The serious issues of the Local Government, Justice and Public Service reforms of Pothen Esches, but also of "Pay As You Throw", which are expected to have a positive impact on the daily life of citizens and the modernization of society, the accountability of MPs and the protection of the environment are expected to be brought before the new Parliament at the beginning of the parliamentary term.
Many of these, especially the bills on Local Government, Public Service and Justice reforms, have been linked to the Cyprus Recovery and Sustainability Plan which is planned, inter alia, to raise € 1,2 billion from the European Recovery and Durability Mechanism. As has been publicly stated by the executive, payments made to Cyprus by the EU will be inextricably linked to the achievement of the goals and milestones set, which makes important the need for consensus and timely adoption of bills concerning directly or affect the implementation of the Plan.
These are issues that were discussed by the last Parliament. Some of whom had reached the final stage, but were ultimately not brought before the Plenary for a vote.
It remains to be seen when the new Parliamentary Finance Committee will choose to work on public service reform, the legislative package for which was re-submitted to the Parliament on 11 October 2019, was presented to the Parliamentary Finance Committee on 3 February 2020, and still pending.
However, in recent statements, the Minister of Finance, Konstantinos Petridis, had noted, among other things, that the reform of the Public Service should be completed by the end of the year.
The referendums on Local Government Reform are a point of friction
The Plenary Session of the Parliament on April 15, with 29 votes in favor and 16 against, voted against the Government's proposal to hold a referendum on the reform of local self-government at the same time as the parliamentary elections.
A point of contention between the executive and the legislature was whether the reform would be approved through several local referendums.
However, in his statements on May 21, the Minister of Interior, Nikos Nouris, expressed his readiness "from the first day to enter into discussions, substantive discussions, with a specific goal of reform".
One week earlier, on May 14, the Union of Municipalities issued a statement calling on all parties represented in the new Parliament to reconsider the issue of the Reform on the basis of the bill submitted by the Ministry of Interior, taking into account the municipal elections. which will follow the Parliament around the beginning of December 2021.
Technical issues prevented the completion of Pothen Esches
The work of the Parliamentary Institutions Committee regarding the preparation of the text of Pothen Esches had reached its final stages, although as the then Chairman of the Committee Zacharias Zachariou had stated, it was not possible to take it to the Plenary Session due to some technical details.
Speaking on April 20, a few days before the last plenary session of Parliament, Mr. Zachariou said that the Commission had listened to a large number of stakeholders, such as the White Paper Committee, accountants and lawyers, whose views were incorporated into the text, adding that "we will not proceed to the vote because we believe that (the text) still has some imperfections and we do not want to do something that will not stand in the torment of criticism."
He had, however, estimated that the Institutions Committee would be able to complete the process in a short time, until the summer.
Volume of serious bills related to the Reform of Justice
Before the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs is the package of legislation concerning the Reform of Justice that aims at the modernization of the structures and the operation of the highest levels of Justice, with the reopening of the Supreme Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court, as well as the functioning of the EP.
As part of this reform, an amendment to the Constitution is envisaged.
With bills tabled before Parliament, the executive also aims to review judicial procedures, the composition of courts, the jurisdiction of Family Courts and upgrade the qualifications, powers and duties of judges, the overall replacement of existing legislation, the establishment of a Commercial Court and a Maritime Court, but also the bill that will create new jurisdiction in the District Courts for the examination of financial disputes between borrowers and banks.
Other bills that the previous Parliament failed to pass concern the establishment and operation of the Independent Anti-Corruption Authority in accordance with the recommendations of the GRECO Commission and the protection of persons who report acts of corruption in the public and private sectors.
In the final stages of the debate and the bill for "Pay As You Throw"
In the final stages was the debate before the dissolution of Parliament on the bill that provides for the universal implementation of the household waste management program Pay As You Throw.
As the Chairman of the Environment Committee, George Loukaidis, stated on April 7, the remaining time was not enough to pass a law. However, as he had estimated, this did not affect the implementation of the program as it will be implemented after the adoption of the secondary legislation and the passage of the transitional period of six months.
According to the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment Costas Kadis, Cyprus has significant challenges before it reached only 2019% in 15 in preparation for reuse and recycling of municipal waste, while the amount of municipal waste that ended up in landfills. He explained that the goal is for Cyprus to reach 55% of municipal waste recycling in 2025, 60% in 2030 and 65% in 2035.
Mr. Kadis had also stated that from January 1, 2025, a separate collection of hazardous waste from households should be done, while from December 31, 2023, organic waste will either be separated and recycled at the source, or will be collected separately so as not to mix with other species. waste.