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1531. Parliament passes bills to streamline asylum procedures

The House on Friday passed three amendments to the Refugee Law, streamlining asylum procedures....

1532. EP adopts resolution condemning Turkey's EastMed activities

With 601 votes in favour, 57 against and 36 abstentions, the European Parliament adopted a Resolution condemning Turkey’s activities in the EEZ of Greece and Cyprus, ahead of next week’s extraordinary European Council summit that will focus on the heightened tensions in the eastern Mediterranean....

1533. EU foreign affairs chief asks for ‘space to work with Turkish leadership’

The European Commission’s vice president in charge of foreign affairs, Josep Borrell, on Tuesday urged leaders meeting later in month at an emergency European Council summit on Turkey and recent developments in the Eastern Mediterranean, “to create the urgently needed space to work with the Turkish leadership, to achieve a de-escalation that will allow to pursue lasting solutions to the underlying problems of today’s crisis.”...

1534. UK, Swedish travel agents regaining confidence in Cyprus

Major travel agents from Britain and Sweden seem to be overcoming their reservations regarding the mandatory coronavirus test and are starting to bring tourists to Cyprus again, Transport Minister Yiannis Karousos said Friday, speaking before the Parliamentary Transport Committee....

1535. Greek PM expected to unveil French defense deal on Saturday

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is due to unveil the details of a defense deal with Paris that was the subject of talks with French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of a European-Mediterranean leaders’ meeting in Corsica on Thursday....

1536. Police request for 'golden passports' documents from Parliament unconstitutional, lawyers say

Lawyers from whom Parliament requested advice after law enforcement officials said they would crack down on the Cyprus Papers whistleblower(s) said Parliament’s non-compliance with police requests for documents relating to the investment scheme is reasonable, as such a request is “not constitutionally legitimate”....

1537. Cyprus energy plans sticking to schedule

Energy Minister Natasa Pilides gave assurances on Wednesday that the companies active in Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone are moving forward with their planning....

1538. Passports under the watchful eye of the Commission

1539. Period for filing appeals against asylum service decisions slashed

The Cyprus Parliament on Friday amended the constitution to allow for a slashing of the time in which appeals can be filed against decisions of the asylum service from 75 days to 15 days....

1540. Cabinet throws ball in attorney general’s court

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades is calling on the state’s attorney general to appoint yet another committee to probe golden passport applications to settle a dispute between the auditor general’s office and the interior ministry over the “Cyprus Papers”...

1541. Golden passports scheme to remain as is

The citizenship-by-investment program will not be terminated, nor will it be suspended for a short period as a way of managing the crisis developing crisis, the government decided during its Tuesday morning coffee at the Presidential Palace. What was strongly tabled was that a potential freezing or termination of the investment program at this point in time would send a message that the government is acting in light of the Al Jazeera publications, and that by extension, that it accepts them....

1542. Justice Minister eager to see justice system reform make headway

Justice Minister Emily Yioliti proposed to the House legal committee on Wednesday the establishment of a working group, composed of representatives of parliamentary parties and the Cyprus Bar Association, for a discussion of positions regarding the direction of the impending justice system reform....

1543. Curtain rising for citizenship-by-investment program

The Presidency has before it four scenarios for dealing with the issue of purchased citizenships. The most likely possibility is that of suspending the investment program for a short period, as revealed by Kathimerini on Sunday....

1544. House President calls for suspension of 'golden passports' scheme

House President Demetris Syllouris has formally suggested to President Nicos Anastasiades that the Cyprus citizenship-by-investment scheme is paused until decisions for its improvement or even complete termination are taken, and called for a meeting of party leaders to discuss the scheme that has recently attracted international attention after a document leak led to a series of articles and videos published by the media network Al Jazeera....

1545. Ankara accuses Athens of beating the war drum

Turkey says the European Union is not sincere in its efforts to weigh in on the maritime disputes in the eastern Mediterranean, while accusing Athens of beating the war drum by intending to expand Greek territorial waters...

