The director of the antiquities department Dr George Georgiou has warned that continued cuts to its budget will have consequences for the protection of Cyprus’ cultural heritage.

“The continued compression of spending on antiquities will not be without a price,” Georgiou told the House finance committee, accusing the government of using “creative accounting” to present the department’s reduced funding.

The deputy ministry’s proposed budget for next year stands at €64.3 million, down from its present allowance of €65.7 million, however, Deputy Minister Clea Hadjistefanou Papaellina said the previous year’s allocation included €2.2 million for cultural events during Cyprus’ EU council presidency.

Excluding that amount, the next year’s budget represents an increase of €820,000, she said.

The antiquities department has been allocated €23.6 million, including €19.9 million in recurrent expenditure and €3.8 million for development projects.

Akel MP Christos Christofides questioned the government’s commitment to culture, saying the Deputy Ministry’s share of the state budget had fallen from 0.62 per cent to 0.45 per cent.

He also criticised reductions in funding for cultural grant programmes, including support for theatre productions and contemporary cultural creation.

Christofides said Cyprus ranked near the bottom in Europe in terms of the proportion of public spending devoted to culture.

The ‘contemporary culture department’ is set to receive €21.1 million, of which €15.6 million is earmarked for development expenditure.

Its director, Ioanna Hadjicosti, said €300,000 had been cut from sponsorship programmes, with reductions spread across the various schemes.

Papaellina defended the ministry’s use of its available resources, saying they were being fully utilised to modernise cultural infrastructure and protect the island’s heritage.

She also said the ministry was reviewing sponsorship criteria in response to feedback from cultural organisations.

The committee also heard that completion of the new archaeological museum has been delayed to February 3, 2027, representing a 209-day extension to the original timetable.

Director general George Papageorgiou said a further 18 months will be required to transfer antiquities into the building,

She also confirmed that the ministry’s annual contribution to Limassol’s Rialto Theatre was €120,000, with state funding due to end by 2029 under the agreement with the municipality.

The Portuguese Veterinary Association (OMV) is submitting a petition to parliament today with the aim of bringing down IVA (VAT) on veterinary services for pets – currently priced at top

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With no last-minute surprises, the proposed State Budget for next year was approved, in general terms, with only the governing parties voting in favor and PS, PAN and JPP abstaining.

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With security and defense allocations accounting for around two-thirds of planned expenditure and a projected deficit of nearly Hr 1.7 trillion ($37 billion), the budget highlights the challenge of funding the war while maintaining economic stability and meeting social commitments.

The state-sector union Frente Comum (Common Front) has called for a national strike by public-sector trade unions on November 20. A resolution adopted at the plenary session held outside parliament

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Today is the day that the government’s proposal for next year’s State Budget comes under debate in parliament – and, due to tensions focused on lack of housing, the event

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Ukraine is heading into 2027 with a rising fiscal gap. Growth forecasts have been cut, inflation is rising, and the need for external financing seems to just keep going up. The economy is being squeezed by a labor market drained by mobilization and emigration, energy infrastructure has been decimated, and

Portugal’s Socialist Party is bringing together its main leaders today to discuss the position to take in the vote on the State Budget for 2027 (OE2027).  The party’s secretary-general, José

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University students, and those in other forms of higher education, will be protesting today in front of the government’s headquarters, at Campus XX1, against the proposal in the 2027 State

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Budget watchdog UTAO (full title: Technical Budget Support Unit) is querying the government’s forecasts for employment growth and prices in 2027, highlighting discrepancies with recent data. In its analysis of

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