Christodoulides highlights benefits to economy and business following first two years of governance

The achievements and policies implemented in relation to the economy and, by extension, the business environment of Cyprus, were highlighted - among other things - by the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, in his address for the annual report for 2024.

Indicating that the economic conditions within which the government programme is being implemented are of particular importance, since - as he noted - a healthy, strong and resilient economy is a basic prerequisite for the implementation of the government's policies, President Christodoulides focused on the following:

First: Strengthening the economic growth path, achieving one of the highest growth rates in the Eurozone, which reached 3.4% of GDP in 2024.

Second: The fact that international rating agencies upgraded Cyprus' credit rating to investment grade A, after 13 full years.

Third: The fact that through fiscal responsibility, public debt was significantly reduced, approaching the target of limiting it to 60% of GDP.

Fourth: Creating conditions for full employment, limiting unemployment to 4.9%, the lowest since 2008, and increasing employment to a rate approaching 80%.

Fifth: Strengthening the adequacy of earnings, with the average salary increasing by 13.2%, and social security pensions recording an increase of 6%, which is the highest since 1996.

At the same time, through targeted actions, the following has been achieved:

a) The strengthening of the Cyprus ship registry by 18%.

b) Historical records for the tourism industry, with more than four million visitors and revenues exceeding three billion euros.

In addition to the above, Nikos Christodoulides emphasised that during the second year of governance, important policies were promoted to enhance competitiveness and develop key sectors of the economy, such as:

First: Proposals for tax reform, with an emphasis on the middle class, the new generation, the competitiveness of Cypriot businesses, but also to address housing and the low birth rate.

Second: Strengthening the primary sector with spending in excess of €100 million.

Third: Renewal through social dialogue of collective agreements in important sectors of the economy,

Fourth: Revised strategy for the employment of people from third countries and the establishment of the Blue Card, to attract highly qualified personnel,

Fifth: Increase funding to link research with entrepreneurship.

Below, read the full address of the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, on the annual report for 2024, translated from the original Greek:

"Within the framework of Accountability and Transparency that I promised to the Cypriot People, on 29 January, I presented our policies and Agenda for 2025. We consciously established the presentation of the Annual Agenda, because we want the Citizen to be a Contributor and Someone Who is Aware of our goals and aspirations, so that he can judge and evaluate the progress of the implementation of the government's work on a daily basis.

Through the same reasoning, we established the Annual Report. We want society to be informed responsibly about what has been implemented in the past year, so that it can judge the consistency of words and deeds.

Moreover, our goal is participatory democracy, the participation of all, institutional and social partners, political forces and, above all, the Cypriot people, in the great effort to change our country. And this participation is achieved, clearly more effectively, through acts of Transparency and Accountability, such as today's Report on the past year.

During our second year of government, we achieved the implementation of 90% of the Flagship Interventions that I announced, as well as many other policies included in the Annual Action Plans of the Ministries and Deputy Ministries.

The detailed situation is posted and accessible to everyone on the GOVERNANCE website. The policies we implemented reflect our political philosophy - Social Liberalism, as well as our people-centred approach.

Friends,,

The economic conditions within which the Government Programme is implemented are of particular importance, since a healthy, strong and resilient economy is a basic prerequisite for the implementation of our policies. And it is precisely through this reasoning,

• We strengthened the economic growth path, achieving one of the highest growth rates in the Eurozone, which reached 3.4% of GDP in 2024,
• International rating agencies upgraded Cyprus' credit rating to investment grade A, after 13 full years, which is a vote of confidence in our responsible economic policy and translates into positive results for citizens, households and businesses,
• Through fiscal responsibility, we significantly reduced public debt, approaching the target of limiting it to 60% of GDP,
• We created conditions for full employment, limiting unemployment to 4.9%, the lowest since 2008, and increasing employment to a rate approaching 80%.
• We strengthened the adequacy of earnings, with the average salary increasing by 13.2%, and social security pensions recording an increase of 6%, which is the highest since 1996.

During the second year of governance, we promoted important policies to enhance competitiveness and develop key sectors of the economy, such as:

• Proposals for Tax Reform, with emphasis on the Middle Class, the Young Generation, the Competitiveness of Cypriot Businesses, but also to address Housing and the Low Birth Rate,
• Strengthening the Primary Sector, with expenditures exceeding €100 million,
• Renewal through social dialogue of collective agreements in important sectors of the economy,
• Revised strategy for the employment of people from third countries and the establishment of the Blue Card, to attract highly qualified personnel,
• Increased funding for linking Research with Entrepreneurship.

