I would like to welcome Apostolos Tzitzikosta (Regional Governor of Central Macedonia) to Cyprus, we are particularly honoured by his presence here, knowing his long-standing activity in the political life of Greece, but especially in Local Government. Something that characterizes his action, in a region where many Cypriots live, is his enduring love for Cyprus. And I would like to take this opportunity today to thank you, Apostolos, on behalf of all the Cypriot people. I convey the messages of all Cypriots living in Greece, knowing your action and your special love for Cyprus. It is a great pleasure to have you with us today.
Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet and discuss with Apostolos. One of the issues we discussed is our approach as an executive, it is something that we will try to implement in the next five years, I have already discussed it with the Minister of Interior and with other ministers who deal with local government issues, that we should follow the trend that exists in Europe by giving more powers, more responsibilities to local government.
The executive, the central state is not able to respond to the extent that you are able to respond to the extent that you can. This is happening in Europe and in this context and from his experience from his post, from his involvement either with Thessaloniki or in particular from his current position, he can help us to a significant extent. The implementation of the reform of local government is a big gamble, and to achieve it we must work together, we must work together. This is one of the biggest reforms undertaken in our country and I want to welcome this decision of the previous administration. We are here to welcome all the positive things that have been done.
At the same time, when we talk about such major reforms, we have to keep in mind that we have to constantly evaluate them. Where we see that there are problems, difficulties in implementation, we should have the courage to say that our assessment here may have been wrong, our decision may have been wrong, and we should be able to change it.
I want to assure you today that we will work together to implement this great, important reform for our country, but at the same time to discuss any problems or challenges that will arise through its implementation. In essence, this is an initiative of young people from our country who through their actions have put into practice what we call participatory democracy.
This is the first time, and we are proud of the action of Nicolas and all his associates who have introduced in Cyprus this institution of participatory democracy, something that is lacking in our country.
In the context of the election campaign, one of the most important messages I received from the society is about the distance that exists - at least this is what the society feels and since the society feels it, all of us who are involved in the public life of the country must take it into account - between the society and all of us who take decisions, which at the end of the day it is the society that will be called upon to implement them. And this distance must be reduced, and through such actions, Nicola, through other conferences that you have held, precisely, you are helping to narrow this decision between society and all of us who are temporarily, at this moment, in positions of decision making.
Immediately after Easter - it was one of my pre-election commitments - the responsible Ministry of State is already working out how we will proceed, adopt and announce the institutions of electronic, non-binding referendums. At regular intervals, we will go to the public to hear their views on serious issues on which the executive will announce decisions. It does not mean that the opinion of society will always be followed, but we think it is important to take into account in our decisions what society thinks. Because, I repeat, at the end of the day it is society that will be called upon to implement any decisions.
It is with great pleasure that I participate in today's event, which officially launches the development of a participatory process of exchange of views, expertise and information that contribute to the creation of a sustainable model for the development of cities and communities in our country.
The development of synergies, such as the one encouraged today, is very important as it brings together organisations such as Oxygono, Government, Local Government, the Academic Community and businesses, each contributing from their own perspective - each coming with their own experiences, So, all these experiences, expertise, come together through these kinds of meetings, through dialogue to achieve a holistic approach to key challenges that we face, but also for necessary changes and reforms that will take our country forward.
For all the areas that will be discussed today - the circular economy, sustainable mobility, energy, the environment, the blue economy, higher education and tourism - we as the Executive, as the Government, have integrated policies and are promoting very specific actions and actions. Our ultimate goal is an economy that grows first and foremost outward-looking, that is resilient and competitive - you see the impact of the crisis in Ukraine with the Russian invasion - so we need to broaden the productive base of our economy. We need to reduce to the extent that we can on the basis of real data our dependence, we are an open economy, on external factors, so we need to become both more resilient and more competitive, always consistent with the principles of sustainable development and the circular economy. To be a flexible state - that is why I said earlier that more powers should be given to local government - efficient and above all citizen-friendly, in order to achieve what we are all aiming for, a better quality of life for all.
The main priorities of our governance are the sustainable economy, the protection of the environment and the improvement of the quality of life of citizens in terms of sustainability.
I would like to focus in particular on the green economy - you know very well the importance that our large European family also attaches to this sector, to the green economy and to environmental protection - where we have set out a comprehensive and horizontal plan that is fully compatible with the objectives set by the European Commission through the European Green Deal and the Fit-For-55 legislative package.
Among other things,
- We are reinforcing and implementing the National Action Plan for the circular economy and the aim is to accelerate the transition to Renewable Energy Sources, while at the same time, we are proceeding with measures to promote energy storage - it is a big bet to win, we are behind in this area - produced from alternative forms. Soon, in the Council of Ministers, after consultation with the Minister responsible for Energy, we will announce decisions in this regard.
