MPs referred to the large losses from the tourist markets of Russia and Ukraine, but also the general impact on businesses of Russian interests in Cyprus and the large Russian community of 40.On behalf of the Ministry of Finance, Lucy Mouskou referred to figures showing an 80-90% recovery of tourism in 2022 and said that according to them no support for tourism is justified at this stage. He noted that the recovery that has been seen is because some hotels have made adjustments to their model to replace tourists from other alternative markets and it would not be fair to support businesses that have not looked for alternative markets He added that the government has supported the tourism sector with measures beyond two years. He also said that especially for Famagusta province, arrivals are expected to reach 60-70% in 2019.
The Chairman of the Committee MP Kyriakos Hatzigiannis in his remarks after the Committee meeting said that the problem expected to arise from the sanctions on Russia is big and is expected to affect many businesses and companies with some of them being forced to close down. He added that this is a very unfortunate development and it is imperative for the state to assess and measure the problem and see how to forward requests to the European Commission to ensure the viability of businesses, especially tourism affected by the closure of the airports, while some businesses were totally dependent on these markets.He called for decisions to be taken based on a detailed study and forwarded to the European Commission and the European Central Bank.
AKEL MP Kostas Kostas[/B] said the sanctions would have a negative impact on the Cypriot economy. Apart from the fact, he said, that Cyprus has lost over a million tourists, unfortunately many large companies of Russian interests are closing down, mainly in Limassol, resulting in hundreds of people losing their jobs, the economy suffering and the state losing revenue. He recalled the wrong decision of the banks in the first days of the war to block the bank accounts of all Russians living and doing business in Cyprus, which created serious problems for their families, while some moved their businesses outside Cyprus. He added that it is the government's duty to seek exemption from some of the sanctions imposed by the EU, as other member states have done.
Stavros Papadouris, Member of Parliament for the Citizens' Ecological Movement, said that as a member of the EU, Cyprus follows all the sanctions against Russia, however, he said, we are called upon to find the golden mean, as some countries have found some small loopholes which will help to protect their economy. On the other hand, he said Cyprus must follow all the sanctions if it really wants to support the Ukrainian people. He expressed hope that in the next session some evidence will come before them from the executive.
Source: KYPE
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