At the same time, through targeted actions, we succeeded in strengthening the Cyprus ship registry by 18%, while the tourism industry also set historical records, with more than 4 million visitors and revenues exceeding €3 billion.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Responsible economic policy ensures stability and allows for substantial and targeted social interventions. Specifically, among other things, we have moved forward with:

• Direct support measures for households and businesses, to address the pandemic, in excess of €760 million,
• Interventions for Demographic Policy, amounting to €100 million,
• Seven Housing Policy Plans with an emphasis on the Young Generation, with a budget of €70 million. In addition, especially for the Refugee World, we significantly improved the Regulations of the Central Agency for Equal Burden Distribution, increasing the beneficiaries,
• Increase in Parental Leave by one month,
• Expansion of beneficiaries of parental leave by widening the age limit from 8 to 15 years,
• Significant Increase in Childbirth Allowance,
• Increase in other Social Benefits and expansion of beneficiaries, such as Child Benefit,
• 30% increase in benefits for those trapped and resettled, after 18 years,
• Increase in the benefit from €745 to €1,300 for accommodation in Nursing Homes,
• Inclusion of 33,000 low-income households and single-parent families in the Special Household Electricity Tariff,
• Pancyprian expansion of the Neighborhood Social Worker Programme.

At the same time, and for the benefit of consumers, our bill was passed to set maximum retail prices for basic products, starting with bottled water.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Our policies for Education and Health, Culture and Sports, reflect our commitment to every citizen. In the second year of governance, we have progressed, among other things, with:

• Inclusion of more than 38 primary schools in the institution of Optional All-Day School,
• Gradual expansion of the age limit for Compulsory Pre-Primary Education from the age of 4,
• Extension of the Tuition and Nutrition Subsidy Scheme for Children up to the age of 4.5 years,
• Introduction of the Technical Gymnasium,
• Inclusion of Financial Education in High School and Vocational Guidance, as I had promised, from Elementary School,
• Start of installation of air conditioning in our schools,
• Submission of a bill on the Status of the Artist,
• Equal Treatment of our Athletes participating in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, without any discrimination whatsoever,
• Submission of bills for the Patient Ombudsman and better supervision of the General Health Insurance System,
• Submission of a bill for University Clinics, Clinical Laboratories and Rehabilitation Centres,
• Implementation of the innovative programme "Midwife at Home",
• Implementation of a Plan to cover travel, accommodation and food expenses of patients and their companions sent abroad for treatment,
• Launching projects worth €128 million, for the qualitative upgrade of the provided Health services and the radical improvement of the infrastructure of Public Hospitals, with priority given to First Aid Departments.

2024 was also a milestone year for Migration and its effective management, with significant, tangible results:

• Arrivals decreased by 64% compared to 2022,
• The percentage of departures over arrivals increased from 43% in 2022 to 179% in 2024, with our country ranking 1st among EU states in the ratio of departures to arrivals,
• We strengthened the Voluntary Returns programme,
• We intensified controls to combat undeclared and illegal work, with a parallel automatic suspension of benefits,
• The number of residents at the "Pournara" First Reception Centre decreased by 82%, and,
• We established the Deputy Ministry of Immigration and International Protection,

The data I mentioned, as well as the praise from the EU, are indicative of the effective work being done.

Friends,

The Digital Transformation of the State is directly linked to increasing Productivity, reducing Bureaucracy, enhancing Competitiveness and promoting Transparency.

I will mention very briefly that in 2024 we progressed, among other things, with:

• Simplifying licensing procedures, implementing rapid and automatic licensing for urban planning and permits within 40 days for up to two residential units and within 80 days for up to 12 residential units and apartment buildings of 20 apartments,
• The operation of the "Digital Citizen" application,
• The provision of new digital services, such as the Civil Registry and Immigration Department,
• The provision of free or subsidised electronic identities to facilitate and secure online transactions,
• The implementation of the "Digital Assistant", the first significant Productive Artificial Intelligence tool in the Cypriot State,
• The reduction in the processing time for EEE applications to 60 days and the integration of more than 2,000 beneficiaries into the labor market or training programmes.

For the Modernisation of the State, in 2024:

• We established the Annual Governance Planning,
• We promoted automatic registration on the electoral roll and the reduction of the voting age to 17 years,
• We launched the online platform ekfraCy, establishing two-way communication between Youth and the Executive Branch, as well as the "Citizen's Voice" platform for conducting consultative votes,
• We launched the "diakivernisi" website for central and direct information to citizens regarding the implementation of the Government Project,
• We established the role of the Commissioner for Gender Equality,
• We upgraded the building infrastructure of the central prisons, significantly addressing the chronic problem of overcrowding,
• We launched the "ELPIS" application for the protection of victims of domestic violence,
• We have proceeded with the preparation of bills for the Separation of the Legal Service and the Modernisation of the Audit Service.

