The European Commission has released nearly €120 million to Cyprus under the Recovery and Resilience Facility after the country met a set of agreed reform and investment milestones, underscoring the EU’s performance-based approach to post-pandemic recovery funding.

Part Of A Broader €9.8 Billion EU Disbursement

The Cypriot payment was included in a wider allocation of more than €9.8 billion to Poland, Sweden, Belgium, Estonia and Cyprus under the facility, which sits at the core of the European Union’s NextGenerationEU recovery programme.

Follow THE FUTURE on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and Telegram

For Cyprus, the latest transfer follows its sixth payment request, submitted on December 17, 2025 and approved by the Commission on July 13, 2026.

Cyprus Has Now Received 67% Of Its Allocation

With Thursday’s disbursement, Cyprus has received 67% of the total funding earmarked for its national recovery and resilience plan. The plan includes €1.02 billion in grants for the country.

That leaves 33% still to be paid out, contingent on the successful completion of the remaining milestones and targets.

Reforms Linked To The Latest Payment

The measures attached to the payment span several sectors of the economy and public administration. They include the introduction of a new school evaluation system, the creation of a mechanism for the cross-border exchange of patients’ health data, and the rollout of flexible working arrangements in the public sector.

Additional reforms focus on expanding electronic services within the electronic building permit system, a move designed to improve efficiency in construction-related approvals.

The payment also covers investments in renewable energy and grid innovation, including the expansion of testing infrastructure for renewable energy sources and smart grids at the University of Cyprus, along with the connection of that infrastructure to the electricity network.

A Fund That Pays For Delivery, Not Promises

The Commission said the disbursements to the five member states reflect the successful completion of key milestones and targets set out in their national recovery and resilience plans.

It stressed that the Recovery and Resilience Facility is performance-based, meaning funds are released only after agreed reforms and investments have been satisfactorily completed. In practical terms, that makes each payment less a grant in the abstract and more a reward for execution.

The Council approved the payments before the Commission adopted the corresponding decisions and released the funds on Thursday.

What It Means For Cyprus

The latest tranche moves Cyprus further along its recovery roadmap, while also reinforcing the EU’s broader strategy of tying financial support to measurable reform. For governments across the bloc, the message is clear: access to recovery money depends not just on plans, but on delivery.

The Recovery and Resilience Facility forms the backbone of NextGenerationEU, the European Union’s broader recovery package created to support reforms and investment across member states.

Cyprus’s housing market regained clear momentum in the second quarter of 2026, with house prices rising 7.9% year on year, according to Eurostat and the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat). The increase was well ahead of the European Union average and points to renewed strength in the island’s residential property market.

Cyprus Extends Its Lead Over The EU

The latest figures show Cyprus outperforming the broader market on both an annual and quarterly basis. House prices in Cyprus rose 2.4% between the first and second quarters of 2026, compared with gains of 1.2% across the EU and 1.1% in the euro area.

Follow THE FUTURE on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and Telegram

On an annual basis, Cyprus’s 7.9% increase stood above the EU’s 4.7% rise and the euro area’s 4.0% gain. The result places the island among the stronger performers in the bloc, even as price growth moderates in much of Europe.

House Prices Reach A New High

Cystat reported that Cyprus’s House Price Index reached 105.46 points in the second quarter, up from 102.95 in the first quarter and 97.74 a year earlier. The annual pace of growth also marked a sharp acceleration from 3.4% in the first quarter of 2026.

The trajectory has been steadily upward. Annual house price growth in Cyprus was 2.9% in the second quarter of 2025, then rose to 4.2% in the third quarter and 6.0% in the fourth. The second quarter of 2026 therefore represents a further strengthening in the market’s recovery.

New And Existing Homes Both Contribute

Growth was not limited to one segment of the market. Both new and existing dwellings posted gains in the latest quarter.

The sub-index for new dwellings rose to 105.73 points from 103.25 in the first quarter. New-home prices had already climbed from 96.26 in the second quarter of 2025 to 101.71 in the third quarter, 102.06 in the fourth, and 103.25 in the first quarter of 2026 before advancing further in the second quarter.

Existing dwellings also recorded a strong rebound. Their sub-index increased to 105.10 from 102.51 in the first quarter. That followed a more uneven pattern: the index declined from 100.84 in the second quarter of 2025 to 100.59 in the third and 99.82 in the fourth, before recovering to 102.51 in the first quarter of 2026 and then climbing again in the second.

