Cyprus remains one of the European Union’s least digitised agricultural economies, with just 1% of farms using precision farming technologies in 2023, according to Eurostat.

The findings come as the EU continues to encourage the adoption of digital tools aimed at improving agricultural productivity, efficiency and sustainability.

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Internet Access Expands, But Digital Uptake Lags

Internet access has improved across the bloc, although adoption remains uneven. Eurostat found that 43% of EU farms had internet access in 2023, with northern and central European countries leading the way.

Denmark, Germany, Slovakia, Latvia, the Czech Republic and Austria all reported internet access rates above 90%.

Greater connectivity, however, has not translated into widespread digital adoption. Farm management information systems, which help farmers manage day-to-day operations, were used by only about 11% of EU farms. France was a notable exception, with around 60% of farms using the technology.

Precision Farming Concentrated In Larger Operations

Robotics adoption also remained relatively limited, with only about 7% of EU farms using robotic technologies. Overall, around 18% of farms with utilised agricultural area employed at least one precision farming technology or practice in 2023.

These included robotics for plant protection, band spraying, variable-rate application, precision crop monitoring and soil analysis. Despite representing fewer than one in five farms, these holdings accounted for around 44% of the EU’s utilised agricultural area.

The figures suggest that precision farming remains concentrated among larger agricultural businesses, where investment in digital technologies is typically easier to support.

Cyprus Lags Behind EU Leaders

Luxembourg, Finland and Estonia recorded the highest shares of utilised agricultural area managed by farms using precision farming technologies, each exceeding 75%.

At the other end of the ranking, Cyprus recorded just 1%, while Greece and Romania reported between 10% and 15%. The results indicate that Cyprus remains at an early stage of digital adoption in agriculture, even as precision farming becomes more widespread across parts of the European Union.

Cyprus executed 25% of its €1.62 billion development budget during the first six months of 2026, matching the pace recorded a year earlier and remaining above the 10-year average, according to the state treasury. By the end of June, €412.39 million had been spent under the development budget, maintaining the same implementation rate as in the first half of 2025.

Revenue Growth Driven By Higher Tax Receipts

State revenue reached €4.44 billion in the first half of the year, equal to 41% of the annual target, up from €4.21 billion during the same period of 2025. The increase was largely driven by tax collections. Indirect tax revenue rose by €170 million, while direct taxes increased by €90 million.

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Value-added tax receipts climbed to €1.68 billion from €1.48 billion a year earlier, helping lift indirect tax revenue by 8% to €2.29 billion. Direct taxes rose 6% to €1.58 billion, supported by an additional €100 million in corporate and personal income tax receipts.

Spending Increased Across Social Benefits And Transfers

Government expenditure totalled €4.63 billion, representing 40% of the annual budget, compared with €4.41 billion in the first half of 2025.

Higher spending reflected a €110 million increase in transfers and grants, an €80 million rise in operating and other expenses, and €50 million in additional social benefits.

Payroll, pensions and gratuities remained broadly unchanged at €1.63 billion, while social benefit spending increased 5% to €960 million. Transfers and grants climbed 12% to €960 million, driven primarily by higher contributions to the EU budget and the Social Insurance Fund.

Operating expenditure also increased to €430 million from €350 million, largely due to higher defence, policing and general operating costs. Financing costs moved in the opposite direction, declining to €390 million from €410 million.

Debt Activity Accelerated

Government borrowing activity increased significantly during the first half of the year. Loan drawdowns and repayments received reached €1.25 billion, compared with just €30 million a year earlier, while debt repayments and loan issuance rose to €2.09 billion from €110 million.

Development Spending Focused On Infrastructure

Capital investment under the development budget reached €140.8 million. Road infrastructure accounted for the largest allocation at €29.4 million, followed by construction projects (€25 million), government buildings (€17.5 million), equipment (€14.4 million), school buildings (€10.7 million), and water and sewage infrastructure (€5.3 million).

