State aiming for a Single Supervisory Authority by the end of the year

The Cabinet’s decision last February for the creation of a Single Supervisory Authority seems to be on the way to implementation, something that will set a new foundation for the supervision of professional services in Cyprus.

The authority is also anticipated to act as a catalyst to avoid the phenomena of the past that damaged the sector’s reputation in the country and tarnished Cyprus’ name abroad.

It is recalled that the establishment of a Single Supervisory Authority was announced by the President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides in the wake and in the shadow of the most recent publications - about a year ago - that targeted Cyprus and dealt a critical blow to its credibility as an international service center.

Despite the objections and disagreements expressed by affected professional sectors and mainly by Cyprus Bar Association, the Government's effort is to have the Single Supervisory Authority established and operating within 2024, a goal that is considered to be achievable.

According to information gathered by InBusinessNews, the drafting process of the bill is currently underway, with the Ministry of Finance having even requested the contribution of external partners.

Based on the same information, the objections and concerns of the interested and involved bodies have been taken into account for the drafting of the bill, while the process is estimated to be completed around the end of October.

As a competent source pointed out to InBusinessNews, "The bill, after it is drawn up, will go through the entire process that must be followed before being submitted to the Cabinet for approval and then to the House of Representatives for voting."

That is, the source explained, "first it will go to the Law Office of the Republic for a legal technical check and then it will be put to a public consultation for comments, observations and/or corrections from the involved bodies, then it will take its final form and go to the Ministry and to the Parliament for approval."

According to the same source, a meeting has already been held with the involved agencies, during which opinions were exchanged and their opinions recorded.

It is noted that, if the bill is ready at the end of October and is put to public consultation, it is estimated that, if everything goes well and there are no new reactions, it will be brought to the Cabinet before the end of the year and then submitted to Parliament for a vote.

The reactions

It is recalled that strong reactions and concerns have been recorded on the Single Supervisory Authority, mainly from the Cyprus Bar Association, which spoke, among other things, of a "complete lack of seriousness."

In its announcement after a meeting that took place at the end of March between the Ministry of Finance and the involved bodies, the Cyprus Bar Association emphasised that "through the statements and clarifications requested from all those present, it emerged that, in addition to the legal issues raised, during the processing of the proposal to the Cabinet to take this decision, important issues and factors were not evaluated by the Ministry of Finance and were not raised before the Cabinet, as a result of which it emerged that the decision faces serious weaknesses in terms of its implementation".

Also, the Association warned that any implementation of the decision would constitute "another act of undermining the rule of law, as was done in several other cases with a recent example that has seen the light of day regarding the issue of safeguarding journalistic confidentiality and relevant positions of the Republic of Cyprus."

President determined to confront the naysayers

It is noted that in the wake of the intense reactions, the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, had expressed his readiness to clash with all those who are reacting against the establishment of a Single Supervisory Authority.

In particular, and answering a related question during a cross-channel conference, he emphasised that "I decided to proceed, we have already worked out a specific bill, I already know the reactions and I am ready, if necessary, to clash, so as to preserve the name, credibility and reputation of our country."

"No one is above the reputation of our country," he explained further, emphasising that "If they consider the long term, it is in the interest of those who are reacting for the Single Supervisory Authority to be set up."

The Cabinet's decision

It is worth mentioning that the decision to establish a Single Supervisory Authority was taken by the Cabinet on 27 February, with the Minister of Finance, Makis Keravnos, stating that with the approval of the authority, the supervision of administrative service providers is strengthened and upgraded with the assignment of jurisdiction to the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, which in joint audits with the relevant supervisors, namely the Cyprus Bar Association and The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus, will supervise these companies.

According to the minister, within the framework of this supervisory authority and with the Cabinet’s decision, the governance of companies providing administrative services is strengthened by defining the qualifications of the people who will provide these services as well as the maximum number of companies they will serve, as is also the case in other EU countries.

"With this decision, a unified and uniform but also immediate and preventive reaction is ensured in cases where there is negative information or developments that threaten the reputation and image of the Republic," he stressed.

(Source: InBusinessNews)