COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Environmental Implementation Review 2022 Country Report - CYPRUS Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Environmental Implementation Review: Turning the tide through environmental compliance
Date: 2022-09-08
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
Subjects: Cyprus, EU environmental policy, application of EU law, biodiversity, circular economy, climate change policy, environmental law, governance, pollution control measures, waste management

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 8.9.2022  SWD(2022) 263 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Environmental Implementation Review 2022     Country Report - CYPRUS           Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Environmental Implementation Review: Turning the tide through environmental compliance     {COM(2022) 438 final} - {SWD(2022) 252 final} - {SWD(2022) 253 final} - {SWD(2022) 254 final} - {SWD(2022) 255 final} - {SWD(2022) 256 final} - {SWD(2022) 257 final} - {SWD(2022) 258 final} - {SWD(2022) 259 final} - {SWD(2022) 260 final} - {SWD(2022) 261 final} - {SWD(2022) 262 final} - {SWD(2022) 264 final} - {SWD(2022) 265 final} - {SWD(2022) 266 final} - {SWD(2022) 267 final} - {SWD(2022) 268 final} - {SWD(2022) 269 final} - {SWD(2022) 270 final} - {SWD(2022) 271 final} - {SWD(2022) 272 final} - {SWD(2022) 273 final} - {SWD(2022) 274 final} - {SWD(2022) 275 final} - {SWD(2022) 276 final} - {SWD(2022) 277 final} - {SWD(2022) 278 final}  
 
 
Cyprus  1 

This  report  has  been  written  by  the  staff  of  the  Directorate-General  for  Environment,  European  Commission. 
Comments are welcome, please send them to: ENV-EIR@ec.europa.eu  

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Photographs:  

For reproduction or use of these photos, permission must be sought directly from the copyright holder. 

©European Union, 2022 

Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table of Contents 

Cyprus  2 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................................... 3 

PART I: THEMATIC AREAS ...................................................................................................................................... 4 

1. CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND WASTE MANAGEMENT ....................................................................................................... 4 
Measures towards a circular economy ................................................................................................................ 4 
Waste management ............................................................................................................................................. 6 
2. BIODIVERSITY AND NATURAL CAPITAL ...................................................................................................................... 9 
Nature protection and restoration ....................................................................................................................... 9 
Marine ecosystems............................................................................................................................................. 15 
Ecosystem assessment and accounting ............................................................................................................. 17 
3. ZERO POLLUTION .............................................................................................................................................. 18 
Clean air ............................................................................................................................................................. 18 
Industrial emissions ............................................................................................................................................ 19 
Prevention of major industrial accidents– SEVESO ............................................................................................ 21 
Noise .................................................................................................................................................................. 21 
Water quality and management ........................................................................................................................ 22 
Chemicals ........................................................................................................................................................... 26 
4. CLIMATE ACTION .............................................................................................................................................. 28 
Key national climate policies and strategies ...................................................................................................... 28 
Effort sharing target ........................................................................................................................................... 29 
Key sectoral developments ................................................................................................................................. 29 
Use of revenues from the auctioning of EU ETS allowances .............................................................................. 30 

PART II: ENABLING FRAMEWORK: IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS .............................................................................. 31 

5. FINANCING ...................................................................................................................................................... 31 
Environmental investment needs in the EU ....................................................................................................... 31 
EU environmental funding 2014-2020 ............................................................................................................... 32 
EU environmental funding 2021-2027 ............................................................................................................... 34 
National environmental protection expenditure ................................................................................................ 35 
Green budget tools ............................................................................................................................................. 37 
6. ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE ........................................................................................................................... 40 
Information, public participation and access to justice...................................................................................... 40 
Compliance assurance ........................................................................................................................................ 41 
Effectiveness of environmental administrations ................................................................................................ 43 
Reforms through the Commission’s Technical Support Instrument (TSI) ........................................................... 44 
TAIEX EIR peer-to-peer projects ......................................................................................................................... 44 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
 
 
 
 
Cyprus  3 

Executive summary 

In  previous  Environmental 
Implementation  Reviews 
(EIRs), the main challenges identified   for  Cyprus  for the 
implementation  of  EU  environmental  policy  and  law 
were: 

 

 

 

issues, 

to  address  waste  management 
in 
particular  to  close  illegal  landfills  and  put  in 
place the necessary infrastructure; 
to  improve  nature  protection  by  ensuring  that 
necessary assessments are carried out correctly, 
that  mitigation  measures  are  put  in  place  and 
properly applied and that illegal bird trapping is 
eliminated; and 
to  improve  water  management  in  order  to 
tackle  water  scarcity  and  over-abstraction 
effectively. 

is  ongoing.  Waste  generation 

There  has  been  some  progress  on  waste  management, 
through the implementation of the  2015-2021 municipal 
waste management strategy. The updated national waste 
management  plan,  in  line  with  the  requirements  of  the 
revised  Waste  Framework  Directive,  is  still  pending.  The 
illegal  landfills  in  Limassol  and  Nicosia  have  closed  and 
is 
their  rehabilitation 
significantly  above  the  EU  average,  while  the  recycling 
rate  has  not  improved  since  the  last  report.  Cyprus 
makes  very  limited  use  of  economic  instruments  in  this 
area. Cyprus needs to make a significant effort to set up 
an  adequate  network  of  facilities  that  would  effectively 
manage all of its waste in line with the waste hierarchy if 
it  is  to  reach  the  recycling  targets  for  2020  and  beyond. 
According  to  the  Commission’s  2018  ‘early  warning 
report’,  Cyprus  is  at  risk  of  not  meeting  the  2020 
municipal waste recycling target of 50%.  

lack  of  progress 

On  nature  protection,  there  are  still  insufficiencies  in 
designation.  Therefore,  Cyprus  has  still  to  complete  its 
Natura 2000 Network, in particular  the marine part.  An 
infringement case is open on the matter. There seems to 
in  maintaining  or  restoring 
be  a 
favourable  conservation  status  of  species  and  habitats, 
protected  under  the  nature  directives.  Furthermore, 
some designations are still missing and the quality of the 
conservation  objectives  and  measures  is  insufficient. 
Moreover,  Cyprus  has  drawn  up  management  plans  for 
most  sites  of  Community  importance,the  majority  are 

outdated. The effective protection of Natura 2000 areas - 
especially  coastal  zone  -  from  incompatible  activities  or 
developments that fragment or degrade them, remains a 
concern.  Management  plans  for  these  areas  must  be 
completed  and  properly  implemented  and  all  necessary 
environmental  assessments  carried  out  correctly  before 
potentially  damaging plans or projects can be approved. 
The  necessary  mitigation  measures  should  be  properly 
applied.  Some  progress  has  been  made  on  the  illegal 
trapping  of  birds  thanks  to  increased  enforcement  and 
stricter fines for mist-netting in legislation. However, the 
trapping numbers are still unacceptably high. 

On water management, Cyprus has made some progress. 
The  Commission’s  assessment  of  the  implementation  of 
the programmes of measures (PoMs) for Cyprus showed 
that  the  majority  of  measures  are  in  progress.  Water 
abstraction  remains  the  main    pressure  on  water  in 
Cyprus,  as  it  appears  that  the  measures  in  place  for 
managing and controlling it are not strict enough. Water 
management  measures  under  the  Cypriot  recovery  and 
resilience  plan  (RRP)  are  promising.  Urban  waste  water 
treatment remains an issue in Cyprus, with slow progress 
and limited funding sources. 

EU financing continues to provide substantial support for 
the  environmental  implementation  gap,  and  Cyprus  is 
due  to  receive  over  EUR    1.2  billion  in  grants  and  loans 
under its RRP (2021-2026) and EUR   0.9 billion from the 
cohesion  policy  (2021-2027).  Cyprus’  environmental 
financing  for  investments  is  estimated  to  have  been 
0.81%  of  GDP  in  2014-2020  (slightly  above  the  EU 
average  of  0.7%),  mostly  relying  on  national  financing. 
The  overall  environmental  investment  needs  in  2021-
2027  are  expected  to  be  over  1.1%  of  Cyprus’  GDP, 
suggesting  an  environmental  financing  gap  of  at  least 
0.29%  of  the  GDP  to  be  addressed  by  mobilising 
additional  financial  resources  to  back  the  country’s 
environmental priorities. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Cyprus  4 

Part I: Thematic areas 

1. Circular economy and waste management 

Figure 1 – Circular material use rate (%), 2010-20201 

Measures towards a circular economy 

The new Circular Economy Action Plan adopted in March 
2020 is one of the main building blocks of the European 
Green Deal. The EU’s transition to a circular economy will 
reduce  pressure  on  natural  resources  and  will  create 
sustainable  growth  and  jobs.  It  is  also  a  prerequisite  to 
achieve  the  EU’s  2050  climate  neutrality  target  and  to 
halt  biodiversity 
loss.  The  Action  Plan  announces 
initiatives  along  the  entire  life  cycle  of  products,  aiming 
to reduce the EU's consumption footprint and to double 
the EU's circular material use rate by 2030. It targets how 
products  are  designed,  promotes  circular  economy 
processes,  encourages  sustainable  consumption,  and 
aims to ensure that waste is prevented and the resources 
used are kept in the EU economy for as long as possible.  

The  circular  material  use  rate  is  a  good  indicator  of  an 
economy’s circularity, as it includes all the materials that 
are  fed  back  into  our  economy.  Large  differences  in  the 
circularity  rate  exist  between  countries.  To  help  achieve 
the  goal  in  the  EU  circular  economy  action  plan  of 
doubling  the  EU’s  circular  material  use  rate  by  2030, 
ambitious  measures  targeting  the  whole  product  life 
cycle are needed at Member-State level. Such  measures 
range  from  sustainable  product  design  that  makes  it 
possible 
reparability, 
upgradability  and  recyclability  of  products,  to  other 
measures, 
increasing 
circularity  in  production  processes;  (iii)  recycling;  (iv) 
boosting eco-innovation; and (v) increasing the uptake of 
green public procurement. 

‘remanufacturing’;  (ii) 

the  durability, 

increase 

like:  (i) 

to 

Resource  productivity  expresses  how  efficiently  the 
economy  uses  material  resources  to  produce  wealth. 
Improving  resource  productivity  can  help  to  minimise 
impacts  on  the  environment  and  reduce 
negative 
dependency on volatile raw  material  markets. As  shown 
in  Figure  2,  with  EUR  1.3  generated  per  kg  of  material 
consumed in 2020, resource productivity in Cyprus is well 
below the EU average of EUR  2.08 per kg. 

Circular (secondary) use of material in Cyprus was 2.3% in 
2016  and  3.4%  in  2020,  compared  to  the  EU  average  of 
12.8%. Despite some progress, Cyprus has not been able 
to narrow the wide gap with the EU average. 

1 Eurostat, Circular Economy Monitoring Framework.  

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
 
 
                                                                 
Figure 2: Resource productivity 2010-20202 

Cyprus  5 

prevention  programme  for  2015-2021.  These  measures 
mainly focused on information and awareness, voluntary 
agreements,  separate  collection  and  the  introduction  of 
'pay-as-you-throw'  (PAYT)  schemes,reuse  and  resale 
centres/points  and  other  local  initiatives.  The  revised 
waste  prevention  programme  for  2021-2027,  which  is 
expected to be adopted in the first half of 2022  sets out 
more  ambitious  measures  for  several  priority  sectors, 
including plastics, textiles and construction. The plan also 
includes  cross-cutting  measures  aimed  at  waste 
prevention,  reuse,  repair  and  remanufacture,  as  well  as 
improving product design. 

It  also 

support  pilot  programmes;  and 

Through  its  RRP,  Cyprus  aims  to  enhance  the  circular 
economy  model  in  the  industry  by  implementing  its 
afore-mentioned  Action  Plan. 
includes  the 
establishment  of    a  coordinating  body  between  central 
local  governments.  This  body  will:  (i)  provide 
and 
technical and financial support for waste management to 
local authorities; (ii) participate in research programmes; 
(iii) 
(iv)organise 
information  campaigns.  The  planned 
education  and 
upgrading  of  the  waste  collection 
is 
expected to lead to an improvement in the low recycling 
rate and the prevention of illegal  waste dumping.  Other 
reforms  may  also  have  a  positive  impact,  such  as  the 
setting  up  of  a  National  Promotional  Agency  to  improve 
access  to  finance  for  SMEs  with  a  focus  on  green  and 
circular economy. 

infrastructure 

Eco-innovation 

A  successful  transition  to  a  circular  economy  requires 
social and technological innovation. This is because as its 
the  full  potential  of  the  circular  economy  can  only  be 
reached  when  implemented  across  all  value  chains. 
ETherefore,  eco-Innovation  is  an  important  enabling 
factor  for  the  circular  economy.  New  approached  to 
pProduct  design  approaches  and  new  business  models 
can  help  to  produce  systemic  circularity  innovations, 
creating  new  business  opportunities.In  2021,  Cyprus 
ranked  23rd  on  the  2021  Eco-innovation  Index,  with  a 
total  score  of  79,  indicating  that  the  country  needs  to 
catch  up  with  its  eco-innovation  activities.  In  all  five 
components  (eco-innovation  activities,  eco-innovation 
input  and 
outputs,  socio-economic,  eco-innovation 
resource efficiency outcomes) of the 2021 Index,  Cyprus 
performs below the EU average. 

Circular economy strategies  

The  Commission  encourages  Member  States  to  adopt 
implement  national/regional  circular  economy 
and 
strategies covering the whole life cycle of products. This 
is  because  such  strategies  are  one  of  the  most  effective 
ways to progress towards a more circular economy. Since 
the  launch  of  the  online  European  Circular  Economy 
Platform  in  20173,  national,  regional  or  local  authorities 
have  used  the  platform  to  share  their  strategies  and 
roadmaps.  

In 2021, the Ministers of Energy, Commerce and Industry 
and  Agriculture,  Rural  Development  and  Environment 
and  the  Deputy  Minister  of  Research,  Innovation  and 
Digital  Policy  presented  ‘Cyprus’  2021-2027  action  plan 
for the transition to a circular economy’ with a budget of 
EUR  90  million,  funded  primarily  by  the  Recovery  and 
Resilience  Plan,  approved  by  the  Council  of  Ministers. 
The  plan  is  built  on  four  pillars:  (i)  cultural  change  for  a 
circular  economy  (including  a  grant  scheme  for  SMEs  to 
move  into  a  circular  economy  model);  (ii)  providing 
incentives  for  investments  in  the  circular  economy;  (iii) 
development  for  circular  economy  infrastructures;  and 
(iv) municipal waste management.  

Cyprus  does  not  have  specific  sectoral  strategies  on 
plastics, textiles or construction. However, its 2021-2027 
action  plan  for  the  transition  to  a  circular  economy 
includes  initiatives  that  may  potentially  target  these 
sectors.  Measures  on  plastic,  textile  and  construction 
in  the  national  waste 
waste  were  also 

included 

2 Eurostat, Resource productivity. 
3  Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
 
                                                                 
   
Figure 3: Eco-innovation performance, 2010-20194 

Green public procurement 

Public  procurement  accounts  for  a  large  proportion  of 
European 
authorities’ 
consumption,  with  public 
purchasing  power  representing  Around  14%  of  EU  GDP. 
Public  procurement  can  help  drive  the  demand  for 
reparability  and 
sustainable  products 
recyclability standards. To date reporting to monitor the 
uptake of green public procurement (GPP) is voluntary.  

that  meet 

A national strategy for GPP has been in force since March 
2007,  and  a  second  strategy  was  adopted  in  2012.  The 
implementation  of  the  national  action  plan  for  green 
public  procurement  is  mandatory  for  all  public  sector 
contracting authorities, public law organisations and local 
authorities.  

All  public  procurers  must  apply  at  least  the  core  criteria 
from  the  GPP  toolkit  as  well  as  the  criteria  set  by  the 
national  experts  (50%).  These  criteria  cover  office 
equipment,  paper,  electricity,  cleaning  products  and 
services, sanitary ware, construction (building and road), 
food products and services, furniture, textiles, transport, 
as  well  as  gardening  products  and  services.  Every  few 
years,  the  Department  of  the  Environment  publishes  a 
review  of  achievements,  drawn  up  based  on 
questionnaires  and  direct  contact  with  the  public 
authorities  concerned.  Since  2014,  the  Department  has 
organised an award for green procurements, the ‘CY GPP 
Awards’.  All  contracting  authorities  that  purchase  green 

4  European  Commission  -  Directorate-General  for  Environment  (DG 
ENV),  Eco-innovation  Observatory,  Eco-innovation  scoreboard  and  the 
eco-innovation index. 

Cyprus  6 

products  through  their  tenders  or  other  procedures  are 
eligible to participate in this award. 

EU ecolabel and the eco management and audit scheme 
(EMAS) 

The number of EU ecolabel products and EMAS-licensed5 
organisations in a given country provides some indication 
of  the  extent  to  which  the  private  sector  and  national 
stakeholders  are  actively  engaged  in  the  transition  to  a 
circular  economy.  It  also  shows  how  committed  public 
authorities  are  to  supporting  instruments  designed  to 
promote the circular economy.  

As of September 2021, Cyprus had 84 products out of 83 
590  and  3  licenses  out  of  2  057  registered  in  the  EU 
ecolabel scheme , showing a low take-up of products and 
licences. Moreover, as of October 2021, 73 organisations, 
from Cyprus are currently registered in EMAS6. Compared 
to 2019, Cyprus has 3 registered products and 4 licenses 
less under the EU Ecolabel scheme and  11 organisations 
under EMAS.  

As  Cyprus  has  adopted  a  circular  economy  action  plan, 
this  priority  action  from  the  2019  EIR 
is  fulfilled. 
However,  given  that  the  circular  material  use  rate  is  far 
below  the  EU  average,  a  new  priority  action  on  this  is 
proposed. 

2022 priority action 

  Adopt measures to increase the circular material 

use rate. 

Waste management 

Turning waste into a resource is supported by:  
(i)  fully 
legislation,  which 
implementing  EU  waste 
includes  the  waste  hierarchy,  the  need  to  ensure 
separate  collection  of  waste,  the 
landfill  diversion 
targets, etc.;  
(ii) reducing waste generation and waste generation per 
capita in absolute terms;  
(iii)  limiting  energy  recovery  to  non-recyclable  materials 
and  phasing  out  landfilling  of  recyclable  or  recoverable 
waste. 
This  section  focuses  on  the  management  of  municipal 
waste7  for  which  EU 
law  sets  mandatory  recycling 
targets. 

5  EMAS  is  the  European  Commission’s  Eco-Management  and  Audit 
Scheme, a programme to encourage organisations to behave in a more 
environmentally sustainable way. 
6  As  of  May  2018.  European  Commission,  Eco-Management  and  Audit 
Scheme. 
7 Municipal waste consists of: (a) mixed waste and separately collected 
waste  from  households,  including  paper  and  cardboard,  glass,  metals, 
plastics,  bio-waste,  wood,  textiles,  packaging,  waste  electrical  and 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
 
 
                                                                 
                                                                 
 
resource  efficiency  and 

Preventing products and materials from becoming waste 
for  as  long  as  possible  is  the  most  efficient  way  to 
improve 
the 
environmental  impact  of  waste.  Waste  prevention  and 
re-use are the most preferred options, and are therefore 
at  the  top  of  the  waste  hierarchy.  The  amount  of 
municipal  waste  generated  is  a  good  indicator  for  the 
effectiveness of waste prevention measures. 

reduce 

to 

After  a  downward  trend  until  2014,  municipal  waste 
generation  in  Cyprus  has  started  to  increase  in  recent 
years. It fell again in 2020 to 609 kg/year/inhabitant , but 
this  is  still  significantly  higher  than  the  EU  average  (505  
kg/year/inhabitant),  as  Figure  4  shows.  This    indicates 
that Cyprus’s economic growth is not yet decoupled from 
its generation of waste. 

Figure 4: Municipal waste by treatment in Cyprus, 2010-
20208

Cyprus  7 

rate  and  diverting  municipal  waste  from  landfilling.  The 
rate  dropped  from  16.5%  in  2018  to  15%  in  2019  (of 
which  13.5%  was  recycled,  while  only  1.5%  was 
composted).  This  is  well  below  the  EU  average  of  48% 
(EU 2019). 

Moreover,  based  on  the  information  available  to  the 
Commission,  it  appears  that  a  significant  number  of 
irregular and substandard landfills operate in Cyprus and 
present  serious  risks 
for  human  health  and  the 
environment. Studies and investigations launched by the 
European  Commission  found  that  21%  of  the  total 
landfilled 
quantity  of  waste  produced 
without any pre-treatment and particularly in the district 
of  Paphos.  Furthermore,  Cyprus  has  not  established  an 
integrated and adequate network of waste management 
installations for mixed municipal waste9. For this reason, 
initiated  an 
in  December  2021, 
infringement  procedure  against  Cyprus  for  failing  to 
comply  with  the  Landfill  Directive10  and  the  Waste 
Framework Directive11-12. 

the  Commission 

in  Cyprus 

is 

Figure 5 shows that Cyprus needs to step up investment 
in  recycling  to  meet  the  EU  2020  and  2025  recycling 
targets. 

