The President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, has said that he recognises the role of the Cyprus Employers & Industrialists Federation (OEB) as a responsible, reliable and essential interlocutor in the joint effort for overall development in the country and also for cooperation at the European level.
Addressing OEB's AGM, Christodoulides emphasised that economic stability is the basis and the most necessary condition for achieving the goal of an even more productive, even more extroverted and, above all, even more competitive economy.
According to the President of the Republic, strengthening competitiveness is not the ultimate goal, but the means to move to the next stage of development of the Cypriot economy by expanding its productive base.
"For us, there is no doubt, no dilemma, that strengthening competitiveness translates into a better business environment, more dynamic businesses, more and better quality jobs and, above all, prosperity for our society. And this is the goal we have been serving, from the very beginning, without experimentation, as you mentioned earlier in the Parliamentary Elections, without wishful thinking and far from nihilistic approaches," Nikos Christodoulides pointed out, calling on those present to participate as partners and fellow travellers towards achieving this goal.
Referring to the roadmap for 'One Europe, One Market', he stressed that at the heart of the roadmap, which is a product of discussions at the European level, is the removal of fragmentations that continue to limit the dynamics of the Single Market, with a view to its full deepening and completion by 2027.
The roadmap includes 42 specific actions, legislative and policy initiatives with clear timelines, organised into five strategic pillars, including simplifying rules, deepening the single market, strengthening trade policy, reducing energy costs while promoting decarbonization, and accelerating digital transformation and artificial intelligence.
The President's full speech, translated from the original Greek, can be read below:
"It is with great pleasure that I participate this year with several members of the Council of Ministers in the General Assembly of the Employers & Industrialists Federation. Allow me to begin by expressing my warm thanks to the Leadership and Members of the Federation for the excellent cooperation and decisive contribution to the development of the Cypriot economy and beyond.
We recently attended the Social Dialogue Summit held in Brussels. I had the pleasure of meeting with the representatives of Business Europe who came to Cyprus in the context of the preparation of the Presidency and on behalf of the executive branch, I would like to state that we approach you as partners, as fellow travellers in the great effort to change our country and reform the state of 1960.
I particularly want to recognise the role of OEB as a responsible, reliable and essential interlocutor in the common, I repeat, effort for overall development in our country but also for cooperation at the European level.
Since assuming the governance of the country, the cooperation and exchange of views not only with me but also with the Ministers and Deputy Ministers, with my associates, has been systematic, substantial and has contributed decisively to the achievement of important agreements, such as the one on the Cost of Living Allowance (CoLA) and the minimum wage, but also important reforms, such as the tax transformation of the country, where many of your suggestions were adopted by us.
Today's General Assembly is taking place at a time of heightened geopolitical instability and uncertainty with multiple and multi-level impacts. And since your General Assembly is taking place just a few days after the first Informal European Council that our country has hosted since its accession to the European Union in 2004, allow me to start from what was discussed in the Council. Moreover, the solutions to the challenges we face are not only national but also European, and clearly the status of a Member State strengthens our effort to address these challenges.
Let me start with our discussions on the new Multiannual Financial Framework, the EU budget for 2028-2034, which should take into account the current situation but also, more generally, our direction and goal, the goal of the 27, for a Strategically Autonomous Union. A strategic autonomy that cannot be achieved without strengthening the competitiveness of the EU in all sectors. Therefore, we have agreed that we are moving forward with strengthening the competitiveness of the European economy, through investments in innovation, technology and infrastructure. Within the same framework, our approach was common to the need to manage the consequences of geopolitical instability, with particular emphasis on strengthening the energy autonomy of the Union. We had the first shock in 2022 with the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine, then the crisis came to our region, now there are no margins left for the EU.
Moreover, developments in Ukraine and the Middle East clearly confirm that geopolitical instability now has a direct and measurable economic impact. It affects energy prices, burdens supply chains and increases operating costs for businesses across Europe. These are structural challenges for the European economy, in particular the issue of Energy, which further reinforce the need for a faster transition to a more resilient, diversified and interconnected energy system.
At the same time, there is no longer any doubt or excuse for the need to move forward more quickly with bold reforms, especially in relation to issues concerning:
The speed of decision-making,
The transformation of innovation into a business scale,
The creation of a truly unified and business-friendly environment.
