Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 11-03-22

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From: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>

CONTENTS

[01] LEADERS - CYPRUS TALKS

[02] CYPRUS - TURKEY - NUCLEAR

[03] COMPANIES - SAVINGS

[04] INDUSTRIAL TURNOVER

[01] LEADERS - CYPRUS TALKS

The meeting will start at 0930 (0730 GMT) and will be held at the residence of the Special Representative of United Nations Secretary General in Cyprus, in the UN protected area of Nicosia Airport.

The UN Secretary General`s Special Adviser on Cyprus Alexander Downer, in statements after last Thursdays meeting, pointed out the need to keep the momentum going in the talks for a solution of the Cyprus problem, and noted that the leaders of the two communities needed to work their way through the issue of citizenship and that the UN wanted to ``tidy up`` the issues of property and territory.

[02] CYPRUS - TURKEY - NUCLEAR

Cyprus positions on Turkeys plans to construct a nuclear plant in Akkuyu in the Turkish southern province of Mersin were presented at the EU Council of Ministers of Energy in Brussels by Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism Antonis Paschalides, following the disaster in Japan on March 11.

Only a few days after the disaster in Japan, Turkish Prime Minister spoke with utter arrogance about his governments plan to build a nuclear plant in Akkuyu, completely disregarding the international reaction and concerns on nuclear accidents, Paschalides said, adding that it is extremely important for the EU to take into consideration Cyprus positions.

The Minister of Commerce also said that it is necessary for the EU to commence a dialogue with all member states as well as neighboring countries which have or plan to construct nuclear plants in their territory, in order to secure the levels of safety in case of a nuclear accident. He also warned about the risks involved in developing nuclear programs close to seismologically active areas.

[03] COMPANIES - SAVINGS

The study was commissioned by the Cypriot government and the results were presented on Monday, March 21, during a meeting between the Executive Committee of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), representatives from the Ministry of Finance and KPMG.

The study focused on eight administrative areas, from a total of 50, like the Inland Revenue Department, the Registrar of Companies and the VAT Service. According to the results, Cypriot businesses may save up to 155 million euros, or 22% of their current spending, through the simplification of administrative procedures.

In its general recommendations to the government, KPMG suggests to increase the use of online tools facilitating businesses, increase the amount of information businesses may submit online to the government, create a single portal for all payments to the government and create an electronic warehouse to store information, accessible to all government departments, instead of re-submitting the same information again and again.

[04] INDUSTRIAL TURNOVER

The statement says the Index for December 2010 reached 131.8 units (base 2005=100), recording an increase of 3.3% compared to December 2009.

For the period January-December 2010, it adds, the index recorded an increase of 4.0% compared to the same period the year before.

For Manufacturing, the index for December 2010 reached 125.4 units, recording an increase of 1.7% compared to December 2009, the statement concludes.

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