Ladies and Gentlemen, our political will to strengthen the country's reputation and zero tolerance for corruption was also clear.

Among other things, we proceeded with the signing of a Memorandum with the United States of America on issues of identifying and prosecuting financial crime with the contribution of the FBI, while we launched an international campaign to restore our country's reputation.

At the same time, with the public interest as our sole guiding principle, we dared to terminate long-standing problematic contracts, while at the same time we negotiated and renewed Agreements with clearly improved terms, such as the Agreement for the management of our country's airports.

• Implementing a roadmap for energy efficiency and lower energy costs, as well as environmental protection, we have progressed, among other things, with:
• Grant Scheme for the Installation of Storage Systems in Combination with RES Projects,
• Grant Scheme for Energy Upgrading and Strengthening the Competitiveness of Large Enterprises,
• Save-Upgrade Grant Schemes for Homes, Small and Medium Enterprises and Non-Profit Organisations,
• Establishment of a Single Service for Renewable Energy Projects,
• Start of installation of smart meters with the aim of upgrading the electricity network and improving energy efficiency, and
• Publication of a regulatory framework for Energy Communities and pilot implementation of the Green Community institution in Kato Pyrgos, Tillyria.

In the context of the policy for cheaper energy and more broadly the reduction of taxes, as presented in our proposal for tax transformation, I am announcing tonight the Government's decision to reduce VAT on the price of electricity for domestic consumption from 19 to 9 percent.

At the same time, we have moved forward with targeted actions for the exploitation of natural gas in our country's EEZ with the signing of two important Agreements in Egypt for the commercial exploitation of Natural Gas, while drilling is underway, the results of which are expected in the coming days.

To more effectively deal with natural disasters, we began with the implementation of a comprehensive plan for the modernisation of Civil Defence and the upgrading of the 112 Service within the framework of a Unified Coordination Centre.

Additionally, a new strict legislative framework for fires was established and it was decided to transfer firefighting aircraft to the National Guard. At the same time, we ensured the availability of at least 11 aircraft for firefighting needs.

At the same time, Ladies and Gentlemen, we are working to strengthen all the factors of power in our country, to strengthen the sense of security of citizens, and to upgrade our statehood.

The activation of the "Amalthea" Plan, the election for the first time to the United Nations Human Rights Council, the successful assumption of the Presidency of the 9 Mediterranean Member States of the European Union, the launch of the Strategic Dialogue with the United States, the American Presidential Declaration on our participation in important defense programmes, the operation of diplomatic missions in Armenia and Kazakhstan, as well as the preparations for the assumption of the Presidency of the Council of the EU, are just some of the actions we have taken to upgrade our country and ensure its role as a strong and reliable partner in the region, in Europe and internationally.

Within the same framework, in the field of Defense and Security, and to strengthen the combat capability of the National Guard, we proceeded with a substantial upgrade of the institution of Contract Soldiers, while we recently decided on the voluntary conscription of women.

At the same time, we laid the foundations for the exploitation of the promising Cypriot Defense Industry, by establishing the Defense Industry Council and institutionalising the participation of Cypriot companies in armament programmes.

Fellow countrymen,

From the first day of assuming my duties, my main objective and what I promised the Cypriot people is the resumption of substantive talks to resolve the Cyprus problem on the basis of the agreed framework.

Our political will, which is recognised by all, and our coordinated efforts have succeeded in activating international interest, creating conditions for mobility and achieving a clear interconnection of Euro-Turkish issues with developments in the Cyprus problem.

On Sunday, I will be in Geneva for the expanded meeting, as a result of the Secretary-General's new initiative that began with the New York meeting on October 15.

I am entering the meeting with all seriousness and with the sole aim of paving the way for the resumption of negotiations from where they were interrupted in the summer of 2017 and achieving the goal of the liberation and reunification of our homeland. The current state of affairs cannot be the future of our country.

Friends,

In our two years of governance, we have proven that we do not hesitate to address serious and long-standing problems as well as decades-old pathologies.

In a difficult and ever-changing international environment, we faced challenges and seized opportunities.

With a steady pace, with a clear plan and design, we are walking the path of responsibility and consistency with the sole aim of serving the interests of the Cypriot people, the many and not the few.

Two years later, we continue together with new important interventions and reforms, as I presented them in detail in the Annual Agenda for 2025.

Together, We Are Changing Cyprus,

Thank you very much."

(Sources: InBusinessNews/PIO)