More specifically,
Firstly, by substantially simplifying the regulatory framework. Reducing bureaucracy is a necessary condition for enhancing competitiveness.
Secondly, with targeted investments through the new Multiannual Financial Framework. Europe must invest where value is created: in technology, in energy, in infrastructure that reduces costs for businesses. Our aim is to present a draft in June with specific numbers to provide a negotiating framework for the next Presidency.
Third, with the real integration of the energy market. Without cheap electricity, European industry will continue to be uncompetitive.
Within the same framework of our shared belief in the need to strengthen European competitiveness – I am optimistic that we will move forward -, at the Informal European Council I had the honour of signing, representing the 27 Member States, the roadmap for 'One Europe, One Market', together with the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Parliament.
The EU has taken action on important issues.
At the heart of the roadmap, which is a product of the discussions we had at the European level, is the removal of the fragmentations that continue to limit the dynamics of the Single Market, with a view to its full deepening and completion by 2027.
The roadmap includes 42 specific actions, legislative and political initiatives with clear timelines, organised into five strategic pillars:
-simplification of rules,
-deepening the single market,
-strengthening trade policy,
-reducing energy costs while promoting decarbonisation, and
-accelerating digital transformation and artificial intelligence.
And because, as I mentioned above, we need to "run faster", this specific issue will be included in the agenda of all European Councils and progress in the implementation of actions will be monitored by a joint Steering Group of the three institutions.
This is a significant development as it sets out for the first time a clear framework of actions to reduce fragmentation of the single market, simplify rules and create a more functional environment for businesses.
For Cypriot businesses, but also Greek ones, this essentially means better access to a truly single market, fewer barriers to investment and more opportunities for growth.
In combination with what we need to change internally as the EU, a more outward-looking European Union is also crucial, for example, by concluding trade agreements with important partners, such as the one we signed with India, but also Australia and the one we are negotiating with the United Arab Emirates.
And Cyprus, due to its geography and excellent political relations with the States of the region, has an important role to play in this direction since it can, with actions and not with words, function as a bridge between the European Union and the Middle East, India and the Gulf.
And I am proud because this role of ours was reflected in practice at the informal European Council, with the meeting we organised of the 27 Member States with leaders from the region, including Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan.
What I have mentioned above concerns the European level, which undoubtedly interests us and decisively influences us.
Internally, from the very first moment of assuming the governance of the country, our main priority has been and remains a Strong and Resilient Economy. And I am truly delighted because the results achieved so far, with your decisive contribution, cannot be questioned by anyone.
The successive upgrades by all Rating Agencies and our country's rise to category A for the first time since 2011, constitute a clear vote of confidence in our responsible economic policy. It was this management that led to the surplus of 2.6% and the reduction of debt by 55% of GDP, and the reduction continues, recording the second largest reduction in Europe. At the same time, the growth rate for 2025 was 3.8%, one of the highest in the Eurozone, while after more than 18 years the labour market in Cyprus presents conditions of full employment with youth unemployment significantly decreasing. And all this, in an unstable international environment and with strong economies in Europe being tested.
These remarkable performances are not just numbers. They have a direct positive impact on all of us. They are a necessary condition for lower government borrowing costs, attracting quality investments, creating more and better-paid jobs. They create favourable conditions that protect entrepreneurship and ensure long-term sustainable growth. They are conditions that measurably improve everyday life and allow us to carry out targeted social interventions. They allow us to implement a fairer Tax Reform and invest in Defence, Education, Health, Housing, and the Welfare State.
Within the same context, our country's successful exit into international markets in early 2026, with the issuance of a ten-year bond that attracted extremely high demand, is also of particular importance. This is a development that reflects not only the investment interest, but also the trust - because if you lose trust, everything is lost - of the international investment community in the prospects of the Cypriot economy.
And because we are in a period with visible effects of the crisis, it is important to point out that our fiscal responsibility allows us to react immediately, to support economic activity through targeted measures. It allows us to react immediately, to support businesses and sectors that are most affected, and to manage the effects of a crisis seriously, away from wishful thinking and populism. I invite you to consider what the Government's ability to react would be if we were experiencing the economic situation of 2012-2013 and if, from 2013 onwards, bold decisions and reforms were not taken for the future of our country.
