Statement by the Minister of Finance Mr. Konstantinos Petridis on the declining course of unemployment in Cyprus:

The Council of Ministers decided on a restructuring of the framework for managing environmental issues in Cyprus, agriculture minister Costas Kadis said following a meeting on Thursday.

The Cabinet decided on Thursday to administer a third dose of a Covid-19 mRNA vaccine to people over 65, people living in nursing homes, immunocompromised individuals and health professionals, given that a period of 6 months has elapsed since the completion of their vaccination.

Air passenger traffic shows signs of recovery after 18 months of Covid-19 travel restrictions, said Cyprus airports operator Hermes.

The latest edition of the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, released on 2 September 2021, reaffirms the University of Nicosia’s (UNIC) global standing, ranking it among the Top 601-800 universities in the world. Correspondingly, UNIC ranks among the Top 250 universities in the European Union.

Chartered accountants will be given a role in speeding up investment projects deemed “strategic” by the state, according to a bill still in the public consultation stage.

The interest rate on consumer credit registered a decline to 3.03% in July compared with 3.14% in the previous month, the central bank said on Wednesday.

The annual seasonally adjusted GDP growth rate is estimated at 12.9% for the second quarter of 2021, a huge improvement on the 2.1% shrinkage in the previous three months.

According to the Ministry of Health, 74.2% of the adult population in Cyprus has been fully vaccinated.

Bank of Cyprus announced on Wednesday delivery of a robust performance in the first half of 2021: Revenue and profit is up, new lending has jumped to €894 million, and 96% of loans that had been covered by the moratorium are now making regular payments.