Figure 5: Recycling rate of municipal waste, 2010-202013 

Figure  4  also  shows  municipal  waste  by  treatment,  in 
terms  of  kilos  per  capita.  The  situation  varies  by  region, 
but  managing  waste  efficiently  remains  an  important 
challenge  for  Cyprus  and  very  little  progress  has  been 
made  since  the  2019  EIR.  Cyprus  disposes  most  of  its 
waste in landfills (68%), with only 15% being recycled (EU 
average  48%),  a  decrease  compared  to  the  previous 
report. Moreover, a  worrying trend  that has emerged  in 
the last couple of years is that a significant amount (17% 
in 2019) of the total generated waste is unaccounted for 
in terms of treatment. 

Cyprus has made slow but steady progress over the past 
decade  and  up  until  2018  on  stepping  up  its  recycling 

electronic  equipment,  waste  batteries  and  accumulators,  and  bulky 
waste, 
including  mattresses  and  furniture;  (b)  mixed  waste  and 
separately  collected  waste  from  other  sources,  where  such  waste  is 
similar in nature and composition to waste from households. (Directive 
2008/98/EC, Art. 3 2b). 
8 Eurostat, Municipal waste by waste operation, April 2022. 

The  Commission's  early  warning  report14  cited  Cyprus 
among the countries at risk of missing the EU 2020 target 
of  recycling  50 %  of  municipal  waste.  The  report  listed 

9 INF/21/6201. 
10 Directive 1999/31/EC. 
11 Directive 2008/98/EC. 
12 INF/21/6201. 
13  Eurostat, Recycling rate of municipal rate, April 2022. 
14  European  Commission,  Report  on  the  implementation  of  waste 
legislation, including the early warning report for Member States at risk 
of missing the 2020 preparation for re-use/recycling target on municipal 
waste, SWD(2018)422 accompanying COM(2018)656. 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
 
                                                                                                        
 
 
                                                                 
Cyprus  8 

 

targets for municipalities with penalties for non-
compliance (e.g. fines). 
Limit incoming shipments of  waste destined  for 
incinerators 
locally 
generated residual waste  

landfilling  of 

to  avoid 

  Develop  and  run  support  programmes  for 
municipalities to help them implement separate 
collection policies and improve recycling rates. 
Improve  the  functioning  of  extended  producer 
responsibility  (EPR)  systems,  in  line  with  the 
general minimum requirements on EPR. 

 

  Ratify  the 

international  Convention  on  ship 

recycling. 
  Adopt  and 

implement  the  national  waste 
management plan in line with the revised Waste 
Framework Directive. 

its  analysis  of  progress  made  on 

key  priority  measures  that  Cyprus  should  take  to  close 
the  implementation  gap.  The  Commission  is  currently 
finalising 
the 
recommendations  from  the  2018  early  warning  reports 
and  progress  towards  the  2025  waste  recycling  targets. 
This report will be presented at the end of 2022 and will 
make recommendations as appropriate. 

Implementation of the 2018 waste legislative package 

Cyprus  notified  the  Commission  that  the  2018  waste 
package has been fully implemented in national law15. A 
conformity assessment is now ongoing. 

for 

are 

Waste  management  plans  and  waste  prevention 
programmes 
sound 
instrumental 
implementation of the EU waste legislation. They set out 
key  provisions  and  investments  to  ensure  compliance 
with  existing  and  new  legal  requirements  (e.g.  waste 
prevention,  separate  collection  for  a  number  of  specific 
waste  streams,  recycling  and  landfill  targets).  Revised 
plans and programmes were due on 5 July 2020. 

a 

Cyprus  has  not  notified  its  updated waste  management 
plan  to  the  Commission.  The  Commission  will  assess 
whether  the  current  plan  meets  the  requirements  of 
Article 28 of the revised Framework Directive on Waste. 

Cyprus  has  not  yet  ratified  the  Hong  Kong  International 
Convention  for  the  Safe  and  Environmentally  Sound 
Recycling of Ships. 

Given the limited progress since the 2019 EIR, and in light 
of  the  upcoming  2022  early  warning  report,  the  2019 
priority  actions  are  repeated,  and  a  new  one  on  the 
adoption of the waste management plans is added. 

2022 priority actions 

 

 

 

landfilling  of 

Introduce and gradually increase landfill taxes to 
phase  out 
recyclable  and 
recoverable waste.  
Finalise  the  work  on  rehabilitating  the  last  two 
non-compliant landfills.  
Improve  and  extend  separate  collection  of 
for  bio-waste.  Establish 
waste, 
minimum 
separate 
for 
standards 
collection (e.g. frequency of collections, types of 
containers, etc.) in municipalities to ensure high 
capture rates of recyclable waste.  

including 
service 

  Use  economic  instruments  such  as  ‘pay-as-you-
throw’  schemes,  and  set  mandatory  recycling 

15  Directive  (EU)  2018/851,  Directive  (EU)  2018/852,  Directive  (EU) 
2018/850  and  Directive  (EU)  2018/849  amend  the  previous  waste 
legislation and set more ambitious recycling targets for the period up to 
2035. 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
                                                                 
 
 
2. Biodiversity and natural capital

Cyprus  9 

The 2030 EU biodiversity strategy adopted in May 2020 
aims to put the EU’s biodiversity on a path to recovery 
and  sets  out  new  targets  and  governance  mechanisms 
to achieve healthy and resilient ecosystems.  
In particular, the strategy sets out ambitious targets to: 
(i) protect a minimum of 30% of the EU’s land area and 
30% of its sea area and integrate ecological corridors, as 
part of a true trans-European nature network;  
(ii) Strictly protect at least a third of the EU’s protected 
areas,  including  all  remaining  EU  primary  and  old-
growth forests;  
(iii)  effectively  manage  all  protected  areas,  defining 
clear  conservation  objectives  and  measures,  and 
monitoring them appropriately.  
The strategy also sets out an EU nature restoration plan 
–  a  series  of  concrete  commitments  and  actions  to 
restore  degraded  ecosystems  across  the  EU  by  2030, 
and  manage  them  sustainably,  addressing  the  key 
drivers of biodiversity loss. 
The  Habitats  and  Birds  Directives  are  key  legislative 
tools  to  deliver  on  the  targets  in  the  EU's  biodiversity 
strategy for 2030, and are the cornerstone of European 
legislation aimed at conserving the EU’s wildlife16. 

‘biodiversity  strategy  and  action  plan 

Cyprus’ 
in 
Cyprus’17  were  approved  by  the  government  on  3  June 
202018. 

The new strategy offsets out 13 strategic objectives for 
biodiversity for the next decade (2020-2030).The action 
plan  sets  out  86  measures  with  corresponding 
indicators to measure success. The indicative budget for 
these measures amounts to EUR 27 545 000 for the next 
decade. 

Nature protection and restoration  

Natura  200019,  the  largest  coordinated  network  of 
protected  areas  in  the  world,  is  the  key  instrument  to 
achieve  the  objectives 
in  the  Birds  and  Habitats 
Directives.  These  objectives  are:  (i)  to  ensure  the  long-
term  protection,  conservation  and  survival  of  Europe's 
most valuable and threatened species and habitats; and 

16  These  should  be  reinforced  by  the  Nature  Restoration  Law, 
according to the new EU biodiversity strategy. 
17 Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan CY.pdf (moa.gov.cy). 
18 https://www.cbd.int/doc/world/pt/pt-nbsap-v2-pt.pdf 
19  Natura  2000  comprises  sites  of  Community  importance  (SCIs) 
designated  under  the  Habitats Directive  as  well  as  special  protection 
areas  (SPAs)  classified  under  the  Birds  Directive;  figures  of  coverage 
do not add up due to the fact that some SCIs and SPAs overlap. Special 
areas of conservation (SACs) means a SCI designated by the Member 
States. 

(ii)  to  maintain  or  restore  the  favourable  conservation 
status  of  these  species  and  habitats.  Key  milestones 
towards  meeting  the  objectives  of  the  Birds  and 
Habitats Directives are: (i) the setting up of a  coherent 
Natura  2000  network;  (ii)  the  designation  of  sites  of 
community  importance  (SCIs)  as  SACs20;  and  (iii)  the 
setting  of  site-specific  conservation  objectives  and 
measures for all Natura 2000 sites.  

Setting up a coherent network of Natura 2000 sites 

Cyprus  hosts  42  habitat  types21  and  55  species22 
covered  by  the  Habitats  Directive.  The  country  also 
hosts  populations  of  93  bird  taxa,  which  are  listed  in 
Annex I to the Birds Directive23. 

By  2021,  29.3%  of  the  terrestrial  area  under  the 
effective  control  of  the  Government  of  the  Republic  of 
Cyprus  was  covered  by  Natura  2000  (EU  coverage 
18.5%),  with  special  protection  areas  (SPAs)  classified 
under  the  Birds  Directive  covering  26.9%  (EU  coverage 
12.8%) and sites of Community importance (SCIs) under 
the  Habitats  Directive  covering  16.7%  (EU  coverage 
14.2%) of the Cypriot territory. 

insufficiencies 

Cyprus has designated 66 Natura 2000 sites to date. The 
latest  assessment  of  the  SCI  part  of  the  Natura  2000 
network  shows  that  there  are 
in 
designation, mainly failing to propose an exhaustive list 
of  SCIs  and  provide  all  necessary  information  on  each 
proposed  site  and  not  classifying  the  most  suitable 
territories  in  the  Cypriot  offshore  waters  as  SPAs. 
Therefore,  Cyprus has still to complete  its Natura 2000 
network, 
the  marine  network.  An 
infringement  case  is  open  on  the  matter  and  the 
Commission has called on Cyprus to take the necessary 
measures24. 

in  particular 

Taking  account  of  both  Natura  2000  and  other 
nationally  designated  protected  areas,  Cyprus  legally 
protects  37.7%  of  its  terrestrial  areas  (compared  with 

20  Sites  of  Community  importance  (SCIs)  are  designated  under  the 
Habitats  Directive  whereas  special  protection  areas  (SPAs)  are 
designated under the Birds Directive; figures of coverage do not add 
up due to the  fact  that some SCIs and SPAs overlap. Special  areas of 
conservation (SACs) are SCIs designated by the Member States. 
21 EEA, Article 17 dashboard, Annex I total, 2019. 
22  EEA,  Article  17  dashboard,  Annex  II  +  Annex  IV  excluding  those  in 
Annex  II  +  Annex  V  excluding  those  in  Annex  II,  2019.  This  counting 
only takes into account species and habitats for which assessment of 
conservation status was requested. 
23 EEA, Article 12 dashboard, Annex I, 2020. This counting only takes 
into account birds taxa for which information was requested. 
24 April infringements package: key decisions (europa.eu) 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
                                                                 
                                                                 
the  EU-27  average  of  26.4%)  and  8.6%  of  its  marine 
areas (EU-27 average 10.7%)25. 

Figure 7: Natura 2000 terrestrial protected area 
coverage, 202127 

Figure 6: Marine & terrestrial protected area coverage, 
202126 

Cyprus  10 

Designating specialaAreas of conservation (SACs) and 
setting conservation objectives and measures 

The  6-year  deadline  set  by  the  Habitats  Directive  for 
designating  SCIs  as  SACs  and  establishing  appropriate 
conservation  objectives  and  measures  has  expired  for 
37 sites in Cyprus. 

Three  SCIs  had  not  been  designated  as  SACs  by  the 
deadline. However, Cyprus managed to accomplish this 
in  July  2021  and  to  set  conservation  objectives  for  all 
three. 
conservation 
objectives  have  only  been  established  for  34  SCIs  and 
conservation  measures  have  only  been  established  for 
four SACs. 

Nevertheless, 

site-specific 

According  to  the  Commission’s  assessment,  the  quality 
of  the  conservation  objectives  and  measures  set  by 
insufficient.  The  objectives  are  not 
Cyprus 
measurable, not  reportable,  and not  comprehensive  or 
sufficiently  detailed.  The  measures  are  generic  and 
identical for the four sites, with very little detail. 

is 

Moreover, although Cyprus has drawn up management 
plans  for  most  SCIs,  but  the  majority  are  outdated. 
These  management  plans  only  serve  as  guidance 
documents  and  are  not  expected  to  have  any  legal 
status  or  be  approved  by  any  specific  entity  or 
authority.  This  is  why  the  Commission  has  initiated  an 
infringement procedure. Therefore, Cyprus still needs to 
provide  for  the  necessary  conservation  objectives  and 
measures of the already designated sites. 

25  EEA, Protected Areas,  terrestrial  protected area  percentage  (2021) 
and marine protected area percentage (2019), March 2022. 
26  EU  Biodiversity  Strategy  Dashboard,  indicators  A1.1.1  and  A1.2.1, 
February 2022. 

27  European  Environment  Agency,  Natura  2000  Barometer,  February 
2022. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                                 
 
 
                                                                 
Cyprus  11 

Figure 8:  Assessments on conservation status for 
habitats for 2007-2012 and 2013-2018 reporting 
periods29 

Figure 9:  Assessments on conservation status for 
species for 2007-2012 and 2013-2018 reporting 
periods30 

Progress in maintaining or restoring favourable 
conservation status of species and habitats 

To measure the performance of Member States, Article 
17  of  the  Habitats  Directive  and  Article  12  of  the  Birds 
Directive  require  reporting  on  the  progress  made 
towards  maintaining  or  restoring 
favourable 
the 
conservation status of species and habitats. 

According  to  the  report  submitted  by  Cyprus  on  the 
conservation  status  of  habitats  and  species  covered  by 
Article  17  of  the  Habitats  Directive  for  2013-2018,  the 
proportion  of  habitats  assessed  as  being  in  a  good 
conservation status in 2018 is 45.24%, almost half of the 
proportion (97.62%) reported  in the previous reporting 
period  (2007-2012).  to  the  proportion  of  protected 
species assessed as being in a good conservation status 
in  2018  is  63.64%,  less  than  the  69.09%  reported  in 
2007-201228.  Regarding  birds,  81%  of  breeding  species 
showed  short-term 
increasing  or  stable  population 
trends  (for  wintering  species  the  proportion  was 
40.74%). 

At  the  same  time,  the  share  of  habitats  with  a  bad 
conservation  status  has  increased  to  35.71%  and  the 
share  of  assessments  for  species  in  bad  conservation 
status has also increased to  3.64%. The main pressures 
on  habitats  and  species  are  the  development  and 
operation  of  transport  systems  and  development, 
construction  and  use  of  residential,  commercial, 
industrial and recreational infrastructure. 

There  seems  to  be  a  general  lack  of  progress  in 
maintaining  or  restoring  the  favourable  conservation 
status  of  species  and  habitats  protected  under  the 
nature directives. 

A  major  challenge  in  managing  the  Natura  2000  areas 
effectively 
from  activities  or 
developments  that  fragment  or  degrade  them.  This  is, 
especially  the  case  for  plans  and  projects  in  areas 

is  protecting  them 

28 The aforementioned differences between the two Art. 17 reporting 
periods  under  the  Habitats  Directive  (2008-2013  and  2013-2018) 
mainly  arose  of  the  different  methodology  used.  During  the  2013-
2018 reporting period, monitoring protocols (developed according to 
EU guidelines) for both habitats and species were completed. 

29  European  Environment  Agency,  Conservation  status  and  trends  of 
habitats  and  species,  December  2021.  Please  note when  comparing 
the  figures  shown  for  2007-2012  and  2013-2018  these  may  also  be 
affected by changes of methods or due to better data availability. 
30 Idem. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
                                                                 
 
 
 
                                                                 
located  within  private  land,  that  often  fail  to  comply 
with  the  appropriate  assessment  and  permitting 
requirements  laid  down  in  Article  6  of  the  Habitats 
Directive. The Commission has opened an infringement 
procedure  against  Cyprus  for  systematic  breaches  of 
Article 6(3)  (appropriate  assessment  of  a  plan  or 
project).  Complaints  have  also  been  made  regarding 
breaches  of  Article 6(4) 
reasons  of 
overriding public interest in case of negative assessment 
of  a  plan  or  project).  The  sound  management  of  these 
areas  is  also  undermined  by  the  lack  of  understanding 
and  acceptance  of  Natura  2000  rules  by  some  local 
communities and land owners. This is a major challenge 
in Cyprus, where a large part of designated Natura 2000 
areas (mainly agricultural land) is private land. 

(imperative 

Another challenge in implementing nature legislation is 
the  illegal  trapping  of  wild  birds,  especially  migratory 
birds (blackcaps – ‘ambelopoulia’), with nets, lime-sticks 
and  sound-producing  devices.  Although  progress  has 
been made (especially on reducing mist-netting) due to 
intensified  enforcement  (e.g.  through  controls  and 
stricter  fines  for  mist-nets  through  the  new  national 
legislation approved in July 2017), the trapping numbers 
remain  unacceptably  high,  mainly  driven  by  illegal 
consumption. It is important that the Cypriot authorities 
continue  their 
including  by 
  enforcement  efforts, 
imposing  effective  and  dissuasive  penalties31  especially 
on the major offenders. 

Bringing nature back to agricultural land and restoring 
soil ecosystems 

Agricultural land 

The biodiversity strategy works alongside the new farm 
to fork strategy and the new common agricultural policy 
(CAP)  to  support  and  achieve  the  transition  to  fully 
sustainable agriculture.  
The  biodiversity  and  farm  to  fork  strategies  have  set 
four important targets for 2030:  
- a 50% reduction in the overall use of – and risk from – 
chemical pesticides; 
-  a  50%  reduction  in  the  use  of  more  hazardous 
pesticides; 
-  a  50%  reduction  in  losses  of  nutrients  from  fertilisers 
while  ensuring  there  is  no  deterioration  of  soil  fertility 
(which  will  result  in  a  20%  reduction  in  the  use  of 
fertilisers);  
- bring back at least 10% of agricultural area under high-
diversity  landscape  features  and  increase  areas  under 
organic farming to at least 25%.  

Cyprus  12 

As shown in Figure 10, Cyprus with an estimated 4.37% 
of  its  area  under  organic  farming  is  significantly  below 
the EU average of 9.07% (2020 data, Eurostat). 

Figure 10: Share of total utilised agricultural area 
occupied by organic farming per Member State, 202032 

According  to  the  Commission’s  recommendations  for 
Cyprus’  CAP  strategic  plan33,  total  ammonia  (NH3) 
emissions  in  Cyprus  were  relatively  stable  between 
1995  and  2010,  after  which  they  steadily  decreased  in 
2015.  97%  of  the  total  reported  ammonia  emissions  in 
Cyprus come from agricultural sources. 

On soil quality, 7.2% of agricultural areas in Cyprus were 
at  severe  risk  of  soil  erosion  by  water  in  2016,  in  line 
with the EU average. The amount of soil organic matter 
in arable land in Cyprus is one of the lowest  in  the EU. 
Despite the pressures to increase soil quality, only 1% of 
agricultural land is contractually obliged to improve soil, 
far below the EU average of 12%. 

implementation  of  nature 
grassland  habitats 

Regarding biodiversity, according to the latest report on 
legislation,  50%  of 
the 
Cyprus’ 
favourable 
conservation  status.  Agriculture  is  the  second  biggest 
pressure  on  biodiversity,  affecting  60%  of  habitats  and 
47% of species. 

type 

in 

The  total  area  under  organic  farming  remained  rather 
stable in Cyprus between 2016 and 2019. However, the 
area is small (5% of Cyprus total UAA) compared to the 
EU-27 average. Organic areas and producers  of organic 
food  hstarted to increase as  from 2012, but  as there is 
no  clear  upwards  trend  in  areas  under  conversion  to 
organic  farming,  the  future  development  of  this  sector 
is not ensured. 

31  Since  the  relevant  amendment  of  legislation  in  2017,  the  average 
fine imposed has increased from EUR 502 to EUR 1 696, comparing to 
pre-2017 levels. 