Cystat’s House Price Index measures changes in average residential property prices for both new and existing dwellings, including the land component. The data are based on information from the Department of Lands and Surveys and cover areas under the control of the Republic of Cyprus.

European Growth Slows, But Remains Positive

Across the EU, house prices continued to rise, but the pace of annual growth eased slightly. EU-wide prices increased by 5.5% year on year in the third quarter of 2025, 5.4% in the fourth, 5.1% in the first quarter of 2026 and 4.7% in the second.

The euro area followed a similar pattern, with annual growth slowing from 5.2% in the third quarter of 2025 to 5.1% in the fourth, 4.6% in the first quarter of 2026 and 4.0% in the second.

Quarterly growth also softened before stabilising. In the EU, prices rose 1.6% in the third quarter of 2025, 0.7% in the fourth, 1.1% in the first quarter of 2026 and 1.2% in the second. In the euro area, the equivalent figures were 1.5%, 0.4%, 0.9% and 1.1%.

Among EU countries with available data, Portugal recorded the strongest annual house price growth at 16.5%, followed by Bulgaria at 15.5% and Lithuania at 14.3%. At the other end of the spectrum, prices fell 2.7% in Finland, 2.2% in Luxembourg and 0.8% in France.

Quarterly gains were led by Lithuania at 5.0%, Bulgaria at 4.5% and Romania at 4.4%. House prices fell 1.4% in Hungary and 0.8% in France. Overall, 23 EU countries posted annual price increases, while three reported declines; on a quarterly basis, prices rose in 24 countries and fell in two.

Rents Remain Under Pressure

The broader European housing market is also still seeing upward pressure on rents. Eurostat reported that EU rents increased 3.0% year on year in the second quarter of 2026, with the euro area following a similar path. Compared with the first quarter, rents across the EU were up 0.7%.

Over the longer period from the 2025 annual average to the second quarter of 2026, rents increased in every EU country. Romania recorded the steepest rise at 41.2%, followed by Croatia at 22.1% and Slovenia at 10.2%. The smallest increases were seen in Estonia and Finland, both at 0.1%, and Luxembourg at 1.2%.

Eurostat’s data on actual rental payments also show that rental costs in Cyprus remained elevated in 2026, with the relevant index at 104.30 in both July and August, after reaching 103.37 in March.

The combination of firmer purchase prices and persistent rent inflation suggests that housing affordability remains under pressure across Europe. For Cyprus, however, the second-quarter numbers stand out: home prices are rising at nearly twice the EU average, underscoring the island’s relatively strong housing market momentum.

Cyprus Posts A Positive Business Balance

Cyprus registered 9,152 new enterprises in 2024, while 5,566 businesses closed, according to Eurostat’s latest business demography data. The island therefore ended the year with more enterprise births than deaths, underscoring a business environment that remained resilient despite broader European headwinds.

The figures translated into an enterprise birth rate of 9.70 per cent and a provisional death rate of 5.90 per cent. While Cyprus came in below the EU average for business creation, it also recorded a markedly lower rate of business closures than the bloc overall.

Follow THE FUTURE on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and Telegram

The EU Picture Remained Mixed

Across the European Union, 3,541,482 enterprises were created in 2024, producing an enterprise birth rate of 10.36 per cent. At the same time, a provisional 3,143,782 enterprises ceased trading, corresponding to a death rate of 9.20 per cent.

In total, the EU counted around 34 million enterprises during the year. The data suggest a region where entrepreneurial activity remains robust, but where closure rates continue to reflect uneven economic conditions, financing pressures and sector-specific volatility.

More Start-Ups Than Closures In Most Member States

New business formation exceeded business deaths in 19 of the EU’s 27 member states in 2024. The reverse was true in Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, where more enterprises closed than were created.

Lithuania posted the highest enterprise birth rate at 17.5 per cent, followed by Portugal at 16.1 per cent, Malta at 14.4 per cent and France at 14.2 per cent. At the other end of the scale, Austria recorded the lowest birth rate at 6.3 per cent, followed by Denmark at 7.2 per cent and Germany at 7.8 per cent.

Business deaths showed a different pattern. Estonia recorded the highest provisional death rate at 29.2 per cent, followed by Ireland at 16.9 per cent and Lithuania at 15.6 per cent. The lowest provisional death rates were seen in Greece at 3.9 per cent, Malta at 4.4 per cent and Austria at 5.3 per cent.

