EC Library Guide on country knowledge: Cyprus: Selected articles
Selected articles
- The advent of electricity liberalization in Cyprus. Critical analysis of the current state and charting a path to liberalization
Michail, Costas. European Environmental Law Review, Vol.31(2), 2022.
Cyprus is an island situated in the Easter Mediterra- nean and member of the European Union. Cyprus maintains an effective monopoly in electrifying the island chiefly by entrusting the electrification to the Cyprus Electricity Authority, a semi-governmental organization. The Electricity Authority aggregates all key functions for generating and ultimately match- ing the load. The electricity is mainly produced by burning petrol, mazut, at the power plants. Cyprus has recently passed Laws to enable liberalization of its electric industry.
In the body of this research paper, we will unveil the current state of the electricity industry in Cyprus by expanding on the electricity state owned company, the regulatory Authority and the new Laws enabling the liberalization pathway. Then we focus on key ingredients in liberalizing elec- tricity industry. The key focus of this article will be to appraise the Cyprus new Laws, outlining the positive conditions and stress the persisting barriers and pro- vide recommendations.
- Assessing the 2010-2018 financial crisis in Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Spain, and Cyprus
Hausken, Kjell, and Welburn, Jonathan W. Journal of Economic Studies, Vol.49(1), 2022.
Purpose The article develops a model to interpret the 2010-2018 financial crisis in Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Cyprus, and the loan programs from the IL (International Lender; i.e. the European Union, the European Commission, and the International Monetary Fund). Design/methodology/approach For each country, an isoelastic utility with constant relative risk aversion is assumed. For the IL a Cobb Douglas utility is assumed with consumption, the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) to debt ratio, and market stability as inputs, accounting for time discounting. This article applies two methods to assess the empirics. The first method considers the IL's strategy as a whole over the 2010-2018 period. The second method assumes that the IL maximizes its utility in one period to determine its optimal loan, accounting for the empirics in that period, and the debt in the previous period.
Findings For the first method, when the output elasticity in the IL's Cobb Douglas utility is high favoring consumption, the IL prefers offering a higher loan than its actual loan. Otherwise the IL prefers to offer no loan. The output elasticity at which the IL prefers to offer a loan is lowest for Greece, second lowest for Cyprus, third lowest for Portugal, and highest for Ireland and Spain. A high loan to Greece over a larger range of the output elasticity for Greece's consumption is supported by Greece being prioritized through the loan program. For the second method, the IL prefers to offer no loan to Greece which is too burdened with debt. Thus, the first method seems preferable, considering the entire duration of the crisis holistically. Originality/value The article offers a novel perspective of how to assess debt crises, enabling the IL to weigh various factors such as consumption, GDP, loan offered, and each country's debt to credit markets.
- Commonwealth and Cyprus after EU accession
Emilianides, Achilles C., and Ioannou, Christina. Round Table, Vol.111(1), 2022.
This paper discusses the extent to which Cyprus’ Commonwealth membership has remained relevant following the country’s accession to the EU in 2004. It is argued that, despite the predominant role of Cyprus’ EU membership, the importance of the Commonwealth for the promotion of the country’s political agenda and international co-operation has not diminished. There has been a steady Cypriot participation at high-level Commonwealth meetings post-EU accession. However, the importance of the Commonwealth to the everyday life of Cypriot citizens remains marginal, especially when compared to EU membership.
The decision of the UK to exit the Union could precipitate an increased interest on the part of Cyprus in its Commonwealth membership, that could, eventually, even act as a bridge that might help establish a partnership cooperation mechanism between the EU and the Commonwealth.
- Do people understand and observe the effects of climate crisis on forests? The case study of Cyprus
Miltiadou, Milto et al. Forests, Vol.12(9), 2021.
The authors examine whether compulsory voting influences political participation as measured by voter turnout, invalid voting, political interest, confidence in parliament, and party membership. In Austria, some states temporarily introduced compulsory voting in national elections. The authors investigate border municipalities across two states which differ in compulsory voting legislation using a difference-in-differences approach.
The results show that compulsory voting increased voter turnout by 3.5 percentage points but the authors do not find long-run effects. Once compulsory voting was abolished, voter turnout returned to pre-compulsory voting levels. Microdata evidence suggests that compulsory voting tends to crowd out intrinsic motivation for political participation which may explain why compulsory voting is not found to be habit-forming.
- Embracing carbon neutral electricity and transportation sectors in Cyprus
Demetriou, E. ; Mallouppas, G. ; Hadjistassou, C. Energy (Oxford), Vol.229, 2021.