32 
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sdg_02_40/default/
table?lang=en (Eurostat, Area under organic farming, February 2022). 
33 EUR-Lex - 52020SC0370 - EN - EUR-Lex (europa.eu) 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Cyprus  13 

Figure 11: Land take and re-cultivation in EU27 
(m2/km2), 2012-201837 

Soil ecosystems  

soil 

new 

strategy, 

Soil  is  a  finite  and  extremely  fragile  resource.  It  is 
increasingly degrading in the EU. 
on 
adopted 
EU 
The 
17 November 2021,  stresses  the 
importance  of  soil 
protection,  of  sustainable  soil  management  and  of 
restoring  degraded  soils  to  achieve  the  Green  Deal 
objectives  as  well  as  land  degradation  neutrality  by 
2030.  
This entails: 
(i) preventing further soil degradation; 
(ii)  making  sustainable  soil  management  the  new 
normal; 
(iii) taking action for ecosystem restoration.  
One factor  in the degradation of soil ecosystems is the 
area  of  soil  that  is  sealed  or  artificialised34.  In  Cyprus 
(Figure  11) the land taken per year in the period 2012-
2018  can  be  seen  as  a  measure  of  one  significant 
pressure on nature and biodiversity, land use change. At 
the  same  time, 
land  use  change  constitutes  an 
environmental  pressure  on  people  living  in  urbanised 
areas.  

With  396.3  m2/km2,  Cyprus  ranks  well  above35  the  EU 
average on net land take (EU-27 average: 83.8 m2/km2), 
coming  second  after  Malta.  In  proportion  to  its  area, 
Cyprus was one of the two Member States that saw the 
largest  amount  of  land  take  between  2000  and  2018 
with 6.4% of soil sealed or artificialised. 

In  2018,  Cyprus  updated 
land 
degradation  according  to  the  next  PRAIS3  reporting 
platform36  with  actions 
intended  to  achieve  the 
degradation identified. 

its  reporting  on 

34 Artificial  land cover  is defined as the total of roofed built-up areas 
(including  buildings  and  greenhouses),  artificial  non  built-up  areas 
(including sealed area features, such as yards, farmyards, cemeteries, 
car  parking  areas  etc.  and  linear  features,  such  as  streets,  roads, 
railways, runways, bridges) and other artificial areas (including bridges 
and  viaducts,  mobile  homes,  solar  panels,  power  plants,  electrical 
substations, pipelines, water sewage plants, and open dump sites). 
35 Land take in Europe - European Environment Agency (europa.eu) fig 
6 
36 All Reports | Prais3 (unccd.int) 

However, Cyprus has not yet committed to setting land 
degradation neutrality targets under UNCCD38-39. 

As  stated  in  the  2019  EIR,  soil  organic  matter  plays  an 
important  role  in  the  carbon  cycle  and  in  climate 
change.  Soils  are  the  second  largest  carbon  sink  in  the 
world after the oceans. 

Forests and timber 

The EU forest strategy for 2030, adopted in July 2021, is 
part  of  the  ’Fit  for  55’  package.  The  strategy  promotes 
the many services that forests provide. Its key objective 
is  to  ensure  healthy,  diverse  and  resilient  EU  forests 
that  contribute  significantly 
the  strengthened 
to 
biodiversity and climate ambitions.  
Forests are important carbon sinks and conserving them 
is vital if the EU is to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.  

Of  the  27%  of  EU  forest  area  protected  under  the 
Habitats Directive, less than 15% of assessments show a 
favourable  conservation  status40.  Bad  conservation 
status increased from 27% to 31% in the EU compared 
to 2015. 

37  European  Environment  Agency,  Land  take  in  Europe,  December 
2021. 

38  The LDN Target Setting Programme | UNCCD 
39  Cyprus  is  finalising  its  desertification  startegy  and  national  action 
plan  which  includes  land  degradation  neutrality  targets  under  the 
UNCCD. 
40 EEA, State of Nature in the EU 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
In Cyprus, forests cover 20.62% of territory41 and more 
than  50%  of  the  assessments  reveal  a  bad  to  poor 
status42. 

Figure 12:  Conservation status of forests protected 
under the Habitats Directive in EU-27, 2013-2018 (% 
assessments)43 

Cyprus  14 

Invasive alien species (IAS) 

in 

and 

land 

changes 

IAS  are  a  key  cause  of  biodiversity  loss  in  the  EU 
(alongside 
use, 
sea 
overexploitation, climate change and pollution).  
Besides  inflicting  major  damage  on  nature  and  the 
economy, many invasive alien species also facilitate the 
outbreak  and  spread  of  infectious  diseases,  posing  a 
threat to humans and wildlife.  
The  implementation  of  the  EU  Invasive  Alien  Species 
Regulation  and  other  relevant 
legislation  must  be 
stepped up.  
The  biodiversity  strategy  for  2030  aims  to  manage 
recognised  invasive  alien  species  and  decrease  the 
number of 'red list' species they threaten by 50%. 
The  core  of  the  Regulation  on  invasive  alien  species47 
(the IAS Regulation) is the list of IAS of Union concern.  

According  to  the  2021  report48  the  implementation  of 
the  IAS  Regulation  is  already  starting  to  deliver  on  its 
objectives such as a coherent framework for addressing 
IAS at EU level and increased awareness of the problem 
of  invasive  alien  species.  However,  the  report  also 
identified some challenges and areas for improvement. 
Given  that  the  deadlines  for  various  obligations  under 
the IAS Regulation applied gradually between July 2016 
and  July  2019,  it  is  premature  to  draw  conclusions  on 
several  aspects  of  the 
implementation  of  the  IAS 
Regulation. 

A 2021 report49on the baseline distribution of IAS shows 
that  of  the  66  species  on  the  EU  list,  6  have  been 
observed  in  the  environment  in  Cyprus.  The  spread  is 
shown in the figure below. 

Figure 13: Number of IAS of EU concern, based on 
available georeferenced information for Cyprus, 2021 

The  European  Union  Timber  Regulation  (EUTR)44  , 
prohibits  the  placing  on  the  EU  market  of  illegally 
harvested  timber.  In  accordance  with  the  EUTR,  EU 
Member  States’  competent  authorities  must  conduct 
regular  checks  on  operators  and  traders,  and  apply 
penalties  for  non-compliance.  With  the  amendment  of 
Article 20 of the EUTR, reporting every 2 years has been 
changed  to  annual  reporting,  and  covers  the  calendar 
year as of 2019. 

Between  March  2017  and  February  201945,  Cyprus 
carried out 279 checks on domestic timber operators. It 
also carried out 1 checks on operators importing timber. 
It  is  estimated  that  Cyprus  had  62  operators  placing 
domestic  and  780  operators  placing  imported  timber 
types  onto  the  internal  market  over  the  reporting 
period. 

The  new  Deforestation  Regulation46  will  repeal  and 
replace  the  EUTR,  as  it  will  essentially  integrate  and 
improve  the  existing  system  to  check  the  legality  of 
timber. 

41 EEA, Forest information system for Europe. 
42 COM SWD (2021) 652 
43  European  Environment  Agency,  Conservation  status  and  trend  in 
conservation status by habitat group - forests, January 2022. 
44 Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council of 20 October 2010. 
45 COM/2020/629 final 
46  A  proposal  for  the  Regulation  on  the  making  available  on  the  EU 
market  and  export  of  products  associated  with  deforestation  and 
forest degradation 

47  Regulation  (EU)  No  1143/2014  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of 
the Council of 22 October 2014 on the prevention and management of 
the introduction and spread of invasive alien species 
48  Report  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the 
Council  on  the  review  of  the  application  of  Regulation  (EU)  No 
1143/2014  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  22 
October 2014 on the prevention and management of the introduction 
and spread of invasive alien species, COM(2021) 628 final, 13.10.2021. 
49  Cardoso  A.C.,  Tsiamis  K.,  Deriu  I.,  D'  Amico  F.,  Gervasini  E.,  EU 
Regulation 1143/2014:  assessment  of  invasive  alien species of  Union 
concern  distribution,  Member  States  reports  vs  JRC  baselines,  EUR 
30689  EN,  Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union,  Luxembourg, 
2021, ISBN 978-92-76-37420-6, doi:10.2760/11150, JRC123170. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
 
                                                                 
 
 
                                                                 
Cyprus  15 

 

 

 

controls 

law  enforcement  efforts 

in  the  Town  and  Country  Planning  Law,  with 
the nature directives.  
Strengthen 
to 
eliminate  illegal  bird  trapping  and  killing,  in 
involved  and 
cooperation  with  all  parties 
addressing  all  aspects  of  the  issue,  especially 
effective 
through  more 
and 
inspections 
in  trapping 
in  restaurants  and 
fields, enhancing the capacity and means of the 
authorities  involved,  introducing  fines  for  all 
trapping  methods, 
the 
awareness of judges and prosecutors. 
the 
Step  up  action  on 
recommendations  set  out  in  the  Cypriot  CAP 
strategic plan.  
Step  up  implementation  of  the  EU  Invasive 
Alien  Species  (IAS)  Regulation,  including  the 
approval  and  dissemination  of  pathway  action 
plans  required  by  Article  13,  and  the  creation 
of  species  action  plans  for  the  effective 
management of invasive species. 

implementing 

increasing 

and 

Marine ecosystems 

The  EU  biodiversity  strategy  for  2030  calls  on  Member 
States  to  better  integrate  biodiversity  considerations 
into  public  and  business  decision  making  at  all  levels 
and to develop natural capital accounting. The EU needs 
a  better  performing  biodiversity  observation  network 
and  more  consistent  reporting  on  the  condition  of 
ecosystems.50.  

The  Marine  Strategy  Framework  Directive  (MSFD) 
requires Member States to achieve good environmental 
status  (GES)  of  their  marine  waters.  To  that  end, 
Member  States  must  draw  up  marine  strategies  for 
their marine waters, and cooperate with Member States 
sharing  the  same  marine  region  or  sub-region.  These 
marine  strategies  comprise  different  steps  to  be 
developed and implemented over six-year cycles. 

(Article  9),  and  to  provide  an 

The  MSFD  also  requires  Member  States  by  15  October 
2018  to  draw  up  a  set  of  GES  characteristics  for  each 
descriptor 
initial 
assessment  of  their  marine  waters  (Article  8).  The 
Commission  then  assesses  whether  this  constitutes  an 
appropriate framework to meet the requirements of the 
Directive. 

50  The  EU  Common  Fisheries  Policy  (CFP)  aims  to  contribute  to  the 
achievement  of  the  objectives  of  the  environmental  legislation  for 
marine ecosystems. 

An infringement case has been launched against Cyprus 
for  failing  to  draw  up  and  implement  a  single  action 
plan  or  set  of  action  plans  as  requiredby  Article  13  of 
the  IAS  Regulation  by  13  July  2019  and  to  submit 
it/them to the Commission without delay. 

2022 priority action 

 

 

 

by 

out 

carrying 

conservation  objectives 

conservation  measures 

Complete  the  SCI  and  SPA  designations, 
especially in offshore marine waters. Complete 
the  SAC  designation  process  and  ensure  that 
the respective Ministerial Decrees include clear 
site-specific 
and 
measures,  and  clearly  identified  competences 
for  managing  them.  Provide  adequate  human 
and  financial  resources  for  implementing  the 
necessary 
and 
enforcing  the  applicable  rules  in  the  sites, 
systematic 
including 
inspections  and  setting  adequate  fines.  Set  up 
a  broad  awareness-raising  campaign 
for 
specific  stakeholders  (farmers,  hunters,  the 
tourism  sector,  private  owners,  etc.)  and  the 
public on Natura 2000 and its benefits.  
Continue  efforts  to  improve  the  ‘appropriate 
assessment’ process (by ensuring that all plans 
and  projects  with  likely  significant  impacts  are 
subject  to  an  assessment,  best  available  data 
are  used,  consultations  and  decisions  are 
transparent  and  accessible)  and  to  prevent 
from 
deterioration  of  Natura  2000  sites 
damaging developments.  
Take  capacity  building  measures  to  increase 
competent 
awareness  and  expertise  of 
planning 
local 
authorities 
authorities)  on  Article 
6(4) 
6(3) 
procedures,  and  take  measures  to  address 
potential conflicts of land use rights enshrined 

(including 

and 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
 
                                                                 
Cyprus  16 

Figure 15: Level of adequacy of national assessment of 
Country’s marine environment (MAL region) with 
criteria set under the Commission GES Decision – 
Article 8 (2018 reporting exercise)54 

The Commission assessed  Cyprus’  2018 determinations 
of  GES  for  each  of  the  MSFD’s  11  descriptors51  and 
determined  their  level  of  adequacy  in  relation  to  the 
Commission  GES Decision52.  A good or very good  score 
indicates  that  the  national  determinations  of  GES  are 
well  aligned  with  the  requirements  of  the  Commission 
GES  Decision,  providing  qualitative  and  quantitative 
national  environmental  objectives  for  their  marine 
waters. 

Figure  14:  Level  of  adequacy  of  GES  determination  by 
Country  (MAL  region)  with  criteria  set  under  the 
Commission  GES  Decision  –  Article  9  (2018  reporting 
exercise)53 

Two descriptors out of 11 were assessed as good or very 
good. Cyprus’s assessment of its marine environment is 
coherent  with  requirements  set  under  the  Commission 
GES  Decision  for  2  out  of  11  descriptors.  Cyprus  is 
missing data for two descriptors: D4 Food webs and D11 
Energy, inclunding underwater noise. 

Cyprus has one marine sub-region, MAL-Mediterranean: 
Aegean-Levantine  Sea.  In  this  marine  sub-region,  2  out 
of  11  determinations  of  GES  were  assessed  as  good  or 
very good. The national determination of GES by Cyprus 
is coherent for 2 out of 11 descriptors. 

The  MSFD  also  requires  that  Member  States  make  an 
assessment of the current environmental status of their 
marine waters in relation to the determination of GES. A 
good  or  very  good  score  indicates  that  Member  States 
are  well  able  to  assess  their  marine  environment  in 
accordance  with  the  requirements  set  out 
in  the 
Commission GES Decision. 

51  Annex  I  of  Directive  2008/56/EC  establishing  a  framework  for 
community action in the field of marine environmental policy (Marine 
Strategy Framework Directive), OJ L 164, 25.6.2008, p. 19-40. 
52  This  assessment  was  made  in  relation  to  the  ‘Commission  GES 
Decision’, Commission Decision No 2017/848, pp. 43-74. 
53    Assessment  carried  out  by  the  European  Commission  of  the  data 
reported  by  the  MS,  January  2022.  Please  note  that  only  two  sub-
sections  of  descriptor  D1  are  displayed  (D1-M  Mammals  and  D1-B 
Birds). For  the analysis, these two sub-sections were considered as  a 
whole after averaging them.  

Cyprus  has  neither  signed  nor  ratified  the  Protocol  on 
Integrated  Coastal 
the 
Mediterranean. 

Zone  Management 

in 

the  MSFD55,  while 

As  highlighted  in  the  Commission’s  report  on  the 
implementation  of 
regional 
cooperation  has  improved  since  the  adoption  of  the 
MSFD,  more  cooperation 
is  needed  to  attain  full 
regional coherence of the marine strategies, as required 
by the Directive. 

In the 2019 EIR, the Commission suggested that Cyprus 
should  provide  more  information  on  its  measures  and 
introduce  more  measures  that  would  have  a  direct 
impact on the sources of pressure, and also quantify the 
expected  level  of  reduction  of  the  sources  of  pressure 
as a result of these measures. It was also recommended 
that Cyprus report on the various MSFD elements by the 
given  deadline  and  ensure  regional  cooperation  with 
Member States sharing the same marine (sub) region to 
address  the  leading  sources  of  pressure.  Cyprus  made 
some  progress  on  the  above  actions.  However,  further 
action  is  needed  to  achieve  GES  in  the  descriptors 
assessed as poor (see Figures 14 and 15 above). 

54  Idem. 
55 COM(2020)259 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
 
                                                                 
 
 
                                                                 
Cyprus  17 

Figure 16: ESMERALDA MAES Barometer, January 2016 
– March 202158 

2022 priority action 

 

to 

support 

indicators 

appropriate 

Continue 
the  mapping  and 
assessment  of  ecosystems  and  their  services, 
and  ecosystem  accounting  development,  be 
on 
determining 
integrating  ecosystem  extent,  condition  and 
services (including some monetary values) into 
national  accounts.  Continue  to  support  the 
and 
development  of  national  business 
biodiversity platforms, including natural capital 
accounting systems to monitor and put a value 
on the impact of business on biodiversity. 

Furthermore, in March 2022, the European Commission 
published a  Communication  with recommendations for 
Member States. The Commission  assessment  highlights 
that  Member  States  need  to  step  up  their  efforts  to 
determine  the  good  environmental  status  and  the  use 
of  the  criteria  and  methodological  standards  according 
to 
the  Commission  GES  Decision.  The  above 
considerations  form  the  basis  for  the  2022  priority 
actions. 

2022 priority actions 

 

 

 

the 

Communication57 

Implement the recommendations made by the 
Commission  in  the  staff  working  document56 
accompanying 
on 
recommendations  per  Member  States  and 
region on the 2018 updated reports for Articles 
8, 9 and 10 of the MSFD. 
Ensure  regional  cooperation  with  Member 
States sharing the same marine (sub) region to 
address the main pressures.   
Sign  and  ratify  the  Protocol  on  Integrated 
Coastal 
the 
Zone  Management 
Mediterranean. 

in 

Ecosystem assessment and accounting  

The  EU  biodiversity  strategy  for  2030  calls  on  Member 
States  to  better  integrate  biodiversity  considerations 
into  public  and  business  decision  making  at  all  levels 
and to develop natural capital accounting. The EU needs 
a  better  performing  biodiversity  observation  network 
and  more  consistent  reporting  on  the  condition  of 
ecosystems.  

Cyprus  has  set  up  a  Coordination  Committee  for  the 
implementation  of  MAES  actions,  working  under  the 
Minister  of  Agriculture,  Rural  Development  and 
Environment. 

Cyprus completed three studies in 2015, 2017 and 2018. 
The first one set out a roadmap for the implementation 
of  an  evaluation  framework  for  ecosystem  services  in 
Cyprus.  The  second  focused  on  the  mapping  and 
assessment  of  ecosystem  services.  The  third  presented 
a  case  study  on  wetland  and  river  ecosystems  for  the 
mapping and assessment of ecosystem services. 

Cyprus  has  provided  updated  information  for  the  first 
time  (Figure  16).  This  assessment  is  based  on  27 
implementation questions and updated every 6 months. 

56 SWD(2022)1392 

57 COM(2022)550. 

58 http://esmeralda-project.eu/  

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
                                                                 
 
 
                                                                 
Cyprus  18 

3. Zero pollution 

the emission reduction commitments for all air pollutants 
covered  by  the  Directive  from  2030  onwards.  However, 
according  to  projections,  it  will  not  meet  its  2020-2029 
emission  reduction  commitments  for  SO2  and  NOx.  The 
latest  inventory  data  submitted  by  Cyprus,  which  have 
not  yet been reviewed by the Commission, indicate that 
in 2020 Cyprus met its emission reduction commitments 
for NOx, NMVOC, NH3 and PM2.5, but not for SO2. 

Cyprus  submitted 
programme on 27 May 2019. 

its  national  air  pollution  control 

Figure  17:  Emission  trends  of  main  pollutants/  GDP  in 
Cyprus 2005-201967 

Clean air 

its 

EU  clean  air  policies  and  legislation  need  to  significantly 
improve air quality in the EU, moving the EU closer to the 
quality recommended by the WHO and curbing emissions 
of key air pollutants.  
Air  pollution  and 
impacts  on  ecosystems  and 
biodiversity  should  be  further  reduced  with  the  long-
term  aim  of  not  exceeding  critical  loads  and  levels.  This 
requires  strengthening  efforts  to  reach  full  compliance 
with EU clean air legislation and defining strategic targets 
and actions for 2030 and beyond.  
The 2030 zero pollution action plan targets are to reduce 
the health impacts of air pollution by 55% and to reduce 
the  EU  ecosystems  threatened  by  air  pollution  by  25%, 
compared to 2005.   

The 2030 zero pollution action plan targets are to reduce 
the health impacts of air pollution by 55% and to reduce 
the  EU  ecosystems  threatened  by  air  pollution  by 
25%.The EU has developed a comprehensive  body of air 
quality  legislation,  which  sets  health-based  standards59 
and  emission  reduction  commitments60  for  a  number  of 
air pollutants. 

