Cyprus Mail 4 May 2023 - by Cyprus News Agency
European Union Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders will arrive in Nicosia for a two-day visit on Thursday and Friday to discuss the 2022 report on the rule of law, as well as the enforcement of EU sanctions against individuals and companies from Russia and Belarus.
During his visit, the commissioner will meet with President Nikos Christodoulides, as well as Minister of Justice, Anna Koukkidis-Prokopiou, and House Speaker Annita Dimitriou.
The commissioner will exchange views on the rule of law with representatives of the parliamentary committee on foreign and European affairs, the committee on law, justice and public order, and the committee on institutions, values and governance, and will also participate in a round table discussion with representatives of civil society organisations.
Finally, Reynders will meet with Attorney General Giorgos Savvidis, as well as Transparency Commissioner Haris Pogiatzis, to discuss judicial reforms in Cyprus.
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Filenews 4 May 2023
Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders will ask for an update on how many assets of Russian oligarchs in Cyprus have been frozen, as so far according to official data they have frozen assets worth €104 million, an amount considered low, during his contacts in Cyprus, according to what he said in an interview with the Cyprus News Agency ahead of his visit on Thursday and Friday.
The Commissioner for Justice also referred to the progress of the infringement procedure on golden passports, noting that of the three Member States on which the Commission focused, Bulgaria has completely stopped the relevant programmes and therefore the process has been closed, Malta continues the programme and has therefore been referred to the Court of Justice of the EU. but that Cyprus is in the middle.
As he said, Cyprus has suspended the relevant legislation without repealing it, citing legal reasons related to the review of citizenships that have been granted. According to Commissioner Reynders, it would be preferable to repeal the legislation completely.
Reynders also said he was pleased with the cooperation so far on rule of law monitoring in the context of the Commission's annual reports (part of the preparation of which is his contacts in various member states), as well as on the reforms of the judiciary in Cyprus.
He stressed, however, that what matters is that authorities such as the one against corruption can work in practice and that they will have the necessary human resources and resources.
Finally, Mr. Reynders refers to the situation of press freedom in Cyprus, focusing in particular on ensuring the independence of public service broadcasters, on the occasion of the reference to CyBC in the latest Commission report, but also on the promotion by the Commission of European legislation against abusive lawsuits against journalists.
Referring to his recent visit to Malta, Reynders said he had contacts with members of the country's government, parliament, civil society and the attorney general's office. As he said, the aim of the visit was to discuss rule of law issues and the development of a series of reforms, stressing that beyond the adoption of legislation, its implementation is what is most important.
Speaking more generally about the process of drafting the Commission's annual Rule of Law Reports, Reynders pointed out that for the first time last year the chapters for each country included recommendations and therefore this year an assessment can be made on the implementation of the recommendations.
In Malta in particular, he referred to the need for greater cooperation with European agencies such as Europol, referring to the role played by the agency's involvement in investigating the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia as well as with the office of the European Public Prosecutor.
The visit to Malta also addressed issues of implementation of EU sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, asking in particular to be informed about the total value of assets frozen in the country as a result of sanctions, noting that in some countries the amounts declared were lower than one would expect.
Citing Cyprus as an example, he noted that after years of operation of the "golden passport" program against investments, which often concerned citizens of Russia or Belarus, the question arises how relatively low amounts of frozen assets can be recorded.
He pointed out that in some member states, the obligation to inform the Commission about the amounts of assets frozen has brought changes to the amounts declared.
"I have seen in Italy, in Spain, after my visit," he said, "a big increase in numbers," which he said could be due to technical issues. He cited Hungary as another example, where around €3000,870 in frozen assets were initially declared, which then went on to rise to €<> million.
Asset freeze in Cyprus
Speaking about his visit to Cyprus, he noted that there will be a process of dialogue on agreed reforms and the rule of law, as well as on the fight against corruption and freedom of the press.
Asked what information he had on the assets of individuals included in EU sanctions that have been frozen in Cyprus by the authorities, he noted that these are more significant amounts than those reported in Malta or Greece, reaching 104 million euros.
However, he noted, a few years ago official data showed a large number of Russian assets in Cyprus. He said he would discuss "why it's hard to find more" assets, "maybe in bank accounts or assets in various companies, but also real estate or yachts or other assets of Russian oligarchs."
He added that the second point of discussion is better enforcement of sanctions, as, he said, "we are concerned about the different possible ways for various oligarchs and entities to circumvent sanctions" by transferring assets to other individuals or structures. Sometimes, he said, this involves family members or complex international structures in tax havens.
