Cyprus

Nicosia on Wednesday issued a terse response to a document submitted by Turkey to European Union officials which is said to have described the Republic of Cyprus as a “defunct” state, calling on Ankara to respect the agreements it has made with the European Commission.

An official document submitted by Turkey to the European Union has referred to the Republic of Cyprus as a “defunct” state, according to reports in Cypriot media.

Bank of Cyprus Pcl, the Mediterranean nation’s biggest lender, is weighing a capital increase of as much as 1 billion euros ($1.36 billion), said three people familiar with the matter.

Turkey has fulfilled all of the benchmarks with the reforms and is ready to open Chapter 23 (Judiciary and fundamental rights), Minister for EU Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has said.

“If political blockage is removed, then we are ready to open Chapter 23,” Çavuşoğlu told reporters on June 24 during his meeting with British Ambassador Richard Moore.

Bank of Cyprus, which recapitalised by turning investors' deposits to equity in 2013, said it would discuss funding and capital issues at its next board meeting on June 26.

The bank said it would explore funding and capital options that could speed up its restructuring.

Police in Cyprus are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of 73-year-old Cypriot businessman Yiannos Kalopsidiotis, who was allegedly shot four times inside his farmhouse in the area of Ayia Napa late on Friday.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, 67, was admitted into a private Cypriot hospital late on Friday where he was diagnosed with gastroenteritis. The Cypriot politician was elected president of the island nation in 2013.

The Bulgarian community in Cyprus has launched a fundraising campaign to help the flood-hit areas in Bulgaria, Friday.

Charity boxes have been placed in all Bulgarian stores in Nicosia, Larnaca, Limassol and Paralimni, as well as in the Consular Section at the Embassy of Bulgaria in Nicosia, and the Bulgarian school.

Greece’s six-month presidency of the European Union, which is set to end on June 30, is likely to be the least costly on record, according to sources at the Foreign Ministry who indicated that less than half of the 50 million euros earmarked for the presidency by former Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras have been spent so far.

Cyprus returned to international debt markets on Wednesday, just a little over a year after being forced to accept a 10-billion-euro bailout, with a five-year bond issue.

Finance Minister Harris Georgiades said on Twitter: “It’s done. Cyprus back to the markets.”

The bond, he said, was for 750 million euros at an interest rate of 4.75 percent.