From the energy standpoint Cyprus is unique because the island relies on oil-fired power generation while the national electricity grid is isolated. Yet short driving distances render the country a testbed for a full electric vehicle fleet. Based on EU climate goals, passenger vehicles and buses were considered 100% electric by 2050. Spanning between 2018 and 2050, herein we present the future electricity needs and vehicle fleet size, which currently account for 77% of the island's emissions. In parallel, four distinct scenarios, namely, the Least Cost (LCSc), the Business As Usual (BAU), the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCSc) and the Renewables (RESc) are presented.
Weekly hourly profiles of electricity production and consumption were deduced during the winter and summer seasons. Passenger vehicle-to-grid units and desalination plants helped estimate the grid's electrical load. Projections demonstrated that the RESc in 2050 yields the costliest electricity (0.115€/kWh) accompanied by the highest electricity losses (40%). A domestic battery storage of 5,600MWh is required, whereas Europe's current battery capacity is 3,400MWh. In the context of EC's goals, the BAU and LCSc cases fail to meet the 2 °C emissions threshold while the CCSc abides with the preceding target. Concluding, RESc attains full decarbonisation.
- Gas discoveries in Cyprus: The limits of Russian influence
Kacziba, Peter. International Journal of Euro-Mediterranean Studies, Vol.14(2), 2021.
Offshore gas discoveries around Cyprus have brought several external actors to the region. Energy companies from the European Union, the United States and the Middle East acquired exploration rights and obtained stakes in projects of infrastructural development. While energy giants tied to these actors secured important shares in the currently developing Greek Cypriot gas industry, Russia is notably absent from the beneficiaries. The absence is particularly noteworthy as Russia has otherwise developed significant energy deals with other regional actors and exerts extensive economic influence over the Republic of Cyprus.
This study seeks to examine why the Russian gas involvement did not materialise in Cyprus and why Moscow remained distant from the Greek Cypriot gas opportunities. It argues that not only systemic but also domestic factors constrained the expansion of Russian gas interests. To unpack the causes of this absence, the paper applies the theory and analytical framework of neoclassical realism and interprets foreign policy outcomes through the lenses of systemic and domestic variables. The study concludes that Moscow sacrificed its gas opportunities in Cyprus due to several structural and unit-level factors, including recognising Turkish interests in the island’s energy disputes, protecting the regional stakes of national energy companies, and maintaining Russian positions in the Greek Cypriot financial sector.
- Integrating a positron emission tomography/computed tomography into the national health system of Cyprus: Will it return on its investment?
Kefallonitou, Dimitra, et al. Frontiers in Public Health, Vol.9, 2021.
A European Union (EU) member state, Cyprus is a country with a population of similar to 850,000 citizens. According to the Cyprus Ministry of Health, since 2009, more than 3,000 new incidents with neoplasm are diagnosed every year (i.e., 3% increasing rate). Projections estimate an average annual increase of 2.2% of new incidents until 2040. However, the National Health System (NHS) of Cyprus lacks a Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (PET/CT) care framework and infrastructure. Patients can only have a PET/CT exam in the private sector, either in Cyprus or a neighboring country (e.g., Greece or Israel). This requires the government of Cyprus to cover financial expenses related to medical treatments while the patients may also need to cover their expenses for traveling to a neighboring country.
This study presents a cost analysis to examine whether the integration of a PET/CT with, or without, an F-18-FDG cyclotron unit in the NHS of Cyprus is an efficient investment that can be recovered within the unit's service life. To perform this study, we estimated necessary resources for purchasing and operating such unit for a period of 15 years. The results of this study indicate that an investment in a PET/CT unit is not financially viable. Alternatives, such as the reimbursement of PET/CT operated by the private sector is recommended.
- Limits of Europeanisation at the municipal level: Evidence from the Republic of Cyprus
Kirlappos, Andreas.Local Government Studies, Vol.47(4), 2021.
The Republic of Cyprus is a small EU member-state whose structures reproduce a resilient domestic tradition of increased centralism. As expected, this restricts local government whose actors demonstrate differentiations in their overall role and responsibilities. This work utilises the vertical research dimension of top-down Europeanisation to investigate the influence of European Integration at the Municipal level and the Municipal reactions to it. It adopts a local government comparative perspective to analyse the two latest cohesion policy programmatic periods (2007–2013 and 2014–2020).
This work utilises explicit analytical contexts (Europeanisation and historical institutionalism) to deliver a theoretically and empirically informed analysis based on empirical data resulting from two field studies (2013 and 2019). The research results indicate that the effects of Europeanisation and the Municipal reactions to them have been path dependent and moderate at best. It is verified that current decisions reinforce the basic features of the path limiting Municipal role.
- Measuring the level of environmental performance on coastal environment before and during the covid-19 pandemic: A case study from Cyprus
Loizia, Pantelitsa, Sustainability (Switzerland) 13(5), 2021.