High-Growth Firms Continue To Drive Employment

Eurostat also identified a sizeable cohort of high-growth enterprises among businesses employing at least 10 people. In 2024, 180,200 enterprises met the criterion of having at least 10 employees at the start of the three-year period and generating average annual employment growth of more than 10 per cent.

These high-growth businesses accounted for 10.0 per cent of EU enterprises with at least 10 employees and collectively supported 14.1 million jobs. The figures highlight a broader point often missed in headline business statistics: while most companies grow gradually, a smaller group of fast-expanding firms does a disproportionate share of the heavy lifting on employment.

What The Cyprus Numbers Signal

For Cyprus, the 2024 data point to a comparatively healthy balance between enterprise formation and closure. More than 9,000 new businesses were created, against a little over 5,500 provisional deaths.

That left the island with a birth rate slightly below the EU average of 10.36 per cent, but a death rate well below the bloc’s 9.20 per cent figure. In practical terms, Cyprus appears to be generating new business activity at a steady pace while limiting the level of churn seen elsewhere in Europe.

For policymakers and investors, that combination matters. A market with moderate formation and lower closure rates can signal stability, even if it does not lead the EU in entrepreneurial intensity.

Artificial intelligence is amplifying the reach, speed and credibility of cybercrime — but, according to Interpol, it is not fundamentally changing the playbook.

Artificial intelligence is giving criminals a more efficient way to commit familiar offenses such as scams and fraud, rather than creating an entirely new category of threat, according to Interpol.

Follow THE FUTURE on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and Telegram

Evolution, Not Revolution

AI is strengthening existing criminal techniques instead of replacing them, Bjorn R. Watne, Interpol’s global chief information security officer, told CNBC on the sidelines of Tech Week Singapore on Thursday.

Scam operators can now use AI to reach more victims at once, while advances in translation tools and digital identities are making fraudulent messages and interactions harder to distinguish from legitimate ones.

“It’s an evolution and not a revolution,” Watne said, adding that AI is primarily increasing the “speed and scale” of established tactics.

What Companies Should Protect First

As cyber threats become more sophisticated, Watne said companies should focus on protecting the assets that matter most to their operations.

That starts with identifying their “crown jewels” — the systems, data and infrastructure most critical to business continuity — and determining which adversaries would be most interested in targeting them.

From there, organizations can use threat intelligence to understand the methods and tools those actors rely on, then build defenses that are tailored to the risk.

“There is no need for everyone to try and protect against everything all at once when they’re not being targeted by it,” he said.

The right security posture, he added, depends on whether a company is facing opportunistic criminals or advanced persistent threat actors with more targeted objectives.

The Boardroom Gap In Cybersecurity

Watne also said many companies still struggle with a disconnect between executive leadership and cybersecurity strategy.

“There are still many industries where they haven’t realized that everyone today is an IT company,” he said.

Although cyber risk is rising on corporate risk registers, cybersecurity has not yet fully reached the boardroom in many organizations, Watne added.

Agentic AI Brings A New Category Of Risk

Watne said he is especially concerned about agentic AI — systems that can take actions on behalf of users — as the technology becomes more capable.

The risk, he warned, is no longer limited to an AI delivering inaccurate information. If an AI system begins making incorrect decisions or taking harmful actions in the physical world, the consequences could be far more serious.

“One thing is that an AI is feeding you the wrong information,” Watne said. “But when an AI is actually performing an action and it starts doing the wrong actions, especially in the physical domain, that can have consequences on bodily harm of humans.”

He pointed to the growing use of AI in cars and self-driving vehicles as a particularly sensitive area.

Why Trust Is The Real Vulnerability

Watne said those risks are compounded by the unusually high level of trust people place in technology compared with other sectors such as financial services.

In financial services, consumers tend to be more cautious and control-oriented, relying on safeguards such as PIN codes and staying alert to threats like card skimming. With technology, however, users often adopt new devices and applications quickly, without the same level of scrutiny.

“When it comes to technology, the trust level is through the roof,” Watne said, noting how readily people click through prompts and grant access to new tools.

As AI systems become more capable of acting on users’ behalf, he said that trust will require far greater scrutiny.

The Trump administration has unveiled a new chatbot designed to help Americans navigate government websites, powered by artificial intelligence from Google’s Gemini and Elon Musk’s Grok, according to U.S. Chief Design Officer Joe Gebbia.

