Cyprus parliamentary committee to consider four bills restricting foreigners’ home purchases on 3 September

The House of Representatives of Cyprus will resume legislative work in the first days of September, and the agenda of the Parliamentary Committee on Internal Affairs will once again include four bills restricting foreigners’ purchase of real estate. The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, 3 September, and will be attended by Minister of the Interior Konstantinos Ioannou.

A vote on the proposals had been planned before the summer recess, but was postponed at the last moment following the minister’s intervention. At the same meeting, the committee will continue discussing amendments to the basic law on dangerous buildings, aimed at enabling a faster response to threats to public safety and health.

The first meetings have been scheduled for nine of the sixteen committees. On Tuesday, 1 September, the Committee on Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism and the Committee on Refugees, Enclaved Persons and Missing Persons will meet. On Wednesday, 2 September, it will be the turn of the Committees on Education, Legal Affairs and Institutions, while on Thursday, 3 September, in addition to the Internal Affairs Committee, the Committees on the Oversight of Public Expenditure and on Transport will begin their work.

The Committee on Commerce will continue examining two harmonisation bills on renewable energy. They were submitted under an urgent procedure in April to avoid European fines: the European Commission has already issued Cyprus with a reasoned opinion over the delay in transposing the directive into national law. The documents introduce new obligations concerning the use of green energy in industry, heating and transport.

The Committee on Education will hear from Minister Athena Michaelidou about the start of the school year: classes will begin on 7 September in secondary schools and on 14 September in primary schools. The Committee on Transport will meet the new minister, Evanthia Tsolaki, and address school-bus safety: according to a report by the Audit Office, 35% of the vehicles inspected by the state were deemed unfit, while 53% of the fleet did not attend the mandatory roadworthiness inspection at all.