MPs’ gifts include football tickets, stroopwafels and a lot of booze

Tickets to a World Cup football match, stroopwafels, a jaffa brownie and a €300 porcelain vase were among the gifts in the last twelve months declared by just six MPs.

The list of gifts received by the MPs in the year up to November was made public on Tuesday.

House president Annita Demetriou received the most gifts of any MP with 18, five of which were worth €300.

Those were a porcelain vase presented to her by the Kuwaiti ambassador, decorative utensils from the Omani ambassador, handmade artefacts from the Chinese ambassador, a collection of commemorative coins from the Saudi ambassador, and traditional wooden utensils from the Indian ambassador.

Meanwhile, Edek MP Kostis Efstathiou was gifted three tickets to the World Cup football match between France and Morocco in Qatar last year by world football’s governing body. He clarified in his declaration that he paid for his own airfares.

Dipa leader Marios Garoyan declared a Christmas present he was given by Annita Demetriou, as well as various gifts by other companies.

Akel MP Giorgos Loukaides was gifted a Nuun special edition watch to commemorate the national day of Bahrain in May, by the Bahraini parliament. The watch is said to be worth $300 (€274).

Green MP Charalambos Theopemptou’s gifts were mostly food and drink – and he declared all of them, right down to the paprika pepper received from one ambassador.

He declared multiple alcoholic beverages, including whisky from the Japanese ambassador, Chardonnay wine from the Israeli ambassador, wine and zivania from the archbishopric, zivania and commandaria from President Nikos Christodoulides, and vodka from the Russian ambassador, among other alcoholic gifts.

He also received numerous edible offerings, including nuts from the archbishopric, olives from Christodoulides, jam from the Greek ambassador, two stroopwafels from the Dutch ambassador, more nuts from Annita Demetriou, paprika powder and a jaffa brownie from the Serbian ambassador, and honey from the EuroAsia interconnector.

Additionally, he was gifted a €150 pen from Cyfield as a Christmas present.