Tof’s last visit he took Panicos to a meeting with Jose Manuel Barroso, and all three were photographed together. Panicos had also taken Mr and Mrs Tof on holiday to a Greek island, a few years ago.

Anastasiades obviously did not have much time for the self-important Supreme President, who likes to pose as an influential, string puller in the US, to naïve Cypriots whose taxes fund his resoundingly inconsequential Federation. Panicos will have complained to his buddy about the lack of respect shown to him by the ambassador. Ms Neocleous who sent the damning report against Anastasiades is close friends with the Supreme President.

But the real gripe Panicos has against Anastasiades was that he prevented Panicos’ construction company from landing a contract to fix our ambassador’s residence in Washington. Panicos had offered to do the job for two million bucks, but Anastasiades thought it was an extortionate price and notified Nicosia, which established that the job could have been done for half the amount Panicos was asking for. 

He had to be punished for showing such disrespect to a leading member of the Cypriot community in the US.

DISY Fuhrer Nice Nik was on a super-high on Friday as he played host to heads of government who arrived in Limassol to attend the extraordinary summit of the European People’s Party. The guy was euphoric as he stood at the door of Le Meridien Hotel welcoming one European leader after another.

But the biggest smile was reserved for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who seemed pretty pleased to see the fuhrer herself. Merkel who has been receiving a lot of negative press in Kyproulla as a result of her remark that we would get no special treatment for the bailout, openly supported Nik’s presidential candidacy, which could prove the kiss of death, given the prevailing anti-Kraut sentiments.

It will not be long before Nik’s rival candidates start claiming he is unsuitable for the presidency because he is supported by the evil Merkel. One weekly rag (see below) played this tune before she had even arrived.

IT WAS two years to the day, that Merkel last visited Kyproulla, making comrade Tof wet himself with joy. Her visit boosted his ego and increased his delusions of greatness; he subsequently boasted about his friendship with the German Chancellor. 

This great friendship has obviously turned sour as Merkel did not even bother to pay him a courtesy visit while here. In fact when security measures for her visit were being discussed with DISY officials, the Germans had requested Merkel taken to Le Meridien in an armoured limo. The only one available was the comrade’s but the Germans declined the offer to use it.

Obviously, they feared that if Merkel accepted the use of the presidential limo she might have had to meet the comrade to thank him.

THE PALAZZO mouthpiece, weekly, hard-line commie rag Gnomi, gave an indication of how our government felt about Merkel’s recent remarks and German press allegations of money laundering in Kyproulla.

Its banner headline on Friday read, ‘Invasion by the Fourth Reich’ supported by a photo-montage of a well-known postcard of the Turkish invasion, featuring a nasty vicious-looking, gun-toting Turkish soldier stepping on the map of Cyprus. Merkel’s picture was super-imposed on the body of Turkish soldier. 

The secondary headlines were also pretty fun: ‘Anastasiades and DISY open the gates’; ‘The Germans come again: ‘The European “Peoples” party with Merkel in the vanguard in clear involvement in our internal affairs’; ‘Without mercy, they want to impose neo-liberalism…’

FINANCE minister Vasos Shiarly undertook an initiative to deny allegations in the German press about money-laundering by Russian oligarchs in Kyproulla. He organised a team that included members of the Central Bank and the head of the serious fraud unit MOKAS and met EU ambassadors in order to persuade them that no money-laundering was taking place. 

It was a commendable initiative by Shiarly, but he made one mistake. He took with him the head of MOKAS Eva Papakyriakou, whose presence will have undermined the message he was trying to get across. Ms Papakyriakou was the head of MOKAS when the Serbian people’s money was arriving in Cyprus in black bin bags for laundering services. She said and did nothing at the time.

ONLY 46 days left until the mentor of people called Panicos retires to his Kellaki dacha. 

Nice Nik looks a little impatient as he waits for his new BFF Angela at the EPP conference on Friday

BLAMING foreigners or other countries for Cyprus’ woes is a habit as old as the Republic. In a few cases in the past this may have been justified, but in most it was nothing more than convenient way for our politicians to deflect attention away from their own blunders, errors of judgment and fear of taking decisions. On their side, they always had the media which were more than happy to give substance to these theories, uncritically reproducing claims of conspiracies, traps and stabs in the back by other countries or international organisations.

By developing this ‘blame everything on the foreigners’ culture, politicians never took responsibility for the harm they caused and they could present themselves as brave defenders of the country against the machinations of devious outsiders. Why the media play along, it is difficult to say – perhaps xenophobia and the siege mentality sell – but they are not serving the interests of the country by doing so.

All these attitudes were evident in the last week, when the Cyprus media was reporting the ‘hostile’ views being voiced by German newspapers and politicians, including Chancellor Angela  Merkel, regarding the Cyprus bailout. Among other things, German politicians and newspapers have been saying that they could not give their taxpayers’ money to protect the bank deposits of Russian oligarchs, claiming that Cyprus’ business model was based on tax evasion and money laundering. These issues were bound to come up in Germany in an election year, especially as it would have to contribute at least a couple of billion euro towards the bailout.

Our commentators claimed the Germans’ aim was to take deposits from our banks and destroy Cyprus as an international business centre so they could take the Russian business – the conspiracy theory is obligatory. Others accused the Germans of over-stepping the mark in their accusations. The Cyprus government spokesman, denied the money laundering allegations and attributed them to “political expediencies,” adding that it expected a show of solidarity from our EU partners. “What we are asking for is an expression of solidarity, which is a basic EU principle,” said Stefanos Stefanou.

It is very easy to blame a problem on a foreign country without asking what part our own politicians, who we are to believe never put a foot wrong in their dealings with the outside world, may have played in creating it. When Merkel said on Wednesday there would be no special bailout conditions for Cyprus which had to undertake economic reforms including privatisation Nicosia was outraged. But the Chancellor had every right to make this point, considering President Christofias had been declaring he would not sign the memorandum of understanding if it included a provision for the privatisation of semi-governmental organisations. He had agreed to the privatisation provision back in November.

Why does a government, that has emphatically proved its untrustworthiness time and again, expect to be shown solidarity by its EU partners? Our president is refusing to honour the agreement he made with the troika, but our partners are supposed to show solidarity? In fact, after the consistent failure of this government, to deal honestly with the EU and troika, we should be grateful they are still prepared to talk to us, let alone give us €17 billion of financial assistance. Yet on Friday, during her visit, Merkel assured Cyprus of EU solidarity.

Had our government behaved honestly, showing it was trustworthy partner, we would not be encountering the media and political backlash in Germany or the worrying scepticism of the Eurogroup. A trustworthy government with a reliable leader would have been in a much better position to dismiss the allegations of money-laundering and tax evasion being made in Germany. But a government that has lost its credibility among its partners, is in no position to convince anyone that allegations were unfounded, no matter how much proof it provided to back its case. 

This is why the new president must adopt a new approach towards our partners in the EU treating them as allies rather than foes. He would have to work hard to rebuild the standing of the Cyrus government in the EU and win the trust of our partners after five years of Christofias’ mindless, anti-EU posturing. And as a country, we would have to discard our immature, xenophobic political culture. This is the only way forward for Cyprus, which may have joined the EU eight-and-a-half years ago but has not yet become a true member of the European family.