Air  quality  in  Cyprus  is  generally  good,  but  with  some 
exceptions.  The  latest  available  annual  estimates  (for 
2019)  by  the  European  Environment  Agency61  point  to 
about  700  premature  deaths  (or  7  200  years  of  life  lost 
(YLL)) 
particulate  matter 
concentrations62, 40 (400 YLL) to ozone concentrations63 
and 130 (1 400 YLL) to nitrogen dioxide concentrations64 
65. 

attributable 

fine 

to 

Figure 18: PM2.5 and NOx emissions by sector in Cyprus, 
201968 

Emissions  of  key  air  pollutants  have  decreased 
significantly in Cyprus, while GDP growth continued (see 
graph). According to the latest projections, as submitted 
under  Article  10(2)  of  the  National  Emission  Reduction 
Commitments Directive (NECD)66, Cyprus expects to fulfil 

59 European Commission, 2016. Air Quality Standards 
60 European Commission, Reduction of National Emissions 
61 European Environment Agency, Air Quality in Europe –2021 Rapport, 
See page 106 for details on the underpinning methodology, p.106 
62  Particulate  matter  (PM)  is  a  mixture  of  aerosol  particles  (solid  and 
liquid) covering a wide range of sizes and chemical compositions. PM10 
(PM2.5) refers to  particles with a  diameter  of  10  (2.5) micrometres or 
less. PM is emitted from many human sources, including combustion. 
63 Low-level ozone is produced by photochemical action on pollution. 
64  NOx  is  emitted  during  fuel  combustion  e.g.  from  industrial  facilities 
and  the  road  transport  sector.  NOx  is  a  group  of  gases  comprising 
nitrogen monoxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). 
65  Please  note  that  these  figures  refer  to  the  impacts  of  individual 
pollutants, and to avoid double-counting cannot be added up to derive 
a sum. 
66 Directive 2016/2284/EU. 

67 European Environment Agency. 
68 European Environment Agency. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
                                                                 
 
 
                                                                 
Cyprus  19 

industrial emissions. The cornerstone of the policy is the 
Industrial Emissions Directive 70 (IED).   
As  announced 
in  the  European  Green  Deal,  the 
Commission  carried  out  an  impact  assessment  for  the 
revision  of  the  IED  in  2021  with  a  view  to  tabling  a 
proposal  in  early  2022  71.  The  revision  seeks  to  improve 
the  Directive’s  contribution  to  the  zero  pollution 
objective, as well as its consistency with climate, energy 
and circular economy policies. 
The  below  overview  of  industrial  activities  regulated  by 
the  IED  is  based  on  data  reported  to  the  EU  Registry 
(2018)72. 

In Cyprus, around 80 industrial installations are required 
to  have  a  permit  based  on  the  IED.  The  distribution  of 
installations is shown in the figure below. 

industrial  sectors 

IED 
The 
installations in 2018 were intensive rearing of poultry or 
pigs  (56%),  the  waste  management  sector  (18%)  and 
ceramics production (10%). 

in  Cyprus  with  most 

Figure 19: Number of IED industrial installations per 
sector in Cyprus, 201873 

limit  values 
For  2020,  no  exceedances  above  the 
established  by  the  Ambient  Air  Quality  Directive  (AAQD) 
were  registered.  However,  the  target  values  regarding 
ozone concentration have not been met69. 

In the 2019 EIR, Cyprus received a priority action to take 
specific  actions  under  the  national  air  pollution  control 
programme  (NAPCP).  However,  as 
limited 
progress in this respect, the action repeated. 

it  made 

2022 priority actions  

 

take 

towards 

  As  part  of  the  national  air  pollution  control 
programme, 
reducing 
steps 
emissions  from  the  main  sources  mentioned 
above. 
Ensure  full  compliance  with  the  EU  air  quality 
standards  and  maintain  downward  emissions 
trends  for  air  pollutants,  to  reduce  adverse  air 
pollution  impacts  on  health  and  the  economy 
with a view to reaching WHO guideline values in 
the future. 

Industrial emissions 

The  main objectives of EU policy on  industrial emissions 
are to: 
(i) protect air, water and soil; 
(ii) prevent and manage waste; 
(iii) improve energy and resource efficiency; 
(iv) clean up contaminated sites. 
To  achieve  this,  the  EU  takes  an  integrated  approach  to 
the  prevention  and  control  of  routine  and  accidental 

69 European Environment Agency, Eionet Central Data Repository 

70  Directive  2010/75/EU  covers  industrial  activities  carried  out  above 
certain thresholds. It covers the energy industry, metal production, the 
mineral  and  chemical  industry  and  waste  management,  as  well  as  a 
wide  range  of  industrial  and agricultural  sectors (e.g.  intensive  rearing 
of pig and poultry, pulp and paper production, painting and cleaning). 
71  The  revision  of  the  IED  is  performed  in  parallel  to  the  revision  of 
Regulation  (EC)  No  166/2006  on  the  European  Pollutant  Release  and 
Transfer Register (E-PRTR). 
72 European Environment Agency, European Industrial Emissions Portal. 
73  European  Environment  Agency,  EU  Registry,  European  Industrial 
Emissions Portal (data retrieved on 3 November 2021). 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
 
 
 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Figure 20: Emissions to air from IED sectors and rest of 
national total air emissions in Cyprus, 201874 

Figure 21: Number of inspections in IED installations in 
2018 in Cyprus, 201875 

Cyprus  20 

The  development  of  best-available-technique 
(BAT) 
reference  documents  (BREFs)  and  BAT  conclusions 
ensures  good  collaboration  between  stakeholders  and 
enables  a  better  implementation  of  the  IED76.  Since  the 
last EIR report, the Commission adopted BAT conclusions 
for  Cyprus  for:  (i)  waste  incineration;  (ii)  the  food,  drink 
and  milk  industries;  and  (iii)  surface  treatment  using 
organic solvents including the preservation of  wood and 
wood-products with chemicals.The Commission relies on 
to 
the  efforts  of  national  competent  authorities 
implement  the 
legally  binding  BAT  conclusions  and 
associated BAT emission levels in environmental permits. 
This  should  result 
in  considerable  and  continuous 
reductions in pollution. 

In  2019,  Cyprus  received  the  priority  actions  to  review 
permits  and  to  strengthen  control  and  enforcement  to 
ensure compliance with newly adopted BAT conclusions. 
The  Commission  has  been  monitoring  progress,  as 
reported  by  Cyprus  to  the  EU  registry,  and  is  currently 
verifying  with  Cyprus  that  the  reported  information  on 
the  permits  granted  for  each  installation  is  in  line  with 
the IED.  

Cyprus also received a priority action on the odour from 
the high number of installations for poultry or pigs, which 
are  often  situated  close  to  residential  areas.  The 
is  following  this  up  through  the  BAT 
Commission 
conclusions  on  the  intensive  rearing  of  poultry  or  pigs, 
which  were  supposed  to  be  reflected  in  permits  by 
February 2021. 

The  EU  approach  taken  to  enforcement  under  the  IED 
creates  strong  rights  for  citizens  to  have  access  to 
relevant information and to participate in  the permitting 
process.  This  empowers  citizens,  and  NGOs,  to  ensure 
that  permits  are  appropriately  granted  and  their 
conditions 
respected.  As  part  of  environmental 
inspection, competent authorities undertake site visits to 
IED installations to take samples and to gather necessary 
information.  According  to  Article  23(4)  of  the  IED,  site 
visits are carried out between once every year and once 
every  3  years,  depending  on  the  environmental  risks 
posed by the installations. In 2018 Cyprus undertook 108 
site  visits,  the  majority  of  which  to  intensive  rearing  of 
poultry or pigs (49%) under other activities, to the waste 
management  sector  (32%),  minerals  sector  (8%)  and 
power production (6%). 

74  European  Environment  Agency,  LRTAP,  Air  pollutant  emissions  data 
viewer  (Gothenburg  Protocol,  LRTAP  Convention)  1990-2019  (data 
retrieved on 3 November 2021). 

75  European  Environment  Agency,  E-PRTR,  European 
Industrial 
Emissions  Portal.  The  heavy  metals  are  presented  both  as  a  weighted 
sum  of  eco  toxicity  and  human  toxicity  factors  to  illustrate  both  the 
ecological  and  human  impact  (based  on  USEtox)  (data  retrieved  on  3 
November 2021). 
76 European Commission  

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                                 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                                 
Prevention of major industrial accidents– 
SEVESO 

The  main  objectives  of  EU  policy  on  the  prevention  of 
major industrial accidents are to  
(i)  control  major  accident  hazards  involving  dangerous 
substances, especially chemicals;  
(ii)  limit  the  consequences  of  such  accidents  for  human 
health and the environment;  
(iii)  continuously  improve  prevention,  preparedness  and 
response to major accidents.  
The  cornerstone  of  the  policy  is  Directive  2012/18/EU 
(the Seveso-III Directive) 77. 

The below overview of industrial plants regulated by the 
Seveso-III  Directive(‘Seveso  establishments’)  is  based  on 
data  reported  to  the  eSPIRS  database  (2018)78  and 
Cyprus’  report  on  the  implementation  of  the  Seveso-III 
Directive for the period 2015-201879. 

Of    the  30  Seveso  establishments  in  Cyprus,  18  are 
categorised as lower-tier establishments (LTEs) and 12 as 
upper-tier establishments (UTEs) – based on the quantity 
of  hazardous  substances  likely  to  be  present.  The  UTEs 
are  subject  to  more  stringent  requirements.  The  growth 
in  the  number  of  Seveso  establishments  is  presented  in 
Figure 22. 

Figure 22: Number of Seveso establishments in Cyprus, 
2011, 2014 and 201880 

Cyprus  21 

EEP and 12 of these EEPs had been tested over the last 3 
years. The summary is shown in Figure 23.  

Figure 23: Situation regarding EEPs in Cyprus, 201881 

The  public  information  referred  to  in  Annex  V  to  the 
Seveso-III  Directive  –  especially  about  how  the  public 
affected  will  be  warned  in  case  of  a  major  accident, 
appropriate  behaviour  in  the  event  of  a  major  accident, 
and  the  date  of  the  last  site  visit  –  is  permanently 
available  for  100%  of  the  Seveso  establishments  in 
Cyprus. 

The  share  of  UTEs  for  which  information  on  safety 
measures  and  requisite  behaviours  were  actively  made 
available  to  the  public  in  recent  years  are  presented  in 
Figure 24. 

Figure 24: Share of UTEs for which information on safety 
measures and requisite behaviours was actively made 
available to the public in Cyprus, 2011, 2014 and 201882 

Many  Seveso  establishments  are  required  to  draw  up 
(EEPs).  These  EEPs  are 
external  emergency  plans 
essential  to  allow  proper  preparation  and  effective 
implementation  of  the  necessary  actions  to  protect  the 
environment  and  the  population  should  a  major 
industrial  accident  occur  at  them.  According  to  Cyprus, 
EEPs  are  required  for  12  UTEs.  In  2018,  12  UTEs  had  an 

77  Directive  2012/18/EU  on  the  control  of  major-accident  hazards 
involving dangerous substances. 
78 European Commission, Seveso Plants Information Retrieval System. 
79 As provided for by Article 21(2) of the Seveso-III Directive. 
80 European Commission, Assessment and summary of Member States’ 
implementation  reports  for 
Implementing  Decision  2014/896/EU 
(implementing  Directive  2012/18/EU  on  the  control  of  major  accident 
hazards involving dangerous substances), 2022. 

Noise 

The  Environmental  Noise  Directive83  provides  for  a 
common  approach  to  avoid,  prevent  and  reduce  the 
harmful  effects  of  exposure  to  environmental  noise 
although  it  does  not  set  noise  limits  as  such.  Its  main 

81 Idem. 
82 Idem. 
83 Directive 2002/49/EC. 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
 
 
                                                                 
 
 
 
                                                                 
instruments  in  this  respect  are  strategic  noise  mapping 
and planning. A key target under the 2030 zero pollution 
action  plan  is  to  reduce  by  30%  the  share  of  people 
disturbed by transport noise. 

Excessive noise from aircraft, railways and roads is one of 
the  main  causes  of  environmental  health‐related  issues 
in  the  EU.  It  can  cause  ischaemic  heart  disease,  stroke, 
interrupted sleep, cognitive impairment and stress84. 

In Cyprus, based on limited data, environmental noise is 
estimated to cause at least 50 premature deaths and 100 
cases  of  ischaemic  heart  disease  per  year85.  In  addition, 
some  22  000  people  suffer  from  disturbed  sleep. 
According  to  the  latest  data  (from  2012),  aroundhalf  a 
million  citizens  were  exposed  to  noise 
in  Cyprus. 
According  to  the  latest  full  set  of  information  that  has 
been  analysed,  noise  mapping  of  roads  remains 
incomplete.  Moreover,  Cyprus  still  lacks  action  plans  for 
some  roads.  These  plans,  which  will  undergo  a  public 
consultation, should include measures to reduce noise. 

Cyprus  received  a  priority  action  in  the  2019  EIR  to 
complete  noise  action  plans,  but  there  has  been  limited 
progress as detailed above. Therefore, this priority action 
is repeated, and another one is added on noise mapping. 

2022 priority actions 

 
 

Complete noise mapping. 
Complete  action  plans  for  noise  management 
for roads. 

Water quality and management 

EU  legislation  and  policy  requires  that  the  impact  of 
pressures  on  transitional,  coastal  and  fresh  waters 
(including  surface  and  ground  waters)  be  significantly 
reduced.  Achieving,  maintaining  or  enhancing  a  good 
status  of  water  bodies  as  defined  by  the  Water 
Framework Directive  will  ensure that EU citizens benefit 
from good quality and  safe drinking and bathing water. It 
will  further  ensure  that  the  nutrient  cycle  (nitrogen  and 
phosphorus)  is  managed  in  a  more  sustainable  and 
resource-efficient way. 

84 WHO 2018, Environmental Noise Guidelines for the European Region. 
85  These figures are an  estimation  by  the  European  Environmental 
Agency  based  on: (i) the  data 
reported  by  Member  States 
on noise exposure  covered  by  Directive  2002/49/EC; (ii) ETC/ATNI, 
Environmental Noise Directive 
the 
2021, Noise indicators 
2021: Methodology  for  estimating  missing  data, ETC/ATNI  Report  No 
2021/06, European Topic Centre on Air Pollution, Transport, Noise and 
Industrial 
impact 
calculations, ETC/ACM,  2018,  Implications  of  environmental noise on 
health  and  wellbeing  in  Europe,  Eionet  Report  ETC/ACM  No  2018/10, 
European Topic Centre on Air Pollution and Climate Change Mitigation.  

Pollution; (iii) the methodology 

health 

under 

for 

Cyprus  22 

Water Framework Directive 

is 

(WFD)86 

Framework  Directive 

The Water 
the 
cornerstone  of  the  EU’s  water  policy  for  the  21st 
century87.  The  WFD  and  other  water-related  directives88 
set  the  framework  for  sustainable  and  integrated  water 
management, which aims at a high level of protection of 
water resources, prevention of further deterioration and 
restoration to good status.  

By  March  2022,  Member  States  had  to  report  the  third 
set of  river  basin  management  plans (RBMPs) under the 
WFD. The Commission will assess the reported status and 
progress,  checking  what  measures  have  been  taken  in 
response  to  the  findings  identified  when  the  second 
RBMPs89 were assessed. Cyprus has not yet reported the 
third RBMPs. 

In  December  2021,  the  Commission  published  the  sixth 
implementation  report,  which  assesses  implementation 
of  the  WFD  and  the  Floods  Directive  90.  This  report 
includes  an  interim  assessment  of  progress  on:  (i)  the 
implementation of the programmes of measures; and (ii) 
the  new  priority  substances.  The  assessment  report  for 
Cyprus91  showed  that  out  of  a  total  of  55  measures,  40 
are in progress, while 6 are under preparation and 3 have 
not yet started. 

The second RBMPs reports and data published in 202092, 
reveal that 58.3% of all surface water bodies in Cyprus93 
have  good  ecological  status  (with  1.8%  unknown)  and 
only  84.8%  have  good  chemical  status  (with  11.8% 
unknown).  For  groundwaters,  33.3%  failed  to  achieve 
good chemical status and 76.2% are in poor quantitative 
status. 

The  figure  below  illustrates  the proportion  of  surface 
water  bodies  in  Cyprus  and  other  European  countries 
that failed to achieve good ecological status.  

86 The Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC). 
87 The EU Water Policy. 
88  This 
includes  the  Groundwater  Directive  (2006/118/EC),  the 
Environmental  Quality  Standards  Directive  (2008/105/EC),  the  Floods 
Directive  (2007/60/EC),  the  Bathing  Water  Directive  (2006/7/EC),  the 
Urban  Waste  Water  Treatment  Directive  (91/271/EEC),  the  new 
Drinking  Water  Directive  (2020/2184/EC),  the  Nitrates  Directive 
(91/676/EEC),  the  Marine  Strategy  Framework  Directive  (2008/56/EC), 
the Industrial Emissions Directive (2010/75/EU) and the new Regulation 
on minimum requirements for water reuse (2020/741). 
89  Detailed  information  can  be  found  in  the  5th  Report  from  the 
Commission on the implementation of the Water Framework Directive 
and the Floods Directive, as well as in the 2019 EIR. 
90 See the 6th Implementation Report of the WFD and FD. 
91  European  Commission,  Directorate-General 
for  Environment, 
Assessment  of  Member  States’  progress  in  Programmes  of  Measures 
during  the  second  planning  cycle  of  the  Water  Framework  Directive. 
Member State: Cyprus, 2022. 
92 WISE Freshwater (europa.eu) 
93 River, lake, transitional, coastal, territorial. 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
 
                                                                 
                                                                 
Figure 25: Proportion of surface water bodies (rivers, 
lakes, transitional and coastal waters) in less than good 
ecological status per river basin district94 

Under  the  IED  framework,  Cyprus  had  a  significant 
increase  over  the  last  decade  in  industrial  releases  of 
heavy metals like Cd, Hg, Ni, Pb and a decrease (20.4%) in 
total organic carbon (TOC) to water96. 

Cyprus  23 

Total  water  abstracted  annually  (corresponding  to  the 
2019  baseline)  from  surface  and  groundwater  sources 
in Cyprus is 267.90 hm3 (EEA, 2022)97. The percentage per 
sector is 63.60% for agriculture, 16.96% for public water 
supply,  18.23%  for  electricity  for  cooling  and  1.22%  for 
manufacturing98,  (see  Figure  27).    Water  abstraction  is 
the main pressure in Cyprus. However, the measures  for 
managing  and  controlling  water  abstraction  appear  less 
strict  than  point  source  and  diffuse  source  pollution. 
Cyprus uses 
water 
register to 
abstractions.  There is  generally no fixed  time period for 
reviewing  abstraction  permits  or  time  restrictions  of 
validity.  Moreover,  there  is  a  concession,  authorisation 
and/or permitting regime to control water impoundment 
and a register of impoundment. 

control 

a 

Figure 27: Water abstraction per sector in Cyprus99 

The  following  figure  shows  the  percentage of surface 
water  bodies  in Cyprus and  other  European  countries 
failing  to  achieve  good  chemical  status.  For  Cyprus,  the 
percentage  is  3.4%,  if  one  includes  water  bodies  failing 
to  substances  behaving  as  ubiquitous  PBTs 
due 
(persistent,  bio-accumulative,  and 
toxic  chemicals). 
Without  uPBTs,  the  percentage  of  surface  water  bodies 
failing to achieve good chemical status remains the same. 

Figure 26: Percentage of surface water bodies not 
achieving good chemical status95 

In  Cyprus,  the  water  exploitation  index  plus  (WEI+)100  is 
%, 
70.637% 

2017), 

above 

(for 

40 

96 European Environment Agency, June 2021. 
97  This  value  was  calculated  by  combining  2019  reporting  data  and 
filling  in  data  gaps  by  using  algorithms.  If  the  share  of  the  electricity 
cooling sector and manufacturing sector.is taken out of consideration -
for which gap filling took place-, total water abstraction is 215.82 hm3. 
Cyprus pointed out that electricity cooling is served by seawater. 
98  The  percentage  for  water  electricity  cooling  and  for  manufacturing 
was calculated by using data gap filling (which corresponds to amount 
of 48.8 hm3 reported in year 2017 and 3.3 hm3 reported in year 2018, 
respectively). 
99  European  Environment  Agency, Water  abstraction  by  source  and 
economic sector in Europe, 2022. 
100 The Water Exploitation Index plus (WEI+) is a measure of total fresh 
water  use  as  a  percentage  of  the  renewable  fresh  water  resources 
(groundwater and surface water) at a given time and place. It quantifies 

94 European Environment Agency, 2021.    
95 European Environment Agency, December 2019.  

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                                 
 
 
                                                                 
 
Cyprus  24 

reduced  from  10  km2  to  5  km2,  in  light  of:  (i)  lessons 
learnt  from  floods  that  occurred  in  2011-2018,  notably 
the size of the drainage basins where these occurred; and 
(ii)  the  expected  increase  in  intensity  and  frequency  of 
extreme storms due to climate change. Cyprus still needs 
to develop the ability to record the impacts of floods and 
to estimate the consequences of future floods. 

