EU indecision led Cyprus to allow in UK visitors, says minister
March 6, 2021, 12:23 pm

EU indecision led Cyprus to allow in UK visitors, says minister

Tourism minister Savvas Perdios says Britons will be able to visit Cyprus from 1 May without facing quarantine or testing – as long as they have an immunity certificate.

Tourism industry could not wait for clarity from Brussels about Covid-19 immunity certificates

Cyprus’s decision to allow vaccinated Britons entry to the country ahead of the rest of the EU was spurred by the bloc’s reluctance to take a decisive stance on Covid-19 immunity certificates, a tourism minister has said.

Explaining why the country had broken ranks with other EU members by deciding to admit Britons with the certificate from 1 May, Savvas Perdios told the Guardian that visitors, holidaymakers, and the travel industry all “needed clarity”, which the step sought to deliver.

“We felt that we had to announce it because we don’t know when an agreement will be reached at a European level,” Perdios said. “For people who are going to be travelling here, we wanted to provide certainty that Cyprus is going to be ready to welcome them. Travel planning requires certainty.”

The move, unveiled late on Thursday, came as the bloc struggled to forge a united front on “vaccine passports” first proposed by Greece in January. Tourist-reliant countries on Europe’s south-east fringe appear increasingly willing to act independently as they desperately seek to salvage industries battered by the pandemic.Cyprus draws 13% of its national income from tourism, and 10% of its workforce is employed in the sector.

Before the pandemic, Britons far surpassed all other arrivals to the former British colony, ethnically split between Greeks in the south and Turks in the north since 1974.

An estimated 1.3 million UK tourists visited the south in 2019 – almost twice the local population. As in Greece, which had attracted record numbers before the pandemic but suffered a massive drop last year, tourism in Cyprus was pummelled in 2020.

In February, Nicosia and Athens reached a deal with Israel allowing citizens with Covid-19 vaccination certificates to travel unimpeded between the three countries. The accord is expected to come into effect at the end of this month.

Perdios said Anglo-Cypriot teams were already in talks to discuss the details of how vaccine passports would work as part of a similar bilateral agreement with the UK.

“It’s a matter of technicalities as to what the certificate will look like. We’ll have further meetings in the next few days and weeks to finalise everything,” he said, emphasising that Greek Cypriot authorities were prepared to be flexible about what format the document eventually took. “We will use whatever the UK government wants us to use. It is the UK that will decide whether the certificate will be digital or whether it will be a certificate from a GP … We will not be asking to have a vaccine certificate based on our design.”

Bookings to the island have risen since Boris Johnson announced his government’s roadmap out of England’s third national lockdown.

Although 17 May was set as the earliest possible date for the resumption of international travel by the British leader, Perdios said Nicosia had also decided to include the UK in quarantine-free travel as of next month. Since the emergence of Covid-19 variants, all non-essential travel out of the UK has been banned, with rare exceptions.

But with Greek Cypriot authorities mindful of the island’s large community of British expatriates, Perdios said anyone arriving from the UK as of 1 April would be given special dispensation in line with restrictions recently lifted for incomers from the EU. This week the island began accepting travellers based on a country categorisation system with colour codes defining the epidemiological caseload of each member state.

“No matter which category is in, people flying in from the UK will not be placed in quarantine unless they test positive and have to be put into isolation. We basically guarantee quarantine-free travel from the UK as from 1 April,” he said. “What comes into effect on top of that on May 1 is that those who have a vaccine certificate will be facilitated so they do not have to do a test as well.”

Cyprus has said that inoculated visitors will have to have had two jabs, both approved by the European Medicines Agency.

Tourists who contract the virus in the country will continue to be covered by the Cypriot government, with the state picking up “all costs” for them and their dependants in a repeat of a scheme initiated last year.

