LAWMAKERS yesterday expressed their concerns over a bill that will give the Cabinet the authority to release state-owned land when it deems it necessary.
The bill – drawn up in order to prepare the legal framework for the ratification of Cyprus’ agreement with Qatari investors to build a luxury building complex in Nicosia – basically offers the Cabinet the authority to decide whether to release state-owned land, when it decides it is “of public benefit”.
Attorney-general Petros Clerides joined Interior Minister Neoclis Sylikiotis to explain the bill to the House Interior Committee, though the session was interrupted to be discussed in more detail today at noon.
The main point of disagreement was how “public benefit” can be interpreted, with many MPs saying the condition was very general and could be exploited.
Clerides pointed out that the matter was open to discussion and proposals. He even suggested the law be passed in order to ratify the Qatari agreement and subsequently cancelled.
However, this was rejected by most MPs, who underlined the significance of preparing the legal groundwork for future investments.
All MPs expressed their reservations over passing a law that would offer the Cabinet such power; especially seeing that state-owned land has never previously been released to private developers – which is why new legal framework is needed.
DISY’s Ionas Nicolaou, who had over three pages of questions to ask during the session, said he was extremely preoccupied with the proposed bill.
“Until today, state land wasn’t released for development by private investors,” said Nicolaou. “This is extremely important, and if we are not careful, we could leave margins for exploitation or even a violation of European acquis communautaire.”
Fellow DISY deputy Christos Stylianides added: “We were keen to stress that we are not against this great investment; however, because we want to ensure the public’s best interests and future investments are secured, we want to bind the situation closely”.
Stylianides said there were many legal aspects that needed to be looked at, with absolutely no margin for mistakes in order to avert possible law suits in the future.
“The Attorney-general offered some ways out, but there are many issues that need to be resolved,” he added. “For a start, we need to interpret the meaning of ‘public benefit’ correctly.”
The Green Party’s George Perdikes said the bills contained serious dangers for public interest and needed to be altered. “We can’t reach the point where we sell out our land in the name of development. I am pleased to note that the Attorney-general and Interior Minister both seemed prepared to discuss our suggestions and improve the bill. There seems to be a desire for common consent.”
Speaking after the meeting, Sylikiotis said he was pleased to note there were no concerns over the essence of the issue (the agreement with Qatar). “However, there were concerns to find the appropriate way for this to apply legally.”
He added: “I think we can find a way to secure the state’s best interests, while at the same time opening the way to new investments in the future”.
Parliament’s examination of the actual agreement between the Cyprus government and Qatar for a luxury development in Nicosia was postponed until next week as Finance Minister Charilaos Stavrakis was in Brussels yesterday to attend ECOFIN the meeting of EU Finance Ministers.