Cyprus  has  not  adopted  and  reported  the  second 
generation  of  flood  risk  management  plans  (FRMPs) 
under  the  Floods  Directive.  The  European  Commission 
will  assess  the  progress  made  since  the  first  plans  were 
adopted and publish a new report, as was done in 2019, 
taking also account of flood-related measures included in 
the RRP. 

Drinking Water Directive 

On  the  Drinking  Water  Directive104,  no  new  assessment 
of the quality of drinking water is available since the 2019 
EIR. The quality of drinking water in Cyprus has not been 
highlighted as an area of concern.  

The  recast  Directive105  entered  into  force  on  12  January 
2021, and Member States have until 12 January 2023 to 
transpose  it  into  their  national  legal  system.  Cyprus  will 
have to comply with these reviewed quality standards. 

Bathing Water Directive 

On  the Bathing Water Directive,  Figure  30  shows that  in 
2020,  all  112  of  Cypriot  bathing  waters  -100%  -  were  of 
excellent  quality106.  Detailed  information  on  the  Cypriot 
bathing  waters  is  available  on  the  national  portal107  and 
interactive  map  developed  by  the  European 
in  an 
Environment Agency108. 

which is generally considered  an 
water scarcity. 

indicator  of  severe 

Cyprus is  ranked first  (from  high  to  low  score)  in  the  EU 
on WEI+. 

Figure 28: Water exploitation index plus (WEI+) inside 
EU, 2017101 

The  increasing  demand  for  water  for  various  purposes 
and the intensification of severe weather conditions due 
to  climate  change  have  put  significant  strain  on 
freshwater  supplies  in  Cyprus.  Accordingly,  its  RRP102 
includes a set of interrelated reforms and investments  to 
transform  and  modernise  water  resource  management 
to  ensure  sustainability  and  to  reinforce  the  operational 
capacity of competent  authorities  through improvement 
of  cooperation  and  coordination  between  the  various 
water  management  authorities,  the  adoption  of  smart 
technologies,  the  promotion  of  water  reuse  and  the 
expansion  of  infrastructure  for  waste  water  treatment. 
The  ‘2.3  Smart  and  Sustainable  Water  Management’ 
component  is  one  of  the  RRP’s  main  contributions  to 
Cyprus’s green transition. 

Floods Directive 

As  mentioned,  the  Commission  published  the  6th 
in 
implementation  report  on  the  Floods  Directive 
December 2021, which included a  review and update of 
the preliminary flood risk assessments during the second 
cycle (2016-2021). 

the 
The  assessment 
identification of ‘areas of potential significant flood risk in 
the  second  cycle,  the  size  of  the  catchment  area  was 

showed 

report103 

that 

for 

how  much  water  is  abstracted  and  how  much  water  is  returned  after 
use to the environment. 
101 EEA, Water exploitation Index Plus, 2022.  
102  Cyprus’  recovery  and  resilience  plan  |  European  Commission 
(europa.eu) 
103  European  Commission,  Directorate-General 
for  Environment, 
Assessment  of  Second  Cycle  Preliminary  Flood  Risk  Assessments  and 
Identification  of  Areas  of  Potential  Significant  Flood  Risk  under  the 
Floods Directive Member State: Cyprus, 2022 

104 OJ L 330, 5.12.1998, p. 32-54. 
105 OJ L 435, 23.12.2020, p. 1-62. 
106  European  Environment  Agency,  2021.  State  of  bathing  water  — 
European Environment Agency (europa.eu)  
107 
http://www.moa.gov.cy/moa/environment/environmentnew.nsf/All/9E
7057F0FB6B8067C2257F6200327  
108  EEA,  State  of  bathing  waters  in  2020  —  European  Environment 
Agency (europa.eu) 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                                                                        
 
                                                                 
Figure  29:  Bathing  water  quality  in  Europe  in  the  2020 
season109

them.  Nevertheless,  excessive  fertilisation  remains  a 
problem in many parts of the EU.  

Cyprus  25 

Figure 30: Cyprus, Bathing water quality, 2017-2020110 

Cyprus  has  a  high  livestock  density,  and  the  nutrient 
surpluses  for  nitrogen  and  phosphorus  are  higher  than 
the  EU  average.  It  has  a  well-developed  network  of 
monitoring  stations.  Groundwater  quality  is  generally 
good,  although  there  are  a  number  of  hotspots  where 
nitrate  concentration  exceeds  50  mg/l  or  is  increasing 
sharply.  Surface  waters,  on  the  other  hand,  remain  of 
good  quality.  A  very  high  number  of  groundwater 
hotspots  are  located  outside  of  nitrate  vulnerable  zones 
(NVZ).  Cyprus  has  not  reviewed  its  action  programme 
since  2014113and  has  not  provided  a  forecast  of  water 
quality.  

Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive  

Cyprus  has,  over  the  years,  encountered  difficulties  in 
meeting  its  obligations  under  the  Urban  Waste  Water 
Treatment Directive (UWWTD). 

Overall,  84%  of  urban  wastewater  in  Cyprus  is  treated 
according to the requirements of the UWWTD  114. This is 
above the EU average of 76% in 2018. On the amount of 
urban  wastewater  that  still  needs  to  be  collected  or 
treated  according  to  the  UWWTD,  further  efforts  are 
needed 
(14.7%),  biological 
collection 
treatment  (15%)  and  biological  treatment  with  nitrogen 
and/or phosphorus removal (14.8%). On the other hand, 
Cyprus reuses 95.4%  of  treated  urban  waste  water for 
irrigation in agriculture and for other uses. 

to  provide 

Figure 31: Proportion of urban waste water that meets 
all requirements of the UWWTD (collection, biological 
treatment, biological treatment with nitrogen and/or 
phosphorus removal) in compliant urban areas of the 
UWWTD (‘compliance rate’), 2018115 

Nitrates Directive 

The  Commission’  latest  implementation  report  on  the 
Nitrates  Directive111  covering  2016-2019112,  warns  that 
nitrates  are  still  causing  harmful  pollution  to  water. 
Excessive  nitrates  in  water  are  harmful  to  both  human 
health  and  ecosystems,  causing  oxygen  depletion  and 
eutrophication.  Where  national  authorities  and  farmers 
have cleaned up  waters, it  has had a  positive impact on 
drinking  water  supply  and  biodiversity,  as  well  as  on 
sectors  such  as  fisheries  and  tourism  that  depend  on 

109 European Environment Agency, Bathing Water Quality in 2020, 2022. 
110  European  Environment  Agency,  European  Bathing  Water  Quality 
in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020.  
111  Implementation of the Nitrates Directive in the EU. 
112 Last Implementation Report 2016-2019 

113  Cyprus  is  in  the  process  of  reviewing  and  updating  the  action 
programme and is expected to be completed by the end of 2022. 
114 Cyprus (europa.eu) 
115 European Commission, WISE Freshwater, 2021. 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                                 
 
 
                                                                 
Despite  the  improvement  in  compliance  over  the  years, 
for which the use of EU funding has been fundamental, in 
March  2020  Cyprus  was  condemned  by  the  Court  of 
Justice  of  the  EU  for  the  inadequate  collection  and 
treatment  of  the  urban  wastewaters  generated  in  31 
agglomerations (29 instances are still unresolved). 

The 2019 EIR for Cyprus included four priority actions on 
water  management.  Considering  that  progress  has  been 
limited, the following ones are suggested. 

2022 priority actions 

  New  physical  modifications  of  water  bodies 
should be assessed in line with Article 4(7) of the 
WFD.  In  these  assessments  alternative  options 
and  adequate  mitigation  measures  have  to  be 
considered. 
Efforts  should  be  done 
coordinated 
marine and nature policies. 

the 
to 
implementation  between  water, 

improve 

 

  Revise  the  designation  of  NVZ,  to  review  its 
action  programme  in  particular  to  reduce  the 
high  nutrients  surpluses  and  to  reduce  and 
in  groundwater 
prevent  the  contamination 
hotspots  where 
is 
pressure 
significant.  
Complete  implementation  of  the  Urban  Waste 
Water 
all 
agglomerations,  by  building  up  the  necessary 
infrastructure. 

agriculture 

Treatment 

Directive 

for 

 

Chemicals 

The EU seeks to ensure that chemicals are produced and 
used  in  a  way  that  minimise  any  significant  adverse 
effects  on  human  health  and 
the  environment. 
In October 2020, the Commission published its chemicals 
-  Towards  a  Toxic-Free 
strategy 
Environment  116  which  led  to  some  systemic  changes  in 
EU chemicals legislation. It is part of the EU zero pollution 
ambition,  which  is  a  key  commitment  of  the  European 
Green Deal. 

for  sustainability 

legislation117 provides  baseline 
The  EU’s  chemicals 
protection for human health and the environment. It also 
for  businesses 
ensures  stability  and  predictability 
operating within the internal market. 

Since 2007, the Commission has gathered information on 
the  enforcement  of  the  Regulation  on  the  Registration, 
Evaluation,  Authorisation  and  Restriction  of  Chemicals 
the  Regulation  on 
(‘the  REACH  Regulation’)  and 

116 COM(2020) 667 final 
117  REACH: OJ L 396, 30.12.2006, p.1. -  CLP: OJ L 252, 31.12.2006, p.1 

Cyprus  26 

Classification, Labelling and Packaging (‘CLP Regulation’). 
In December 2020 the Commission assessed the Member 
States’  reports  on  the  implementation  and  enforcement 
of  these  Regulations118,  in  line with  Article  117(1)  of  the 
the  CLP 
REACH  Regulation  and  Article  46(2)  of 
Regulation.According  to  the  latest  available  data  (2015-
2019), national enforcement structures have not changed 
much  in  recent  years.  However,  it  is  apparent  from  the 
latest report (2020) that there are still many disparities in 
the  REACH-CLP  implementation  and  notably  in  the  area 
of  the  law  enforcement.  Recorded  compliance  levels  in 
Member  States  seem  to  be  quite  stable  over  time,  but 
with  a  slight  worsening  trend,  which  is  likely  due  to:  (i) 
enforcement  authorities  being  more  effective 
in 
detecting  non-compliant  products/companies;  and  (ii) 
more  non-compliant  products  being  put  on  the  EU 
market. 

In August 2021, the Commission published a quantitative 
assessment  of  the  enforcement119  of  the  two  main  EU 
Regulations on chemicals (the REACH Regulation and the 
CLP  Regulation)  using  a  set  of  indicators  on  different 
aspects of enforcement. 

Responsibility  for  checking  compliance  with  REACH  lies 
with the Cyprus Department of Labour Inspection, which 
sets  priorities  for  enforcement  activities  on  an  annual 
basis120. 

Cyprus  has  fully  implemented  both  the  REACH  and  CLP 
enforcement strategies121.  

The REACH strategy: 

 
 

 

 
 
 

on 

imports 

restrictions 

combines enforcement and awareness-raising; 
prioritises  checks  at  customs  level,  before  the 
products  are  released  for  free  circulation  by 
customs; 
prioritises 
collaboration with customs); 
includes awareness-raising campaigns; 
gives priority to REF projects; 
sets  out  future  goals,  such  as  expanding  checks 
on  articles  containing  substances  of  very  high 
concern,  and  further  developing  the  national 
reporting  system  for 
inspections  and  their 
follow-up. 

(in 

The CLP strategy includes: 

118 Final report_REACH-CLP MS reporting_2020.pdf (europa.eu) 
119  European  Commission,  REACH  and  CLP  enforcement:  EU  level 
enforcement indicators 
120 Final report_REACH-CLP MS reporting_2020.pdf (europa.eu), p. 68 
121 Final report_REACH-CLP MS reporting_2020.pdf (europa.eu), p. 76. 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Cyprus  27 

Figure 32: Percentage of non-compliance cases out of 
the total number of REACH and CLP controls during 
2019 per Member State and compared to the EU 
average124 

 

 

 

market 

surveillance 

and 
inspections, 
investigations  of  importers,  and  collaboration 
with customs; 
awareness-raising 
publication of educational material; 
campaign  on  the  control  of  the  classification, 
labelling and packaging of soluble packaging for 
single-use laundry detergents. 

campaigns 

and 

the 

As  a  rule,  all  infringements  of  REACH  are  classed  as 
‘serious’  or  ‘very  serious’  environmental  administrative 
offences.  If  the  infringement  is  sufficiently  serious,  the 
competent  authority  may  decide  to 
impose  further 
penalties  in  addition  to  a  fine.  That  authority  may 
also, where  necessary, order  the  provisional  seizure  of 
assets and documents.  

In  Cyprus  11  staff  members  are  allocated  to  REACH  and 
CLP enforcement122. A total of  553 REACH controls  were 
carried  out  in  the  reporting  period  (2019)123.  Most  were 
proactive (inspections) rather than reactive/non-routine (i.e. 
investigations  in  response  to  complaints,  accidents  and 
referrals).  No  information  has  been  provided  on  the 
number of cases of non-compliance. 

2022 priority action 

  Upgrade  the  implementation  and  enforcement 
zero 
capacities 

towards  a 

administrative 
tolerance to non-compliances. 

122 European Commission, Final Report, on the operationof REACH and 
CLP, Final report_REACH-CLP MS reporting_2020.pdf (europa.eu), p. 75. 
123    Final  report_REACH-CLP  MS  reporting_2020.pdf  (europa.eu),  p.87-
88 

124 European Commission, Final Report, on the operation of REACH and 
CLP, pp.87-88, 2022. 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
 
                                                                 
 
 
                                                                 
Cyprus  28 

4. Climate action

Key national climate policies and strategies  

Cyprus  has  an  integrated  national  energy  and  climate 
plan  (NECP)  for  2021-2030,  which  builds  on  other  long-
term  energy  and  climate  plans,  including  the  long-term 
strategy for building renovation. The national objective is 
to reduce emissions by 2030, including by making use of 
the  available  flexibilities,  and  to  become  climate  neutral 
by 2050 in line with the EU target. 

Under  its  RRP,  Cyprus  allocates  41%  of  the  budget  to 
climate  objectives  and  outlines  crucial  reforms  and 
investments  to 
further  the  transition  to  a  more 
sustainable, low-carbon and climate-resilient economy. It 
covers  a  number  of  areas,  including  renewable  energy 
and  energy  efficiency,  urban  transport  and  building 
renovation,  as  well  as  green  tax  reform  and  electricity 
market liberalisation. 

Cyprus  adopted  national  strategy  for  climate  change 
adaptation  and  climate  change  adaptation  plan  in  2014. 
The strategy was updated in May 2017. For scenarios and 
projections,  the  strategy  considers  the  future  period 
2021-2050.  This  has  been  chosen  specifically  and 
examined  in  detail  for  the  needs  of  stakeholders  and 
in  order  to  assist  their  planning  to 
policymakers, 
adaptation  measures, 
vulnerability 
assessment.  

impacts 

and 

In Cyprus, total greenhouse gas emissions have increased 
substantially  compared 
the 
greenhouse  gas  intensity  and  emissions  per  capita  are 
above the EU average. 

to  1990,  and  both 

Figure 33: Total GHG emissions (incl. international 
aviation) in Cyprus, 1990-2020 

law  also 

In  line  with  the  Paris  Agreement  and  as  part  of  the 
European Green Deal, the European Climate Law sets the 
EU  target  of  reaching  climate  neutrality  by  2050  and 
reducing  greenhouse  gas  (GHG)  emissions  by  55%  by 
2030  compared  to  1990.  The 
limits  the 
contribution  that  carbon  removals  can  make  towards 
emission  reductions  in  2030,  to  ensure  a  sufficient 
mitigation effort.  
The  EU  and  its  Member  States  submitted  updated 
the 
Nationally  Determined  Contribution 
UNFCCC in December 2020.  
The  EU  is  working  across  all  sectors  and  policies  to  cut 
GHG  emissions  and  make  the  transition  to  a  climate 
neutral  and  sustainable  economy,  as  well  as  addressing 
the unavoidable consequences of climate change.  
EU  climate  legislation  incentivises  emissions  reductions 
from power generation, industry, transport, the maritime 
sector and fluorinated gases (F-gases) used in products.  
For  road  transport,  EU  legislation  requires  the  GHG 
intensity  of  vehicle  fuels  to  be  cut  by  6%  by  2020 
compared  to  2010125  and  sets  binding  GHG  emission 
standards for different vehicle categories126.  

(NDC) 

to 

Under the F-gas Regulation, the EU’s F-gas emissions will 
be cut by two thirds by 2030 compared with 2014 levels. 
From  2021,  emissions  and  removals  of  GHG  from  Land 
Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) have been 
included in the EU emission reduction efforts.  

The  EU  adaptation  policy  is  an  integral  part  of  the 
European  Green  Deal.  From  2021,  Member  States  are 
required to report on their national adaptation policies127 
as  the  EU  Climate  Law  recognises  adaptation  as  a  key 
component  of  the  long-term  global  response  to  climate 
change.  Member  States  will  be  required  to  adopt 
national  strategies  and  the  EU  will  regularly  assess 
progress  as  part  of  its  overall  governance  on  climate 
action. The updated EU adaptation strategy, published in 
February  2021,    sets  out  how  the  EU  can  adapt  to  the 
unavoidable  impacts  of  climate  change  and  become 
climate resilient by 2050. 

125  The Fuel  Quality  Directive (Directive 98/70/EC)  sets  strict  quality 
requirements  for  fuels  used  in  road  transport  in  the  EU  to  protect 
human health and the environment, and to make road travel across the 
EU safer. 
126 Regulation (EU) 2019/631 
127 Article 29 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999. 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
 
 
                                                                 
 
 
 
 
Effort sharing target  

Key sectoral developments 

Cyprus  29 

In  road  transport,  the  GHG  intensity  of  vehicle  fuels  in 
Cyprus  decreased by 1.3% between  2010  and 2019.  The 
country needs to act swiftly to meet the reduction target 
of  6%  by  2020.  There  are  several  types  of  action  that 
Member  States  can  take  in  this  regard,  for  example:  (i) 
further expanding the use of electricity in road transport; 
(ii) supporting the use of biofuels, in particular advanced 
biofuels; 
the  development  and 
deployment  of  renewable  fuels  of  non-biological  origin; 
and  (iv)  reducing  upstream  emissions  before  refining 
processes. 

incentivising 

(III) 

In  2019,  road  transport  in  2019  accounted  for  21%  of 
total GHG emissions in Cyprus.. The use of private cars is 
well  above  the  EU  average,  while  the  use  of  public 
transport is extremely low (3% of total trips).  

Figure  36:  GHG  by  sector  in  Cyprus129  –  historical 
emissions 1990-2020, projections 2021-2030130 

For emissions not covered by the EU’s emissions trading 
scheme  (ETS),  Member  States  have  binding  national 
targets  under  the  Effort  Sharing  legislation  128  .  Cyprus 
has  a  target  to  reduce  GHG  emissions  in  the  non-ETS 
sectors (buildings, road and domestic maritime transport, 
agriculture,  waste  and  small  industries)  by  5%  by  2020 
and 24% by 2030, compared to 2005 levels. The country’s 
Effort  Sharing  emissions  in  2019  were  slightly  above  its 
2020 target. In particular, road transport  emissions have 
remained  stable  since  2005  and  emissions 
in  the 
commercial  sector  have  increased.  In  its  NECP,  Cyprus 
intends  to  achieve  reductions  roughly  in  line  with  its 
current Effort Sharing target for 2030 of -24%.  

Figure 34: Emissions and targets under the Effort 
Sharing Decision/ Effort Sharing Regulation in Cyprus, 
2020 and 2030 as percentage change from 2005 

Figure 35: Emissions, annual emission allocations (AEAs) 
and accumulated surplus/ deficit of AEAs under the 
Effort Sharing Decision in Cyprus, 2013-2020   

To  reduce  emissions  from  buildings,  renovations  are 
necessary. The building sector in Cyprus is highly energy 
inefficient,  due  to  poor  insulation  and  high  heating  and 
cooling costs. More than 90% of buildings in Cyprus were 
built  before  the 
introduction  of  mandatory  energy 
performance  requirements.  In  its  long-term  strategy  for 
building  renovation,  the  country  intends  to  renovate 
close  to  33  000  residential  and  10  000  non-residential 
buildings by 2030. 