EU Programmes And Universities Received Continued Support

Co-financed projects and targeted programmes received €105.7 million, including funding for childcare support, industry and technology initiatives, home affairs programmes, energy-efficiency schemes, electromobility and sustainable urban mobility.

Universities and research institutions received €115.1 million in grants. The University of Cyprus received €64.2 million, followed by the Cyprus University of Technology with €34.4 million, the Open University of Cyprus with €5.5 million, the Cyprus Institute with €3.9 million and the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics with €2.6 million.

Full-Year Budget Targets Moderate Growth

The 2026 budget projects revenue of €10.78 billion, up 5% from 2025, while expenditure is expected to increase 3% to €11.44 billion. Higher revenue is expected to come mainly from direct taxes and grants, while additional spending will largely reflect increased operating costs.

Anthropic is expanding Claude’s voice capabilities as competition in AI assistants intensifies, allowing users to choose between its Opus, Sonnet and Haiku models in voice mode. The update comes just weeks after OpenAI introduced a new family of conversational models and refreshed ChatGPT’s voice experience.

A More Capable Voice Experience

Until now, Claude’s voice mode relied exclusively on the Haiku model, prioritizing speed over more complex conversations. With the latest update, users can switch between Opus, Sonnet and Haiku while speaking with Claude, while voice mode automatically defaults to the fastest version of the model most recently used in text chat. The change creates a smoother transition between typing and speaking and is designed to support more demanding tasks, including preparing client presentations, refining communication and brainstorming product ideas, Anthropic said.

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Voice That Works Across Apps

Beyond expanding model choice, Anthropic is also extending Claude’s ability to work across third-party services. Voice mode can now connect with Gmail, Google Calendar, Slack, Canva and Notion, allowing users to reschedule meetings, draft emails or create documents without leaving the conversation.

The update also sets Claude apart from many competing voice assistants by extending conversations into workplace tasks through connected applications, rather than focusing solely on natural dialogue.

Multilingual Support

Anthropic has also been broadening Claude’s reach. Earlier this year, the company added beta support for multiple languages, allowing users to speak in English, French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish, although the language must currently be selected manually. The expansion is aimed at teams operating across multiple regions and languages.

Availability

The updated voice mode is now available in beta across platforms. Free users can access only the Haiku model and connect a single app, while paid subscribers can choose between all three models and use additional integrations.

Anthropic did not announce changes to the underlying voice model or disclose the technology powering the feature. It also did not say whether the update includes improvements to conversational behavior, such as interruption handling.

Patreon is cutting 20% of its workforce, eliminating 93 jobs as the creator platform restructures its operations to adapt to a rapidly changing technology landscape.

A Painful But Deliberate Reset

In a memo to employees, CEO Jack Conte said Patreon remains financially healthy but needs to simplify its organization and reduce costs to support long-term growth.

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“The pace of change has never been more intense,” Conte wrote, adding that AI has fundamentally reshaped the technology industry. He stressed, however, that the layoffs were not driven by a belief that artificial intelligence can replace employees.

AI Is Reshaping The Business

While AI is transforming how companies build products, communicate and operate, Conte argued that it cannot replace the creativity, judgment or craftsmanship of Patreon employees.

“To be clear about the impact of AI on today’s decision: we are not making the above changes because we believe AI replaces humans,” he wrote.

Human creativity and human connection remain at the center of Patreon’s strategy, Conte said, describing them as core to both the platform and its long-term vision.

A Flatter Organization

Alongside the layoffs, Patreon is reducing management layers and reorganizing teams around its highest-priority initiatives.

Employees affected by the cuts will receive at least 16 weeks of severance, plus one additional week for every year of service. Healthcare coverage will continue through the end of the year, and each departing employee will receive a $1,500 stipend to replace a company laptop.