“But we are not only opening up to vaccinated travellers,” Perdios added. “Everybody will be allowed to travel here, with or without certificates, and of course the date of travel depends on the UK government and when it decides to allow outbound travel.”

source: Helena Smith

Levant

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the company’s headquarters in the Seef District.
During the meeting, shareholders approved all items listed on the agenda, including the ratification of the minutes of the previous AGM held on 26 March 2024. The session reviewed and approved the Board’s Annual Report on the company’s activities and financial performance for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2024, and the shareholders expressed their satisfaction with the company’s operational and financial results during the reporting period.
The meeting also reviewed the Independent External Auditor’s Report on the company’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024. Subsequently, the shareholders approved the audited financial statements for the fiscal year. Based on the Board’s recommendation, the shareholders approved the distribution of a cash dividend equivalent to 10% of the paid-up share capital.
Furthermore, the shareholders endorsed the allocation of a total amount of BD 172,500 as remuneration to the members of the Board for the year ended 31 December 2024, subject to prior clearance by related authorities.
The extension of the current composition of the Board was approved, which includes ten members and one CBB observer, for a further six-month term, expiring in September 2025, pending no objection from the CBB.
The meeting reviewed and approved the Corporate Governance Report for 2024, which affirmed the company’s full compliance with the corporate governance directives issued by the CBB and other applicable regulatory frameworks. The AGM absolved the Board Members of liability for any of their actions during the year ending on 31st December 2024, in accordance with the Commercial Companies Law.
In alignment with regulatory requirements, the session approved the reappointment of Ernst & Young (EY) as the company’s External Auditors for the fiscal year 2025, covering both the parent company and its subsidiaries—Sinnad and Bahrain FinTech Bay. The Board was authorised to determine the external auditors’ professional fees, subject to approval from the CBB, and the meeting concluded with a discussion of any additional issues as per Article (207) of the Commercial Companies Law.
Speaking on the company’s performance, Mr. Mohamed Al Bastaki, Chairman BENEFIT , stated: “In terms of the financial results for 2024, I am pleased to say that the year gone by has also been proved to be a success in delivering tangible results. Growth rate for 2024 was 19 per cent. Revenue for the year was BD 17 M (US$ 45.3 Million) and net profit was 2 Million ($ 5.3 Million).

Mr. Al Bastaki also announced that the Board had formally adopted a new three-year strategic roadmap to commence in 2025. The strategy encompasses a phased international expansion, optimisation of internal operations, enhanced revenue diversification, long-term sustainability initiatives, and the advancement of innovation and digital transformation initiatives across all service lines.
“I extend my sincere appreciation to the CBB for its continued support of BENEFIT and its pivotal role in fostering a stable and progressive regulatory environment for the Kingdom’s banking and financial sector—an environment that has significantly reinforced Bahrain’s standing as a leading financial hub in the region,” said Mr. Al Bastaki. “I would also like to thank our partner banks and valued customers for their trust, and our shareholders for their ongoing encouragement. The achievements of 2024 set a strong precedent, and I am confident they will serve as a foundation for yet another successful and impactful year ahead.”
Chief Executive of BENEFIT; Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi commented, “The year 2024 represented another pivotal chapter in BENEFIT ’s evolution. We achieved substantial progress in advancing our digital strategy across multiple sectors, while reinforcing our long-term commitment to the development of Bahrain’s financial services and payments landscape. Throughout the year, we remained firmly aligned with our objective of delivering measurable value to our shareholders, strategic partners, and customers. At the same time, we continued to play an active role in enabling Bahrain’s digital economy by introducing innovative solutions and service enhancements that directly address market needs and future opportunities.”
Mr. AlJanahi affirmed that BENEFIT has successfully developed a robust and well-integrated payment network that connects individuals and businesses across Bahrain, accelerating the adoption of emerging technologies in the banking and financial services sector and reinforcing Bahrain’s position as a growing fintech hub, and added, “Our achievements of the past year reflect a long-term vision to establish a resilient electronic payment infrastructure that supports the Kingdom’s digital economy. Key developments in 2024 included the implementation of central authentication for open banking via BENEFIT Pay”
Mr. AlJanahi concluded by thanking the Board for its strategic direction, the company’s staff for their continued dedication, and the Central Bank of Bahrain, member banks, and shareholders for their valuable partnership and confidence in the company’s long-term vision.