1546. EU mulls legal action against Cyprus 'golden passports'

The foreign media network Al Jazeera, that has this week been publishing a series of articles and videos on the murky side of the Cyprus ‘golden passports’ program after it was leaked classified documents, reported that the European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders is looking into the possibility of legal action against Cyprus....

1547. Shop owners block road work in Limassol

Shop owners in Limassol, who oppose the construction of a median strip on a popular avenue, blocked road workers on Friday morning, with reports saying police officers were trying to hold back angry protesters...

1548. Greece to extend territorial waters amid dispute with Turkey

Turkey’s president warned Greece on Wednesday not to test his country’s patience or courage as the NATO allies remained locked in a tense dispute over offshore energy exploration in the eastern Mediterranean, while Greece announced plans to extend its territorial waters along its western coastline....

1549. Cyprus takes a stab at Al Jazeera 'propaganda'

The daily publication of reports by the foreign media network Al Jazeera targeting the Cyprus citizenship-for-investment programme after gaining possession of over 1,400 leaked documents has sent the Cyprus government rushing to set the record straight....

1550. Cyprus 'golden passports' under more scrutiny

A foreign investigative report says leaked documents from the Republic of Cyprus suggest the island’s government violated its own rules in granting “golden passport” citizenships, with Cypriot officials denying the accusations and raising credibility issues over the report...

1551. Justice minister determined to tackle poor driving culture

Justice minister Emily Yioliti met on Friday with the chief of police Stelios Papatheodorou to discuss ways of curbing road accidents, from which 23 people lost their lives just this year, and which are widely accepted to be caused by an broader lack of conscientiousness in the island’s driving culture....

1552. Cyprus Parliament ratifies EastMed pipeline agreement

Cyprus’ House of Representatives ratified on Friday the EastMed natural gas pipeline....

1553. 74% of Cypriots want higher EU budget to tackle pandemic

Three in four Cypriots believe the EU needs additional economic means in order to deal with the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic, a study conducted by the European Parliament during the second half of June showed....

1554. Only through dialogue can the Mediterranean regain stability, Borrell says

The Mediterranean can be a more secure and stable zone only through dialogue, the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said at the European Parliament’s plenary session on Turkey in Brussels. ...

1555. Anastasiades: Patriotic realism dictates solution through diplomacy, not weapons

Instead of a catastrophic scenario, we opt for diplomacy, the weapons of international law and Cyprus’ status as an EU member state. This is what is dictated by patriotic realism and rationalism, and not a rhetoric of empty slogans. The coming days are crucial as regards initiatives taken by the EU and the US in view of preventing a potential crisis through targeted measures towards Turkey....

1556. Berlin ready to support Cyprus solution process

Berlin intends to be supportive if asked to do so by all parties involved in Cyprus settlement efforts, the Ambassador of Germany to Cyprus, Franz Josef Kremp, told the Cyprus News Agency....

1557. EU top official and Cyprus defence minister fly over Cyprus' EEZ by helicopter

The EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell joined the Cyprus defence minister Savvas Angelides on a helicopter ride over the Republic’s exclusive economic zone to observe the sea areas that are increasingly emerging as zones of contention....

1558. Cypriot FM to visit Israel in a hurry

Cypriot Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides will pay a last minute visit to Israel on Tuesday, days after President Nicos Anastasiades called off his trip citing coronavirus concerns and just before debate in the neighbouring country is expected to peak over annexation plans in West Bank...

1559. Parliament approves bills for tougher penalties for decree violators

Parliament on Friday passed into law two bills providing for significantly higher penalties for businesses that violate coronavirus decrees....

1560. Women in brothel raid under arrest

Seven women in Nicosia previously described by police as possible victims of trafficking have been arrested, with a judge ordering them in remanded custody for multiple offences related to prostitution...