AI Scraping Dispute

The restructuring comes a week after Patreon announced a partnership with Cloudflare to block AI bots from scraping creator content to train AI models without permission.

According to the company, increasingly sophisticated scraping techniques prompted the move, highlighting growing tensions between AI developers and creators over the use of copyrighted content.

Largest Layoffs Since 2022

This marks Patreon’s largest workforce reduction since 2022, when it laid off 17% of employees and closed offices in Berlin and Dublin.

Amazon is tightening its rules on AI-generated content in marketplace listings, requiring third-party sellers to disclose images and videos featuring photorealistic AI-generated people following a new New York law aimed at increasing transparency in advertising.

New Disclosure Standards For Sellers

Amazon has introduced new disclosure requirements for third-party sellers. Under the new rules, sellers must apply specific metadata tags to images and “A+ content,” the company’s enhanced listing materials, including videos and graphics, before uploading them.

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“Recent legislation requires disclosure when images or videos in advertisements contain photorealistic AI-generated people,” Amazon said.

New York Law Drives The Change

The policy follows a New York law that took effect last month, requiring advertisers to disclose when “synthetic performers” replace human actors. The measure applies to digitally created media that appears to depict a real person.

Governor Kathy Hochul described the legislation as the first of its kind in the United States.

“Without notice that the content the public is viewing is not real, AI-generated synthetic performers and manipulated media can undermine one’s ability to accurately distill fact from fiction,” her office said.

What The Policy Covers

Amazon said the requirement does not apply to TV, movie or video game characters, or to images of real people modified using AI.

The company will also display a label on eligible listings to notify shoppers when images or other content include AI-generated people. It has not disclosed the criteria it will use to determine when the label will appear.

AI’s Expanding Role Across Amazon

The move comes as Amazon continues to expand AI across its marketplace.

The company has optimized product listings for AI-powered search, expanded its recently rebranded Alexa for Shopping assistant, and introduced search features that generate product recommendations based on user queries.

Third-party sellers, who account for more than 60% of marketplace sales, are also increasingly using AI, including Amazon’s own tools, to create product descriptions, images and other listing content.

Regulation Is Gathering Pace

The United States has no federal requirement for AI disclosure in advertising, leaving states and platforms to introduce their own rules.

California recently began requiring major AI providers to embed watermarks in AI-generated images, videos and other content. Meta, TikTok, Pinterest and YouTube have also introduced labels for AI-generated material.

Questions over enforcement remain. TikTok and Meta have faced criticism for inconsistently labeling advertisements featuring AI-generated influencers promoting questionable products, in some cases without brands’ knowledge. TikTok says it has removed accounts making misleading health claims, while Meta says it labels AI-generated videos.

Cyprus recorded the highest share of card payments in the euro area during the second half of 2025, with cards accounting for 75% of all cashless transactions, according to the latest payment statistics from the Central Bank of Cyprus. Credit transfers ranked second at 16%, highlighting the country’s continued shift toward digital payments.

Cards Dominate Everyday Spending

The report, published on Wednesday, found that card use in Cyprus continues to outpace the euro-area average. Cards accounted for 57% of cashless transactions across the bloc, compared with 21% for credit transfers.

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The central bank attributed the growth to the spread of contactless payments, expanding e-commerce and wider merchant acceptance.

Online Payments Carry Higher Values

The average in-store card payment in Cyprus was about €38, while the average online transaction reached €129. Across the euro area, the averages were €33 and €60, respectively.

Although physical purchases remained more common, Cyprus ranked among the euro area’s higher-value online card payment markets.

Credit Transfers Lead By Value

Credit transfers accounted for 84% of the total value of cashless payments, reflecting their use for higher-value transactions.

Cheques remained the second-largest payment instrument by value, mainly because of their continued use in business transactions and property deals.

The report also found that instant credit transfers have expanded rapidly in Cyprus, with adoption now exceeding the euro-area average following the implementation of the EU regulation.

