The government’s plan to establish a new framework for jointly owned buildings appears to be facing major obstacles, as the five provincial local government organisations (EOAs) have expressed strong objections to assuming a leading role in implementing the proposed law.

Speaking through a joint letter submitted to the parliamentary committee on interior ahead of today’s discussion of the bill, the EOAs stressed that the registration and supervision of management committees fall outside their legal responsibilities and therefore should not be transferred to them.

The EOAs made clear that they are currently unprepared to take over such a demanding service and have requested an extension from the committee to allow further consultation with all stakeholders.

The bill under examination aims to address long-standing issues in the management of co-owned buildings, including poor maintenance, lack of supervision and widespread avoidance of financial obligations by owners.

Close cooperation between the government and businesses is essential, said Energy Minister George Papanastasiou at the 63rd general assembly of the Limassol Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Evel).

This cooperation, the minister explained, is needed to achieve Cyprus’ shared goals of green and digital transformation, stronger competitiveness, and an upgraded international image.

In the presence of Justice Minister Marios Hartsiotis, Deputy Minister of migration Nikolas Ioannidis, MPs, local officials and business representatives, Papanastasiou praised Limassol’s active business community and its decisive role in the country’s economic progress.

He said that Limassol is moving dynamically towards a new era of growth and extroversion, supported by modern infrastructure and strategic planning that strengthen its role as a key economic, maritime and tourism hub.

JP Morgan has reaffirmed its optimistic stance on Eurobank, suggesting the bank’s recent acquisition of Eurolife FFH’s life insurance operations will significantly boost profitability and returns over the coming years.

The investment bank maintained its overweight recommendation with a target price of €4.1 for Eurobank shares, citing the deal to reacquire 80 per cent of Eurolife Life Insurance from Fairfax.

The deal, valued at €813 million in cash, grants Eurobank full control of Eurolife’s Life Insurance operations, while Fairfax will keep 80 per cent of the general insurance business.

The transaction also involves Eurobank transferring 45 per cent of ERB Asfalistiki in Cyprus to Fairfax for €59 million, with a future option to sell the remaining stake.

Cyprus took an important step towards securing its place on the European and international space map on Thursday, with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the European Space Agency (ESA) for its transition to associate member status.

The agreement was signed, on behalf of the Republic of Cyprus, by Deputy Research Minister Nicodemos Damianou, and on behalf of ESA by Director General Josef Aschbacher, during an official ceremony at the Agency’s headquarters in Paris.

Delegations from all ESA Member States attended the event, which follows the unanimous approval of Cyprus’ accession by all ESA members, a move that reflects the trust and recognition of the country’s growing role in the European space sector.

The new status is expected to further strengthen Cyprus’ national space ecosystem, offering access to ESA mechanisms and programmes.

This, in turn, is seen as enhancing competitiveness, innovation, and investment attractiveness, while supporting the National Space Strategy and opening new opportunities for European funding and cooperation.

Moreover, it reinforces the country’s broader vision to establish itself as a reliable partner in Europe’s technological and digital future.

The Bank of Cyprus has completed one of the most extensive restructurings in Europe over the past decade, according to a new report by Eurobank Equities.

The brokerage issued a buy recommendation on the stock with a target price of €10, implying a price-to-tangible book value (P/TBV) ratio of 1.47 times for 2027, and one of the highest dividend yields in Europe.

According to the report, whose contents were shared by Greek business outlet Newmoney, the bank’s non-performing loan (NPL) ratio, which had peaked at 63 per cent in 2015, has now dropped to 1.7 per cent in the first half of 2025, one of the lowest levels in Europe, with coverage at 124 per cent.

The subjective poverty rate in the European Union fell to 17.4 per cent in 2024, an improvement from the rate of 19.1 per cent recorded in 2023, according to figures released on Thursday by Eurostat.

The data showed that Cyprus reported a subjective poverty rate of 20.8 per cent for 2024.

Crucially, this figure reflects a significant improvement, continuing a strong downward trend from 24.1 per cent in 2023, 29.6 per cent in 2022, and a high of 58.8 per cent in 2015.

The latest 2024 figure means that the rate of people considered to be subjectively poor in Cyprus is now closer to the EU average, although it remains slightly higher.

Across the broader EU, the rate of the population considered subjectively poor in 2024 saw Greece reporting the highest rate at 66.8 per cent, followed by Bulgaria at 37.4 per cent, and Slovakia at 28.7 per cent.

Cyprus-based ASBISc Enterprises PLC, commonly known as Asbis, this week released its estimated consolidated revenues for September 2025, showing a significant increase in turnover compared to the same period last year.

The company’s board of directors announced the information on the Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) following its established decision to publish estimated monthly figures.

Estimated consolidated revenues for September 2025 reached approximately $332 million.

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) this week adopted new joint guidelines, requiring financial entities to estimate the aggregated annual costs and losses caused by major Information and Communications Technology (ICT)-related incidents under the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA Regulation).

In circular sent on Wednesday, the commission informed a wide range of financial entities under its supervision that the regulator has adopted the joint guidelines issued by the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) on July 17, 2024.

This regulatory action is taken under Article 11(11) of the DORA Regulation, formally known as Regulation (EU) 2022/2554, which was established on December 14, 2022, and deals with digital operational resilience for the financial sector.

The mandate to report on ICT-related losses applies to all financial entities under CySEC’s responsibility, as defined in Article 46 of the DORA Regulation.

Tourism Deputy Minister Kostas Koumis held a series of meetings in Brussels earlier this week, with a focus on the sustainability, competitiveness, and resilience of the European tourism ecosystem, ahead of the Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2026.

According to an announcement released on Friday, Koumis held successive meetings with Magda Kopczynska, Director-General of the Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE), and Isabelle Rialano, Director-General of the Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP).

He also met with Anna Panagopoulou, Director of the Office of European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Apostolos Tzitzikostas.

Figures released by Eurostat on Thursday show that labour market slack in the European Union stood at 11.7 per cent of the extended labour force in 2024.

This represents 26.7 million people aged 15 to 74 who were available for work but not participating in the labour market to their full potential.

This comprehensive measure includes those who are unemployed, underemployed, seeking a job even though they are not immediately available to work, and those immediately available to work but not seeking a job.

The figures showed that Cyprus recorded a labour market slack of 8.8 per cent for 2024, placing it well below the EU average.

Across the bloc, labour market slack has been on a downward trend, with only minor fluctuations, decreasing from 18.6 per cent in 2015.