The recent package of measures to support households and businesses, totaling 200 million euros, is a tangible example of what I mentioned above and of our more general responsible approach.
It is our long-standing responsible approach that has allowed us to proceed with targeted interventions to relieve households and businesses.
At the same time, we supported economic activity with specific measures, such as subsidsing employment in the hotel sector - I know you want it to be extended to other months, it is something we are considering - strengthening connectivity through support for airlines, as well as supporting the primary sector.
Economic stability is the basis and the most necessary condition for achieving our goal of an even more productive, even more extroverted and, above all, even more competitive economy.
And precisely through this reasoning, in addition to our responsible fiscal policy, from the beginning of our governance, we have placed among our priorities the modernisation of the state, the reduction of bureaucracy and the acceleration of procedures for citizens and businesses. Our policies for the digitisation of services and the simplification of licensing procedures have a clear and unambiguous orientation: the creation of a state that is faster, more predictable and friendlier to businesses and citizens.
The results are already measurable. In 2025, 75 new digital services were introduced, exceeding the initial target of 60, while in 2026 we are moving even more dynamically, with the addition of over 100 new services.
In the context of continuous reforms, we also moved forward with tax reform, enhancing the liquidity of households and Cypriot businesses with less tax burden and more disposable income.
The pension reform is the next major and important step, which, together, we will design and implement with the aim of decent pensions for all, especially our low-income pensioners.
At the same time, we are gradually implementing structural interventions in the energy sector, aiming to reduce costs and ensure adequacy. The functioning of the competitive electricity market, the promotion of renewable energy sources and storage systems, as well as the implementation of strategic interconnection projects, will contribute to the gradual creation of a more efficient, diversified and resilient energy system. And here, I want to say it publicly, despite the chronic distortions that need time to be corrected, we should clearly run at a faster pace.
The competitiveness of our economy is directly linked to the country's human resources. Things have been done in Education, we revised 43 curricula to reduce the content in our schools, we have moved forward with the establishment of technical high schools, it was a pre-election promise and I am happy because, through our 'Minds in Cyprus' initiative, we are attracting and repatriating specialised professionals, strengthening the skills ecosystem in our country with all the positive consequences of such a development.
At the same time, we are moving forward with targeted solutions to meet labor market needs, with agreements such as the one with Egypt — which is already in place — and with advanced consultations with India for specialised personnel.
Strengthening competitiveness is not our ultimate goal. It is the means to move to the next stage of development of the Cypriot economy, by expanding its productive base.
We are already seeing this transition, which was successfully initiated by the previous government, having positive results. We are seeing it in the strengthening of the technology sector, whose contribution to GDP has reached 14%, we are seeing it in the attraction of international companies from the US, we are seeing it in the creation of opportunities for young people.
This dynamic creates the conditions and lays the foundations for a truly extroverted economy, in direct connection with a country with a clear foreign policy, with an upgrade of its international status, which leverages its position and claims an active role in the international environment, and which directly affects the country's reputation abroad.
Therefore, we cannot disconnect foreign from domestic policy.
In the immediate future, we are embarking on a new cycle of targeted missions abroad, with the aim of attracting further quality investments and strengthening our country's international economic and trade relations.
In three weeks, we will be visiting India with a business delegation, Kazakhstan in early June, while the preparation of the program for contacts in the United States, Florida, Ohio and New York is in the final stages. And I will be particularly happy to see all of you participating in these missions aimed at attracting quality investments.
As the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the Republic of Cyprus is contributing substantially to the shaping of policies that will strengthen Europe's competitiveness in the coming years, policies that are directly intertwined with the competitiveness of the Cypriot economy. And our position is clear: We want a Europe and a Cyprus that are more flexible and more friendly to entrepreneurship.
For us, there is no doubt, no dilemma, that strengthening competitiveness translates into a better business environment, more dynamic businesses, more and better quality jobs and, above all, prosperity for our society.
And this is the goal we have been serving, from the very beginning, without experimentation, you mentioned earlier in the Parliamentary Elections, without wishful thinking and far from nihilistic approaches.
And in achieving this goal, we approach you as partners and fellow travellers."
(Source: InBusinessNews)