129  The  sectors  in  the  figure  correspond  to  the  following  IPCC  sectors: 
Energy supply: 1A1, 1B and 1C. Energy use in manufacturing industries: 
1A2.  Industrial  processes  and  product  use:  2.  Transport:  1A3.  Other 
energy  use:  1A4,  1A5  and  6.  Agriculture:  3.  Waste:  5.  International 
aviation: 1.D.1.a. 
130 European Environmental Agency, Total GHG trends and projections. 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

128 Regulation (EU) 2018/842 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                                 
 
 
                                                                 
Emissions  from  agriculture  have  remained  at  the  same 
level  since  2005.  Measures  to  reduce  them  include 
reducing  natural 
improving  water  management, 
resources 
land  use, 
improving  animal  waste 
reducing  fertiliser  use  and 
management. Such measures are mentioned in the NECP 
for 2030.  

intensity,  optimising  agricultural 

In  the  LULUCF  sector, Cyprus projects a  further increase 
of  net  removals  by  2030.  Reported  quantities  under  the 
Kyoto Protocol for the LULUCF sector in Cyprus show net 
removals of, on average, -0.15 Mt CO2-eq for 2013-2019. 
In  this  regard,  Cyprus  contributes  with  0.04%  to  the 
annual  average  sink  of  -344.9  Mt  CO2-eq  of  the  EU-27. 
Accounting for the same period depicts net debits of, on 
average, 0.01 Mt CO2-eq, which represents -0.01% of the 
EU-27 accounted sink of -115.0 Mt CO2-eq. Reported net 
removals and accounted net credits are highly similar for 
all  years  except  2016,  when  reporting  turns  into  net 
emissions  and  accounting  into  net  debits.  Cyprus  is  one 
of six EU Member States that  show net  emissions for at 
least  one  year.  Cyprus  is  also  one  of  six  EU  Member 
States with average net debits and one of 14 EU Member 
States  with  net  debits  for  at  least  one  year  in  this 
preliminary accounting exercise. 

Figure 37: Reported and accounted emissions and 
removals from LULUCF131 

Cyprus  30 

Use of revenues from the auctioning of EU ETS 
allowances 

from 

revenues 

the  auctioning  of  emission 
Total 
allowances  under  the  EU  ETS  over  2012-2021  came  to 
nearly  EUR  182  million. 
In  Cyprus,  the  auctioning 
revenues go to a fund, which different ministries can use 
for  climate  and  energy  projects.  This  fund  also  receives 
money  from  the  general  budget,  so,  in  practice,  more 
than  100%  of  revenues  is  spent  on  climate  and  energy 
overall. 

2022 priority actions   

 

not 

energy 

system 

  Accelerate  the  roll-out  of  renewable  energy.  A 
much  higher  share  of  renewables  would  make 
only  more 
the 
environmentally  friendly,  but  also  substantially 
cheaper.  
Further  improve  energy  efficiency  in  buildings, 
especially focusing on heating and cooling. 
Enhance  sustainable  transport.  Cyprus  has  the 
lowest  number  of  charging  points  in  the  EU.  A 
large  number  of  battery  electric  vehicles 
connected  to  the  grid  would  represent  a 
powerful  emission  stabilisation  instrument  and 
can  incentivise  the  uptake  of  electric  public 
transport. 
  Research  and 

 

Innovation  currently  plays  a 
relatively  limited  role  in  country’s  economic 
growth. Public funding dedicated to finance the 
investments  in  innovative  green  solutions,  will 
have the expected results only if combined with 
other  measures  that  support  entrepreneurship 
in innovation and start-ups. The challenge is also 
to  bring  researchers  and  businesses  closer  to 
work together for producing innovative products 
and services in energy sector. 

131  The  differences  between  reported  and  accounted  emissions  from 
LULUCF under the Kyoto Protocol are described in the ‘explanatory note 
on  LULUCF  –  accounted  and  reported  quantities  under  the  Kyoto 
Protocol’.   

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                                 
Cyprus  31 

Part II: Enabling framework: Implementation tools

5. Financing 

Environmental investment needs in the EU 

Financing  environmental  measures  is  essential  for  their 
success.  Although  most  financing  comes  from  national 
sources, various EU funds contribute significantly, helping 
to close the financing gap between countries.  
Post-2020,  environmental  measures  will  also  be 
supported by the EU’s  COVID-19 Recovery  Fund (via  the 
RRF)  and  the  'do  no  significant  harm’  (DNSH)  principle 
which  runs  across  the  EU  budget.  The  renewed 
commitments  made  at  COP26  (Glasgow,  Oct-Nov  2021) 
and  the  Biodiversity  Convention  (April-May  2022)132  will 
also be reflected in the EU budget.  

Overall environmental investment gaps (EU27)  

The EU’s investment needs for the green transition cover 
a  range  of  interlinked  areas.  The  additional  investment 
needs  over  the  baselines  (i.e.  the  gap  between  what  is 
needed  and  what  is  forecast  to  be  invested  if  no 
additional  action 
is  taken)  for  climate,  energy  and 
transport  were estimated  in 2021  at EUR 390 billion per 
year  (EU27)133,  with  a  further  EUR  130  billion  to  deliver 
the  EU’s  core  environmental  objectives134. Climate 
adaptation costs can also be  significant, reaching a  total 
of  EUR  35-62  billion  (narrower  scope)  or  EUR  158-518 
billion (wider scope) per year135. Those investment needs 
reflect  the  implementation  objectives  to  2020  and  to 
2030  (except  for  climate  adaptation,  the  costs  of  which 
are expected to last over a longer time horizon). 

A  preliminary  update  of  the  EU’s  core  environmental 
investment  gap  is  provided  in  Table  1136.  Almost  40%  of 
the  environmental  investment  needs  relate  to  dealing 
with  pollution,  which  accounts  for  nearly  two  thirds  of 
the investment gap if combined with water management. 
The  investment  gap  in  circular  economy  and  waste  is 
estimated  at  between  EUR  13-28  billion  per  year, 
depending  on  the  levels  of  circularity  implemented.  The 

132  The  Convention  on  Biological  Diversity  (cbd.int); Post-2020  Global 
Biodiversity Framework | IUCN 
133  SWD(2021)621,  accompanying  proposal  COM(2021)557  to  amend 
the REDII Directive (EU) 2018/2001. 
134 SWD(2020) 98 final/2.  
135 SWD(2018)292.  
136  With  decreases  due  to  Brexit  and  some  reconciliation  among  the 
objectives.  Source:  DG  ENV  ‘Study  supporting  EU  green  investment 
needs  analysis’  (ongoing,  2021-2023)  and  DG  ENV  internal  analysis 
‘Environmental  investment  needs  and  financing  in  the  EU’s  green 
transition’ July 2020. 

annual  biodiversity  financing  gap  is  estimated  at  around 
EUR 20 billion. 

Table 1: Estimated breakdown of the EU27’s 
environmental investment gaps, by environmental 
objective, 2021-2030 (per year)137 

Estimated investment gap (EU-27, 
p.a.)  

Environmental 
objective 

Pollution  prevention 
& control 

Water  management 
& industries 

Circular  economy  & 
waste 

 EUR billion 

 42.8 

 26.6 

 13.0 

Biodiversity 
ecosystems138 

& 

 21.5 

R & D & I and other 

Total 

 6.2 

 110.1 

 % 

 39% 

 24% 

 12% 

 20% 

 6% 

  100% 

Environmental investment needs in Cyprus  

Completing  the  wastewater  and  waste  management 
infrastructure is considered a top priority. This is followed 
by  designating  protected  areas  in  compliance  with  the 
Nature  Directives. 
environmental 
The 
investment needs have been identified by sector.   

following 

Pollution prevention & control 

The  EU’s  first  Clean  Air  Outlook139  under  the  clean  air 
programme estimated that the total air pollution control 

137 European Commission, DG Environment, ‘Study supporting EU green 
investment  needs  analysis’  (ongoing,  2021-2023)  and DG  Environment 
internal analysis ‘Environmental Investment needs and financing in the 
EU’s green transition’,  July 2020.  
138  To  meet  the  needs  of  the  2030  Biodiversity  Strategy  (Natura  2000, 
green infrastructure), at least EUR 20 billion a year should be unlocked 
for  nature  (COM/2020/380  final)  while  to  fully  cover  the  strategy 
(including  restoration)  EUR  30-35  billion  may  be  needed,  indicating  a 
gap  of  EUR  10-20  billion  a  year  compared  to  current  baseline 
expenditure. 
139 International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Progress 
towards  the  achievement  of  the  EU’s  air  quality  and  emissions 
objectives, 2018.  

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
 
                                                                 
 
 
                                                                 
costs  for  Cyprus  to  reach  the  NECD  emission  reduction 
requirements  (ERRs)140  by  2030  amount  to  EUR  111 
million  per  year,  including,  EUR  76  million  for  capital 
investment (assuming the achievement the 2030 climate 
and energy targets).   

The  second  EU’s  Clean  Air  Outlook141   suggests  that  the 
EU  would  largely  achieve  the  reductions  of  air  pollutant 
emissions  that  correspond  to  the  obligations  under  the 
NEC  Directive  for  2030  if:  (i)  all  relevant  legislation 
adopted  up  to  2018  is  implemented  (including  all  air 
pollution targets and the 2030 climate and energy targets 
set  in  2018);  and  (ii)  Member  States  also  implemented 
the  measures  announced  in  their  national  air  pollution 
control programmes. The only exception  is for ammonia 
(NH3) for 15 Member States, including Cyprus. 

Water management  

issue 

reuse, 

desalination). 
in  Cyprus 

According  to  the  OECD  study  ‘Financing  Water  Supply 
Sanitation  and  Flood  Protection’  (2020)142,  assuring 
freshwater supply in Cyprus continues to be a challenge, 
requiring investments in non-conventional water sources 
(water 
The  major  water 
management 
is  over-abstraction  of 
groundwater.  For  surface  water,  diffuse  pollution  is  the 
main  pressure.  Up  to  2030,  the  additional  cumulative 
investment  need  for  Cyprus  was  estimated  at  EUR  217 
million  euro  (around  EUR  22  million  per  year)  over 
baselines, of which around 95% relates to wastewater143. 
Moreover, the recent 6th Water Framework Directive and 
implementation  report144  and  the 
Floods  Directive 
financial - economic study145 accompanying it, are also a 
relevant source of information in this domain. 

Waste & circular economy 

According  to  a  Commission  study146,  to  meet  the 
recycling  targets  for  municipal  waste  and  packaging 
waste,  Cyprus  needs  to  invest  an  additional  EUR  74 
million (around  EUR  10.6  million  per  year)  in  2021-
2027 on  collection,  recycling  reprocessors,  biowaste 

140  Covering  the  reductions  of  and  the  emission  ceilings  for  5 
atmospheric  pollutants,  SOx,  NOx,  PM2.5,  NH3  and  VOC  by  2030, 
compared  to  2005.  Source:  Progress  towards  the  achievement  of  the 
EU’s  air  quality  and  emissions  objectives,  IIASA  2018.  (page  29). 
Requirements are based on Directive (EU) 2016/2284.  
141 COM(2021) 3 Final and Report Annex.   
142  OECD,  Financing  Water  Supply,  Sanitation  and  Flood  Protection: 
Challenges and Options, 2020. 
143  OECD,  Cyprus-  Country  fact  sheet-  Financing  Water  Supply, 
Sanitation and Flood Protection. 
144 WFD and FD Implementation Reports – DG Environment – European 
Commission. 
145  European  Commission,  Directorate-General 
for  Environment, 
Economic  data  related  to  the  implementation  of  the  WFD  and  the  FD 
and the financing of measures, Final report. Publications Office, 2021. 
146  European  Commission,  Study  on  investment  needs  in  the  waste 
sector and on the financing of municipal waste management in Member 
States, 2019.  

Cyprus  32 

treatment,  waste  sorting  facilities  and  digitalising  waste 
registries. 

This does not include the investment necessary for other 
key  waste  streams  (plastics,  textiles,  furniture)  or  to 
unlock  a  higher  uptake  of  circularity  and  waste 
prevention across the economy. 

Biodiversity & ecosystems 

The  recently  submitted  priority  action  framework  (PAF) 
for Cyprus  shows that nature protection costs (including 
Natura  2000)  in  2021-2027  amount  to  EUR  51.8  million. 
This represents an annual cost  of about EUR 7.4 million, 
of  which  EUR  5.5  million  are  one-off  costs147.  This 
excludes  additional  costs  to  implement  the  biodiversity 
strategy  to  2030,  including  on  increased  protection  and 
restoration. 

EU environmental funding 2014-2020 

The  multiannual  financial  framework  (MFF)  for  2014-
2020  allocated  almost  EUR  960  billion  (in  commitments, 
2011 prices)148 for the EU to spend over this period. The 
commitment  to  the  green  transition  included  a  20% 
climate  spending  target. 
funding 
opportunities  for  the  environment,  in  particular,  under 
the  European  Structural  and  Investment  (ESI)  Funds149. 
The 2014-2020 MFF budget was subsequently topped up 
with  over  EUR  50  billion  (in  current  prices)  from  the 
REACT-EU  (Recovery  Assistance  for  Cohesion  and  the 
Territories  of  Europe)  programme  for  cohesion  policy 
action against COVID-19150. 

included 

It  also 

in 

invest 

Cyprus  received  EUR  1 093.0  million  from  the  ESI  Funds 
over  2014-2020  to 
job  creation  and  a 
sustainable  and  healthy  European  economy  and 
environment. 
The  planned  direct  environmental 
investment amounted to EUR 164.2 million with a further 
EUR  61.1  million  identified  as  indirect  environmental 
investment value, totalling EUR 225.3 million (see Figure 
39, showing EU amounts, without national amounts).  

147  The  N2K  Group,  Strengthening  investments  in  Natura  2000  and 
improving  synergies  with  EU  funding 
instruments  report  to  the 
European Commission, 2021.  
148 Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013. 
149  The  European  Structural  and  Investment  (ESI)  Funds  include  the 
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Cohesion Fund (CF), 
the  European  Social  Fund  (ESF)  with  the  Youth  Employment  Initiative 
(YEI),  the  European  Agricultural  Fund  for  Rural  Development  (EAFRD) 
and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).   
150 Regulation (EU) 2020/2221. 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
                                                                 
                                                                 
Figure 38: ESI Funds allocated to Cyprus, including 
environmental investments 2014-2020151 

other energy153 
sustainable transport 

Under EAFRD/rural development 
Direct environmental investments 
water 
climate and risk management 
Indirect environmental investments 
renewable energy 
energy efficiency 

Under EMFF 
Direct environmental investments 
environment  protection  &  resource 
efficiency 
Indirect environmental investments 
business development, R&I 

Under ESI Funds total  
Direct environmental investments 
Indirect environmental investments 

Cyprus  33 

0.4 
41.7 

12.0 
11.1 
7.4 
3.7 
0.9 
0.8 
0.1 

22.5 
22.4 
22.4 

0.1 
0.1 

225.3 
164.2 
61.1 

Table 2: Direct and indirect environmental investments 
under the ESI Funds in Cyprus, 2014-2020152 

Instrument 

Under Cohesion policy (ERDF + CF) 
Direct environmental investments 
water 
waste 
biodiversity and nature 
climate and risk management 
Indirect environmental investments 
energy efficiency 

Allocations  
for the environment  
(EUR million) 

190.7 
130.6 
47.3 
66.5 
5.0 
11.8 
60.1 
17.9 

Policy 

Funds 

(COWI, 

2017), Regulation 

151  European  Commission,  DG  Environment  -  Data  analysis,  DG 
Environment  analysis  based  on  ESI Funds Open  Data  Portal 
(cohesiondata.ec.europa.eu), Integration  of  environmental  concerns  in 
Cohesion 
(EU)  No 
1303/2013,Regulation  (EU)  2021/1060 and Implementing  Regulation 
(EU)  No  215/2014. Cut-off  date 
for  data:  December  2021. 
Environmental investments here are captured via the combined use of 
intervention  fields  and  coefficients  under  the Regulation  (EU)  No 
1303/2013 and Regulation (EU) 2021/1060  allowing for a more precise 
identification  and  valuation  of  relevant environmental investments. 
N.B.  Indirect  environmental  investments  are  valued  using  the  Annex  I 
environmental  coefficients  of  the Regulation 
(EU)  2021/1060 (as 
opposed to full value).    
152  European  Commission,  DG  Environment  -  Data analysis.  The  values 
the  specific 
of  environmental 
environmental  areas  may  differ 
values 
at cohesiondata.ec.europa.eu, e.g. for clean  air or biodiversity due  to 
two factors: the set of environmental coefficients used and the range of 
funds assessed. DG Environment’s analysis here  covered the full range 
of ESI Funds. See also previous footnote.  

identified  here 
the 
from 

in 
tracking 

investments 

Funding for the environment from the ESI Funds has also 
been  supplemented  by  other  EU  funding  programmes 
available  to  all  Member  States,  such  as  the  LIFE 
programme,  Horizon  2020  or  loans  from  the  European 
Investment  Bank  (EIB).  For  Cyprus  this  adds  up  to  an 
estimated EUR 328 million in 2014-2020 

  green  solutions. 

The  LIFE  programme154  is  dedicated  to  environmental 
and climate objectives, financing the demonstration and 
roll-out  of 
In  2014-2020,  Cyprus 
received EU support for five LIFE projects (for nature and 
environment)  for  an  amount of  EUR  14.8  million  (out  of 
1 028 EU27 LIFE projects with the total EU contribution of 
EUR 1.74 billion)155. 

In  2014-2020,  Horizon  2020  allocated  about  EUR  8.4 
million  to  Cyprus  for  the  environment  (notably  for 
climate  action,  circular  economy  and  raw  materials)  - 
about  2.6%  of  Cyprus’s  total  allocation156.  From  the 
European  Fund  for  Strategic  Investments  (EFSI),  Cyprus 
received  a  total  of  EUR  145  million,  with  no  projects 
having a direct environmental objective157. Environment-
related loans to Cyprus from the EIB amounted to EUR 88 
million  (supporting  water  and  waste),  out  of  an  overall 
EIB  lending  of  EUR  1,716.3  million  to  Cyprus  in  that 

153  Intelligent  energy  distribution  systems  (smart  grids)  and  high 
efficiency co-generation and district heating, based on intervention field 
53  and  54  respectively  (with  40%  environmental  coefficients)  of 
Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, Annex I. 
154 European Commission, LIFE Programme. 
155 LIFE Country overview Cyprus 2021 (europa.eu) 
156 Source: https://sc5.easme-web.eu/. 
157  Approved  and  signed  EFSI  financing  -  EIB,  2015-2020:  Source: 
https://www.eib.org/en/products/mandates-
partnerships/efsi/index.htm. 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
 
 
  
                                                                 
 
 
                                                                 
Cyprus  34 

period158.  The  country  ranks  22nd  in  the  EU  in  terms  of 
EIB lending. 

In  2020,  the  EIB  provided  EUR  24.2  billion  in  funding 
across  Europe  to  fight  climate  change,  37%  of  its  total 
financing  and EUR 1.8 billion (3% of its financing) for the 
environment159 160. 

for climate and environment objectives by 2025169, with a 
EUR  250  billion  contribution  to  the  Green  Deal 
investment plan by 2027. 

Table 3: Key EU funds allocated to Cyprus (current 
prices), 2021-2027 

Instrument 

Country funding allocation  

EU environmental funding 2021-2027 

the 

EU’s 

priorities, 

long-term 

The 2020 European Green Deal investment plan calls for 
EUR 1 trillion in green investments (public and private) to 
be made across the EU by 2030. The 2021-2027 MFF and 
the NextGenerationEU will mobilise EUR 2.018 trillion (in 
current  prices)  to  support  the  recovery  from  COVID-19 
and 
including 
environmental  protection161.  Following  the  EU  Green 
Deal’s162 pledge to ‘do no harm’ and the Interinstitutional 
Agreement  on  the  2021-2027  MFF163,  30%  of  the  EU 
budget  in  2021-2027  will  support  climate  efforts,  while 
biodiversity will receive 7.5% of the EU budget as of 2024 
and  10%  as  of  2026.  Reaching  these  targets  will  require 
increased  financial  resources  for  biodiversity,  to  be 
programmed  specifically  under  the  2021-2027  cohesion 
policy and the 2023-2027 CAP. 

