The Cypriot economy continues to demonstrate significant resilience and adaptability despite ongoing global uncertainty, according to Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) governor Christodoulos Patsalides.

In its June 2025 economic bulletin, the CBC revised its forecast for the country’s growth rate in 2025 to 3.1 per cent, slightly down from 3.2 per cent projected in the March macroeconomic outlook.

“This resilience,” he said, “is largely due to the strong buffers built in recent years in critical areas such as public finances, the banking sector, and the supervisory framework.”

“The enhanced diversification of the production base, technological upgrades in key sectors, and the attraction of high value-added foreign investment give the economy the necessary momentum to respond effectively to an ever-changing and geopolitically fragile global environment,” he added.

Cyprus’ gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 3.4 per cent in 2024, supported in part by a 3.8 per cent rise in private consumption.

Cyprus recorded a budget surplus of €619.1 million in the first quarter of 2025, according to preliminary fiscal data released on Monday by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).

This marks an increase from the surplus of €575.70m reported during the same period in 2024.

Total revenue rose by €231.20m or 6.8 per cent, reaching €3.64 billion in the January to March 2025 period, compared with €3.41 billion in the corresponding period of 2024.

Social contributions recorded the most significant increase in revenue, growing by €139.30m or 13.2 per cent to reach €1.19bn, compared with €1.05bn in the first quarter of 2024.

The Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Keve) on Monday announced a new initiative aimed at informing businesses across the country about fresh funding opportunities available through the Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF).

The chamber, which serves as the national coordinator of the Enterprise Europe Network Cyprus, highlighted the key role of RIF in strengthening Cyprus’s research and innovation ecosystem.

It should be noted that the RIF recently launched a series of funding programmes with a total budget of €18,015,000.

These programmes, Keve explained, are designed to “support competitiveness, export orientation, and innovation, with a particular emphasis on the private sector”.

The passenger and vehicle ferry route between Limassol and Piraeus is continuing to draw strong demand, with nearly full bookings reported for all scheduled sailings in 2025.

According to figures published on Monday by Politis, a total of 7,719 passengers have already reserved seats for the 2025 season.

Of these, 3,781 bookings were made for the Limassol-Piraeus route, while 3,938 were made for travel in the opposite direction.

Demand has proven particularly robust for travel from Greece to Cyprus, which has now overtaken bookings in the reverse direction.

Sek general secreatary Andreas Matsas on Monday issued a strong defence of the Cost of Living Allowance (CoLA), warning against what he called “a dangerous effort to demonise and dismantle” a key component of labour relations.

In an opinion article published by Politis, Matsas said there had been “a recent absurdity” in the way the discussion on CoLA was being approached, and criticised those who “either misunderstand or deliberately misrepresent the institution’s role”.

“CoLA is not an arbitrary bonus,” he said. “It is a right that arises from collective agreements. Any distortion of its philosophy amounts to an attempt to violate a core component of those agreements, threatening to undermine the entire framework of collective bargaining.”

He argued that reducing or abolishing CoLA would have “unpredictable negative consequences for the labour market, social cohesion, and economic development.”

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) announced on Monday that it will remove AstroBank’s bonds from trading after the bank completed the early redemption of the securities under their original terms.

The decision concerns the senior preferred bonds EUR 2026 with a 6.5 per cent interest rate, involving 82 securities with a nominal value of €100,000 each, and the senior preferred bonds USD 2026 carrying 8.5 per cent, covering 122 securities with a nominal value of $100,000 each.

Cyprus’ general government net financial worth narrowed to –€7.7 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2025, reflecting an improved fiscal position, according to Eurostat data released on Monday. 

The indicator, which measures the difference between the stock of financial assets and liabilities, improved from –€8.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024 and –€9 billion in Q4 a year earlier. 

Across the European Union, the general government net financial worth stood at –€8,948 billion, –49.4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).

This marked an increase of €72 billion from the previous quarter but a decline of €213 billion compared with the first quarter of 2024.

Government debt across the euro area and European Union rose in the first quarter of 2025, while Cyprus recorded one of the largest annual decreases in debt and posted a strong budget surplus.

At the end of the first quarter of 2025, the general government gross debt to GDP ratio in the euro area stood at 88.0 per cent, up from 87.4 per cent at the end of the fourth quarter of 2024.

In the European Union as a whole, the ratio increased from 81.0 per cent to 81.8 per cent during the same period.

Compared with the first quarter of 2024, the government debt to GDP ratio increased slightly in the euro area, from 87.8 per cent to 88.0 per cent, and in the EU, from 81.2 per cent to 81.8 per cent.