Gebbia said the system, launched through America.gov, is intended to make federal information easier to find, more current and more reliable. Speaking to CNBC’s Squawk Box shortly before the site went live, he described the initiative as a major step toward modernizing the public-facing digital experience of government.

Follow THE FUTURE on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and Telegram

A Digital Front Door For Government Services

According to Gebbia, the platform connects with roughly 29,000 government websites and scans those sources in real time to answer user questions with information drawn only from official channels.

“You come to America.gov and you ask for what you need, and in a chat interface, we go off on the back end and scan across all those tens of thousands of websites to pull in any information that is specific to whatever your request is, and give you a personalized response that’s only from official sources,” he said. “So there’s no chance of getting outdated or inaccurate information like you might on third-party websites.”

The pitch is straightforward: replace the fragmented, often outdated experience of navigating government portals with a single conversational interface. For a public sector ecosystem spread across thousands of websites, that kind of centralization could prove consequential.

Google Touts Gemini’s Role

Google confirmed its involvement in a blog post published Tuesday, saying it was “proud to be named a technology partner” in what it called a vital initiative. The company said Gemini would help more than 100 million people access public resources “with greater speed and ease.”

Google added that it remains committed to supporting the administration’s digital modernization effort and making public services “seamless, accessible, and responsive for all Americans.” A Google spokesperson referred CNBC to that post for comment.

Musk, Xai And The Broader AI Network

Grok developer xAI, which CNBC reported was acquired by SpaceX and renamed SpaceXAI, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Gebbia also serves on Tesla’s board, and Tesla uses Grok in its vehicles, placing him at the intersection of government technology, transportation and Musk’s wider AI ecosystem.

The involvement of both Google and Musk-linked technology underscores how public-sector AI adoption is increasingly being shaped by the same companies driving the commercial AI race. That convergence is likely to draw scrutiny as governments seek faster, smarter services without compromising accuracy, neutrality or accountability.

Trump Casts The Launch As A Broader Reset

The site was introduced during a day-long event at Washington’s Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, attended by President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other administration officials and business leaders.

“It’s not just simply a website. It’s a restoration of America’s founding promise, and it’s a reinvention of your government for the 21st century and beyond,” Trump said during remarks at the event.

The program also includes panel discussions on artificial intelligence, energy, health, space and agriculture, reflecting the administration’s effort to frame AI as a cross-sector policy priority rather than a narrow technology project.

For Washington, America.gov is more than a consumer-facing chatbot. It is a test case for how far AI can go in reshaping the state’s relationship with citizens—especially when the promise is efficiency, but the expectations are trust, precision, and scale.

OpenAI used its DevDay event on Tuesday to unveil Dots, a new personal agentic assistant powered by GPT-6 Astra. The company says Dots are designed to be “remarkably capable, always-on agents built to handle everything.”

Designed To Work In The Background

Unlike Codex or ChatGPT, Dots are not tied to a particular device or interface. Instead, they are built to operate continuously in the background, pursuing user-defined goals with minimal oversight. In practical terms, OpenAI is positioning them as a layer of persistent digital labor rather than a conventional chatbot.

Follow THE FUTURE on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and Telegram

“Today, you can start with your primary dot, give it a name, and make it your own,” OpenAI said in its announcement. “Over time, we envision teams of Dots working together on your behalf.”

Rolling Out To Pro And Business Users

Dots will begin rolling out Tuesday inside ChatGPT for Pro and Business Premium users in eligible markets. Users can launch Dots from either Codex or ChatGPT, extending OpenAI’s existing agentic ecosystem into a more autonomous format.

Use Cases Across Software, Science, And Operations

OpenAI outlined several scenarios for how Dots could be deployed. A software developer might assign a dedicated dot to monitor customer feedback and carry out bug fixes or feature requests as they emerge. A scientist could use one to rerun analyses and investigate unexpected results as new experimental data arrives.

The company also said users will be able to message Dots through Slack, Microsoft Teams, and other enterprise platforms, with text message support expected soon. That kind of omnichannel access suggests OpenAI sees Dots not as a novelty, but as an operating layer for work.

Specialist Dots And Enterprise Controls

OpenAI is also envisioning “specialist Dots” with specific responsibilities. These agents can be provisioned with identities, credentials, and tools through existing systems, giving organizations a way to tailor autonomy to job function and security requirements.

The company says it is already working with Microsoft to integrate Dots into Agent 365 security controls, a sign that enterprise governance will be central to adoption. For businesses, that matters as much as capability: the more autonomous the agent, the more important the controls surrounding it.