Reynders also recalled that he had proposed adding sanctions circumvention to crimes recognised across the EU, and that consultation with the Council of the EU and the European Parliament was ongoing. At a future stage, he noted, these assets could be confiscated and even used to support Ukraine.
Circumvention of sanctions
Asked to comment on the recent addition of natural and legal persons from Cyprus to US and UK sanctions for allegedly helping to circumvent sanctions by Russian oligarchs, Reynders did not comment specifically on the case but referred to the fact that the discussion on the next package of sanctions is now even more focused on their effective implementation.
As he said, the process for expanding the list of EU-recognized crimes (eurocrimes) is long, while there is an ongoing discussion about expanding the role of the European Public Prosecutor's Office.
Asked about this, Reynders added that he would seek information and specific data from the Cypriot authorities regarding sanctions against Cypriot citizens by the US and the UK.
On the broader issue of sanctions implementation, he referred to the mission of the EU envoy for sanctions implementation, David O'Sullivan, and his contacts with third countries. In particular, he referred to issues concerning Turkey to ensure that there is no circumvention of sanctions with the participation of Turkish companies, as well as with Georgia and Western Balkan countries, especially Serbia which does not implement sanctions.
Acknowledging that EU candidate countries can of course say they will not apply sanctions themselves, he added that "if they do not implement them, they must move against circumventing sanctions."
"Right now the main message is, please explain the facts and what you are doing about sanctions from the EU, the US, the UK, all the different partners," he said.
"We are trying to ask various partners and third countries to align their policy with the sanctions decided not only by the EU but also by the US, the UK and others," he added, calling it a real diplomatic effort.
Regarding the candidate countries, he stressed that "it is logical that we ask for alignment in foreign policy, alignment with EU foreign policy is the rule."
Regarding Cyprus, he stressed that "if there are connections between companies in Cyprus and in a third country to circumvent sanctions, we not only have diplomatic actions, but also the possibility of acting against a criminal offence", adding that in such cases the European Public Prosecutor's Office may also have a role in case some actions affect EU funds.
Golden passports
Asked where the infringement procedure against Cyprus on "golden passports" stands, Reynders reiterated first of all that it was clear that, as Ursula von der Leyen said, "EU values are not for sale".
"We had discussions on so-called golden passports with three of the 27" member states, he said. In the first case, Bulgaria, it is now found that "there is no intention to promote new legislation" referring to such programmes and therefore there is no longer an infringement procedure.
In Malta, however, they "continued to receive applications" except that "they only decided to suspend (the program) for Russian and Belarusian citizens."
"But the message was clear, that it is done for budgetary reasons," which is why the Commission has taken the case to the Court of Justice of the EU and is awaiting its decision, as "we are sure that there is a lack of sincere cooperation with all member states", as Malta does not only provide a national passport, but access to EU citizenship.
"In the meantime we have Cyprus," he said, adding that he had many discussions with members of the government and the Attorney General. "What we have asked is for the process to stop and for the old applications to be reviewed. And I have seen that real work is being done to review the implementation" of the legislation in the past, he continued, referring to the review of citizenships granted under the Cyprus Investment Programme.
However, he continued, regarding the abolition of the program, "the decision was to suspend the program, which they explained to me was done as we have to maintain the law so that we can review older decisions. We are analysing that."
"I would prefer to one day see the law withdrawn" and "ensure that the law can be withdrawn and cannot be implemented," he said, adding that he would discuss the matter with the attorney general.
"We don't want to stop the (infringement) process without the final certainty that we can repeal the legislation and not just suspend," Reynders said.
Asked if the Commission had been informed of the numbers of cases that had been reviewed, Reynders said they had received some data, but preferred to be informed of the latest figures during the visit before commenting.
Commissioner Reynders also linked the process of reviewing citizenships granted through the golden passport scheme to the assets of oligarchs frozen as a result of sanctions. As he pointed out, the Cyprus Investment Programme was not just about paying for a passport but about "real investment in assets in the country".
If you look at the data of recent years on Russian investments in Cyprus, especially in the financial sector, "we are trying to better understand why at the end of such a long process we have 100 million euros in frozen assets and no more."
Referring to the European Parliament's proposal for a complete legislative ban on schemes granting citizenship over investment, he noted that the Commission's response is that this is not needed as "we will ask the Court of Justice (of the EU) to state that this is now prohibited because of how such procedures affect European citizenship."
