HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS TO BE FINED FOR ISSUING HEALTH CARD INFORMATION

 Cyprus Mail 30 September 2020 - by Evie Andreou

The Health Insurance Organisation (HIO) on Wednesday said it would fine Gesy health providers that offer services to beneficiaries for the issuance of health cards for athletes, security guards, or for private insurance contracts.

The organisation, which runs Gesy, said it wished to remind both healthcare providers and beneficiaries that the public health system does not cover the issuance of health certificates or lab tests, imaging, or diagnostic tests to be used by individuals for health cards for athletes or various professions, for driver’s licence, for participation in the armed forces, or for private insurance contracts.

Such services must be obtained outside Gesy whereas health providers need to be paid directly by the individuals requesting them.

HIO said that in cases it notices Gesy healthcare providers issuing referrals for such tests for those purposes it will impose administrative fines or other measures provided by the law.

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A CHRISTMAS CAROL - Stage One Theatre, Emba - 3, 4 & 5 December

 

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Stage One Theatre, Emba

3, 4 & 5 December - curtain up 7.30pm

Tickets €12 [children under 12 €6].  Booking 99 967737, or email: boxoffice@stageonetheatre.com

The telephone line 99967737 will open from Monday 2 November between 10am and 1pm Monday to Friday. The box office at the theatre will also be open from the same date, but, unlike the telephone line, is only open TWO days a week -   Mondays AND Fridays from 10am till 12 midday  -  to reserve or collect your tickets.

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A CHRISTMAS CAROL - Stage One Theatre, Emba - 26, 27 & 28 November

 

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Stage One Theatre, Emba

26, 27 & 28 November - curtain up 7.30pm

Tickets €12 [children under 12 €6].  Booking 99 967737, or email: boxoffice@stageonetheatre.com

The telephone line 99967737 will open from Monday 2 November between 10am and 1pm Monday to Friday. The box office at the theatre will also be open from the same date, but, unlike the telephone line, is only open TWO days a week -   Mondays AND Fridays from 10am till 12 midday  -  to reserve or collect your tickets.

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WARNINGS FOR BRITISH EXPATS AS OVERSEAS BANK ACCOUNTS CLOSE

 The Independent 30 September 2020 - by Kate Hughes

© Provided by The Independent

Britons across Europe are being warned they may be locked out of everyday banking because their provider won’t be authorised to trade under EU banking rules after Brexit.

Banks have begun sending letters and emails regarding hundreds of thousands of bank accounts and credit card facilities held by British citizens living in Europe which will be closed by the end of this year.  

They had previously been able to trade freely across the EU, operating under so-called “passporting” rules, which allow financial institutions in one EU country to operate across the European Economic Area (EEA) without having to secure additional authorisations.  

“‘Passporting’ enables cross-border transactions between EU member states through shared financial regulation,” says Jason Porter, director of specialist expat advisory firm Blevins Franks. “It is currently possible because the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is bound by the same rules and standards as other regulators in the EU.

“But once the UK leaves the EU, the regulation of financial activity and consumer protection may not continue to line up on both sides. As such, unless a mutual deal is agreed on financial services, the EU will not permit ongoing passporting arrangements for UK financial businesses and advisers from 1 January 2021.”

Most have decided it simply isn’t worth it and have now contacted expats across the continent to tell them their accounts are about to close.  

Not only are these Brits abroad facing the immediate challenges of everyday banking, but with only HSBC and Santander continuing to provide services, the options left for those who need to maintain their UK-based banking for a wide variety of reasons could be more expensive and offer far less choice.

On Tuesday the chair of the Treasury Select Committee, Mel Stride, wrote to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) imploring the regulator to ensure those facing account closures are given “sufficient warning so that they have time to make alternative arrangements”. 

He asked the FCA to confirm what notice period customers should expect to receive over account closures initiated by their bank.

Don’t panic

“These account closures are not fake news, and the prospect of thousands losing credit cards, bank accounts and investments in December is very real; however, your first course of action must be to confirm any impact to the status of your account with your bank,” says John Westwood, group managing director at Blacktower Financial Management Group.  

“There are caveats to these closures, such as whether you still hold a UK address and whether certain savings products will be still permitted in Europe. Speak to your bank and make sure you receive full clarification on your situation before taking any action.”

“If your finances will be affected by these closures you must act swiftly, but not impetuously. A rash decision could have an irrevocable impact on your savings and investments.”  

He advises opening a banking account in your country of residence if only for caution’s sake. Even a small deposit in an international account will provide a back-up plan while you discuss your options with a financial adviser.

