THE ENERGY regulators of Greece and Cyprus signed a memorandum of cooperation yesterday in the presence of high ranking officials and politicians.The memorandum was signed on behalf of the Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority (CERA) by its head Giorgos Shammas and on behalf of Greece’s Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE) by head, Nicos Vasilakos.“It is commonly accepted nowadays that the development of an internal energy market in EU member states is not exclusively a national, home matter of each state,” Shammas said. He added that Cyprus’ natural gas finds of an estimated gross mean 7.0 trillion cubic feet and the launch of a second round of offshore hydrocarbons’ licensing “was auspicious” timing for signing the memorandum... 4 comments

TURKEY said yesterday it had scrambled military jets to intercept an Israeli plane that violated ‘northern Cypriot airspace’ this week, and demanded an explanation for the incursion.An Israeli military spokesman declined to comment on the accusation. But the incident marked a fresh source of tension between the former allies.Relations between Turkey and Israel fell apart after Israeli commandos raided the Mavi Marmara aid vessel in May 2010 to enforce a naval blockade of the Gaza Strip and killed nine Turks in clashes with pro-Palestinian activists.Monday's reported air incursion coincided with tensions on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus over oil and gas exploration plans there, which could hinder UN-backed efforts to reunite the island... 24 comments

NOBODY HAS the right to blackmail an EU member state, particularly a country that has aspirations of joining the bloc, said Czech Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg yesterday. Speaking after meeting his Cypriot counterpart Erato Kozakou Marcoullis in Nicosia, the Czech minister said he was “very disappointed” with “neighbouring country” Turkey and its threats to cut all ties with the EU Presidency during Cyprus’ six-month term at the helm as well as interfere with its hydrocarbon explorations.   Instead of using the Cyprus Presidency to further its own ambition to become an EU member, Turkey was evidently “reacting in the wrong way” to Cyprus, he said. ... 7 comments

MEETINGS BETWEEN the leaders of the two communities in Cyprus are “a waste of time” given the stance of Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu, said President Demetris Christofias yesterday.Asked to comment on the UN’s decision last Friday to downgrade the talks, end leaders’ meetings and initiate a round of shuttle diplomacy between the two sides to decide the way forward, Christofias said: “There is no issue of changing the process. The process will not change.”“The Turkish Cypriot leader does not want any meetings between the two leaders. In any case, such meetings are a waste of time. I have told Mr Eroglu that talking to him is like trying to bring down a wall by throwing eggs at it,” he added.   ... 12 comments

CYPRUS MUST run a successful EU presidency to counter Turkey’s claims that a “half state” can’t handle the six-month rotating presidency, said President Demetris Christofias yesterday.Speaking during a visit to Cyprus’ EU presidency Secretariat yesterday, Christofias said Cypriot officials had to see to the tiniest detail in their preparations to ensure the presidency is a success: “Because our country is small, and because the occupying power tries in every way to instill the suspicion both within and outside the EU that we are not capable, because Mr (Tayyip) Erdogan and Mr (Egemen) Bagis say we are supposedly a half state... 7 comments

 PRESIDENT Demetris Christofias has slammed Ankara for stoking tensions in the Mediterranean after Turkey made official its plans for offshore hydrocarbon exploration in areas overlapping Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).On Saturday, maps published in Turkey's government gazette showed that oil drilling permits included areas near Rhodes and southwest of Cyprus.The licences were issued to the Turkey’s national oil and gas company TPAO and cover areas offshore from Adana, Antalya, Antioch and Mougla, all outside Turkey's territorial waters.The maps show that the permits stretch as far as the Greek island of Rhodes as well as plots 1, 4, 5, 6 and 7 as delineated by the Republic of Cyprus, south and south-west of the island... 11 comments

WHILE the modern-day Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923, eight years after its Ottoman predecessors embarked on a massive and systematic undertaking to rid the empire of its Armenian population, the country today often finds itself in diplomatic spats with various Western nations over its history. Outside the periphery of geopolitics, it would be perplexing to most as to why an event that occurred nearly one hundred years ago would impact relations between Turkey and the United States and various European countries. The answer lies in the annals of history... 12 comments

ALTHOUGH hydrocarbon findings off the coast of Cyprus could in theory act as a catalyst for reconciliation, in practice the political-economic dynamics point to escalating tensions and confrontation with Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean.That was the verdict of Hubert Faustman, Associate Professor for History and Political Science with the University of Nicosia, one of the speakers at a conference yesterday organised by the university in cooperation with the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Cyprus.Titled “New Threats and Challenges for Regional Security in the Eastern Mediterranean,” the conference offered an overview of regional developments and attempted an analysis of their effects on Cyprus’ natural gas ventures... 7 comments

THE GOVERNMENT, parliament and parties yesterday agreed to coordinate efforts to thwart Turkish plans to upgrade the breakaway regime following the UN’s decision not to hold an international conference on the Cyprus problem.President Demetris Christofias yesterday briefed the informal council of party leaders on the latest developments, outlining the possible twists and turns ahead while listing steps already taken by the government to tackle any negative outcome. ... 9 comments

A GERMAN freighter thought to be transporting munitions to Syria was zig-zagging in international waters, some 80 kilometres off Cyprus’ coast over the weekend changing course on Monday to head towards Turkey, Cyprus authorities said yesterday.German magazine Der Spiegel, which broke the story on Saturday, reported that the ship was carrying munitions and heavy military reinforcements for Syria despite an EU arms embargo imposed on the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou Marcoullis said on Saturday that the ship would not be permitted to approach the island.She told state broadcaster CyBC yesterday morning that the ship was in international waters some 80 kilometres away from Cyprus’ coast... Read on