- We are strengthening communication with the scientific world, with technocrats, so that policies and decisions on critical environmental issues take into account - we are not doing so to the extent that we should - the available scientific knowledge, but also the expertise of those who handle them.
- We are integrating the challenges of climate change into the country's new economic development model by introducing specific tools, such as, for example, the green budget.
- We promote Cyprus as a test bed for new green energy technologies, in order to attract investment in this sector.
- We support businesses in preparing their environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies with an emphasis on reducing their carbon footprint, a big bet to achieve.
At the same time, we are implementing a comprehensive Action Plan aimed at improving all sustainability indicators, based on the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.
I consider equally important the policies promoted at the local level, with particular emphasis on improving the urban environment and the daily life of citizens, through actions to improve traffic - we have been discussing this issue since 1983, without having solved it - the upgrading and implementation of sustainable urban mobility plans and the immediate review of the need for urban green spaces, always in cooperation with the local authorities, making use of available public land.
Climate and the environment is not only high on the agenda of any policy decision, but now policies themselves are determined by their environmental and climate footprint. Environment and climate are charting the path on which we should go, as is also becoming clear through the EU's adoption of the Green Deal. I am glad to see many young people today, where in the context of the election campaign - I mention it often because it has recently ended - it was an issue that came up strongly through the young generation. And when we say that we are interested in the young generation and that we need to bring them into the political events of our country, to be interested in them, we need to deal with the issues that concern young people. These issues, climate change, the environment, were issues that were very high on the concerns of the young generation. In this context, therefore, the role of local government is also very important and is one of the key players in the implementation of the green transition.
The forthcoming implementation of the "Pay as I fly" programme, which is leading to a positive change in the environmental balance, with a significant reduction in the volume of organic waste, is just one concrete example of the contribution of Local Government in this effort, in this ongoing process.
In this context, the choice to include Limassol among the 100 Climate Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030 through the EU Mission 2030 programme. Limassol is invited to be an ideal example of how cities can act as ecosystems of experimentation and innovation in order to achieve the European goal of climate neutrality by 2050. A target that in the case of Cyprus is even more difficult to achieve due to our distance from Europe, due to the island nature of our country and other factors. But we should not use these as excuses for not doing what we need to do to achieve the goals of the green transition.
Limassol in this Pan-European Mission is not alone. Along with it in this effort are all the cities, the whole of Cyprus, since it is our national goal to be fully aligned with the green targets of the European Commission.
Apart from what I have already mentioned, our goal is to broaden the productive base of our economy, by moving existing sectors of the economy to more promising forms of development and promoting new productive sectors - services are very important, you who live in Limassol know it better, we will not downgrade the services, we will even strengthen them.
Apart from what I have already mentioned, our goal is to broaden the productive base of our economy, by moving existing sectors of the economy to more promising forms of development and promoting new productive sectors - services are very important, you who live in Limassol know it better, we will not downgrade the services, we will even strengthen them. I refer in particular to technology (e.g. agro-technology, IT, green transition), the research sector, where we are behind. In research and innovation we are at 0.8%, the EU targets are talking about 2.2%, so a lot more needs to be done by the executive, in cooperation with the private sector. And there are other areas, such as culture, that we as a country need to focus on. Something that will create new and better quality jobs.
Let me briefly mention some of the priorities we are promoting:
- New initiatives to strengthen the tourism sector, such as enriching our tourism product by promoting the circular economy and creating a network of green hotels.
- New initiatives to strengthen the tourism sector, such as enriching our tourism product by promoting the circular economy and creating a network of green hotels.
- Support for higher education[/B] through the creation of a national strategy and actions such as the conclusion of transnational agreements for the mutual recognition of qualifications, which reinforces the internationalisation of the sector.
- The creation and development of specific programmes for the promotion of green and blue professions - an objective of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs - as well as the strengthening of research and innovation in sustainability and the green economy.
- The strengthening of shipping, with the creation of a 'One-Stop-Shipping Centre' at the Ministry of Shipping and the development of infrastructure in ports and the maritime space of the Republic with alternative fuels for maritime transport.
Through integrated planning, always people-centred, we envision an economy that innovates and is resilient, sustainable, expanded and less susceptible to exogenous factors.
In conclusion, I would like to congratulate the non-governmental organization Oxygono, the Limassol Municipality and of course the CUT for the initiative to organize the Cyprus Forum Cities, focusing on Local Government. I believe that there is a common goal to transform our country into a resource-efficient, resource-efficient, green and competitive country, making use of its high-level human resources.
From the executive side, we will be by your side, we will work together in this effort and through the design and implementation of holistic policies to make use of European tools and funds - it is very important, we discussed yesterday with the Regional Governor of Central Macedonia, the need to use them in their entirety - to achieve the goal, to offer our country a better tomorrow and to offer more opportunities to the new generation of our country.
(PM/MB)
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