A New Package For Familiar Capabilities

Much of what OpenAI is describing was already possible through Codex and similar agentic frameworks. What Dots adds is packaging, positioning, and a stronger emphasis on independent action. In other words, the product is less about inventing a wholly new category than making autonomous AI more accessible and more marketable.

The branding follows a broader industry trend toward making AI feel more approachable. Like Meta’s recently released Muse agent, Dots arrives with a softer, cartoonish identity. The characters are, quite literally, dots — a visual makeover that reflects a deeper strategic goal: making advanced AI feel less like infrastructure and more like a collaborator.

Instagram is pushing further into creator tools with the introduction of an AI video editing assistant for Edits, its CapCut competitor. The new feature is designed to move beyond generic recommendations and deliver feedback tailored to each creator’s performance.

An Assistant Built Around Performance Data

According to Brett Westervelt, who leads the Edits app, the assistant combines account-level metrics with broader platform signals to identify what is working and where creators may be missing opportunities.

Follow THE FUTURE on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and Telegram

“The assistant knows your account’s Instagram metrics, things like follows, views, video retention, likes, shares and combines them with your comments, what’s trending on Instagram and what your audience is into,” Westervelt said in a blog post. “It can spot patterns in your performance over time and surface actionable insights that are hard to see from the metrics alone.”

Westervelt said the tool was developed in close collaboration with a group of creators. The aim, he noted, is not to replace judgment, but to reduce the time spent sorting through data.

“One thing we heard consistently: creators want a tool that handles the analysis, not one that does the creative work for them,” he wrote. “Edits assistant does the digging for you. The creative calls are still yours.”

Meta Intensifies The Race For Creator Tools

Meta first previewed the Edits AI assistant in June at an invite-only creator event, alongside plans for an Edits desktop app. The launch arrives as competition intensifies across the creator software market, where platforms are racing to embed AI into every stage of the production process.

YouTube, for example, announced last week that it is building a conversational video editing tool of its own, with availability expected early next year. Early indications suggest the two companies are taking different approaches.

Meta appears to be positioning Edits as an analytics-driven product, one that helps creators understand audience behavior and content performance. YouTube, by contrast, has indicated that its AI tool will be used more directly in the editing workflow itself.

Usage Limits And Subscription Upside

Access to the assistant will not be unlimited. Creators will face usage caps, though Meta says they can unlock additional capacity through a Meta One subscription.

The move underscores a broader shift in the creator economy: the value proposition is no longer just publishing content, but using AI to interpret performance, sharpen strategy and create a more efficient production process. For Instagram, that could help Edits become more than a utility. It could become a strategic layer in how creators run their business.

The Central Bank of Cyprus has imposed a €750,000 administrative fine on Banque SBA Cyprus following shortcomings identified in a 2023 inspection focused on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing compliance.

The decision, announced on September 29, falls within the Central Bank’s supervisory mandate under Cyprus’ legislation for the prevention and suppression of money laundering activities.

Follow THE FUTURE on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and Telegram

Inspection Findings Triggered The Penalty

According to the Central Bank, the sanction was based on findings from its 2023 review of the bank’s compliance with specific provisions of the law and with the CBC’s directive to credit institutions on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing.

The Central Bank said section 59(6) of the Prevention and Suppression of Money Laundering Activities Law of 2007, as amended, gives it the authority to impose measures on supervised entities that fail to comply with Part VIII of the legislation or with relevant directives issued by the regulator.

Regulatory Due Process Was Followed

The CBC also noted that such decisions are made in line with administrative law procedures and principles, including the requirement to give the affected institution an opportunity to respond before a final ruling is issued.

After reviewing the findings of the 2023 inspection, the Central Bank concluded that an administrative fine of €750,000 was appropriate in the case of Banque SBA Cyprus.

Anti-Money Laundering Enforcement Remains A Priority

The failures cited by the regulator relate to provisions of the law and the fifth edition of the CBC directive to credit institutions on anti-money laundering and terrorist financing, issued in February 2019.

As Cyprus’ competent authority for enforcing anti-money laundering rules in relation to institutions under its supervision, the Central Bank continues to maintain a strict posture toward compliance breaches across the banking sector.