Cross-Border Card Use Remains Strong

Domestic transactions represented around 70% of both the number and value of payments. Cards, however, recorded the highest level of cross-border activity, with international transactions accounting for 45% of card payments by volume and 56% by value.

Spending Patterns

Payments to payment institutions accounted for the largest share of card spending at €1.087 billion, followed by government services (€832 million) and grocery purchases (€745 million).

Spending on broker and securities dealer services more than doubled over the past three years, reflecting increased investment-related card use and the strong presence of Forex and CFD firms in Cyprus.

Contactless Payments And ATMs

More than 73% of ATMs in Cyprus support contactless transactions, well above the euro-area average of 38%.

Although the number of ATMs has fallen by around 13% over the past five years, cash withdrawals remained steady at about €2.6 billion in the second half of 2025. The average withdrawal reached a record high as consumers made fewer but larger withdrawals, while counter withdrawals continued to decline.

Trade unions representing hotel and leisure-centre workers in Cyprus are calling for immediate workplace inspections, warning that the growing use of temporary agency workers is undermining labour protections across the hospitality sector.

Unions Raise Legal And Contractual Concerns

Ouxeka-Sek and Syxka-Peo have written to Labour Minister Marinos Mousiouttas, Labour Relations Department Director Andis Apostolou and Labour Department Director Alexandros Alexandrou, urging the government to intervene.

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The unions said the increasing use of temporary agency workers in hotels and leisure centres has become a widespread problem. They argue the practice violates the Temporary Agency Work Law of 2012, Law 174(I)/2012, while also undermining collective agreements and labour regulations.

Pressure Mounts On Labour Oversight

The unions warned that the issue has been compounded by the new framework governing the employment of third-country workers. In their view, the combined effect is weakening labour protections and distorting competition across the hospitality sector.

Their intervention follows an earlier warning from the Labour Relations Department. In a letter dated June 17, 2025, Apostolou reminded hotel associations of their legal obligations under the existing framework.

The unions said the practice has nevertheless continued and is becoming more widespread, increasing pressure on the government to step up enforcement.

Part Of A Wider Pattern Across Key Sectors

The concerns in the hospitality sector follow similar warnings from the construction industry, where Peo, Sek and Deok said the growing use of temporary workers has led to violations of collective agreements, unsafe working conditions and the treatment of employees as disposable labour.

Meanwhile, the government has announced plans to double the number of labour inspectors from eight to 16 as part of efforts to strengthen enforcement against illegal and undeclared employment.

Call For Immediate Action

Ouxeka-Sek and Syxka-Peo are calling on the Labour Ministry to carry out immediate inspections at hotels and leisure centres, enforce compliance with labour legislation, stop unlawful practices and protect workers’ rights.

Cyprus is introducing a new performance-based funding model for publicly financed research organizations, linking state support to measurable results for the first time.

A New Framework For Research Funding

Approved by the Cabinet on Wednesday, the new mechanism establishes a more structured framework for funding public research organizations. Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy Nikodimos Damianos said the system is expected to take effect in early 2027.

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First Phase Targets Centres Of Excellence

The first phase will cover Centres of Excellence co-financed through the Horizon Europe Teaming for Excellence programme with national and European funding.

According to Damianos, the objective is to preserve and further develop the research infrastructure, expertise and capabilities built in recent years, while supporting their transition into sustainable, long-term institutions under a formal funding framework.

Funding Tied To Performance Indicators

Under the new model, funding will be linked to performance against predefined indicators and targets. Organizations will be assessed across 18 indicators grouped into six areas: the research environment, internationalisation, scientific excellence, research performance, knowledge transfer and socio-economic impact.

Performance will be evaluated annually, while funding allocations will be reviewed every three years. The framework also introduces fiscal safeguards, including funding caps, assessments of each organisation’s actual financial needs and consideration of any other institutional state funding already received.