(by  developing 

Sustainable  finance  significantly  increases  transparency 
on environmental sustainability (a goal promoted by the 
EU  Taxonomy)164. 
It  also  strengthens  non-financial 
reporting  requirements  and  facilitates  the  issuance  of 
green  bonds 
the  EU  green-bond 
standard)165.  Reinforced  by  the  renewed  sustainable 
finance  will 
finance  strategy 
the 
flows 
increase 
environment. The new strategy on adaptation to climate 
change167 can help to close the insurance protection gap, 
which  currently  leaves  many  risks  from  climate-related 
events uninsured168. The EIB will align 50% of its lending 

(2020)166,  sustainable 

climate  and 

investment 

to 

that 

158 EIB loans in EU countries in 2014-2020. Source: EIB Open Data Portal: 
https://www.eib.org/en/infocentre/eib-open-data.htm 
159  The  EIB  Group  jointly  works  with  the  European  Commission  in 
finance  environmental 
implementing  several  programmes 
implementation: InvestEU,  the  successor  of  EFSI,  Pillar  II  and III  of  the 
Just  Transition  Mechanism.  The  EIB  Group  is  a  key  implementing 
partner for InvestEU, managing 75% of the overall budgetary capacity of 
the mandate. 
160 EIB Activity Report 2021. 
161  European  Commission,  2021-2027 
NextGenerationEU. 
162 COM/2019/640 final. 
163 Interinstitutional Agreement, OJ L 433I. 
164 
finance/sustainable-finance/eu-taxonomy-sustainable-activities_en   
165 EU Green Bond Standard - 2021/0191 (COD). 
166 COM (2021) 390 Final - European Commission, Strategy for Financing 
the Transition to a Sustainable Economy. 
167 COM(2021) 82 final. 
168  The  strategy  would  support  improved  insurance  gap  coverage 
including through the natural catastrophe markets as reflected with the 

https://ec.europa.eu/info/business-economy-euro/banking-and-

long-term  EU  budget  & 

Cohesion policy 

ERDF 
CF 
ESF+ 
ETC (ERDF) 

(million EUR) 

Total: 904.9170 
466.9  
178.3171 
222.3 
37.4172 

Just Transition Fund 

101.1 173 

EAFRD/rural 
development  
under 
CAP 
Plans 2023-2027174 

Strategic 

European 
Fisheries 
Aquaculture 
(EMFAF) 

Maritime, 
and 
Fund 

Recovery  and  Resilience 
Facility (RRF)  
2021 – 2026177  

118.9175 

EUR 38.3176 

1 005.9 (grants) 

200.3 (loans)178  

In Cyprus, the programming for most EU funds (cohesion 
policy  funds,  EAFRD  and  EMFAF)  is  ongoing.  However, 
the negotiations have been concluded under the RRF. 

Cyprus’  RRP  sets  out  75  investments  and  58  reforms, 
which  will  be  supported  by EUR  1.006 billion  in  grants 
and EUR  0.2 billion 
loans.  40.7% of  the  plan  will 
support climate  objectives  (see  Figure  40).  This  exceeds 

in 

EIOPA  (the  Association  for  European  Insurance  and  Occupational 
Pension Authorities) dashboard on insurance protection gap for natural 
catastrophes. See: The pilot dashboard on insurance protection gap for 
natural catastrophes | Eiopa (europa.eu). 
169 EIB Climate Bank Roadmap 2021-2025, November 2020 
170  European  Commission,  2021-2027  Cohesion  policy  EU  budget 
allocations. 
171  The  transfer  to  the  Connecting  Europe  Facility  (Transport)  is  not 
included. 
172  Interreg  initial  allocations  per  MS  including  ETC  transnational  and 
ETC cross-border cooperation.  
173  European  Commission,  2021-2027  Cohesion  policy  EU  budget 
allocations. 
174 European Commission, CAP strategic plans.  
175 Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, Annex XI. 
176 Regulation (EU) 2021/1139, Annex V. 
177  The  actual  reforms  and  investments  under  the  RRF  have  to  be 
implemented until 31 December 2026.   
178 Council Implementing Decision, FIN 591. 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
                                                                 
 
 
 
 
                                                                                                        
 
Cyprus  35 

also support the green transition, including research and 
innovation  activities 
for  environmental  protection 
(Horizon  Europe)184, clean  transport  and  energy  (the 
Connecting 
sustainable 
infrastructure (InvestEU)186. 

Facility)185 and 

Europe 

National environmental protection 
expenditure 

Total expenditure on environmental protection (including 
all relevant current and capital expenditure)187 in the EU-
27 was EUR 272.6 billion in 2020, representing 2% of EU-
27 GDP. This percentage has remained quite stable over 
time. 
largest  absolute  amounts  of 
expenditure  are  concentrated  in  a  few  countries,  most 
countries  spend  between  1-2%  of  their  GDP  on 
environmental protection, including Cyprus (1.4%). 

  Although  the 

Of this spending, the EU-27’s capital expenditure (Capex) 
on environmental protection (i.e. investment) amounted 
to EUR 56.3 billion in 2018,  falling to  EUR 54.5 billion in 
2020,  representing  around  0.4%  of  EU-27  GDP.  Cyprus 
invested  0.2%  of  GDP  on  environmental  protection,  in 
line with most other Member States (0.2-0.5% of GDP). In 
2014-2020,  this  amounted  to  around  EUR 389 million  in 
environmental 
(EU-27  total: 
EUR 376 billion).  

investment 

in  Cyprus 

various 

schemes 

the RRF’s 37% climate target. On the green transition, the 
RRP reflects Cyprus’ climate pledge by promoting energy 
efficiency and renewables and combating energy poverty 
through 
(budget: 
support 
EUR 89 million).  It  will  also  support  investments  that 
promote  sustainable  and  green  mobility,  encourage  a 
shift  from  private  cars  to  public  transport  and  promote 
the use of electric vehicles (budget: EUR 87 million). The 
RRP  also  includes  several  reforms  that  will  introduce 
green  taxation,  transform  the  electricity  market  and 
facilitate  the  use  of  electric  vehicles.  The  RRP  will  also 
provide  a  tangible  contribution  of  EUR 100 million  to 
interconnector 
building  a 
between Crete, Cyprus and Israel179.   

cross-border  electricity 

Figure 39: Climate expenditure in RRPs, 2021-2026180 

Under  NextGenerationEU,  the  Commission  will  issue  up 
to  EUR  250  billion  in  EU  Green  Bonds  (one  third  of  all 
bonds  issued  under  NextGeneration  EU)  until  2026  that 
will  comply  with  the  general  spirit  of  the  ‘do  no 
significant  harm’  principle. However, this EUR 250 billion 
in  green  bonds  will  not  be  subject  to  the  currently 
developed  delegated  acts  related  to  the  EU  Taxonomy 
and will not fully align with the proposed EU standard for 
green bonds. 

In  addition  to  the  EU  funds  earmarked  for  Cyprus  for 
2021-2027,  various  other  EU  funding  programmes  are 
open  to  all  Member  States,  for  example:  the  LIFE 
programme 
Europe 
(EUR 95.5 billion)181, the Connecting Europe Facility (EUR 
33.7  billion)182 and  InvestEU183.  These  instruments  will 

(EUR 5.4 billion); 

Horizon 

179 European Commission, Cyprus recovery and resilience plan.  
180 European Commission. The contributions to climate objectives have 
been calculated using Annex VI of the RRF Regulation (EU) 2021/241. 
181 European Commission, Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027 
(in commitments) - Current prices. 
182 Regulation (EU) 2021/1153. 
183  The InvestEU Fund  is expected  to  mobilise over EUR 372 billion of 
investment  through  an  EU  budget  guarantee  of  EUR  26.2  billion  to 
back the 
investment  of  financial  partners  such  as  the  European 
Investment Bank (EIB) Group and others. 

level, 

including  final  consumption, 

184 European Commission, Horizon Europe. 
185 European Commission, Connecting Europe Facility. 
186 European Union, InvestEU 
187  At  economy 
intermediate 
consumption and  capital  expenditure  of  households,  corporations  and 
governments related to environmental protection goods and services. It 
excludes  EU  funds,  while  may  include  some  international  expenditure 
beyond  domestic.  Data  source:  Environmental  Protection  Expenditure 
Accounts (EPEA), Eurostat. EPEA accounts are based on the CEPA 2000 
classification, excluding climate, energy and circular economy. 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
 
 
                                                                 
                                                                 
Figure 40: Direct and indirect environmental protection 
investments in the EU-27 (EUR million and % of GDP)188 
2018 

Cyprus  36 

a 

third 

from 

institutional 

sector,  around  54%  of  Cyprus’ 
By 
environmental 
(capital 
investments 
protection 
expenditure) came from the general government, further 
almost 
(of 
environmental protection  services, e.g. waste and  water 
companies)  and  14%  from  industry  (or  business)  sectors 
whose  environmental  activities  are  usually  ancillary  to 
their  core  business.    At  EU  level,  37%  comes  from 
governments,  33%  from  specialist  producers  and  30% 
from industry (business). 

specialist  producers 

government 

A  breakdown  of  investment  by  environmental  topic  is 
only available at institutional-sector level (rather than at 
economy level), due to different reporting patterns190. At 
in  Cyprus,  46%  of 
general 
level 
for 
environmental  protection 
wastewater,  20%  for  tackling  pollution,  10%  for  waste 
management  and  10%  for  biodiversity.  The  country’s 
specialist  producers  focused  on  wastewater  (88%), 
whereas waste management received 12%. The business 
sector’s  environmental  investments  were  mainly  for  air 
protection  (73%),  followed  by  wastewater  and  waste 
management. 

investments  were 

Figure  41:  Environmental  protection 
investments 
(Capex) in EU-27 by institutional sector (Total economy 
= 100%), 2018189 

188 Eurostat, Environmental Protection Expenditure Account, 2021.  
189  Eurostat,  Environmental  Protection  Expenditure  Accounts 
(env_epe).  

European  green  bond  issuance191  amounted  to  USD  156 
billion  (EUR  137  billion192)  in  2020,  up  from  USD  117 
billion  (EUR  105  billion)  in  2019  (these  figures  include 
some non-EU countries). For EU-27, the 2020 green bond 
issuance  came  to  EUR  124  billion.  In  2014-2020,  83%  of 
the  green  bonds  issued  by  European  countries  went 
towards  energy,  buildings  or  transport  objectives,  8% 
supported water and waste,  and 6% supported land use 
(with  links  ecosystem  conservation  &  restoration  as 
Climate  Bonds  Taxonomy  is  broadly  similar  to  the  EU 

190 Data  reporting is different  for the 3 institutional sectors, leading to 
aggregation  difficulties.  Specialist  companies  provide  comprehensive 
data  across  all  environmental  areas  (CEPA  1-9),  while  this  is  less  the 
case  for  general  government  and  industry  that  often  report  (the  non-
obligatory)  data  in  merged  categories  only  (with  difficulty  to  split)  or 
not at all.  
191  Green  bonds  were  created  to  fund  projects  that  have  positive 
environmental  and/or  climate  benefits.  The  majority  of  green  bonds 
issued are green ‘use of proceeds’ or asset-linked bonds. The very first 
green  bond  was  issued  in  2007  with  the  AAA-rated  issuance  from 
multilateral  institutions,  the  European  Investment  Bank  (EIB)  and  the 
World Bank. 
192 At Eurostat’s annual average EUR/USD exchange rates. 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
 
 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Taxonomy193.  Of  the  2020  EU  Green  Bond  issuance, 
Cyprus received nothing. 

Figure 42: Annual EU green bond issuance in 2020 (EUR 
billion)194 

Figure 43: Environmental taxes in the EU-27, 2020195 

Cyprus  37 

Green budget tools 

Green taxation & environmental tax reform 

Cyprus’ revenue from environmental taxes amounted to 
EUR 533.6  million  in  2020,  accounting  for  2.48%  of  GDP 
(slightly  above  the  EU  average  of  2.24%),  as  shown  in 
Figure 43. Of this amount, energy taxation accounted for 
the  highest  share  (77.5%  compared  with  21.3%  for 
transport and 1.2% for pollution/resources tax accounts). 

Interactive  Data  Platform  at  www.climatebonds.net.  Further 
Taxonomy: 

193 
Bonds 
information 
https://www.climatebonds.net/standard/taxonomy  
194 Climate Bonds Initiative, 2022. 

Climate 

on 

The  2019  European  Green  Deal  underlines  that  well-
designed  tax  reforms  can  boost  economic  growth  and 
resilience, foster a fairer society and a just transition. Tax 
reforms can contribute to this by sending the right price 
signals  and  incentives  to  economic  actors.  The  Green 
Deal creates the context for broad-based tax reforms, the 
removal  of  fossil  fuel  subsidies,  and  a  shift  in  the  tax 
burden  from  labour  to  pollution.  It  achieves  this  while 
simultaneously taking account of social considerations196. 
The  Green  Deal  promotes  the  ‘polluter  pays  principle’ 
(PPP)197,  which  stipulates  that  polluters  should  bear  the 
cost  of  measures  to  prevent,  control  and  remedy 
pollution. This principle is facilitated by the Commission’s 
Technical  Support  Instrument  (TSI)  project  on  greening 
taxes. 

In  2018,  Cyprus  introduced  a  Plastic  Bag  Levy  to  align 
with the European Plastic Bags Directive198. This initiative 
has been very successful, resulting in an 80% reduction in 
the use of plastic bags in supermarkets in only one year.  
According to a Commission’s study on Green taxation and 
other  economic 
(2021)  Cyprus  could 
introduce a landfill tax, a ‘pay-as-you-throw’ scheme and 
a water consumption charge to further address particular 
areas of environmental concern199. 

instruments 

195 Eurostat, Environmental taxes accounts (env_eta). 
196 COM (2019/640 final), p.17. 
197  Article  191(2)  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European 
Union:  ‘Union  policy  on  the  environment  (…)  shall  be  based  on  the 
precautionary  principle  and  on  the  principles  that  preventive  action 
should  be  taken,  that  environmental  damage  should  as  a  priority  be 
rectified at source and that the polluter should pay’. 
198 European Commission, Ensuring that polluters pay Cyprus.  
199  European  Commission,  Green  taxation  and  other  economic 
instruments, 2021.  

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Current green budgeting practices 

Green  budgeting  encompasses  various  climate  and 
environmental tagging and tracking practices in budgets. 
Some  EU  Member  States  already  use  certain  green 
budgeting  practices200.  Green  budgeting  helps  identify 
and  track  green  expenditure  and  green  revenues  to 
increase transparency on the environmental implications 
of  budgetary  policies.  This  is  aimed  at  improving  policy 
coherence  and  supporting  green  policies  (including 
climate end environmental objectives)201. 

The  Commission  developed  EU  climate-proofing  and 
sustainability-proofing  guidance 
to  assess  project 
eligibility  and  compliance  with  environmental  legislation 
and  criteria202.  The  Commission  has  also  drawn  up  a 
green budgeting reference framework203 and launched a 
TSI project on green budgeting in 2021 to  help Member 
States  develop  national  green  budgeting  frameworks  to 
improve  policy  coherence  and  the  green  transition. 
Cyprus participates in the Commission’s green budgeting 
project, launched in 2021. 

Environmentally-harmful subsidies 

Addressing  and 
subsidies 
reforms204. 

removing  environmentally-harmful 
is  a  further  step  towards  wider  fiscal 

Fossil  fuel  subsidies  are  costly  for  public  budgets  and 
undermine  Green  Deal  objectives.  They  also  often 
deincentivise  investment  in  green  technologies  and  do 
not  contribute  to  levelling  the  playing  field.  Fossil  fuel 
subsidies have varied by around EUR 55 billion in the EU 
since  2015.  They  rose  by  4%  in  2015-2019,  although 
some  countries  (e.g.  Latvia,  Lithuania  Sweden,  Greece 
and  Ireland),  managed  to  decrease  them.    At  EU  level, 
subsidies  on  petroleum  products,  in  sectors  such  as 
transport and agriculture, continued to increase in 2015-
2019,  whereas  subsidies  on  coal  and  lignite  decreased, 
largely  owing  to  the  diminishing  role  of  solid  fuels  in 
electricity  generation.  As  a  share  of  GDP,  fossil  fuel 
subsidies ranged from 1.2% in Hungary to less than 0.1% 
in  Malta  in  2019  (EU  average:  0.4%).  Cyprus  allocates 
more than the EU average to fossil-fuel subsidies (0.7% of 

Cyprus  38 

its GDP) - and more than it allocates to renewable-energy 
subsidies205. 

In  2020,  the  EU27’s  total  fossil  fuel  subsidies  decreased 
to EUR 52 billion (due to falling consumption trends amid 
the  COVID-19-related  restrictions).  Without  Member 
State  actions,  are  likely  to  rebound  as  economic  activity 
picks up from 2020206. 

 Figure 44: Trends in electricity subsidies in Cyprus207 

% GDP 

2015 

2016 

 2017 

2018 

2019 

2020 

Electricity 

0,14 

0,72 

0,29 

No 
data 

No 
data 

0,27 

Overall financing compared to the needs 

(Bulgaria),  depending  on 

 EU’s  overall  environmental  financing  for  environmental 
investments  is  estimated  to  have  been  0.6-0.7%  of  GDP 
in  2014-2020,  comprising  both  major  EU  funds  and 
national  financing.  This  ranged  from  0.3%  (Ireland)  to 
1.91% 
level  of 
environmental challenges in  different Member States. In 
2021-2027,  it  is  estimated  that  the  EU’s  environmental 
investment  needs  will  range  between  0.9  and  1.5%  of 
projected  GDP,  suggesting  a  potential  environmental 
financing  gap  of  0.6-0.8%  of  GDP,  previous  financing 
levels assumed208. 

the 

200 European Commission, Green Budgeting Practices in the EU: A First 
Review, 2021. 
201  European  Commission,  European  Commission  Green  Budgeting 
Reference  Framework.  European  Commission,  Green  Budgeting  in  the 
EU Key insights from the 2021 Commission survey. 
202 European Commission, Technical guidance on sustainability proofing 
for the InvestEU Fund. 
203  European  Commission,  Green  Budgeting  Reference  Framework, 
based  on  the  review  of  the  OECD  Paris  Collaborative  on  Green 
Budgeting initiative, 2017. 
204  European  Commission,  Study  on  assessing  the  environmental  fiscal 
reform potential for the EU 28, 2016.   

205  European  Court  of  Auditors,  Energy  taxation,  carbon  pricing  and 
energy subsidies, 2022.  
206 State of the Energy Union report, COM(2021) 950 and Annex 
207 OECD, Fossil Fuel Subsidy Tracker. 
208 Source: DG Environment data analysis. EU financing sources covered: 
ESI  Funds  (ERDF,  CF,  ESF,  YEI,  EAFRD,  EMFF),  Horizon  2020,  LIFE,  EFSI 
(EU amount), EIB loans. National financing: total national environmental 
protection  capital  expenditure  (investments)  -  source:  Eurostat  EPEA 
dataset.  Cut-off  date  for  data:  end  2021.  N.B.  The  total  financing  may 
be  higher,  in particular  through further  indirect  investments,  requiring 
further analysis in the future.   

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
 
                                                                 
 
 
 
                                                                 
Figure 45: Total environmental financing baseline (2014-
2020) and estimated needs (2020-2030) in the EU27 (% 
of GDP)209 

Cyprus  39 

the 

financing. 

In  2021-2027, 

Cyprus’ environmental financing for investments came to 
around  0.81%  of  GDP  in  2014-2020,  relying  mostly  on 
national 
country’s 
environmental investment  needs are  estimated  to  reach 
over 1.1% of Cyprus’ GDP (based on information broken 
down by country), suggesting an environmental financing 
gap  of  at  least  0.29%  of  GDP.  This  is  likely  to  be  higher 
when  also  accounting  for  needs  estimated  at  EU-level 
(e.g.  water  protection,  circularity,  biodiversity  strategy, 
etc.)  to  be  addressed  by  mobilising  further  resources  to 
back 
implementation 
priorities. 

the  country’s  environmental 

In  the  2019  EIR,  Cyprus  received  priority  actions  for 
environmental  financing.  However,  there  is  room  for 
improvement in the next years. 

2022 priority actions 

 

 

for 

opportunities 

Prepare  an  environmental  financing  strategy  to 
maximise 
closing 
environmental  implementation  gaps,  bringing 
together  all  relevant  administrative  levels,  and 
potentially 
financing 
involve  more  private 
(currently  providing  around  one  quarter  of  the 
total). 
Close  investment  gaps  in  order  to  ensure  an 
increased level of financing for the environment 
and 
all 
environmental objectives. 

investment 

needs 

cover 

for 

209 Eurostat, ESI Funds Open Data, 2021. 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
 
 
 
                                                                 
 
 
Cyprus  40 

6. Environmental governance 

Information, public participation and access to 
justice 

Citizens  can  more  effectively  protect  the  environment  if 
they  can  rely  on  the  three  ‘pillars’  of  the  Aarhus 
Convention:  
(i) access to information;  
(ii) public participation in decision making; 
(iii) access to justice in environmental matters.  

It is of crucial importance to public authorities, the public 
and businesses that environmental information is shared 
efficiently  and  effectively210.  Public  participation  allows 
authorities  to  make  decisions  that  take  public  concerns 
into account. Access to justice is a set of guarantees that 
allows  citizens  and  NGOs  to  use  national  courts  to 
protect the environment211. It includes the right to bring 
legal challenges (‘legal standing’)212.  