Regarding the criteria set by the government for the permanent residence of investors, he noted that he will discuss what the criteria are at the moment in order to understand exactly the situation.
He said that his office, in cooperation with the Commissioner for Home Affairs, has stopped similar procedures from third countries and underlined that in the EU "there is a difference between citizenship and residence permit", but that "we must be sure that there is real investment and real economic activity in the country".
As he noted, in several member states there is the criterion of investment for residence and activity in a country. "We want to be sure that whether through a third country or through a member state, it will be impossible to come to the EU without a real investment or reason to be in the EU," he added.
Rule of law and justice
Regarding the rule of law, the Commissioner for Justice welcomed the cooperation with the authorities for the preparation of the annual rule of law report, noting that it is now the norm for member states to be involved in the process, but also for cooperation with different segments of society.
"What is very clear is that we have seen a package of real reforms for the judicial system and the fight against corruption," he said.
"The main message is that new legislation must continue to be implemented, but not only through their approval in Parliament, but also through their very proper implementation," he stressed.
Reynders particularly highlighted the issue of resources, in terms of personnel and technical assistance, for the justice system, referring to the ongoing reforms, including on the digitalisation of justice and Cyprus' commitments through the Recovery and Resilience Fund.
Among the reforms he considers important, he continued, are the role of the Attorney General and the limitations on possible actions against decisions of the Attorney General, as well as better monitoring of corruption prosecution procedures at a high level.
"To be specific, and I said this in Malta as well, I am not asking for convictions, I am asking if there is an investigation, where are the final decisions," he continued, noting that this does not concern the content of the decision.
Reynders also referred to the need for "a real dialogue at national level with all stakeholders".
Referring to Cyprus' ranking in Transparency International's indicators of corruption perception in Cyprus, Reynders noted that there is a lot of work to be done on this issue.
"As in other member states, we discussed the creation of an independent anti-corruption authority. They are important elements of the recent Recovery and Resilience Plan," he noted.
He added that it was also extremely important that such an agency had "the appropriate technical and human resources". He cited as an example the case of France, where, following the creation of an authority for transparency in public life, and the directing of significant resources in this direction, more and more cases are coming to light.
"We have seen very good progress with the creation of the authority. We want to make sure that it is truly independent in its operation," he said, adding that this was not enough. "We need to make sure it has enough resources to take initiatives against high-level corruption cases," he added.
The Commissioner also stressed the importance in this context of transparency regarding the assets of government officials so that "the financial situation of officials at the beginning of their mandate, during their term of office and after their tenure can be compared".
"The most important element is real implementation and real operation," he said, adding that in his contacts he would ask what resources the anti-corruption authority would have, and the real intentions to develop a culture of transparency regarding assets.
Freedom of the press
Finally, Reynders referred to press freedom issues and in particular references to past reports on transparency legislation on media ownership, as well as the status of CyBC.
"It is not the same to talk about media freedom and pluralism in a very large country and a smaller one," Reynders said, noting that in small markets "it is increasingly important to pay attention to public media services."
If public media, he said, "are in the hands of the government, this is a problem everywhere, but in other member states there is competition and reaction without delay." For this reason, he recalled, he dealt himself with the issue that had arisen regarding the state agency in Slovenia.
Reynders referred to the possibility of a public dialogue with different member states of similar size to Cyprus to discuss the challenges arising from the existence of a small market at national level.
In this context, he continued, transparency on media ownership is very important, but the role of public service media in smaller countries "has become perhaps the most important issue".
Reynders also made special reference to the protection of journalists, referring to the ongoing process for the adoption of an EU directive against abusive lawsuits (SLAPP) targeting journalists and rights defenders.
The proposal, he noted, provides for a balanced approach as "it must be possible to go to court for defamation", but that it is also difficult to justify 40 lawsuits against the same journalists on different grounds, as was done in the case of Daphne Guarana Galizia, with the aim of stopping investigative efforts.
That's why, he continued, the goal is for the judge "to be able to stop the prosecution from the beginning by saying there is no case."
Ukraine
In relation to the war in Ukraine and the EU's contribution to the prosecution of war crimes allegedly committed during the Russian invasion, Reynders noted that Cyprus is very active in the discussions in the relevant dialogue group.
"It is very important that there is real support not only for investigation but for trials for international crimes," he said, referring among other things to the importance of the international arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin for the abduction of children from Ukraine