Be aware that this service too, could fall foul of the same rules.  

A UK-based adviser may be able to continue supporting clients with UK-based investments. But if savings and investments are held with an EU-based institution, from 2021 they may not accept instructions, such as top-ups, from a UK adviser.

“The financial regulator in France, for example, has already confirmed it will be illegal for French banks and insurance firms to do business with a provider which is not authorised in the country,” says Porter.

“We can expect similar positions to be taken by other EU regulators seeking to protect consumers in their country, so this could limit the planning opportunities for expatriates using UK-based advisers.

“Affected clients and their advisers need to act quickly to make alternative financial arrangements.”

The warnings come as experts highlight further complications for British expats who own property overseas, particularly the 200,000 Britons who own a holiday home in France.  

A rule known as Succession Regulation stipulates that where a person dies owning assets in an EU Member State that the succession laws of the deceased person’s country of habitual residence are to apply. But the UK didn’t opt in to that regulation.  

“English law allows people to leave their estate assets to whomever they choose without the obligation to provide for close relatives. French law is based on civil law, and for successions the main principle is that children are protected heirs,” says Sarah Bogard, a senior solicitor at Kent law firm Furley Page.

“Many British couples who own a French property and who haven’t reviewed their wills after buying often find that the property share will be inherited by the surviving spouse and the children, even if their will provides for the surviving spouse to be the sole heir. 

“For many, this may not turn out to be a problem, but for some it can be an unexpected and unwanted surprise.”  

For those habitually resident in the UK, French law would still apply to the distribution of the French property unless someone expressly declares in their will for the succession laws of their country of nationality to apply to estate assets in the EU.

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TRADE WILL BE 'DAY TO DAY STRUGGLE' AFTER BREXIT IS COMPLETED, MPs TOLD IN GRIM INDUSTRY FORECAST

 The Independent 30 September 2020 -  by Rob Merrick

© Provided by The Independent

Trade will be a “day-to day struggle” after Brexit is completed, MPs have been told, in a bleak forecast from the key aerospace, chemicals and pharmaceuticals industries.

The inquiry heard of massive extra costs, a mountain of red tape, shrinking investment and chemicals “disappearing” from the UK market, from January.

Some medicines may not reach Northern Ireland – if, as feared, extra tests will be required – although it was “very important that patients don’t panic”, it was told.

‘Those facilities [for testing] don’t exist, so it’s not clear how it will happen,” warned Richard Torbett, chief executive of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry.

Neil Hollis, of the chemical giant BASF, highlighted £1bn of new registration costs, a loss of innovation and some chemicals no longer being available, adding: “There's no positive spin on this.”

And Paul Everitt, chief executive of the ADS Group, the aerospace trade organisation, said: “Whatever happens now, we will be involved in a day-to-day struggle to ensure the goods that we need to see flowing across our borders.”

He said: “It will happen at whatever cost it has to bear – but that obviously shapes and impacts on people’s future investment plans. It’s not a happy place for us to be.”

The grim warnings came hours after the struggling UK car industry suffered another Brexit blow, when the EU rejected a UK plan to avoid export tariffs by circumventing rules-of-origin. 

All the sectors will be hit even if a last-gasp trade deal is struck, because it will not spare domestic producers from the harsh effects of leaving the single market and customs union. 

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UK CARS FACE EU TARIFFS AFTER FOREIGN PARTS PLEA REJECTED BY BRUSSELS

 Daily Mail 30 September 2020 -  by David Wilcock, Whitehall Correspondent For Mailonline

© Provided by Daily Mail MailOnline logo

Britain's car industry faces being slapped with huge EU import tariffs even if the UK does a trade deal with Brussels, manufacturers have been warned.

Brexit negotiator Lord Frost has warned the industry that a bid to have foreign-made car parts used in vehicles assembled in the UK considered 'British' for duty reasons has been rejected.

It means that even if a 'zero tariff' deal is done to exempt cars that roll off UK assembly lines from EU import duties, they will face extra levies if the parts in them were sourced from outside the UK and EU.

Manufacturers in Britain currently some use parts made in plants in countries like Japan and Turkey, which are then shipped to the UK for assembly.

An anticipated deal is expected to allow any components sourced from EU countries to count as British, an idea known as 'cumulation'.

But in a letter to manufacturers, seen by the BBC, Lord Frost said: 'The (European) Commission has made clear that it will not agree third-country cumulation in any circumstances, which we regret, but obviously cannot insist upon.

