President Nikos Christodoulides on Tuesday evening highlighted the importance his government is putting on restarting Cyprus talks, despite the difficult stance of the Turkish side.
Speaking during a televised speech on his first year as president, Christodoulides went over the initiatives his government has taken to “better the daily life of all citizens”.
Answering journalists’ questions about his plummeting poll numbers, Christodoulides said: “Of course I am not saying that in these first twelve months we have avoided mistakes. But I can confidently claim that we have laid the foundations to achieve the better Cyprus that we all envision.”
He added that there were mistakes made in choices and in behaviours, while he was president.
“It is very logical these results considering that I do not have the support of any party,” he said.
Commenting on the polls, he said that none of the mistakes have affected the lives of the citizens.
He added that the result will be positive, noting that he has raised the bar high, “as society has high expectations of a government elected without the support of a major party”.
He commented specifically about UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ personal envoy Maria Angela Holguin, who will revisit Cyprus next week to continue work to see if negotiations on the Cyprus problem can restart.
“At the heart of our priorities, of course, remains our national issue [Cyprus issue]. The appointment of Ms Holguin and the beginning of a new effort to resume talks was the result of our own persistent efforts and initiatives,” he said.
Christodoulides added that his government had worked to mobilise the UN, the EU and all major international actors, “always in cooperation with the Greek government.
“Everyone recognises our readiness and our political will to come to the negotiating table with sincerity and determination with the sole objective of resolving the Cyprus problem on the basis of a bizonal, bicommunal federation, building on the negotiating acquis to date,” he said.
He added that the government’s ambition is clear and sincere regarding the Cyprus problem.
“We demand the liberation and reunification of our homeland through a solution that guarantees basic human rights for all legitimate citizens of our country, without occupying troops and intervention rights,” he said.
He added that Holguin’s mission is a “window of opportunity” that the state approaches with seriousness, despite the challenges posed by the Turkish side.
Commenting further on his government programme, Christodoulides said that the goal is to improve the daily life of every citizen.
He added that the other goal is to build a strong and resilient economy, invest in education and health, accelerate the green transition, modernise the state and strengthen the country’s position in the EU and wider region.
Commenting on the economy and sanctions on entities and individuals in Cyprus, Christodoulides said: “Once in office, we were called upon to manage a critically unpleasant development with the sanctions from the United States and Britain. From the very first moment we made clear the importance we attach to our country’s reputation and credibility, demonstrating determination in our zero-tolerance practice.”
He added that he asked for help from foreign authorities to assist in the investigations to complete relevant procedures quickly.
He said the government is moving forward with the establishment of a sanctions’ unit.
“We want to ensure that we put behind us once and for all the practices that have exposed our country. Only in this way will we get rid of any shadow that affects the credibility of our Cyprus, and which is, among other things, an obstacle to attracting quality investment and creating new jobs,” he said.
Commenting on the economy further, Christodoulides said that his government has achieved its first financial surplus, and completes pre-conditions for the second and third tranche of money under the EU recovery and resilience plan, worth €152 million.
He added that it improved powers of the financial commissioner, strengthened vulnerable borrowers, and implemented the mortgage to rent scheme.
He also said that the government has increased the solidarity fund to haircut borrowers by €50 million and activated the platform for the submission of online claims for compensation.
“Through intensive negotiations with the EU, the reduction of VAT on first homes was passed,” he said.
He added that a host of measures have been introduced to help start-up companies and boost innovation.
The president then commented on social policies implemented by his government.
“A few days ago we announced a second package of support for households and businesses, amounting to €60 million, following the measures that came into force last October, amounting to €196 million,” he said.
Those included increasing maternity leave, giving pensions at retirement with no delay, the zero VAT measure for certain goods to combat inflation, and increasing the national minimum wage to €1,000.
Christodoulides also referred to housing plans, which the interior minister announced earlier this year.
He said the government had introduced new housing plans for refugees living in refugee estates announced earlier in the year.
He added that the neighbourhood social worker was also introduced to improve the daily lives of citizens, as well as the 1450 number to explain stipends.
He also made reference to the Pame Express park and ride system launched to tackle the traffic problem in Nicosia.
He also commented on the migration issue and the creation of the deputy ministry of migration and asylum.
On the green transition, the president said the government had gone forward with the photovoltaics for all programme and increased funding to help people buy electric vehicles.
Christodoulides also commented on a new regulations for hiring advisers to the president and other public officials, which was recently approved.
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