Tourism activities are considered, among others, the backbone of the local economies. However, tourism activities lead to adverse environmental impacts, especially in coastal zones. Coastal areas are considered and recognized as of strategic importance due to the fact that several activities take place, from leisure to business. At the same time, coastal areas are under pressure from tourist activities, and the waste generated is a very serious issue. Therefore, there are limited studies related to the environmental dimensions of the COVID-19 pandemic in the coastal environ-ment. This paper provides answers to the hypothesis that the pandemic lockdown scenario would improve environmental performance due to reduced usage and, therefore, waste, taking into account specific key performance indicators (KPIs) as these KPIs are used to evaluate the performance of an area.
The results showed that the study area improved, as did the selected KPIs, i.e., clean coast index (CCI), waste accumulation rate (WAR), and waste accumulation index (WAI). Addi-tionally, according to the final results, the concentration of micro-, meso-and macroplastics on the beach reduced, and the main issues remained the solutions on cigarette butts, straws, and other plastic containers. Furthermore, the final results are considered very useful to local authorities, stakeholders, consultants, policymakers, and any other competent authorities, to reschedule their waste management strategies, to improve waste infrastructures and their level of services (LOS), as well as, to suggest frequent awareness-raising activities to their visitors on how to protect the coastal environment, taking into account a pandemic scenario, as well as, the policy alternative impacts on EU coastal zones 2000–2050.
- Same pandemic yet different COVID-19 vaccination roll-out rates in two small European islands: A comparison between Cyprus and Malta
Cuschieri, Sarah, et al. Healthcare, Vol.10(2), 2022.
A mass vaccination strategy is estimated to be the long-term solution to control COVID-19. We sought to investigate the extent to which the COVID-19 vaccination strategies, inoculation rate, and COVID-19 outcome differ between Cyprus and Malta. Data were obtained from the Ministry of Health websites and COVID-19 dashboards, while vaccination data were obtained from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control until mid-June, 2021. Both islands took part in the European Union’s advanced purchase agreement and received their first batch of vaccines on 27 December 2020. The positivity rate and mortality between December and June differs between the two countries. Both the positivity rate and mortality for Cyprus declined due to strict public health measures and vaccination roll-out in early January (positivity rate by 95% and mortality by 58%). In contrast, for Malta, there was a sharp increase (64% p ≤ 0.01) with almost no public health restrictions in place and soaring cases during the Christmas and Carnival period until March, when lockdown measures were re-introduced.
A distinctive difference between Cyprus and Malta in positivity rate (14 per 100,000 population; p ≤ 0.01) can also be observed between January and mid-April 2021. However, from April onwards it is evident that the positivity rate and mortality decline in both countries as the vaccination roll-outs progressed, covering about 58.93% of the Maltese population, while Cyprus had fully inoculated about 38.03% of its population. The vaccine strategies and vaccination rates were similar for both countries; yet Malta had the fastest vaccine roll-out. Reluctancy to get vaccinated, significant differences in the vaccination appointment scheduling system, and the freedom of vaccination choice for the citizens in Cyprus may have contributed to a delayed vaccination roll-out. These potential contributing factors should be acknowledged and considered for future vaccination programs and potential COVID-19 boosters.
- Spatiotemporal variations of ozone exposure and its risks to vegetation and human health in Cyprus: An analysis across a gradient of altitudes
Agathokleous, Stefanos, et al. Journal of Forestry Research, Vol.34(3), 2023.
Ground-level ozone (O3) affects vegetation and threatens environmental health when levels exceed critical values, above which adverse effects are expected. Cyprus is expected to be a hotspot for O3 concentrations due to its unique position in the eastern Mediterranean, receiving air masses from Europe, African, and Asian continents, and experiencing a warm Mediterranean climate. We evaluated O3 and nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2) at four regional background stations at different altitudes over 2014−2016. O3 risks to vegetation and human health were estimated by calculating accumulated O3 exposure over a threshold of 40 nmol mol−1 (AOT40) and cumulative exposure to mixing ratios above 35 nmol mol−1 (SOMO35) indices.
Accumulated O3 exposures at all stations and in all years exceeded the European Union’s limits for the protection of vegetation, with average values of 3-month (limit: 3000 nmol mol−1 h) and 6-month (limit: 5000 nmol mol−1 h) AOT40 for crops and forests of 16,564 and 31,836 nmol mol−1 h, respectively. O3 exposures were considerably high for human health, with an average SOMO35 value of 7270 nmol mol−1 days across stations and years. The results indicate that O3 is a major environmental and public health issue in Cyprus, and policies must be adopted to mitigate O3 precursor emissions at local and regional scales.
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