Brexit is such a mess
In this country we are in a mess with our politics, but the UK seems to have a similar problem with unknown results at the end (the Queen’s urge for cooperation of the political parties, was for the best and an example for us also to hear).
After a long history and notwithstanding the problems of unification of the E.U., here we are with one of the pillars of democracy leaving the union.
The populist politicians have carried away the British people causing that country’s loss of business, no voice in European affairs and damage to the country on a mid/long term basis.
It took one bad decision by the ex PM (Mr Cameron) with the referendum to lead us to what we are now facing. The two protagonists of Brexit, Messrs Farage and Johnson, a populist duo – reminding us of Guy Fawkes who attempted to blow up Parliament and it is now celebrated as a reminder for things not to happen.
The duo will be remembered after several years and perhaps we will establish another “celebration” of things not to do.
For us in Cyprus, which was a British colony, it is not as easy to accept Brexit as other countries might do, especially bearing in mind our close links with the U.K. A large percentage of Cyprus professionals were educated in the U.K., especially the older generation and there is, therefore, a special professional tie between the professionals of Cyprus and the U.K. (even those who do not study in the U.K., but in other countries they will end up in the U.K. for a postgraduate degree or will practice at some time there). The end result is noted by the many British professionals especially in the accounting and engineering sectors, exercising their profession in Cyprus
Although the British do not form part of the main foreign demand in terms of real estate, the majority of our tourists are British (33% of the total).
This is just one part of our problem since the exchange rate with sterling being devalued by comparison to the euro will make Cyprus much more expensive, increasing competition from other competitive countries, such as Turkey and Egypt.
It is not only a matter of buying property here, but also the circumstances as they develop regarding living here. We watched a Euronews TV programme regarding British retirees in Spain (where the number exceed 250,000) with no clear answers about their situation post-Brexit.
We need to find a way for how retirees, in particular, can live in Cyprus without problems, including red tape procedures standing in queue at the Immigration Office to secure a visa and permit to “temporary” reside in Cyprus. Can we make an exception for the U.K. and not for other third country nationals?
Confidence and security of living, especially for retirees, are of paramount importance and it will be most interesting