Filenews 22 September 2025
The reopening of the Road Safety Unit was announced on Monday (22/9) by the Minister of Transport, Communications and Works Alexis Vafeadis, after the meeting of the Road Safety Council which took place in the presence of the Minister of Justice Marios Hartsiotis, the Police and other competent services.
At the end of the meeting, the Minister of Transport, Communications and Works made the following statements: "Today's meeting of the Road Safety Council was of particular importance, as the recommendations of the working group formed in order to study the report of the three-member investigative committee on the placing of vehicles from the EU on the Cypriot market, the import of vehicles from third countries, were presented, as well as the recall of these vehicles, which had been submitted at the previous meeting of the Council.
On the basis of the report of the investigative committee, the working group undertook to evaluate the data, capture shortcomings and form a structured framework of proposals for the restoration of the information chain and the overall strengthening of the institutional operation around road safety."
And the Minister continued: "The report of the working group focuses on the following recommendations, which were adopted by the Road Safety Council:
1. Reopening of the Road Safety Unit as a central core for receiving and disseminating information, as well as coordinating information and control actions within the Road Safety Council.
2. Implementing provisions and regulations to ensure the functional completion of the information chain, with responsibility to economic operators for the timely information and correction of defects.
3. Establishment of a mutual information mechanism between stakeholders. Appointment of specific Officers from each service and creation of a sub-group of accident control and expertise in the Road Safety Council.
4. Development of a risk assessment mechanism for revocations and determination of a supervision methodology through sampling from the registers of the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles.
5. Legislative regulation and registration of the profession of importer of vehicles from third countries, with the creation of a register of importers and distributors of manufacturers, based on criteria.
6. Modernization of the national approval process for individual vehicles (NIVA) from third countries, with alignment with Regulation (EU) 2018/858 and full adoption of safety requirements, as well as emission issues.
7. Establishment of a mandatory control of VIN recalls prior to admission to the Republic of Cyprus, creation of a recall platform (VIN portal), implementation of a Pre-Delivery Inspection procedure by a designated organization, and information campaigns to the public.
8. Training of market surveillance personnel, enhancement of interoperability and coordination between government agencies for the implementation of legislation, exchange of know-how and imposition of sanctions.
9. Specialized training of officers in matters of accident expertise and reporting, with the maintenance of stable executives in these responsibilities."
Regarding the key decision to reopen the Road Safety Unit, the Minister stated that "the Road Safety Unit has been a key tool of the state in the field of prevention, information and coordination on issues related to road safety. However, it was allowed to disappear during the previous Ministry in 2021, resulting in a gap in information and coordination between the stakeholders involved.
The reopening of the Unit comes in response to the need for a central core for coordination, reception and dissemination of information, within the Road Safety Council. The aim is to create a mechanism for mutual information between the relevant Ministries and Departments, to strengthen the cooperation and coordination of the services involved, to improve policy planning and to support more direct and documented interventions.
The Unit will also contribute to the support of the new accident control and expert sub-group, as well as to the institutional upgrading of the Road Safety Council."
Finally, the Minister stressed that "the Government is determined to proceed with targeted interventions, legislative regulations and institutional breakthroughs in the field of road safety. Today's recommendations adopted by the Road Safety Council are the roadmap for restoring confidence, strengthening market surveillance of used vehicles and protecting human life.
The re-establishment of the Road Safety Unit marks the resumption of the state presence in a sector that requires synergy, transparency and constant commitment. We will not leave gaps. We will not allow the repetition of past mistakes. The state assumes its proper role – with responsibility, continuity and determination."
Asked by a journalist if the implementation of the revocations will be extended, the Minister replied that it is something that is being evaluated by the Ministry. "It has never left our minds whether we will be able to achieve the implementation of all the revocations within 8 months," he said. "We have moved in multiple directions - we have urged all citizens to come and implement their recalls. We have done two big information campaigns," he continued, with a presence at the moment both on television, on the radio, on posters on the highways, "in an effort to inform the public and ask them to implement the recalls".
"But we have also made huge efforts, with the Department of Road Transport being in a continuous and painstaking effort to be informed by the manufacturers' distributors, but also to urge, push and insist that the recalls be implemented under any circumstances," he continued. "And we have seen a response from some builders, who have strengthened their crews and established new garages, brought engineers from abroad and are implementing recalls. And we see that in some cases it had an effect, while in others, it didn't."
Mr. Vafeadis stressed that "the recalls are the result of private action and have to do with distributors and sellers. The state is moving in an effort to help everyone involved implement the recalls as soon as possible."
