…“Sustainability is absolutely critical in terms of advisory and board work. We’re at an important juncture in Europe and the US, where we really need businesses to rethink how they deliver shareholder value in the longer term. There is no shareholder value without stakeholder value.”…

How many of us Cypriots understand how European regulations - that impact our daily lives – are decided?

Who shapes them and influences them? And why are they initiated – what purpose and goal do these regulations aim to serve?

How much does Cyprus input into the process of EU regulation? We are takers of the regulation – but to what extent are we input givers?

Spain takes over the helm of the rotating European Union Council Presidency on June 1. As a member of the EU since 1986, this is Spain’s fifth EU Presidency.

Spain is a Mediterranean country with interests and values embedded in Europe. By joining the European family 37 years ago, it has been part of the European project’s evolution and understands that “if Europe does well, Spain does well,” as Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares commented in his recent remarks introducing the priorities of its upcoming European rotating presidency…

…Cleopatra Kitti, an INSEAD Alumni, board member Senior Advisor to international corporations and governments, and founder of the Mediterranean Growth Initiative, shares, “We are on the path to understanding how ESG will impact Cyprus. The island will follow EU regulation, however, as the timeline is approaching, Cypriot businesses and organizations must be prepared for the new regulatory obligations. Senior leaders and board members must understand the shift these obligations will require in forming strategy and mitigating risk.”…

…“The election results imply that hardliners on the Cyprus issue outweigh [pro-reunification] ones,” said Cleopatra Kitti, senior policy adviser of Hellenic Foundation for European & Foreign Policy, a think-tank. Reunification of Cyprus has been a top priority for every president since the 1974 invasion.

…For many his victory dashed hopes of a solution being found in the near future to the decades-long dispute that has left Cyprus, the EU’s most easterly state, bitterly divided. “Today Greek Cypriots have voted in a government with very nationalist tendencies,” said Cleopatra Kitti, a Cypriot policy adviser at the Athens-based thinktank Eliamep. “It is unlikely to back a bi-communal, bi-zonal federation any time soon which means this is likely to be another wasted opportunity.”…

In its ongoing endeavor to empower, motivate and connect women, AIPFE Cyprus-Women of Europe has joined forces with Cleopatra Kitti, Queens of Money (QoM) to organise a seminar on personal financial planning. 

Entitled “Money Mindset and Self Love” and powered by Deloitte, the event will be held on 15 February, from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm, at Deloitte (Nicosia office). Participants will navigate through the essential steps of money management and will be able to enhance their knowledge in financial literacy, which lies at the very core of QoM.

Cleopatra Kitti, Senior Policy Advisor at ELIAMEP and Founder of the Mediterranean Growth Initiative, and Ioannis N. Grigoriadis, Associate Professor and Jean Monnet Chair of European Studies in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at Bilkent University and Head of ELIAMEP’s Turkey Programme, talk to Odin Linardatou, ELIAMEP’s Head of Communications, about the “Winds of Change”.

In their contribution to Brussels International Center’s “Rethinking Security in the 2020s” series Cleopatra Kitti and Shada Islam argue that for the EU to succeed in recasting its relationship with the Southern Mediterranean countries, along the lines of a green, just, and resilient post-COVID recovery, it should focus on women.

The first two decades of the 21st century have seen the international scene’s rearrangement. Firstly, on the geopolitical front, we are witnessing a return to a multipolar global order characterized by the reappearance of regional powers and the absence of a clear global hegemon. Secondly, the slowdown of globalization, caused by the financial crisis, climate change, trade tensions, and the pandemic has brought about a retraction of global trade and Global Value Chains; mercantilist ideas are once again tempting DC, Paris, Berlin, Beijing,and Moscow.

The tragedy in Lebanon must spark a deeper European Union rethink of its engagement in the Mediterranean.

Cyprus has suffered a litany of political and economic shocks over the past few decades, but always managed to rebound. Will Covid-19 be a challenge too far? Andrew MacDowall investigates.

The 2013 financial crisis forced Cypriot banks to reform and consolidate, and as a result they are better placed to cope with the latest financial onslaught. Andrew MacDowall reports.

Working “remotely” or from home has been a modus operandi for me for many years – roaming continents, regions and countries; and at times, when my home was in another country, to the main office of the business I was delivering value to clients and colleagues, focusing on efficiency, knowledge and creative thinking.

This time may be different because almost everyone in business and in the family will be working from home. It will test our cognitive abilities and instincts to self and to family care…

Many countries in the Med are at the frontline of migration, some in North Africa are the source or transit routes, others on the Southern European shore of the Med are the recipients of migrants.

The facts are that current migration flows are due to long wars, brutal conflict and poverty...

For those who championed self interest over communal interests, or national interests above multilateralism, Coronavirus has come as a wake up call.

Epidemics don’t discriminate - in our connected world epidemics cross borders, ethnicities, religions, humbling rich and poor…

Cleopatra Kitti is a citizen of the Mediterranean. Born and raised on the island of Cyprus, she has had a distinguished career as a businesswoman, an advisor to the EU and other global institutions, and a certified independent director specialising in corporate governance. Through her latest venture, The Mediterranean Growth Initiative, she is forging a new direction as an advocate for the Mediterranean region as a whole. She is a visionary spokesperson for the untapped human and economic potential of Europe’s forgotten zone, the countries that cluster around the Mediterranean Sea…

The Mediterranean, Europe’s frontline to Africa and home to 500 million people, is on the precipice of peace and conflict.

The conflict is defined by the proxy wars in Syria and Libya.

The peace is exemplified by the opportunities that exist for collaboration with the countries of the eastern Med – for example, the East Med Gas Forum, which is endorsed by the EU and the US.

More than ever before, I am being asked to consult on the level of risk involved in these opportunities. Or how to balance the socioeconomic opportunities with the political or business risks…

There can’t be many women in Cyprus who don’t feel a deep sense of unease about the case of the British teenager convicted this week for supposedly lying about being gang-raped by a group of Israeli tourists in the resort town of Ayia Napa…

Ten years ago, I was planning for 2020 in terms of the long horizon. It is now here – the dawn of a new decade. And this is a magically formed number: 2020. In my mind, zero, the circle number, stands for a circle of creativity and infinity.

The biggest lesson I have learnt over the years is that to have an extra-ordinary life (one that is out of the ordinary), you have to do extra-ordinary things…