Positioning Research As A Strategic Public Investment

Damianos said the reform lays the groundwork for a new model of institutional support for research and innovation, aimed at strengthening scientific excellence and competitiveness while ensuring the transparent and efficient use of public funds.

He added that the framework is intended to support long-term benefits for both the Cypriot economy and society.

Cyprus is rolling out a new €1 million subsidy program to help households install or replace solar water heating systems, as the government seeks to lower energy costs and expand the use of renewable energy.

Grant Support Of Up To €900

Approved by the Council of Ministers on Wednesday, the Grant Scheme for Solar Hot Water Systems in Homes 2026 will provide subsidies ranging from €500 to €900, depending on the applicant’s category and the property’s location.

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Energy, Commerce and Industry Minister Michalis Damianou said the scheme aims to encourage households to install or upgrade solar water heating systems, helping reduce energy bills while making greater use of Cyprus’ abundant solar resources.

Targeting Lower Costs And Higher Efficiency

The program will be administered by the Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Conservation Fund and will cover complete solar water heating systems that meet the required technical specifications.

To qualify, installations must be carried out by contractors included in the official registry, while all equipment must appear on the list of approved products. According to the Ministry of Energy, these requirements are intended to ensure the scheme is implemented correctly and to minimise the risk of rejected applications.

Who Qualifies For The Highest Support

The standard subsidy is set at €500. Households in mountain areas will be eligible for grants of up to €900, while vulnerable households will also qualify for the maximum level of support.

Applications Open Until December 2026

Applications will remain open until December 20, 2026, or until 2,000 applications have been submitted, whichever comes first. Damianou encouraged eligible households to review the scheme’s conditions and apply while funding remains available.

Cyprus is stepping up efforts to strengthen artificial intelligence governance, cybersecurity and digital resilience as senior officials seek to align policy, regulation and technical expertise better.

Strategic Cooperation Takes Shape

Communications Commissioner Marios Pieris and Chief Scientist for Research, Innovation and Technology Demetris Skourides met to discuss a strategic cooperation framework aimed at supporting the secure, responsible and innovative adoption of artificial intelligence across the public sector, the economy and society.

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The discussions reflected the growing role of AI in shaping regulation, competitiveness, digital security and public trust, as governments across Europe prepare for wider deployment of the technology.

Preparing For The EU AI Act

A key focus of the meeting was the implementation of the European Union’s AI Act and the possible development of an AI Act Implementation Playbook for Cyprus. Such a framework would help public institutions and businesses translate the regulation into practical implementation.

The officials also discussed holding joint technical meetings and roundtables with ISO/IEC experts to bring internationally recognised standards and global AI governance expertise into Cyprus’ preparations.

Building Future-Ready Digital Defences

The meeting also addressed the broader challenge of strengthening Cyprus’ resilience against emerging risks associated with artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. Beyond regulatory compliance, the discussions focused on ensuring institutions, businesses and citizens can adapt to rapidly evolving technologies.

Pieris described AI and cybersecurity as closely connected pillars of Cyprus’ digital transformation, noting that stronger governance and security will become increasingly important as AI adoption expands.

He added that close cooperation among all relevant stakeholders will be essential to building a secure, resilient and trusted digital ecosystem.

Connecting Research, Government And Industry

Skourides highlighted the importance of closer collaboration among research, government, industry, and the innovation ecosystem, saying that stronger links would help Cyprus unlock AI’s potential while boosting competitiveness, productivity, and sustainable growth.

He also stressed that technological progress should remain aligned with European values, transparency and internationally recognised governance standards.

From Policy Discussion To Practical Action

Following the meeting, Pieris introduced the Office’s AI team to the Chief Scientist, extending discussions beyond policy towards future implementation and cooperation on AI, cybersecurity and digital governance initiatives.

Both sides agreed to continue holding regular working meetings with the shared goal of advancing innovation, strengthening digital resilience and supporting the safe and trustworthy deployment of AI in Cyprus.