Environmental information 

Cyprus’ implementation of the INSPIRE Directive is  poor. 
Its  performance  has  been  reviewed  based  on  its  2021 
country 
and 
Data 
little  progress,  and 
documentation  have  made 
implementation levels are bad. More efforts are needed 
to:  

factsheet213. 

identification 

  make the data more widely accessible;  
 
 

improve the conditions for data reuse; and  
prioritise 
in 
environmental 
implementation,  especially  those  identified  as 
high-value  spatial  datasets  for  implementing 
environmental legislation214. 

datasets 

210  The  Aarhus  Convention,  the  Access  to  Environmental  Information 
Directive  (Directive  2003/4/EC)  and  the  INSPIRE  Directive,  (Directive 
2007/2/EC)  together  create  a  legal  foundation  for  the  sharing  of 
environmental  information  between  public  authorities  and  with  the 
public. This EIR focuses on the INSPIRE Directive's implementation. 
211  These guarantees are explained in the Commission Notice on access 
to  justice  in  environmental  matters,  OJL  275,  18.8.2017  and  a  related 
Citizen's Guide. 
212    This EIR  focuses on the  means implemented by  Member  States to 
guarantee  rights  of  access  to  justice,  legal  standing  and  to  overcome 
other major barriers to bringing cases on nature and air pollution. 
213 https://inspire.ec.europa.eu/INSPIRE-in-your-Country/CY. 
214 European Commission, List of high value spatial data sets. 

Table 4: Cyprus dashboard on the implementation of 
the INSPIRE Directive, 2016-2020215 

2016 

2020 

Legend 

Effective  coordination  and  data 
sharing 

Ensure effective 
coordination  

sharing 

Data 
without 
obstacle  

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

INSPIRE performance indicators 

i. Conformity of 
metadata  

ii.  Conformity 
of  spatial  data 
sets216 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

iii.  Accessibility 
of  spatial  data 
through 
sets 
and 
view 
download 
services 

iv.  Conformity 
of 
network 
services 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

Implementation 
is  well  advanced  or 
completed. 
(nearly) 
Outstanding 
issues 
are minor and can be 
addressed 
easily. 
Percentage: >89% 

■  Implementation 

has started and some 
or 
substantial 
progress  has  been 
made,  but  is  still  not 
close 
being 
to 
complete. 
Percentage: 31-89% 

■ Implementation is 

significantly 
falling 
Serious 
behind. 
efforts are needed to 
close 
the 
implementation  gap. 
Percentage: <31% 

Public participation 

and 

reports 

the  environmental 

impact 
The  development  of 
assessment  database,  including  environmental  impact 
the 
assessment 
environmental  authority,  has  been 
to 
facilitate  public  engagement.  The  Environmental  Impact 
Assessment 
relevant 
information  on  the  evaluation  process  to  inform  the 
public  concerned,  facilitates  a  more  active  and  efficient 

(EIA)  platform  provides  all 

the  opinions  of 

introduced 

215 INSPIRE knowledge base 
216 The deadlines for implementation of the spatial data interoperability 
were  in  2016  still  in  the  future:  23/11/2017  for  Annex  I  data  and 
21/10/2020 for Annex II and III data. It must be also considered that this 
conformity indicator will in many cases never reach 100% conformity as 
majority  of  the  countries  provide  as-is-data  sets  in  addition  to  the 
INSPIRE harmonised data sets. 

Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
 
 
                                                                 
  
  
  
  
 
                                                                 
in  decision-making  processes, 

Impact  Commission’s  agenda, 

includes 
participation 
access to documents, online submissions, updates of the 
Environmental 
the 
Opinions/Reasoned  Findings  of 
the  environmental 
authority, as well as the projects that are currently under 
public  consultation.  This  tool  facilitates  the  timely 
participation  of  the  public  in  the  planning  and  decision-
making process, allowing the environmental authority to 
take the views of the public  into account before making 
decisions.  However,  there 
information 
lacking,  in  particular  on  aggregated  data  on  the  level  of 
participation 
including 
authorisations  linked  to  the  EIA  Directive  (2011/92/EU) 
and the SEA Directive (2001/42/EC). 

in  decision-making  processes 

is  still  some 

Access to justice 

NGOs can have standing only under specific sectoral law 
(EIA,  IPPC217,  ELD218),  otherwise  they  must  prove  their 
rights/interests. 

and 

It  can  be  difficult  to  challenge  plans  or  programmes.  An 
administrative  review,  if  granted,  will  examine  both  the 
a 
procedural 
substantive 
decision/act/omission.  A 
the 
Administrative Court will, as in all cases, consider matters 
of  procedural  legality  and  competence  of  the  offending 
executory  organ,  but  also  of  substantive  legality  if  the 
question  refers  to  an  error  in  law,  a  violation  of  the 
constitution, etc. 

legality 
review 

judicial 

of 
in 

The  Supreme  Court  of  Cyprus  has  the  power  to  review 
legislation  or  regulations  either  upon  request  by  the 
President  of 
the  Republic  before  enactment  by 
Parliament,  or  on  the  basis  of  a  legal  recourse  by  an 
individual  whose  rights  are  affected  under  Article  I46  of 
the  Constitution  as  a  result  of  an  administrative 
act/omission  emanating 
legislation  or 
regulations.  This  applies  to  all  legislation/regulations, 
there  are  no  specific  provisions  for  the  environment.  It 
can  be  concluded  that  there  is  a  system  of  regular 
supervision  of  regulatory  legally  binding  acts,  but  it  is 
largely inaccessible to members of the public and NGOs, 
who  can  only  flag  cases  to  bodies  or  officials  that  are 
entitled 
supervision 
initiate  an  extraordinary 
procedure. 

from  such 

to 

There is some information available on access to justice, 
maintained  by  the  government.  However,  it  is  usually 
only available in the official language of the country and   

Cyprus  41 

it  needs  to  be  searched  for.  Information  on  access  to 
environmental justice is published on the website of the 
Department  of  Environment,  with  reference  to  the 
specific (and limited) legislation that grants legal rights to 
NGOs.  There  is  no  specific  site  where  national  rules  on 
access to justice are available. 

In  2019,  Cyprus  received  priority  actions  on  improving 
access  to  justice  in  terms  of  information,  standing  and 
costs.  There  has  been  limited  progress  on  standing  and 
information,  but  substantial  progress  on  reducing 
prohibitive costs. 

2022 priority actions 

 

 

 

Improve  access  to  spatial  data  and  services  by 
making  stronger  linkages  between  the  Federal 
INSPIRE  website  and  regional  portals,  identify 
and  document  all  spatial  datasets  required  for 
the  implementation  of  environmental  law219, 
and  make  the  data  and  documentation  at  least 
accessible  ‘as is’ to other public authorities and 
the  public  through  the  digital  services  required 
by the INSPIRE Directive. 
Improve  individuals’  access  to  courts  by  the 
public 
challenging 
administrative  or  regulatory  decisions  and 
omissions,  including  during  the  planning  phase, 
in  particular  on  water,  nature  and  air  quality 
issues. 
Publish  regular  information  on  the  number  of 
EIA  and  SEA  processes  and  their  outcomes, 
including  information  on  the  level  of  public 
participation  and  the  extent  to  which  public 
comments  were  taken  into  account  in  the  final 
decisions. 

concerned 

when 

Compliance assurance  

to  ensure 

Environmental compliance assurance covers all the work 
undertaken  by  public  authorities 
that 
industries,  farmers  and  others  fulfil  their  obligations  to 
protect water, air and nature, and manage waste 220.  
It includes support measures provided by the authorities, 
such as: 
(i) compliance promotion 221;  
the inspections and other checks that they carry out, i.e. 

217 Directive 2008/1/EC concerning integrated pollution prevention and 
control (the IPPC Directive) 
218 Directive 2004/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council 
liability  with  regard  to  the 
of  21  April  2004  on  environmental 
prevention and remedying of environmental damage 

219 European Commission, INSPIRE. 
220  The  concept  is  explained  in  detail  in  the  Communication  on  "EU 
actions  to 
improve  environmental  compliance  and  governance" 
COM(2018)10  and  the  related  Commission  Staff  Working  Document, 
SWD(2018)10.  
221 This EIR focuses on the help given to farmers to comply with nature 
and nitrates legislation.  

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
 
                                                                 
                                                                 
compliance monitoring222;  
(iii)  the  steps  that  they  take  to  stop  breaches,  impose 
sanctions  and  require  damage  to  be  remedied,  i.e. 
enforcement223.  
Citizen  science  and  complaints  enable  authorities  to 
liability224 
focus  their  efforts  better.  Environmental 
ensures that the polluter pays to remedy any damage.  

Compliance promotion and monitoring 

The  Nature  Directives  are  still  not  fully  implemented  in 
Cyprus, and publicly available information to advise duty 
holders  on  how  to  improve  compliance  does  not  exist. 
The  Natura  2000  network  does  not  adequately  protect 
the  existing  habitat  types  and  species 
in  Cyprus. 
However,  Cyprus 
is  planning  to  cover  most  SCI 
inadequacies (for terrestrial habitats and species) by the 
end  of  2021,  via  an  update  of  information  for  existing 
SCIs and with the proposal of new SCIs. Although a wide 
range  of  informative  tools  are  available  on  the  relevant 
the  Ministry  of  Agriculture,  Rural 
websites  of 
Development  and  Environment,  practical  advice  for 
farmers and land users is not available. 

Detailed information on water and soil pollution control, 
as  well  as  on  the  Nitrates  Directive  is  provided  on  the 
website  of  the  Department  of  Environment.  Along  with 
information on the individual provisions, the website also 
has presentations how to comply with the Directive, the 
Nitrates  action  programme  and  the  Code  of  Good 
Agriculture Practice225. 

of 

the 

implementation 

The  Department  of  Environment 
is  responsible  for 
carrying  out  regular  and  non-regular 
inspections  to 
environmental 
monitor 
legislation. A plan for these inspections is prepared at the 
beginning of each year. It includes targeted campaigns to 
monitor waste management in specific sectors. However, 
the last Plan available on the website dates back to 2014. 
Inspection reports are published after each inspection226, 
and  an  annual  inspection  report  is  published  at  the  end 
of  each  year  to  summarise  the  findings  and  provide  

Cyprus  42 

statistics.  Annual  inspection  reports  for  2014-2018  are 
available online227. 

Complaint handling and citizen science 

No  relevant  online  tool  to  encourage  reporting  on 
environmental  damages  is  available  in  Cyprus.  A  list  of 
contacts  for  reporting  environmental  issues  is  provided 
on the website of the Office of the Commissioner for the 
Environment  (Γραφείο  Επιτρόπου  Περιβάλοντος)228,  as 
well as on the website of the Department of Environment 
(Τμήμα Περιβάλλοντος)229. However, information on how 
to  submit  complaints  is  not  available  on  either  of  these 
websites. 

Cyprus  has  introduced  several  initiatives  to  encourage 
the  public  and  NGOs  to  participate  in  the  collection  of 
citizen  science  information.  For  instance,  a  protocol  for 
what  to  do  when  finding  a  turtle  nest  was  created  and 
published  by  the  Department  of  Fisheries  and  Marine 
Research  (Τμήμα  Αλιείας  και  Θαλασσίων  Ερευνών)  as 
part of the EU LIFE EUROTURTLES project230. Additionally, 
a  mobile  app  called  CY-FIS  that  records  fishing  activities 
by professional and recreational fishermen among other 
activities  aimed  at  managing  fishery  resources,  was 
launched by the same department. Finally, seminars have 
been organised under the Interreg Balkan-Mediterranean 
‘RECONNECT’ project231 for volunteers who want to help 
protect selected marine protected areas. 

Enforcement 

information  on 

Information  on  national  published  statistics  and  other 
the  prosecution  of 
systematic 
environmental crimes and their outcomes is not available 
in  Cyprus.  A  recent  amendment  to  the  Waste  Law  (Law 
185(I)/2011)  introduced  the  obligation  to  publish  fines 
and court decisions, but there is currently only one such 
decision available online. 

222 This EIR focuses on inspections of major industrial installations.  
223This  EIR  focuses  on  the  availability  of  enforcement  data  and  co-
ordination between authorities to tackle environmental crime. 
224  The  Environmental  Liability  Directive,  2004/35,  creates  the 
framework. 
225  Department  of  Environment:  Water  and  soil  pollution  control  – 
at: 
Industrial 
http://www.moa.gov.cy/moa/environment/environmentnew.nsf/All/E9
6FB74C98E79D94C2257F620032931A?OpenDocument. 
226  Department  of  Environment: 
available 
http://www.moa.gov.cy/moa/environment/environmentnew.nsf/All/0
A953261E33F67F7C2257F6200280FCD?OpenDocument. 

Information 
at: 

Inspections  System. 

Information 

emissions. 

available 

available 

Information 

Information 

227 Department of Environment: Inspections System – Annual Inspection 
Reports. 
at: 
http://www.moa.gov.cy/moa/environment/environmentnew.nsf/All/3F
6336B21F7924D9C225807C0030ED22/$file/Sxedio_Perivallontikon_Epi
theroiseon_2014.pdf. 
228 Office of the Commissioner for the Environment (Γραφείο Επιτρόπου 
Περιβάλλοντος). 
at:  
http://www.environmentalcommissioner.gov.cy/environmentalcommis
sioner/ec.nsf/wheretoturnto_gr/wheretoturnto_gr?opendocument. 
229  Contact  details  of  the  Department  of  Environment  available  at: 
http://www.moa.gov.cy/moa/environment/environmentnew.nsf/conta
ct_gr/contact_gr?OpenDocument. 
230 Information about the EU LIFE EUROTURTLES project is available at: 
http://www.moa.gov.cy/moa/dfmr/dfmr.nsf/All/A81EC277BC1F4D2E42
258156003AABFB. 
231  Information  about  the  Balkan-Mediterranean  Project  ‘RECONNECT’ 
is available at: https://reconnect.hcmr.gr/citizen-science/. 

available 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
 
                                                                 
                                                                 
the 

bodies 

responsible 

There appear to be no formal coordination arrangements 
enforcing 
among 
environmental  damage  or  environmental 
crimes. 
However, in the event of an inspection, the inspectors of 
the  Department  of  Environment  seek  to  cooperate  with 
all  other  competent  services,  as  well  as  the  Cyprus 
police232. 

for 

Environmental Liability Directive (ELD) 

There  appears  to  be  no  central  database  (or  any 
database)  recording  ELD  cases  or  other  incidents  of 
environmental damage. National measures to encourage 
the  development  of  financial  security  instruments  to 
enable  operators  to  use  financial  guarantees  to  cover 
their  ELD  liabilities  have  not  been  adopted.  A  few 
insurance  contracts  covering  liability  for  environmental 
damages are available on the market in Cyprus233. 

2022 priority actions 

 

 

 

Provide  practical  information  to  farmers  and 
land  managers  on  how  to  comply  with  the 
Nature Directives and the Nitrates Directive. 
information  on  the 
Collect  and  disseminate 
enforcement of environmental law, including on 
the  prosecution  of  environmental  damage 
crimes,  on  Environmental  Liability  Directive 
cases, and on formal cooperation arrangements 
among the public bodies responsible. 
Promote  and 
informal 
formal  or 
systems  of  cooperation  between  the  different 
authorities dealing with environmental crimes. 
Introduce  measures 
the 
development of financial security instruments to 
enable operators to use financial guarantees. 
  Make information available to the public on the 
complaint  handling  system  and  procedure  to 
facilitate  public 
involvement  on  compliance 
issues. 

encourage 

improve 

to 

 

Effectiveness of environmental 
administrations  

Cyprus  43 

legislation at EU, national, regional and local levels need 
to have the knowledge, tools and capacity to ensure that 
the  legislation  and  the  governance  of  the  enforcement 
process bring about the intended benefits.  

Administrative capacity and quality 

Cyprus’ two main environmental administrations are the 
Ministry  of  Agriculture,  Rural  Development  and 
Environment (especially the Department of Environment 
and  the  Water  Development  Department)  and  the 
Ministry  of  Labour,  Welfare  and  Social  Insurance.  Both 
appear  to  use  new  digital-  and  online  technologies,  to 
interact  with  the  public  or  bodies  that  wish  to  be 
involved. Both Ministries host user-friendly websites with 
effective  signposting  (visuals,  and  meaningful  headings 
and subheadings) to help people find information easily. 
Furthermore,  both  Ministries’  websites  provide  contact 
information  and  online  forms  if  someone  needs  to 
contact  them.  However,  according  to  EUPACK,  Cyprus’ 
performance  on  e-governance  is  lower  than  other  EU 
countries. 

 So  far,  the  Cypriot  authorities  have  complied  with  the 
deadlines  in  EU  environmental  legislation  and  reacted 
initiated  an 
quickly  whenever  the  Commission  has 
infringement  procedure.  A  notable  exception  is  the 
nature  sector,  where  there  have  been  delays,  including 
in:  (i)  designating  the  special  protected  areas;  (ii) 
proposing  sites  of  Community  interest;  and  (iii)  bringing 
projects in line with EU legislation, especially by carrying 
out  adequate  ‘appropriate  assessments’.The  number  of 
infringement  cases  against  Cyprus 
in 
absolute terms, although it is high per capita. In general, 
there  are  no  significant  problems  on  the  quality  of 
transposition  of  EU  directives,  although  one  case  is 
currently  open.  Most  cases  relate  either  to  a  poor 
application of the EU environmental legislation or to late 
transposition.  A  new  instance  of  incorrect  transposition 
has  very  recently  been  found,  i.e.  the  fact  that  Cyprus 
excludes  from  the  obligation  to  inform  and  consult  the 
its 
public  all  hydrocarbon  projects 
Exclusive  Economic  Zone.  The  Commission  is  closely 
monitoring  this 
issue  so  that  the  relevant  national 
legislation is brought into line with EU law. 

located  within 

is  moderate 

Those 

involved 

in 

implementing 

environmental 

Coordination and integration  

Information 

Inspections  System. 

232  Department  of  Environment: 
available at: 
http://www.moa.gov.cy/moa/environment/environmentnew.nsf/page
19_gr/page19_gr?OpenDocument. 
233 
liability-insurance/; 
https://www.aig.com.cy/business/products/liability-
insurance/environmental-impairment. 

https://www.pitsasinsurances.com/el/article/-environmental-

As  mentioned  in  the  2017  EIR,  the  transposition  of  the 
revised Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive 
provides an opportunity for countries to streamline their 
regulatory  framework  on  environmental  assessments. 
Despite  a  delay 
full  transposition,  Cyprus  has 
transposed the revised Directive. 

in 

 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus 

 
 
 
                                                                 
Cyprus  44 

the 

in  environmental  assessments 

streamlining  of 
The  Commission  encourages 
environmental  assessments  to  reduce  duplication  and 
for 
avoid  overlaps 
projects.  Moreover,  streamlining  helps 
reduce 
unnecessary  administrative  burdens  and  accelerates 
is 
decision-making, 
done  without 
compromising 
the  environmental 
assessment  procedure.  Cyprus  has  started  streamlining 
environmental  assessments  under  the  EIA  and  the 
Habitats Directives. 

provided 
it 
the  quality  of 

to 

Reforms through the Commission’s Technical 
Support Instrument (TSI) 

The Commission supports environmental implementation 
and  the  green  transition,  not  only  through  the  EU 
financing  programmes,  but  also  granting  technical 
assistance such as the TSI.  

During  the  reporting  period,  the  TSI  supported  several 
environment-related  projects  in  Cyprus.  For  example 
under the 2019 TSI, the Commission supported a project 
to  develop  a  long-term  economic  strategy,  including 
sustainable  development,  and  a  project  to  revise  the 
national  strategy  for  the  management  of  municipal 
Waste. Under the 2020 and 2021 TSI, four projects were 
supported  to:  (i)  update  Cyprus’  energy  and  climate 
policies; 
and 
the 
mainstreaming  of  the  Sustainable  Development  Goals; 
(iii) prepare the green taxation reform; and (iv) promote 
the  sustainable  urban  mobility  plans  of  Limassol  and 
Larnaca.  Finally,  a  2022  TSI  project  will  support  the 
renovation wave. 

implementation 

support 

(ii) 

TAIEX EIR peer-to-peer projects 

The  Commission  launched  the  TAIEX  EIR  peer-to-peer 
tool234  to 
learning  between 
environmental authorities.  

facilitate  peer-to-peer 

During  the  reporting  period,  Cyprus  has  not  been  very 
active in seeking the support of the TSI for environmental 
reforms. However, in 2022 it has taken part in two multi-
country  workshops  (on  ammonia-reducing  technology 
and measures, and on zero pollution) and in a workshop 
on  best  practices  in  applying  Article 6(3)  of  the  Habitats 
Directive. 

234  TAIEX  -  Environmental  Implementation  Review  -  PEER  2  PEER  - 
Environment - European Commission (europa.eu) 

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 Environmental Implementation Review 2022 – Cyprus