Greece’s Animation Powerhouse Extends Its Reach

Animasyros has closed its 19th consecutive edition in Ermoupoli, reinforcing its position as Greece’s leading international animation festival and one of the most significant events of its kind in Europe. Over nearly two decades, the festival has evolved from a cultural gathering into a strategic industry platform, drawing creators, buyers, educators and executives from across the animation ecosystem.

This year’s programme brought together seven competition sections — International, Student, K.ID.S, AnimaPride, National Competition, TV & Commissioned Films and Feature Films — alongside a special focus on Irish animation, events tied to Ermoupoli’s 200th anniversary, workshops, industry meetings and international collaborations. The Market, now a recognised reference point for animation professionals in the Eastern Mediterranean, has become central to the festival’s growing influence.

Follow THE FUTURE on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and Telegram

“In the 18-19 years that Animasyros has been in the spotlight, or that have elapsed since its founding back in 2008, I believe it has become the most important hub for animation in the Mediterranean and in Greece,” said Vassilis Karamitssanis, president of the Animasyros International Festival, in comments to Euronews. “It places strong emphasis on showcasing Greek and European talent around the world and also aims to highlight new techniques and technologies in the field of animation, which I consider to be the key to a sustainable future for the audiovisual sector in general and for European animation in particular.”

Sound As A Strategic Storytelling Asset

Among the most notable guests this year was Olivier Calvert, the Montreal-based, award-winning sound designer whose credits include Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival and the Oscar-nominated short The Girl Who Cried Pearls. Calvert led a masterclass dedicated to sound as an essential narrative instrument, underlining the growing importance of audio craft in a sector often dominated by visual innovation.

“Sound design shapes the overall sound of a film, which means you can work with its sonic environment,” Calvert explained. “It can be realistic – birds, traffic noise, the sea, the waves. But it can also operate on a subconscious level. You can really create tension in a scene by adding other sounds beneath the music or the voice, or by removing sounds.”

For Calvert, the role of sound in animation is especially expansive because the medium builds entire worlds from the ground up. “In an animated film we do not need the sound to be realistic,” he said. “So yes, we can create a completely different world, a unique world. A new universe to discover, both in terms of image and in terms of sound.”

He also described sound as a creative partnership rather than a technical afterthought. “The challenge is to build a story through the collaboration between images and sounds,” he said. “I am something like an artistic director for sound.”

That collaborative model, he argued, depends on a close working relationship between director, composer and sound designer. “For me the soundtrack of a film is a whole,” Calvert added. “There is the music on the one hand and the sound effects on the other. Everything goes together, so it is a major collaboration between director, composer and sound designer.”

Cross-Border Partnerships On Screen

The festival opened with the Greek premiere of Decorado, the latest film from Goya-winning Spanish filmmaker Alberto Vásquez, known for Unicorn Wars and Birdboy: The Forgotten Children. Backed by the Embassy of Spain in Greece and the Instituto Cervantes, the film arrived in Ermoupoli after winning the Paul Grimault Award at the Annecy animation festival.

Creative director José Luis Ágreda described the project as a dark parable about social conformity, corporate dehumanisation and the pressure to perform within modern systems. “Decorado … is a parable, a dark parable about our society and the way in which each of us, every individual, feels within it,” he told Euronews. “The film is also about how society or, more specifically, companies try to dehumanise people.”

Ágreda said the film’s visual language deliberately plays with the contrast between apparent innocence and underlying unease. “It is as if we have a very happy world, like the society they try to sell us, but inside it there is something rotten,” he explained. “In the end, people feel: ‘OK, this is a nightmare, not a dream’.”

That tension, he added, is meant to resonate with contemporary digital culture. “What happens to the hero, Arnold, is very similar to what we experience on social media,” Ágreda said. “You feel that you are at the centre of attention and of everything, but you are not. Everything around you is constructed, fake, not real.”

The Year’s Winners Reflect Animation’s Range

The 19th edition’s awards highlighted the breadth of contemporary animation, spanning social commentary, personal storytelling and family programming. The Grand Prize in the International Competition went to Please by Anna Mantzaris, while the Greek Competition award was given to Konstantinos Demis for The Dog.

In the Student Competition, the prize was awarded to Gauze, a film about Palestine created by five students from GOBELINS Paris: Noran Fikri Alezabi, Nicholas Arujah, Xinyue Ma, Yulin YUE and Xiaonan Zhou.

In Television and Commissioned Films, the winning title was Saltwater by Eilidh Nicoll from the United Kingdom. The AnimaPride section, dedicated to LGBTQI+ themes and queer expression, recognised Eyeliner by Aisha Boujilouli.