© Provided by Daily Mail Brexit negotiator Lord Frost has warned the industry that a bid to have foreign-made car parts used in vehicles assembled in the UK considered 'British' for duty reasons has been rejected© Provided by Daily Mail It means that even if a 'zero tariff' deal is done to exempt cars that roll off UK assembly lines from EU import duties, they will face extra levies if the parts in them were sourced from outside the UK and EU

'I am sorry to say that so far they (EU negotiators) have neither been willing to discuss these nor share any proposed text with us.'

The BBC said it has also obtained a separate draft legal text in which the UK requested the manufacturing of goods such as electric cars and batteries to be counted as British, even if the majority of components are imported.

Both documents reportedly refer to the need for UK manufacturers, even if a deal is reached, to ensure that goods exported from the UK are British-made and contain a certain amount of British parts, believed to be about half.

 It came as the Government risked further rows with Brussels after Boris Johnson's controversial Brexit legislation, which allows the Government to break international law, was backed by MPs.

The Internal Market Bill last night cleared its final stage in the House of Commons by 340 votes to 256 and now passes to the Lords for further scrutiny.

It allows ministers to override parts of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement brokered with Brussels last year, an act which the Government concedes breaches international law 'in a limited and specific way'.

The EU has threatened legal action if it is implemented. 

Critics, including all five living former prime ministers, also argue this would wreck the UK's reputation as a nation which honours its agreements.

But the Government insists it needs the powers to safeguard the integrity of the UK amid fears the EU could block goods travelling between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The Prime Minister was forced to water down the legislation earlier in the Bill's passage to appease a Tory backbench rebellion - MPs will now be given a vote before ministers are able to wield such powers.

No Conservative MP voted against the Government tonight and the Bill sailed through the Commons with an 84-vote majority.

Yet a handful of Tories, including former Tory prime minister Theresa May, abstained from voting.

However the Bill's smooth passage into law will likely face hurdles in the pro-Remain Lords which has previously thwarted Brexit legislation. 

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BRITAIN OFFERS EU FISHING CONCESSION AS PART OF BREXIT SWEETENER

The Guardian 30 September 2020 - by Daniel Boffey in Brussels

© Provided by The Guardian Photograph: William Edwards/AFP via Getty Images

Britain has offered a three-year transition period for European fishing fleets to allow them to prepare for the post-Brexit changes as part of an 11th-hour deal sweetener.

The catches of EU fishermen would be “phased down” between 2021 and 2024 to offer time for European coastal communities to adapt to the changes.

The lengthy transition period is contained in a new negotiating paper tabled ahead of the current round of negotiations in Brussels between the teams respectively led by the UK’s chief negotiator, David Frost, and his EU counterpart, Michel Barnier.

The idea of a phase-down period had been floated previously but details had not been provided until recent days.

“We have a long way to go but if the other problematic issues can be sorted, it doesn’t look like fisheries will stand in the way of an agreement”, said one senior EU diplomat.

Ireland’s foreign minister, Simon Coveney, said during a visit to Washington on Tuesday night that he believed there was a good chance of a trade deal. “The obstacles are not insurmountable,” he said. “We should be able to get this deal done.”

The UK remains fixed on replacing the common fisheries policy with a system of “zonal attachment” that would offer a significant increase in catches for British fishing fleets.

Currently, Britain’s economic zone is part of common EU waters. The UK receives a fixed share based on how much stock its fishermen caught during a reference period between 1973 and 1978.

Under the new system proposed by the UK, the two sides would agree on what percentage of shared stocks are attached to each of their European economic zones each year. Catch quotas would be organised in line with that percentage.

A failure to agree annually on catches could lead to EU fleets being locked out of British waters. France is particularly concerned by the impact on its fishing communities and has taken a “maximalist” position that the status quo should be protected.

While the policy would deliver the extra catches promised as a Brexit bonus, it is understood the government is also making new commitments on maintaining EU sustainability standards and cooperation on the collection of data.

The offer was part of five new draft negotiating documents submitted by the government, including legal texts on fisheries, the “level playing field”, law enforcement and judicial cooperation, civil nuclear cooperation and social security coordination.

An EU official said: “We can confirm that we received additional documents from the UK. We are studying them.”

According to Brussels sources, the UK’s paper on state aid, still the most contentious of the outstanding issues, offered to lay out a series of “principles” on controlling domestic subsidies.

