Antonis Paschalides

Antonis Paschalides vigorously sought to bring changes to the still oil based energy production of Cyprus and during his first 3 years as Minister responsible for Energy, the country saw huge changes which put it on the world energy map. a. He brought forward[2] the issue of switching the energy production of Cyprus from oil to natural gas, a topic which had been in discussion for years but never actually dealt with.[3] b. For years it was believed that the Cyprus sea was rich in the resources of oil and natural gas, but was never investigated. Antonis Paschalides proceeded to have the Cyprus sea bed tested[4] and entered an agreement with Noble Energy[5] for the exploitation of these resources.[6] c. He is considered one of the masterminds behind the signing of an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) with Lebanon[7] and Israel[8] where in a visit in March 2011 he was welcomed as Mr. Energy and Mr. Gas. d. He encouraged and facilitated the building of a huge oil and natural gas depot on the coast of Cyprus[9] from where the fuel will be distributed to the surrounding countries making Cyprus an important fuel route.[10] e. While Cyprus was still a completely a virgin market for renewable energy (almost 0%), during his term the country saw a complete turnaround to the use of renewable energy sources which now make up around 9%, and fast growing, of the Country's power needs.[11]

The hugely UK dependent Cyprus tourism was badly hit by the continuing 2008 crisis with the lowest being an 11% decrease in tourism revenue. His 2 main policies on tourism were the diversification from the UK tourist market and the targeting of higher value tourists. For this he sought to enter several agreements with previously non-existent tourist markets for Cyprus such as China,[12] Israel[13][14] and the Arab[15] countries while at the same time greatly improving Cyprus’ touristic product in terms of quality. During his term the coastal town of Limassol saw the beginning of the building of a luxurious marina[16] whereas the marinas of Ayia Napa and Paphos were pushed to their final pre-development stages. At the same time 15 signature golf courses were licensed and/or built all over Cyprus. In Nicosia, the island's capital an agreement was achieved with the Qatari government[17] for an investment in a luxurious hotel complex estimated in the hundreds of millions. As a result, even though Cyprus has still not reached its pre 2008 numbers in tourists visiting, proceeds from the tourist industry have now increased with a spectacular increase in Russian tourists by 50% in 2010.[18]

In the general public, Antonis Paschalides is better known for his “fight”[19] against high prices in fuel and necessities. He has often sought the permission of the European Union to place a prix-plafond (maximum sale price) on several goods and even proceeded to implement such on several occasions where price manipulation against the consumers was detected, earning him the nickname of Mr. Plafond.

Being responsible for a Ministry covering many aspects, he participates in the EU Council of Energy Ministers, the Competetitiveness EU Council of Ministers, the EU Council of Ministers on Tourism as well as the Euro Mediterranean Forum. He has throughout been a strong supporter of abolishing or at least relaxing procedures for the issuance of visas for Russian citizens.[20] In March 2011, after the catastrophic earthquake in Japan and the issues of nuclear danger that it brought to light, Antonis Paschalides while speaking to the EU Council of Ministers raised the issue that not only EU members should reconsider and/or impose stricter criteria on the use of nuclear power but that such measures should also be imposed on EU neighboring countries,[21] having in mind the building by Turkey[22] of a nuclear plant in Akkuyu, an earthquake prone area just 60 km from the coast of Cyprus.