Meanwhile, the K.ID.S prize went to The Eagle and the Kinglet by Paul Jadoul from the Czech Republic, and the Audience Award was collected by Martin Lund’s Unstoppable, described by the festival as a subversive, emotional and humorous adventure film.

Looking Ahead To The 20th Anniversary

With its 20th edition on the horizon, Animasyros is entering a new phase of maturity and ambition. Its trajectory reflects a broader shift in the animation industry: festivals are no longer just screening venues, but year-round engines of talent discovery, dealmaking, education and cross-border collaboration.

For Greece, and for the wider Mediterranean region, Animasyros now stands as both a cultural asset and an industry benchmark. Its next chapter will determine whether it can translate two decades of momentum into even greater international influence.

Cyprus Sets The Agenda For Safer Gambling

Player protection, illegal gambling and the expanding use of technology to detect harmful behaviour will headline Cyprus’ 9th Safer Gambling Conference, which will bring together regulators, researchers and industry specialists in Nicosia on October 12.

Organised by the National Betting Authority for the ninth consecutive year, the conference will be held at the Hilton Hotel from 09.00 to 14.30 as part of Safer Gambling Week 2026.

Follow THE FUTURE on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and Telegram

Under the theme The Future of Player Protection: Shaping a More Sustainable Gambling Industry Through Innovation, the programme will explore how regulation, scientific research, technology and innovation can strengthen safeguards for players while supporting a more responsible betting environment.

From Harm Prevention To Market Integrity

The agenda will address gambling-related harm, the psychological and biological factors that influence risk-taking, developments in the European regulatory landscape and practical measures to reinforce player protection.

Illegal gambling will receive particular scrutiny, with sessions focused on current market trends, enforcement challenges and the growing role of data and other tools in identifying and disrupting unlawful activity.

Global Experts Bring Legal, Research And Technology Insights

Among the international speakers is Joerg Hofmann, head of the Betting and Gaming Group at Germany’s Melchers Law Firm and a former president of the International Masters of Gaming Law. His work centres on gambling regulation and gaming law.

He will be joined by Quirino Mancini, partner and director of WH Partners Italy and immediate past president of the International Masters of Gaming Law, whose expertise spans gaming regulation, licensing and compliance.

The research perspective will be led by Michael Auer, an independent gambling researcher known for using real-world gambling data to analyse player behaviour, markers of harm and the impact of personalised feedback.

Technology and early intervention will also feature prominently, with Mindway AI Enterprise Partnership Lead Christina Savvouri taking part in the conference. Her work focuses on applying neuroscience, psychology and artificial intelligence to identify potentially harmful gambling behaviour at an earlier stage.

The programme also includes Francesco Rodano, Group Head of Responsible Gaming at Allwyn, who leads the company’s player-protection strategy across its lottery and gaming businesses.

Rodano previously served as Italy’s Director of Remote Gaming and later worked at Playtech, where he was involved with BetBuddy, an artificial intelligence-based behavioural analytics and player-protection platform.

From the regulatory side, Malta Gaming Authority Senior Executive Graziella Caffari will contribute experience spanning regulatory supervision, compliance, anti-money laundering and responsible gambling.

Cyprus Voices And Public Policy Perspective

Cyprus will also be represented by Chara A. Demetriou, president of the Cyprus Psychologists Association and Assistant Professor of Psychology at the American University of Beirut – Mediterraneo, whose work covers clinical psychology, mental health and prevention.

Lucy Herodotou Mouskou, Director of Financial Management of the Central Government Directorate at the Ministry of Finance, will bring a public-policy perspective shaped by her experience in gambling-related policy matters.

Other speakers include Slovenian legal and regulatory consultant Jaka Repansek, a member of the International Masters of Gaming Law, and Constantinos Daltas, Managing Director of RedWolf Ogilvy and chairman of the Cyprus Advertising Agencies Association.

A Broader Push For Responsible Gambling

The conference forms part of Safer Gambling Week 2026, which features awareness and information initiatives designed to encourage a more informed and responsible approach to betting and gambling, with a particular focus on prevention and the protection of young people and vulnerable groups.

The National Betting Authority is responsible for the licensing, regulation and supervision of betting activity in Cyprus under the Betting Law of 2019.

It also works with government services, industry stakeholders and international organisations on betting-related matters, while implementing measures aimed at preventing gambling addiction and protecting vulnerable groups.