The EU said the paper offered hope that the UK would build on provisions in the recently signed UK-Japan deal. The trade deal with Tokyo prevents either side from indefinitely guaranteeing the debts of struggling companies or providing open-ended bailouts without approved restructuring plans.

But the paper failed to offer appropriate “governance” proposals that would allow Brussels to keep the UK to its pledges, EU sources said.

The EU wanted to ensure that any commitments were seen through and that in the event of a breach, parts of the trade deal could be immediately suspended.

EU diplomats also said any agreement on such a method of regulating state aid would need to be taken “at the highest level”, as it would represent a significant divergence from Brussels’ proposal.

The EU has pushed for the UK to accept the bloc’s state aid rules, which do not allow unfair subsidies to be granted. The UK’s position would instead offer recourse in the event of trade being distorted.

“The UK-Japan deal is obviously now the basis but it isn’t yet enough and we need to have bite,” said one diplomatic source. A second source added that the proposal was as yet “more of the same” but that it was hoped that the week’s negotiation would flesh it out. “That is what matters,” the source said.

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CYPRUS' HEALTH MINISTER URGES FOR DISCIPLINE TO PREVENT PANDEMIC SURGE

 in-cyprus 30 September 2020 - by Maria Bitar

Cyprus’ Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou has said that the discipline and resolve the Cypriot people have proven they have in implementing measures and protocols are the best weapons in our disposal to prevent a surge of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In an address, delivered on his behalf by Dr Giorgos Charalambous at the 6th annual conference on public health, organised by Cyprus University of Technology’s (CUT) International Institute on Environmental and Public Health, which took place online on Tuesday, Ioannou spoke of the steps taken and measures in place to prevent the pandemic in Cyprus.

Following the peak of the pandemic last April, he noted, Cyprus managed to push through with the least possible losses having shown great persistence and patience.

“Today the epidemiological picture presents positive elements despite surges of cases at times”, he said, adding that developments are volatile around the world.

Excessive laxness and complacency can lead us to derail from our goal, he stressed and spoke of the importance of the “engagement of society in this great fight”.

“The discipline we have proven that we have as a people and the responsibility in implementing measures and protocols are the weapons in our disposal right now to prevent a great surge of cases which could likely have uncontrollable consequences”, the Minister noted.

Addressing the conference on behalf of ECDC Dr Agoritsa Baka spoke of the pan-European plan to tackle the pandemic.

Referring to Cyprus she said that there is a steadily small percentage of positive COVID-19 cases, adding however that in contrast with March and April now the people infected belong to a younger age group (20-40).

Georgios Nikolopoulos, Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Cyprus’ Medical School, outlined the epidemiological health data collected in the country, adding that Cyprus maybe does the most tests in the world, on a population ratio daily amounting to about 2,000–3,000.

On her part Fofi Constantinidou, Professor of the Psychology Department at the University of Cyprus presented the findings of a survey conducted during lockdown according to which one in four adults in Cyprus, approximately 23%, had high levels of stress compared to other times, when the percentage ranged between 1 -4%.

At the same time, 67% of people who took part in the survey said that their quality of life changed a lot during lockdown.

(CNA)

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COVID SET TO RISE THIS WEEK IN CYPRUS, WARNS CONTACT TRACING TEAM

 in-cyprus 30 September 2020 - by Constantinos Tsintas

The contact tracing team has warned that new coronavirus cases will be rising over the next few days in Cyprus, as people with confirmed infections do not state their close contacts, leading to the spread of the virus.

Epidemiologist Valentinos Silvestros, member of the contact tracing unit, told CNA that the team has a great number of contacts to deal with from the family, professional and social activity of every individual that is confirmed as positive.

Silvestros said that additional cases will emerge from active clusters, while certain of the cases contacts have already reported symptoms.

He added that some of the people infected spread the virus far more easily than others, depending on sociability too.

As people move freely, he added, contacts from confirmed cases have multiplied.

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A CHRISTMAS CAROL - Stage One Theatre, Emba - 26-28 November and 3-5 December

 

A CHRISTMAS CAROL - A seasonal burlesque
Written and Directed By: Doug Craig

Stage One Theatre, Emba

26th - 28th NOVEMBER and 3rd - 5th DECEMBER 2020, Curtain Up 7.30pm  

The telephone line 99967737 will open from Monday 2 November between 10am and 1pm Monday to Friday. The box office at the theatre will also be open from the same date, but, unlike the telephone line, is only open TWO days a week -   Mondays AND Fridays from 10am till 12 midday  -  to reserve or collect your tickets.

Tickets €12 and €6 for children.

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